What I want to give you the DC fans is a view into the VS TCG Universe with one of my favorite characters. Thor is without a doubt in my top three, my trinity, but the other two hold near and dear places in my heart, Darkseid and Superman. It is actually hard to say which one is more a favorite of mine as I once thought it was Superman, but when I had to reflect on Superman Comics I owned I noticed they were limited to those issues with Darkseid as the villain in them. Of course I own a lot of Superman product but that is because he is poured into the media more than Darkseid.

Darkseid does not have his own Comic series, but he has his own place in the minds of many and within DC lore. He holds a special place in the VS TCG with respect to deck building, and I have combo’d some of the most annoying Darkseid Deck creations amongst many I am sure.

Here I give you a new Darkseid Deck built spectacularly for the Golden Age format of Versus System.

This decks main combo is focused on the newest Darkseid incarnation on the street,5-cost Darkseid, Destroyer of Life and a golden age Darkseid equipment Beta Club. When DC Legends (DCL) was released I quickly realized it did not have the Legend impact Marvel Legends (MVL) did. In fact there were too many legends on each team to really focus on giving the Legend treatment to specific iconic characters. Darkseid was already a legend though. In the minds of many he was the prototype build of the legend idea back in the Legion of Super Heroes (DLS) set. Mix those cards with all of the other incarnations of Darkseid we have seen over the years and his support cards and well Darkseid is definitely one of the biggest and baddest Legends around in the game. There are 11 of them in total and each is just as formidable as the next. Let’s start looking at our mix.



4 x Darkseid, Destroyer of Life
4 x Beta Club

As our main combo of the deck we definitely want to ensure we are drawing into these before turn 5. Adding 4 of each is maximizing the chances of drawing these cards. Since Beta Club can be equipped to any Darkseid Elite character having 4 of them doesn’t hurt, especially since the cost to recruit it is ZERO. On our 5-cost Darkseid this card has maximum impact amplifying the effects of a character being stunned.

I am a defensive player and I always like to have a back-up plan. Darkseid Destroyer of Life is excellent for this because his own ability is on and off initiative as long as I am able to stun your character it works. But having one Combo in a deck that works is never good enough we need to feel reassured. I pulled this little combo from my previous Darkseid decks. Wiiman hates facing down those decks.



3 x Darkseid, the Omega
3 x the Rock of Eternity

Yeah, pair these two together and it makes for one hell of a Combo. This is a little insurance because I hate playing games and not getting the initiative I wanted. This nice combo makes sure you always have the initiative. I wrote about this combo in some blog entries I posted up on TCGplayer, but the main benefit is that 6-cost Darkseid is Substitute which means you can place The Rock of Eternity into your opponents resource row and have them locked.

I know you are already thinking; which card am I using to get around the uniqueness rule, Ancient Throne or Ancient Evils? I am using Ancient Evils. This deck is almost entirely Darkseid Elite, but Team-Ups are the one resource that is still somewhat protected. Locations can be destroyed and I don’t need no one doing that especially gambling on being able to play these two combos in the game to squeeze the life out of my opponent the way Darkseid is capable of.



4 x Ancient Evils

After addressing my combos for the deck it is safe to say we now need to look at ways we are accelerating card draw and ensuring consistency. Team Darkseid Elite has its own built in Accelerators; Dark Firestorm, Mockery and Darkseid, Apokoliptian Oppressor. These two bad boys are great additions. They are also helping out with our curve. Darkseid, Apokoliptian Oppressor is also adding to our Darkseid Legend them. His high defense is also pivotal in protecting our endurance and staying around into the later turns. With his low attack he really isn’t a suitable character at this point to equip a Beta Club to, but the potential is there as we can safely attack opposing 4 drops if we raise his attack stats.



4 x Dark Firestorm, Mockery
4 x Darkseid, Apokoliptian Oppressor

A sure fire method of accelerating any deck is adding in search, but before we go there we are going to look at another accelerant in the form of Barbara Gordon<>Oracle, Hacker Elite. What is great about her she is a free card draw every turn, her low stats are made up for the fact that she in the Hidden Area. I like her. We need 3 drops and she also has the substitute mechanic, her and Dark Firestorm will work well together switching in and out of play to reap the benefits of their effects.



3 x Barbara Gordon<>Oracle, Hacker Elite

For search Darkseid’s Elite has Created from Hate. This is a nice search card as it requires no discard and only that you use it the turn you wish to search. Only bad part is it allows your opponent reuse of a resource. Now you can get fancy with this and the chain if you want. Other than that we have Mobilize, which is always good. Most deck builders swear by having 8 search cards in a deck. This is also dependant upon any accelerants in your deck. We have 3 at this point and two are sure fire non dependant accelerants. So you have your pick. I am going with 6 search cards at this point in my deck building.



3 x Created from Hate
3 x Mobilize

So we have looked at the Core thus far of our deck. What we need now is to fill it out with its theme. Our main combo is emphasizing attack. Normally I build control decks, but I am going to stick to the realm of attack, attack, attack with this deck. I want the maximum impact on every turn so that on turn 5 I am capable of dealing that lethal blow.

We have a lot of attack pumps in the Golden Age Format. The only reason our deck is Golden Age at this point is because of the inclusion of Beta Club, but it is what I like and what I want so we are going to stick with it. Darkseid has range so we can play him support or front row, but he doesn’t have much in the way of disrupting formations with flight which is something I always like to have. Of those that give flight as well as attack boost are Flying Kick(+3ATK), Swing Line(+2ATK), Rabbit Fire(+2ATK) and Unexpected Assault(+2ATK). We want the attack to be high so we are going with Flying Kick.



4 x Flying Kick

Some good Attack cards also available are Savage Beatdown, Armageddon, Big Leagues, Blinding Rage, Dark Fury, Devastating Blow, and Furious Assault. I’ll rule out Big Leagues for the moment and choose to go with Savage Beatdown from the lot. We are also adding in a staple plot twist for Darkseid that can be used on and off initiative as a combat pump, Lord of Apokolips



4 x Lord of Apokolips
4 x Savage Beatdown

Next I like to address any issues with the deck at this point since we now have fleshed out our strategy. We are going for a bruiser Darkseid, in the mix fight. What happens if my Team-Up, Ancient Evils doesn’t arrive on time, or if it is dealt with by my opponent? I need a way to circumnavigate this, and Curse of Darkness is an awesome choice. It will also allow me to abuse Dark Firestorm and Darkseid, The Omega should the need arise. It also enables me to protect characters I want to remain on the board.



4 x Curse of Darkness

Rounding out my curve is an important issue. I know what my curve looks like on turn 3, 5 and 6 definitively. Turn 2 is a crucial point and I definitely want to ensure I am not being attacked repeatedly without aide. Two of my favorites 2-cost character for Darkseid’s Elite are the new and old Desaad and Dark Lantern. Dark Lantern Helps us to really pressure our opponents on attacks as he protects our attackers from being stunned. Desaad is a failsafe so long as he can remain unhidden and unharmed. He could also have the capability of clearing a board. We can use his ability at a relatively low cost as we can KO him to his own effect. The old Desaad works just as well with out theme, but he is visible and I don’t feel like protecting him, you can if you like



4 x Dark Lantern, Mockery
4 x Desaad, Dark Side Therapy (or Desaad, Royal Torturer)

On turn 7 and Turn 8 I need to be able to effectively deal with any Opposing 7 and 8 –cost characters. I really do not want to get into these later turns so I am not planning on being here. I have consistency in my early game and search which means I am at liberty here to be free with my choices. Here is the idea. If I am going into turn 7 one of two things has occurred.

A. I was not able to muster up enough attack in order to finish my opponent off on Turn 5
B. I was not able to muster up enough attack in order to finish my opponent off on Turn 6

There really is not other way for the game to be into Turn 7 unless I have losses. I am always willing to lay down my king, much like dread lord Darkseid if my plan has failed. Darkseid is also a mental giant and he like to play games so your opponents is going to expect you to play Darkseid, Apokolips Now on 7, instead we will choose his lesser



1 x Kara Zor-El<>Supergirl, Female Fury
1 x Superman, False Son

The title of the Site is Darkseid’s Revenge and what better displays of that than these two puppets. On turn 8 we will once again see the Lord of Apokolips. It is my favorite incarnation of Darkseid at the slot. He simply says KO all other characters. He will be the only one left standing. For me I have no problem with that.



1 x Darkseid, Lord of Apokolips

Notice there are no 1-cost characters. I don’t particularly care for any of the ones available to Darkseid’s Elite. Other notable choices could have been Brimstone, Engine of Destruction or Dark Kryptonian<>Dark Superboy, Mockery.

So here is the Deck:

Destroyer of Life

Characters
3 x Darkseid, the Omega
3 x Barbara Gordon<>Oracle, Hacker Elite
4 x Darkseid, Destroyer of Life
4 x Dark Firestorm, Mockery
4 x Darkseid, Apokoliptian Oppressor
4 x Dark Lantern, Mockery
4 x Desaad, Dark Side Therapy (or Desaad, Royal Torturer)
1 x Kara Zor-El<>Supergirl, Female Fury
1 x Superman, False Son
1 x Darkseid, Lord of Apokolips

Equipment
3 x Beta Club

Locations
3 x the Rock of Eternity

Plot Twist
4 x Ancient Evils
3 x Created from Hate
3 x Mobilize
4 x Flying Kick
4 x Lord of Apokolips
4 x Savage Beatdown
4 x Curse of Darkness

We’ll get into how the Deck works in the next part of our series.