So I was not able top attend the ROC state championship for Michigan, but after it was over I talked to several people that were there. One of those people was Adam Kohl, who finished in third place. I thought his team was very interesting and deserved further analysis. He played:

Team Name: Adam’s 3rd Place ROC Team

Keyword Theme: None

Roster:

• FL050 The Flash (w/ WOL068P Predator)
•  WOL099 Despotellis 
•  WOLR107 Power Battery (Blue Lantern Corps)
•  WOLR307 Blue Lantern Ring
•  WOLR207.11 Bulldozer (Blue)
•  WOLR207.14 Sniper Rifle (Blue)
•  WOLR207.13 Stop Sign (Blue)
•  WOLR207.04 Wall (Blue)
• WOLR207.06 Decoy (Blue)
• WOLR207.09 Nurse (Blue)

Total = 300 Points

I asked him why he used the pieces he used. He responded, “Predator because it looks cool and gives you Shape Change the whole dial. Blue Battery because it let’s you reroll Shape Change . I’d give Flash Sniper Rifle and Despotellis the wall. Basically I wanted to take non meta or barely meta stuff to the top to prove it could be done.”

He took third place at States with his team and he was trying to play non meta pieces. This got me thinking… what if we took his team and went the other way with it. What if we took KC Flash and went completely Meta with the rest of the team?

Team Name: KC Flash, the Meta Version

Keyword Theme: Sinestro Corps

Roster:

• FL050 The Flash (w/WOL065P Parallax)
• WOL099 Despotellis
• WOLR105 Power Battery (Sinestro Corps)
• WOLR305 Sinestro Corps Ring
• WOLR205.11 Bulldozer (Yellow)
• WOLR205.14 Sniper Rifle (Yellow)
• WOLR205.13 Stop Sign (Yellow)
• WOLR205.04 Wall (Yellow)
• WOLR205.06 Decoy (Yellow)
• WOLR205.09 Nurse (Yellow)

Total = 300 Points

Now this isn’t a team I’d ever play at my local venue, but in a State Championship the gloves are off. This is a Themed Team, so you’ll get +3 to map roll and WOL099 Despotellis will get to use Themed Team rerolls.

The Yellow Power Battery and WOL065P Parallax are proven winners. They  just won the European Championship teamed up with JLTW050 Superman. The Emotional Spectrum Power states: “Opposing characters modify their attack values by -2 when targeting a friendly Corps Member of a higher point value.” In a 300 point game it’s not very often that you’ll see characters played that are a higher point cost then 195 point FL050 The Flash. When I looked through the lists of the Michigan state ROC Championship, I didn’t see any. So it’s likely that people will be at a -2 to hit when Targeting Flash.

Then you may also consider the fact that the combination of Parallax granting the Sinestro Corps Keyword to Flash and the Yellow Battery grants Flash +1 to all stats (except Damage). The Parallax Entity can grant Flash +1 to Attack or Damage. He can also choose either Impervious or Quintessence and Perplex (opposing figures only).

So if I had played this team at a ROC, I would’ve planned to use the Decoy on Flash to grant Shape Change, Parallax to grant Impervious and the Flash already has Super Senses. Now, the Flash will have 20 Defense (due to the ring) and he has Probability Control printed on his Dial.

So, I took the time and work up the math on a possible situation the Flash might face during a real match. If an opposing character has a 12 attack and tries to attack Flash they will face -2 attack, Shape Change, 20 Defense, Probability Control, Super Senses, and Impervious. If that character has no way to get around any of what I just listed then they have a less then %1 chance of doing damage to Flash. If Despotelis is near by he can also through in a Theme Team Probability Control.

So Flash is pretty well defended. On offense Flash’s 17 move with Hypersonic speed should get him the first strike on anyone not named Adam Strange or Supreme Intelligence. Flash’s attack can go as high as 13 (with Probability Control), but most times I would instead bump his damage up to four. You might have problems with someone who has strong Damage Reducers especially if they also have Mystics. Despotelis  is the best character in the game in situations like that.

I think this “Meta” version of Adam’s team is a real contender. If you can track down the pieces to build it, it could take you all the way in a big tournament.

Having said that, congrats to Adam, and I’d like to thank him for letting me talk about his Build!

And we’ll be back in a few days with a post-Gen Con report, an update on Age of Ultron: Month 3 and, next week… our Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Top Tens!!