Rambling MEV Thoughts…

So the new set is out, and complete spoilers are literally everywhere. The team I’ve been wanting to play in VS since day one, Runaways, is out and more than competitive. Although getting the rares together might be a problem (isn’t it always?) I suspect that Nico Minoru and her pals are going to make an excellent showing in Hobby Leagues everywhere from now on.

Also, I have to thank and TBS and Mr. Zonos for letting me preview not one, but three amazing cards. It would have been nice to preview Runaways, but honestly I think Mystique and Nightcrawler are a little more my style. Marauders is definitely going to get some play from me, right after I can throw together some decent Runaways and Starjammers decks.

• I LOVE STARJAMMERS! Even with only a handful of cards they are totally playable, and with the right team-up they will be very annoying.
• We got a Beak card. We got a Fantomex and Stepford Cuckoos card. Life is good.
• Having an uncommon tutor and all, I think Marauders are going to be the most played team in the set. There is a very potent deck to be made, even without all of the triple legend stuff.
• Arkham Discard is really, really okay with 6-drop Gambit.
• And I don’t know why people are complaining about the Gambit legend. Some of his cards are absurdly powerful, and you can always play 2-drop MVL Gambit over the MEV 2-drop.
• I have read the Shift rules a million times and I still don’t quite get it. I’m glad I have so many copies of Empire’s End and Clandestine Operations.
• Really simple (and effective!) utility cards like 2-drop Beast get me more excited than you’ll ever know. I may have to throw together an X-Babies deck for Random Punks.
• 4-drop Cyclops will also likely show up in Nu X-Babies.
• Vertigo is really, really powerful. Combat is basically dead in this game now.
• The Cable legend looks like a lot of fun. I wish I weren’t poor.
• The fact that I can’t build an OG X-Factor curve (Iceman, Jean, Cyke, Beast, Angel) without teaming up with X-Men really kind of bothers me.

And that’s mostly it! I  can’t wait to start playing with the new cards (I think a lot of pre-releases in the area are probably next week due to the holidays) but I’m already brainstorming on some clever uses for these cards. Excellent stuff.

Exclusive MEV Previews: Nightcrawler, Brimstone Cowboy and In Ze Munich Circus!

Apparently the set is out, the cards are spoiled, and the party is over… but I’ve never been on time for anything. Lasst uns gelganen die Feier aufgerustet…

Pretty much since his creation Nightcrawler has been one of the most popular X-Men ever. A lot of that is owed to the distinctive look given to him by Dave Cockrum. But much moreso than other X-Men who look cool and generally lack in substance (I’m looking at you Psylocke) Nightcrawler has a rich history and a lot of interesting character bits to draw from.

Chief among those is his devout faith, and his generally pacifist nature. This, and the nature of his teleportation powers, have made him an invaluable supporting player within the group for years. How many times has Nightcrawler teleported someone out of harm’s way over the years? Answer: A lot.

Now we finally have not one, but two cards to show our furry blue friend doing what he does best!

Starjammers Baby!

I must say, Kamiza’s excellent MEV Polaris preview has me excited for a variety of reasons. First of all, Lorna Dane is one of my favorite characters, and has been ever since she kicked Krakoa’s ass back in the early days of Uncanny. Secondly, and most importantly, she has the STARJAMMERS affiliations!

As a public service I’m going to try and answer all of your Starjammers-related questions, but mostly just one.

Who are the Starjammers?

If there was ever a team that so clearly defined ‘D-List’ it would be the Starjammers. They are best known for appearing in several X-Men/Shi’Ar stories, but have worked alongside others heroes in the past such as The Defenders.

The Starjammers are a ragtag group of space pirates/freedom fighters led by Cyclops’ long-lost father, Corsair. Whenever there is trouble with the Shi’Ar Empire it’s likely that Corsair and the Starjammers are somehow involved. They have fought for the good of the universe on several occasions, often joining forces with Empress Lilandra whenever she gets overthrown in a violent coup (which seem to happen quite often. Go figure.)

9 Reasons I Already Love MEV

With preview season rolling around I thought it would be good to recap the reasons why I already love the new Marvel Evolutions set. I can’t believe it’s time for another set already.

1. Cyclops Legend: Regardless of how you feel about the character, Cyclops has always been a central figure in the X-Verse and he is long overdue for Legend status. I imagine it will have something to do with his leadership role on the team rather than his optic blasts, but either would be a lot of fun to see represented in card form.

Plus this clears the way for Storm, Beast and other longtime X-Men favorites to receive Legends treatment someday. I mean, we’re getting Blink and still don’t have Storm? Seriously?