On Sunday I'll have my final match of TTS league 11 (European Division) and I'm aiming for a 2:4 record instead of a 1:5. I'm sticking with my pure Spider-Foes list for that game, but I've already decided to try a new team next season. Both for the next Fury's Finest Secret War Patron league and TTS league Season 12.
No worries fellow adversaries of the damned Arachnid: my next in Person game will still be with the Foes!
But I've also already begun list building for next season. I can't decide who to take yet though...
Candidate 1: Hellfire Club
Two weeks ago I was dead sure on playing Hellfire Club. My list contains a mix of my favourite characters in lore and in the game (and of course Lizard who is both):
MY Hellfire Club
Characters: (10)
Emma Frost (Emma Frost) Threat: 4
---Doctor Strange (Stephen Vincent Strange) Threat: 5
Ulik (Ulik) Threat: 5
Sabretooth, Apex Predator (Victor Creed) Threat: 4
Beta Ray Bill (Bill) Threat: 4
---Crimson Dynamo (Dimitri Bukharin) Threat: 4
Mr. Sinister (Nathaniel Essex) Threat: 4
Iron Man (Tony Stark) Threat: 3
Lizard (Curtis Connors) Threat: 3
Luke Cage (Luke Cage) Threat: 3
Tactics: (10)
Helios Laser Bombardment
Heroes for Hire
My Hellfire Club
Skuttlebutt, On Me!
Forced Extraction
Brace for Impact
Patch Up
Eyes on the Prize
Mission Objective
Recalibration Matrix
Secure Crisis: (3)
Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians (Threat: 17)
Mutant Madman Turns City Center Into Lethal Amusement Park (Threat: 18)
Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0 (Threat: 17)
Extract Crisis: (3)
Struggle for the Cube Continues (Threat: 17)
Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan (Threat: 17)
Paranoia Pummels Populace! (Threat: 16)
But then I heard Pat Dunford talk about his list on Across the Bifrost and, being the incredible tabletop gaming hipster that I am, it turned me off of the Roster quite a bit. Pat had great insights (he is one of, if not the best player in the world) on the list and his one shares a surprising amount of characters with mine though with different evaluations of them. My core would usually be Emma, Lizard, Victor whom Pat had as someone barely making the Roster. All this is not to say that I got turned of of the Affiliation because Pat plays them with great success but because I'm afraid people will think I just tried to copy him, when my Roster was finished weeks before listening to the episode. Would anyone even care? Probably not if I'm being honest to myself. So while not locked in anymore HFC remains a strong contender.
Candidate 2: Pure Strucker Hydra
Strucker is someone who can suprise a lot of people with his really good but also kind of weird leadership.
I've spent a lot of time narrowing the list down and finally came to this conclusion:
Competitive TTS League Strucker
Characters: (10)
---Baron Strucker (Wolfgang von Strucker) Threat: 3
Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) Threat: 4
Baron Zemo (Helmut Zemo) Threat: 3
Viper (Ophelia Sarkissian) Threat: 3
Ghost Rider (Johnathon Blaze) Threat: 5
---Crimson Dynamo (Dimitri Bukharin) Threat: 4
Beta Ray Bill (Bill) Threat: 4
Baron Mordo (Karl Amadeus Mordo) Threat: 3
Pyro (St. John Allerdyce) Threat: 3
Bullseye (Benjamin Poindexter) Threat: 2
Tactics: (10)
Double Agent
Kick 'em While They're Down
Deal With the Devil
Pyrotechnics
Eyes on the Prize
Brace for Impact
Indomitable
Sleeper Agent
Mission Objective
Recalibration Matrix
Secure Crisis: (3)
Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians (Threat: 17)
Intrusions Open Across City as Seals Collapse (Threat: 19)
Mayor Fisk Vows to Find Missing Witnesses (Threat: 16)
Extract Crisis: (3)
Fear Grips World As "Worthy" Terrorize Cities (Threat: 18)
Struggle for the Cube Continues (Threat: 17)
Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership (Threat: 20)
The idea is that everyone hands out conditions like candy and most characters are also very fast. Would I deserve a medal for putting Viper in a competitive Roster? Yes I would. She does fit into Strucker though. She's also among the fastest characters in the game with her Long move and Range 2 place. She also has Stealth making her a great Extract runner who is just overshadowed by the likes of Black Cat and Mystique. Here I would need her to stay affiliated though.
What the list lacks is displacement which might really bother me over the course of a whole season because it's the thing I love most about MCP.
So another possible leadership would be with
Candidate 3: Shadowlands Daredevil
This is my in person and not fully competitive list. Which I will adjust a bit if I am to decide to roll with Matt Murdock. Big plus point here would be the increased likelihood of me getting the 10 games as CS badge on Longshanks.
Competitive TTS SLDD
Characters: (10)
---Shadowland Daredevil (Matt Murdock) Threat: 4
Klaw (Ulysses Klaw) Threat: 5
Killmonger (N'Jadaka) Threat: 4
Agent Venom (Flash Thompson) Threat: 4
---Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) Threat: 4
Hood (Parker Robbins) Threat: 3
Gambit (Remy LeBeau) Threat: 3
Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Nikolaevich Kravinoff) Threat: 3
Moon Knight (Marc Spector) Threat: 3
Bullseye (Benjamin Poindexter) Threat: 2
Tactics: (10)
Hood's Gang
Usurp the Throne
Mind Games
Dark Past
All According To Plan
Cruelty
Shadow Organization
Cruel Tutelage
Brace for Impact
Indomitable
Secure Crisis: (3)
Intrusions Open Across City as Seals Collapse (Threat: 19)
Infinity Formula Goes Missing! (Threat: 17)
Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians (Threat: 17)
Extract Crisis: (3)
Alien Ship Crashes in Downtown! (Threat: 17)
Deadly Legacy Virus Cured? (Threat: 19)
The Montesi Formula Found (Threat: 18)
Next up,
Candidate 4:
A-Force
I love A-Force. Punching like Truck, multiple site 4 throws, Extract shenanigans, fantastic tactics cards, L movers, all great things and all easily accessible in affiliation. Combined with one of the best Leaderships in the game and A-Force sound like the easy pick right?
Sadly no. She-Hulk pays threat for her amazing Leadership and is sadly too easy to take out. Carol Denvers can ruin iHulks day (like in this game against Midnight Sons) but is really really sad when she has to walk somewhere.
But my biggest reason against picking the girls is that their preferred crisisiii are the same as the ones of the meta terrors like Malekith.
Something related to the hipster thing I mentioned with HFC: there is no way I'd ever put a none female character in my A-Force list, drastically reducing the possible character (but that still leaves a whole lot of them though).
Competitive TTS A-Force
Characters: (10)
---She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) Threat: 6
Angela (Aldrif Odinsdottir) Threat: 5
Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) Threat: 4
Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) Threat: 4
Rogue (Anna Marie LeBeau) Threat: 4
Psylocke (Elizabeth Braddock) Threat: 4
Domino (Neena Thurman) Threat: 3
---Storm (Ororo Munroe) Threat: 3
Okoye (Okoye) Threat: 2
Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) Threat: 2
Tactics: (10)
A-Force Assemble!
Special Delivery
Stalwart Determination
Crimson Dawn
On Patrol
Brace for Impact
Patch Up
Mission Objective
Recalibration Matrix
Red Room Training
Secure Crisis: (3)
Gamma Wave Sweeps Across Midwest (Threat: 15)
Demons Downtown! Has Our Comeuppance Come Due? (Threat: 19)
Intrusions Open Across City as Seals Collapse (Threat: 19)
Extract Crisis: (3)
Alien Ship Crashes in Downtown! (Threat: 17)
Deadly Legacy Virus Cured? (Threat: 19)
The Montesi Formula Found (Threat: 18)
Last but by no means least:
Candidate 5: Wakanda
I'm extremely excited about the release of M'Baku and running a core of him, Black Panther and Killmonger every game. What mostly speaks against Wakanda is: will he and his great tactics cards be in the mod in time?
Competitive TTS Wakanda
Characters: (10)
---Hulkbuster (Tony Stark) Threat: 6
---Black Panther (T'Challa) Threat: 4
Vision (Victor Shade) Threat: 4
Killmonger (N'Jadaka) Threat: 4
Shuri (Shuri) Threat: 3
---Storm (Ororo Munroe) Threat: 3
Luke Cage (Luke Cage) Threat: 3
Iron Fist (Danny Rand) Threat: 3
Okoye (Okoye) Threat: 2
---M'Baku (M'Baku) Threat: 4
Tactics: (8)
Helios Laser Bombardment
Heroes for Hire
Usurp the Throne
Vibranium Shielding
Wakanda Forever
Patch Up
Recalibration Matrix
Indomitable
(Gebhari Chieftain)
(Spirit of Wakanda)
Secure Crisis: (3)
Mayor Fisk Vows to Find Missing Witnesses (Threat: 16)
Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0 (Threat: 17)
Infinity Formula Goes Missing! (Threat: 17)
Extract Crisis: (3)
Paranoia Pummels Populace! (Threat: 16)
Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership (Threat: 20)
Fear Grips World As "Worthy" Terrorize Cities (Threat: 18)
Luckily I still have a bit of time to decide. Feel free to comment with any tips or advice.
I'll see you next time with probably a double Spider-Foes batrep.
Until then!