Thor, Donald Blake
Cost 8
Asgardians
Visible
20/19
Flight/Range
Game Text: Whenever Thor stuns an opposing character, you may discard your hand. If you do, stun each character with cost equal to the cost of a card discarded this way.
Flavor Text: “Son of Odin, God of Thunder; who commands the lightning and the storm. I am Thor!”
Illus: Oliver Coipel
MUN-247

It’s been awhile, almost too long since we have seen Thor in the Versus System TCG and I want to take my time in breaking this card down for new players and old players alike. I really want to define the flavor of this card and its version for the old players and put it into perspective for the new ones. This card definitely deserves to be reviewed with justice. Basically, I want to do what Darkseid Revenge is known for and that is bringing the source material to the card. First though I know what everyone wants to know about and that’s the Game Text, what does Thor do as an 8-cost character card?

Thor’s ability really has to be taken into context. First let me point out the flavor and why the heavy cost of discarding your hand. When Thor or Odin would exert this kind of power they had to enter a sleep state in order to restore that power, during this Thorsleep (new fans) or Odinsleep (old fans) the lords of Asgard were highly susceptible to attack. Thor is smart enough in his new series to take into account this vulnerability by having a coffin built that will protect him in this Thorsleep. It is as if there is a reservoir and that reservoir of power can be tapped for amazing feats, but has to be refilled, and the cost is usually high for tapping into that power.

No more evident is this than when Thor chose to awake all of the Asgardians from their mortal forms in the new series (Thor #6) and falls to the Earth like a rock exhausted from this feat. Discarding an entire hand in order to stun your opponents board is not such a bad thing when you look at the possible rewards and mix that with flavor. That the card gives you the option is even better. I would hate if you had to discard your hand any time you stunned a character.


Okay so now let’s talk about the power and let me point out one thing first and foremost:

***THERE IS NO USE OF THE WORD TARGET***

I point this out because every card we have received thus far everyone has been so quick to say Pathetic Attempt beats that because of the “TARGET” word. It’s becoming as if that is a cuss word in our game. Well now we have a card that Pathetic Attempt doesn’t beat, there is no targeting at all, so PA isn’t getting around Thor, Batman isn’t stopping Thor, there is little to stop Thor when he is determined and this card shows it. Next, notice that there is no conditional phase use, it doesn’t say defender or attacker, and the card doesn’t have any conditions, which makes the effect great on and off initiative.

On initiative this card is great simply because if you attack into the opposing 8 cost character you can stun the opponent’s entire board. Off initiative the card still works because your opponent has to ensure that whatever character they send into Thor has is not stunned as the attack concludes. Even if your opponent attacks him last it still doesn’t guarantee that their board isn’t stunned in return, which could be crucial in close games, especially in limited play.

*Editorial Note: An over sight by myself was the "each character" in the game text, so excited about the effect that i failed to see this will affect your characters as well. This card definitely works on initiative for its controller better than it does off initiative that taken into account. Thanks CS Spud for the quick eyes. Thor is the new Black Bolt with a associated card cost, he is a last man standing type effect. Still a very powerful and far-reaching destructive effect.

Now, keep in mind that I am not saying this effect will trigger every game. We barely make it to turn 8 in a lot of competitive games, so that means you are playing Thor in Stall and Curve Decks. Even then most would be prone to play other 8-cost characters, but we have yet to see what the rest of this team can do! In a normal curve deck you are probably carrying 3 6-cost characters, 2 7-cost characters and 1 8-cost character. So you have 3 character cards in your deck that will enable this effect to really pay dividends on turn 8. If you happen to have some search cards in hand then that’s great as well because you are sure to have at least 1 out of those 3 characters. There aren’t too many plot twist that you would really pack in your deck that have a cost of 5 or more, but that doesn’t mean these cards will not be without their uses against rush decks. Also take into account Limited play where you are building your deck to maximize on character drops to ensure you don’t miss a character, which is costly in limited. Thor could be the best thing on turn 8 to hit the field. Even if you only manage to get rid of a 7 cost character then it still helps. There is not even stamping to the cards you discard, you just have to associate card cost.

There are only two cards in the entire game of versus that beats Thor that come to mind at this time. One because of this associated card cost, Superman, Last Son of Krypton. The other is 9-cost Superman, Bulletproof who can’t be stunned while ready. Go figure 2 of my trinity would be standing face to face with each other. (For those that don’t know my trinity is Superman, Darkseid and Thor, although with Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning writing Nova, Superman may be taking a backseat to Nova joining the three.)Now let’s get into the character and the rest of the card.

Who is the God of Thunder?

I would argue one of the greatest moving forces in the Marvel Universe, you don’t believe me? You have met some of his biggest opponents in other titles. While his current ongoing series is doing really well and flying off the shelves of every retail comic book store prior iterations were not so successful. The largest issue plaguing these past volumes had to be the trappings of Asgard itself. Everything about Thor’s old series seemed to be trapped in the realm of Asgard with him fighting Frost Giants, Trolls and a constantly bothersome “brother,” Loki. The current volume spear-headed by J. Michael Straczynski goes a long way to re-imagine the God of Thunder, placing him squarely in the 21st century and in Marvel ongoing continuity.



Thor’s oft popularity definitely came down to those moments when he was teamed up with the Avengers or other teams. His own personal battles against Celestials, Thanos, Gladiator and even the likes of Galactus often go overlooked. I would credit the Ultimates series with a lot of Thor’s current popularity. He is featured, spotlighted, as the God of Thunder in a manner that allows him to integrate with the world around him. Straczynski may have honed in on this perspective and decided placing Asgard in the heartland of America would serve Thor better.

Thor hasn’t really integrated as of yet into current Marvel affairs, but I can’t imagine it being too long before the Skrull Invasion is at his doorstep. The Skrulls have not kept it a secret that he is one of those characters in the Marvel Universe they fear. They haven’t even accounted for his return which could play a larger role in his return. So we know Thor is not a Skrull, thank God, because I would definitely have been upset to read 10 issues of the exciting return of Thor to be told by Bendis that this isn’t Thor! I probably would have flipped Marvel “the Bird” forever after a debacle like that. I imagine a lot of readers are feeling that way since every character in the Marvel Universe is subject to the Spidey, “Ben Reilly” treatment.

This current Thor takes us back to the beginning, Thor and Donald Blake. There have been multiple Thor identities, but this is the original incarnation. The Donald Blake persona is a centerpiece to the return of Thor in the new series and Straczynski crafts it very well in his retelling of Thor, placing great importance on the symbiotic relationship between the Thunder God and his Alter Ego. When Odin was satisfied that Thor had learned his lesson in humiliating he discarded the persona and Donald Blake ceased to exist. After the events of Ragnarok, Donald Blake was restored from the limbo we find Thor sleeping in Thor #1. The importance of the symbiotic nature of these two identities has been explored to great depth and I hope Straczynski continues on this path as I believe it pleases old fans.


Let’s start by looking at the NAME and VERSION. THOR, DONALD BLAKE says a lot about how the boys over at UDE are looking at Thor now. Just as a history there has been many versions of Thor over his tenure in Marvel; Eric Masterson, and Red Norvell are two of the other more prominent identities, but Dr. Donald Blake has been the most important identity for Thor throughout the ages. When Thor returned it was the Donald Blake persona that took up the mantle once again. Straczynski is going to great lengths in the new Thor ongoing series to illustrate the importance of this symbiotic relationship as well. Thor #1 dealt exclusively at great length with this symbiotic relationship and how it served as the catalyst for Thor’s return. I am happy the first character card for Thor we are seeing in a long time bares the version Donald Blake.


At a Threshold Cost of 8 there is no doubt that this Thor is returning to the scene with just as much impact as he did in the comics, with a lot of power! This isn’t just Thor, this is the leader of Asgard, and here we have the God of Thunder who broke the cycle of Ragnarok. It is interesting that last week’s clue to the cards we would see this week was “the beginning and the end.” Yes, we have Alpha Flight previews as well, but this reference could be applied to the cycle of Ragnarok in the Norse mythology. Either way if you want to see why we got an 8-cost Thor since his long hiatus, no need to go far just check out Thor #1-3 (Check out the scans it’s up on my blog).


Thor’s power doesn’t stop with his Threshold Cost; at 20/19 he has decent stats’ for his cost. Add FLIGHT and RANGE to that and you definitely have a powerhouse. The FLIGHT stat may irk some as his actual ability to fly is “supposed” to be fueled by Mjolnir, but that has always been a point of contention with the character. Even when we were creating our Fantasy Cards in the VS Reflection series we questioned this. I am glad UDE decided he should have Flight.

Oliver Coipel’s work on the Thor series has really grown on me and I love his rendition of Thor, I am still trying to find a poster of the new Thor, I prefer Turner’s Thor #1 Variant cover, but Coipel’s work would be great as well. This image here I believe is during the first three issues when Thor is actually raising Asgard off of the ground. The flavor texts throws me off a little just because of context, it almost seems like we have the self-assured arrogant Thor, instead of the leader that Straczynski is painting in the new ongoing series, which doesn’t compliment the rest of the card, but I still like the quote.

The biggest thing about this card that has me thrilled is the AFFILIATION, ASGARDIANS. We haven’t seen this affiliation ever in Versus and it’s great because I was hoping that we would not get an Avengers affiliated Thor. He is no longer an Avenger; in fact he and the rest of the Asgardians are entities all to themselves. They are taking up residence in America and as Diplomats because not even the U.S. government or Iron Man knows what to do with them. Open up Mighty Avengers #14 and the Skrulls don’t even know what to do about him, he is one of those characters in the Marvel Universe that they can’t mimic to full potential and are worried about greatly with regards to their invasion. I really am hoping we get other Asgardians in the set other than Thor and Loki that will allow this team to be viable or at least hints of the team as they could appear fully in Marvel Evolutions later this year, but I am pleased to just see this affiliation in the game, which is promising.


So we have an 8-cost Thor for MUN, I hope we see an Ultimates version of Thor in MUL, especially since he served as a centerpiece for Marvel Ultimates Volume 1 and 2. I wouldn't be too shocked to see at the very least a new Mjolnir equipment card for Thor in this set. TBS and the creative crew have appeased this VS TCG player either way. I hope you enjoyed the review minue my faux pas. If you are a Thor fan stay tuned to Darkseid Revenge for the review of Thor #9.

This week fans got what they wanted from the boys over at UDE, Annihilus and his wave of destruction. I think most were pleased with the cards churned out to support the new incarnation of the Negative Zone, I know VSU was and he definitely showed his knowledge of Annihilus with his exclusive preview on TCGplayer. Well after weeks of preview my blog was starting to get really long and trying to keep up with daily previews and letting you all know my take on the cards along with my weekly comic reviews the task was becoming daunting. This week I decided to wait till the very end. Doing so also enabled me to get back on top of creating the MWS sets. The MUN, DCX, and MUL sets are all up to date and I suggest that you all download them and start preparing for Worlds which is right on the heels of New York. If you haven’t updated any of the old sets and they are listed here on the blog I suggest you update those as well. Rapidshare sucks I know and I am in the process of creating one huge download file for Megaupload and Rapidshare for everyone, give me time, until then you will have to settle for Wiiman’s VSbase files as he updates them.



Now onto the reviews, let’s look at the Negative Zone locations as the team really hinges on these primarily. If you do not control the Negative Zone locations then your team suffers greatly. That should not be a problem though as there are 4 Non-Unique Negative Zone locations in Marvel Universe, couple that with the other Negative Zone Locations in the game and you have a new Deep Green Deck, which also brings us to another preview Card Thanos, The Mad Titan, but more on that later. I have to say I am happy that Ahmed is out of the Modern Age rotation as I would hate to see him around at Worlds. Negative Zone, Prison Alpha shows a potential team-up at the very least a bid by R&D to keep the games color wheel down to a minimum. But for flipping this bad boy you get to play around with characters on the board and move them around. This ought to be great for anyone trying to get directly at your opponents endurance, but other than that you really have to look at the team and question when the timing will be right to use it. Negative Zone, Gateway packs a really delightful punch for a 2 card discard cost. I can see how this could play into an S.H.I.E.L.D./ Negative Zone team-up, bounce those characters and use them as fuel for the fire.



We got to preview not just one, but two incarnations of Annihilus, an 8-cost and a 5-cost. The 5-cost version, Annihilus, Anti-Matter Master, has definite stamps to it, the character has to be hidden and you can only use it during your attack step, which also makes it difficult to figure out what initiative you want, even or odds. The 5-cost definitely shows how Negative Zone characters work with the Negative Zone locations. If you don’t control one then your characters are hindered, but this also works well with Negative Zone, Prison Alpha if you are playing against decks without hidden characters. It definitely is not a bad incarnation of Annihilus. I actually like it better than the 8-cost version, Annihilus, The Living Death that Walks. The 8-cost version has a Juggernaut like effect where it pretty much guarantees the game will not be going into a turn 9, even if it does it is almost a point of concession because you are left crippled if not totally lobotomized, remember the Negative Zone locations are Non-Unique.



My favorite character from the Annihilation series on the side of evil was Blastaar. I just like the lion-bear look. Versus pumped out a new 7-cost incarnation, Blastaar, The Living Bomb Burst that keeps with the Negative Zone team theme of out of combat stuns. You really can’t complain about out of combat stuns. This one suffers from the same Negative Zone location controls. The team is at this point acting in the same manner as the Galactus Raid Decks. The locations are going to fuel this team. There is not going to really be a way to control the use of Negative Zone locations, you would really be packing your deck specifically against these locations. As VSU Dragon pointed out you can’t even pack enough Pathetic Attempts to deal with all these effects, so stop saying PA beats this and that. You probably won’t even draw into all four PA plot twist in any one given game. Now in limited this team could be completely hindered, both versions of Negative Zone locations we have seen have been rare and using these characters during the turn they come out relies on you controlling that location.



Along with Blastaar we got everyone’s favorite seeker of the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos. Surprisingly it is a 3-cost version of Thanos, The Mad Titan. His ability is very Ahmed like, but to the next level. It works well with his Underworld affiliation as well because it plays with the KO’d pile. I really think this card has been the most flavorful of all the preview cards released thus far. I mean the ability was chalked up to both team affiliations and fits well with both teams, does that mean there is a possible team-up that can be pulled into the picture that may be playable, I can’t say, I am not a huge fan of either team and have only built one Underworld deck just because of the Ghost Rider cards, Zarathos and Noble Kale.

Today we got plot twist support card for Annihilus that is sure to be in every Annihilus based deck, Swarm of Annihilus.



I thought the team was already showing the potential for enough out of combat stuns, but they went and added more. Pathetic Attempt will not be enough to keep up with all these effects in the game. You could have up to 8 Negative Zone locations in play and use this card, the potential for this team is raising to new heights and I am sure all fans of the Negative Zone are happy to see these effects.

Well that is my take on the Negative Zone week that we just experienced. Look to the right and you should see Marvel Universe (MUN) in the MWS sets. That’s because all cards up till today’s preview are ready for play. I will not be updating this file daily. Next Friday come back and find more Marvel Universe in your MWS sets. I hate OCTGN, but Flashback is creating sets for those who adore it. Again, don’t forget to join Darkseid.servegame.com on MWS to play with all the other VS fanatics. If you haven’t pre-order any MUN product please do so, it is really pre-orders that drive the supply for the product and if we love the game do what you can to help out.
Later this weekend I will be posting Comic Book reviews for JLA #21, JSA #15 and the Mighty Avengers #14. I know many of you have probably been wondering what have been up with the DC titles, but other than these two I haven’t had much reason to post anything DC related. Final Crisis kicks of this week and I thought it best to prepare you all for the torrent of comic reviews that will be coming this year along with the Marvel Titles. Vote for Darkseid Revenge and enjoy.

Almost forgot you can now enjoy my reviews and rants over on TCGplayer as well. Just look for the featured blogs and hopefully I’ll get spotlighted. I want to thank Mike for putting that into the works, which also gives a place for discussions for any of my comic reviews. Clicking on the title to any article will take you directly to TCGplayer forums where you can feel free to get in on the discussion.

Today we play catch-up review for all the MUN goodies that have been previewed over the course of the week. We have one more coming down the line tomorrow and that will be added to this entry tomorrow. We also have some more cards from MUL and news about release celebrations this week for MUN. Let’s deal with our MUN previews first.

Coming hot off the press from VS System.com Rian Fike got everyone all excited about Crime Lords week with James Barnes Winter Soldier and Death Warrant. Rian Fike does what Rian Fike does and that is getting the players excited. I have to admit I was excited about Crime Lords week when I saw these two cards, especially, Death Warrant.

James Barnes Winter Soldier is a terrific card. The ability is reflective of his marksmanship abilities. Don’t know who James Barnes is? Well, then I know you don’t read comics; He is our current Captain America and Captain America’s former sidekick, Bucky. The card art is awesome; Steve Epting did this for some promotional artwork for the Captain America series. Some of you are probably wondering why Captain America’s sidekick is a bad guy, well that was due to a lot of brainwashing by the Russians who also gave him the cyborg arm. This card’s only drawback is that to use the ability James Barnes must be placed on top of your deck, which will limit you on your draw for the next turn so you better have a way to get him off the top of your deck to make him extremely beneficial. I would have said that having a defender with reinforcement as part of the cards use also limits him, but this is the Crime Lords team and not too many teams are better at reinforcement tricks than the Crime Lords.



Death Warrant was another of those cards that was previewed over on VS System.com and got a little bit of attention. Well deserved attention I will add. Death Warrant is the first card we have seen in the game that allows you to attach equipment to your opponent’s characters. There are only a couple of things that you will have to consider when doing this; make sure your opponent has already gone through their recruitment first because there will be a number of way they will get out of its effect and then next ensure that you have a way of stunning their character. This card seems like an off-initiative play to me, but I could be wrong, I am not a rule Nazi and I haven’t seen all Crime Lords has to offer as of yet.



Players finally got what they wanted in getting a printed Mandarin Card, absent of hands this card still demonstrates his ability to use the 10 power rings to their fullest. No way is UDE going to print 10 ring equipment cards, I hope not, so we make the ability attached to 10 other items in the VS TCG, and that is simply 10 cards to stun any 1 character. Truthfully it seems like a lot for a stun and thus far this week we haven’t seen any draw accelerants for the team previewed. At a 3 cost of visible I am not so sure this card will see a lot of play anyway because it will more than likely be gone from the board when it could be used to effectiveness or under dropped for. Deciding on whether I want to discard 10 cards that could potentially help in greater ways is also a decision that is not going to make game play easier. All in all this is definitely a good entry for the Mandarin. If you want to know why Mandarin doesn’t have those hands anymore you may want to go and pick up some back issues of Iron Man’s current series. I am not that big of an Iron Man fan if a fan at all. I rather watch Thor whoop on his ass. The Mandarin was previewed over on Vs-Blog.com.



Yesterday we got a treat to an Original nemesis of Captain America, Red Skull. This Nazi has had more show downs with the Cap than any and has been the namesake of three different villains two posing as the original because of how feared the original was. Well here we have Red Skull acting as the anti-Cap, as Captain Spud from Lost Hemisphere pointed out, yeah, let me post that side by side for you to see clearly. The ability is nothing short of amazing and the only thing I question is why this card is a common, at worst it’s an uncommon for sure, at best a lower end rare. That’s for the boys over at UDE though, I’m just happy to see such an effect. I promise to post a deck breaking this card with a number of my favorites, especially the likes of Vengeance, Batman and Darkseid as usual. This will be the first “money” common of the VS TCG. It will wreak havoc in constructed and be a want in limited. Go check out the preview on readrant.wordpress.com



Today we got HYDRA, Armageddon Carrier over on realms. Walter Kovacs pointed out a very interesting note about the synergy that seems to exist between SHIELD and HYDRA, especially with Thor, Cyborg Clone. This card just added to the fog over my eyes for this team. It’s another discard effect, but everyone has to be asking with all of the discard effects where is the KO’d pile recursion. Draw to fuel these effects is fine, but at some point I am wearing down my deck and getting rid of valuable cards.



I don’t know how the boys over at UDE keep rolling these cards out, but they are and to top things of we have 3 new MUL previews and some more spoilers about MUL, especially one that will get my panties in a bunch, more on that later, but right now look at these MUL goodies…



TBS responded to the cries over on VSrealms about a desire for a spoiler list, some people are just never happy, but one card has me intrigued, Thou Art no Thor!.

I could speculate but i am sure we know this is probably from the battle between Hercules and Cyborg Thor in the Civil War series. I would love to get myself worked up in belief that this is hint at an actual Thor card or two, but i can't say for sure and I am just hoping at this point. Here is a list of some other spoilers TBS let out...

M.O.D.O.K., Mental Organism Only Designed for Killing * AIM
Hulkbuster Armor
Wolverine, Agent of SHIELD *
HydraSentinel Squad O*N*E*, Army
Thou art no Thor!
Cosmic Cube
Cosmic Control Rod
I am Doom
Silver Surfer, The Silver Savage
Abomination, Emil Blonsky
The Beyonder, Inhuman
What If?

Hope that gets you excited about MUN!

Marvel Universe Previews have been awesome. We are about a month away from its release and I have to admit, UDE has done a great job with releasing previews early and generating interest. I am seeing new faces on the boards and hype all over the blogs of people excited and anticipating the MUN set. All I need now is to see either Thor cards or viable United Front cards to lure my dollars out of my pocket for a case of the product. I am seriously considering that at this point as it is a huge set and something definitely that is very marketable, especially with it’s ripped from the comic’s flavor.

If you are reading comics right now and looking for a game that portrays your favorite characters then VS System is a great start. The Marvel Universe Expansion is tentatively set for release on June 10, 2008. The game touts great hobby league support and an all around community of players.

If you want more information go to http://www.vssystem.com/ for news on the game and upcoming events, don’t forget to stop by http://www.tcgplayer.com/ and http://www.vsrealms.com/ for access to the minds that have allowed the game to flourish. And as always remember if you want to play the game online to get a taste for what is going on, download MWS at http://www.magicworkstation.com/ and the sets will always be here for download. If you have any question then feels free to ask.

This weeks Marvel Universe Previews are based off a legendary team in their own rights, The Illuminati. Some fan favorite characters take center stage with this team as it consist of only 6 members; Iron Man, Professor X, Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Strange, Sub-Mariner and Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans.

These 6 men remain in the shadows trying to lead the super-hero community and maintain the balance. All of them are legends in their own rights, together they are an undeniable force. Many players are hyped with anticipation to get there hands on some of these cards. So why don’t we take a look.

To start the week we got an in-depth understanding from The Ben Seck over on vssystem.com about the illuminati. The mere fact that he informed us that this is not a traditional team in the game was astounding, but then we got some reveals from him that were simply amazing and definitely deck inspiring. First off the assembly line was a new version of Iron Man; Iron Man, Protector of the Reality Gem.



This card is a little shocking to me because it is a hidden version of Iron Man and it is dual affiliated with Infinity Watch and Avengers. Okays so the hidden part has to be a part of team theme, but the Infinity Watch affiliation opens up some doors for the Infinity Watch team we saw in the Heralds of Galactus expansion. I for one loved Moon Dragon, and the Infinity Gems, but wasn’t willing to spend my time trying to make that deck work, although T’Challa over on VSrealms did.

This card is very nice, along with being an average 5 stat’d character the ability is something I can’t really say we have seen before on a character card if any card in the game. Iron Man in a hidden area with any two other Illuminati members exhaust controls your opponents effectively and as you all probably know from my Darkseid deck I love control and defense. So on Turn 5 we are in the hidden area with a 3-cost and a 4-cost, maybe even a 1 and 2-cost character if your opponent doesn’t have any hidden hate, means you can effectively exhaust your opponents highest cost character in play. That is a nifty ability, especially when you consider some of those higher cost character that are game breaking that now exist. This is also a great way to deal with the Hulk Warbound Loner Strategy, a hidden Illuminati puts a freeze on everything that big boy wants to do to ransack your endurance. With flight and range and this ability this may have been a good contender for a rare entry. I guess stamping his ability for only once per turn changed that.

The Illuminati is turning out to be a pretty bad ass team because we also had a search card preview for the team in Secret Government.



Let me explain the significance of this card for those who may not understand. It is a Bat-Signal search effect at worst, but the great part is that it searches for any member of the Illuminati. That is regardless of their team affiliation, they just have to be one of the 6 listed members of the Illuminati, and this clearly defines the team as more than a team, but an entity and organization that exist outside the boundaries, that’s a lot of flavor in a card.



The last card Ben Seck gave us wasn’t something too thrilling, but it showed the various members of the Illuminati were receiving direct support cards. Mr. Fantastic was up first and much like Mr. Fantastic has been in previous incarnations we got a deck filter in The 100 ideas. Yes if you can figure out a way to place cards on the bottom of your deck to have a better idea of what you are going to grab then this is simple card draw at its best. When you look at other members of the Illuminati, like Sub-Mariner and Dr. Strange who happen to exist on a team called the Marvel Defenders and you quickly take note of some of the plot twist that exist for those teams, placing what you want on the bottom of your deck should not be too hard.

Cards that come to mind are definitely a plot twist called The Illuminati, Consulting the Orb, and Sanctum Sanctorum.



On Tuesday we had the preview Infinity Gauntlet over on VSrealms podcast The Ring Has Chosen. This cards fanfare depends strictly on other cards we get to see later in the week as no one knows how easy it will be to get 6 Illuminati members in the field of play at one given time. This card presents the same problem as having all of the Infinity Gems in your hand or in play. The effect is definitely powerful if you do, what is crazy ridiculous about this card is managing to pull off having 6 Illuminati members in play to use this card and having the equipment card The Infinity Gauntlet in play. We have seen some speedy ways to get all 6 gems in your hand, and they have very good effects, I don’t see why the dual process could not be explored. Imagine wrecking your opponent in the late game utterly when the two Infinity Gauntlet cards are in your hand. Just a thought and a combo I will aim to use if Black Bolt looks remotely playable for this team.

Today Kamiza wowed us with The Elektra situation. I am a huge fan of the things Kamiza has done for the VS community, from his website over on the-Kamiza.com
To the VS Network (Don’t forget to vote for Darkseid Revenge) and his work with UDE. He is somewhat of a celeb and he keeps getting to preview excellent cards.



This card is simply a beastly effect. We are seeing more of the exhaustion theme for the Illuminati, but here we just need 2 members. You choose a name and that character loses it all, powers and Keywords. So no more worrying about Wonder Woman, no more worries about Spider-Man, Punisher and others from the Legends sets who have powers and Keywords that devastate the field of play. As a matter of fact after turn 4 you don’t have to worry about any character you choose. Batman, Cape and Cowl we all hate to see him on the opposite side of the board, turn that off. Wonder Woman redirects, not any more. Magneto’s annoying tricks, whatever, the Illuminati are literally laughing they have a one trick pony that deals with the entire stable and that my friends are awesome.



Today we got a welcomed addition to the Illuminati, Dr. Strange, Secret Avenger. This card is unique, the effect it provides is very powerful and something we have not seen before in Versus. The card is not as powerful as one might think if you are playing a curve deck. The likelihood that you are able to arrange your deck to take full benefit of this effect on two is highly unlikely and the odds of you calling the proper type of card to rally for decreases in percentage because you can rally for all 4 types of versus cards, plot twist, locations, characters or equipment.

Triggering his ability gets a bit easier when you start thinking back to MTU and MHG, especially with cards like Consulting the Orb, Sanctum Sanctorum and The Illuminati which allow you to arrange your deck. The Illuminati plot twist probably providing the best means of getting this online.

Dr. Strange has some other areas where he may shine as well as he is a possible drop in other decks that need to generate early card draw and have the means of getting to them quickly. I can think off-hand of adding him to a Heralds of Galactus deck that may underdrop with 2 cost Silver Surfer. A low rush Spider Friends deck that can make use of him. He is dual-affiliated with the Avengers and Marvel Knights which is interesting in itself.

I'm not exploding about the card, but it is a nice effect.

That’s today’s preview catch-up. I know everyone is anticipating the Dr. Strange rally preview tomorrow so tune into poppythecat.wordpress.com for Joe Clarke’s preview.

I hope you guys stop by the rest of the week for the comic reviews, it’s a banging line-up. I know most of the comics hit shelves today, but don’t expect anything till tomorrow when you can probably expect good things and better scans. For those who are reading for the Thor VS Reflections, I promise, swear on my life that you will see that series kick back up this weekend as i have some pretty good scans and new ideas for cards we just ought to see in that series.

Thor, Ages of Thunder was released this week. I am not sure to how much fanfare, but since Darkseid is dead and we are getting little in the way of him in the comics currently I am sure everyone has also noticed my favoritism to the God of Thunder. I picked up a copy of Thor, Ages of Thunder yesterday and I have to say I was slightly impressed. When reading I had to keep in mind that these Marvel one-shots are meant to be a summary of the Thunder Gods history in the Marvel universe. Matt fraction did well in wrapping up Thor’s beginnings prior to his exile from Asgard at the hands of Odin. His writing also depicts very well the decaying and gluttonous state of the Asgardian’s at this point in Thor’s history.



One thing that did shine through to me and which stood to question Fraction’s decadent depiction of the Asgardian’s alongside Thor’s growing isolationism and arrogance, was the question burning; How is Thor arrogant or wrong for isolating himself from his fellow spoiled gods?



It is a question that burned in my mind as I flipped through each page. Patrick Zircher wears both hats of pencil and inks for this story and his work really comes to life, abandoning the page flipping format each section is a two-page layout that allows Zircher to depict the vast openness of the Asgard terrain and the magnitude in which these Norse Gods are living. While the idea of them being the sole gods in the Marvel universe comes across somewhat flippantly in Fraction’s writings it does well addressing the decadence the Asgardian’s find them.



The initial pages deal with how the Asgardian’s are capable of maintaining their power through the apples of the Yggsadril tree (If I misspelled that then shoot me) and Enchantress be such a vital member of the Asgardian’s way of life as she is the only one capable of picking the apples. Right away Fraction gets into showing how distant Thor is from the other Asgardian’s. Thor’s will not be a glutton with his apples; instead he saves them and hordes his share in his own place where he dwells most of the time with his concubines unless he is hunting. Later on we get Odin begging to Thor for the sakes of the other gods for them to share in his fruits he has saved up. Thor even requires Odin to all but grovel to save Enchantress from a frost giant, the major plot point of the issue.



All in all the issue was magnificent and got off to a good start. I can’t say where the story will go and how it will be received by fans and new readers because it is Thor and it is so different than the Thor Straczynski is currently writing about in the mainstream. Despite my lack of enjoyment for Djurdjevic’s work in the ongoing Thor series, I thought he did a wonderful job with the cover; it is definitely a cover favorite of mine now.



I am looking forward to the next issue Thor, Reign of Blood. Hopefully, Fraction stays on track and picks up the pace. I really love the two-page layout and hope that is not abandoned as well.


I know I have been promising and promising to get back on track with VS Reflections Thor and I will, but with all the MUN preview cards that have been flooding the various blogs around the web it has been difficult, not to mention GTA IV has taken up a fair share of my time. Next week is huge for comic reviews, so check back for Nova #13 which should be exciting as Galactus and his Herald, Silver Surfer enter the picture, Cable #3, Mighty Avenger #13 Secret Invasion tie-in, Secret Invasion #2, The start of the ongoing review of Moon Knight #18, check back for a catch-up on all Moon Knight this weekend and more…



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MUN PREVIEW: Frog of Thunder



It seems fitting that this card would be previewed today on the day when i would review the Thor, Ages of Thunder #1 issue. WHy? Well for those of you who do not know this was a very "real" instance in the history of Thor. Loki managed this feat after he, Odin and Thor battled Surtur. Using the draining powers of Surturs sword Loki managed to change Thor into a frog. He returned to form later when Volstagg a member of the warriors three stopped the draining power of Surturs sword.

This card i am happy to see for a number of reasons. The biggest reason is that it gives me hope, hope that the Asgardians in some form or the other will appear in the Marvel Universe set and hopefully Thor will have a bigger impact than Thor, Cyborg Clone.

The second reason is this card is not a bad effect. As detailed on rorscachinkblog.wordpress.com this card can be very useful in dealing with some rather annoying characters you would prefer not to see on the board such as those annoying beefed up Jean Grey's, Beast Boy's and any other character that is taking full advantage of pesky +1/+1 counters. How about dealing with Punisher and his sniper counters or Winter Soldier and his sniper counters. It has many uses and i think we will see this card see some play in some very inventive deck builds.

The on thing that worries me about the card is although it has the flavor text and picture text of all things Asgardian i would love to see in the game is it is not team stamped in anyway, nor is it character stamped even though we know this is only a feat Loki accomplished, here is to hoping...

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