Welcome to Frogtown: Take a Loki this card!
Posted by rorschachinkblog on May 2, 2008
When DC Legends was being spoiled, I was able to get my hands on a doozy of a card to spoil. Mirror Image was an interesting idea, giving you a relatively cheap search card in the mold of Secret Origins, but has a very specific drawback. In addition to having to play an opponent’s character, it is necessary that they pack multiple copies of the same character.
This card is also a generic card, but it is in many ways, the mirror image of Mirror Image. While Mirror Image allowed you to create an evil doppelganger of a character that your opponent packed multiples of, this card changes your opponent’s choice of drop between his various 1-ofs.
It’s important to read it carefully. My initial reading was way off the mark, thinking this was a card that would be much more difficult to pull off. However, in case the card text is a bit too daunting, here is a very simple explanation of what the card does:
Your opponent has to replace one of their characters with either another version of the same character OR another character at the same drop. This is going to be based on what ends up revealed first. Like with Mirror Image, it is important to understand what kind of deck your opponent is playing to really make use of this card.
One example, would be World’s Finest, the deck that ended up in 1st place of the top 8 for Mega Weekend Chicago. On turn 5, there is Superman, Metropolis Marvel; Superman, Man of Tommorow; and Cassandra Cain, Death’s Daughter. The Metropolis Marvel is especially difficult to deal with, but with this card, you’d likely end up with someone that is easier to go up against.
There are other situations where it is useful. A character like Radioactive Man, Containment Suit for example. Certain characters accumulate counters, either with +1/+1 counters, or even a character with Cosmic-Surge. By forcing an opponent to replace a copy of, for example, Beast Boy, Garfield Logan, even if is replaced with another copy of the same character, the number of accumulated +1/+1 counters lost is still relevant. In fact, the best use of this card may perhaps end up being a means to eliminate a character with a ton of +1/+1 counters. With the number of effects we’ve seen starting to pop up in Marvel Universe, in addition to the ones from the Age of Apocalypse set and from the Doom Patrol, that give out +1/+1 counters.
Another thing we’ve started seeing is legendary equipment. This card, even if it replaces a character with another version of itself, will eliminate any equipment attached to the first character. While this suffers some of the problems that other equipment hate have faced, namely that it targets the equipped character, this is still only really an issue tied to BPRD Signal Device and Cloak of Nabu. Also, with some characters, like Quicksilver, Inhuman By Marriage, being targetted by multiple plot twists during the Build Phase, being forced to replace him can also cause some irritation. Combined with characters that would prevent the opponent from playing plot twists effectively during the combat phase, such as Batman, Problem Solver, would mean that the opponent may not be able to feel as safe using the turn long plot twists.
Another interesting use would be to annoy a player who is substituting out their legend to avoid replacing him. For example, a World’s Finest type of deck is replacing their 3-drop Batman with Barbara Gordon <> Oracle, Hacker Elite because they are about to recruit Batman, Cape and Cowl. If you wait for the right moment, you can even play this card while Batman, Cape and Cowl is waiting to come into play. You are running a bit of a risk that your opponent is running more copies of Batman, Problem Solver and Batman, Founding Member than they are running copies of Oracle.
Yesterday’s card, the Winter Soldier, adds an interesting twist to this card. On the one hand, using this against the Winter Soldier would either get rid of him completely, or at least reset his sniper counter count. On the other hand, using it with the Winter Soldier gives you a way to get another sniper counter by forcing an opponent’s character into play, without actually giving him extra characters.
However you use it, make sure to make frog puns when you play the card. After your opponent is forced to replace a useful or countered up character, make sure to ribbit in.
Posted in Limited, Modern, Previews, Vs System | Tagged: Preview Marvel Universe Thor-Toad | 4 Comments »
