Not a lot this month.
Snap
Doom’s Will Be Done ft. Jen
This deck is a goodstuff Wave + She-Hulk deck that makes use of Dr.Doom . This deck is very similar to the Deathwave deck I was playing last month. The core combo is the same, but the archetype is different. Deathwave has a higher ceiling while this deck has a higher floor. Not being reliant on Destroy synergies means the deck is a lot better into decks running Armor and Cosmo, and just generally has a more convenient time curving out. It’s literally a pile of good cards. We gain some tempo, play wave on 5, and then Doom + She-Hulk on the last turn. Deck’s damn good, and is my go-to “I just wanna do my dailies and get off” deck.
Standing Tall
I finally got Stature after she downgraded in the middle of the month. Stature’s a very flexible build-around card - The Stature “package” is just herself + Black Bolt and Moon Knight since they’re her only enablers. The rest of the deck can kinda be what you want so long as you keep your turn 5 for Black Bolt. This build is a midrange-style build. We’re just playing good value cards each turn, and finishing it off with Stature + an impactful 5 drop. The 5-drop slot in Snap is a lot more open now that Aero is no longer the best-in-slot. I’ve opted for Iron Man and The Klaw , but really, most 5s can go in here aside from Jane Foster(we play no 0s), Hobgoblin(far too risky to play on 6), Blue Marvel(we do not go wide enough) and Devil Dino(We play Moon Knight). The deck works very well, although it can be a little bricky since the only 2 cards it can play early with no restriction are Lizard and Iceman; Playing Colleen Wing without Swarm in hand is do-able, but kinda sucks to do. Other than that, the deck works wonders and is definitely one of my favorites to play at the moment. I wish I could run Titania here, but she would only make Colleen more awkward.
Dracula at the Zoo
Still playing this deck, and still having plenty of fun. I did decisively cut Red Skull from this deck after he got nerfed again down to 12 power, so Destroyer gets the nod here. The lack of Red Skull here actually does give a stronger argument for Sunspot in this version of the list because I have lot more leftover energy in some games.
Junk
I got Daredevil , so my Junk deck got a noticable boost. I admit I underestimated how nice Daredevil is in this deck. The information he gives me on turn 5 makes my Gamora deadlier and also lets me know what lanes I’m free to clog up. He’s also just another nice 2 drop to play on curve, and his effect is neither ongoing or on-reveal, so common tech cards can’t stop him from giving me info on 5.
Turtle Power!
This month, I gave the IDW run of TMNT a shot. It’s such a fun series. I have so much love for TMNT as a franchise - Turtles in Time is one of my favorite games of all time, the 2003 cartoon was a big deal to me growing up, and I’ve just generally enjoyed the turtles in a lot of media spanning from movies to other video games. This IDW run gives me a much-needed opportunity to sit down and reconnect with these characters again.
I don’t like spoiling too much when I talk about this stuff, so I’ll just say that there are some really fun storylines here, especially with the Foot Clan. This version of the Shredder is hard as fuck and makes for a really cool villain to have early on.
The turtles all get their moments to shine and show off their personalities. Growing up, Leonardo was my favorite, but after reading a good bit of this IDW run, Michelangelo is coming out ahead as my favorite. More than any of the brothers, Mikey is always trying to do the right thing and do right by people and his beliefs, and it’s just something that’s always gonna make me happy when I see it. It leads to some conflict with his family, actually, and I found that really interesting.
I also read The Last Ronin, and I all I can really say is that is amazing. Most people know who the ronin is by now, but it still hit me as a shock, especially the way it was revealed. The story’s predictable, yeah, but that doesn’t stop it from hitting me in the chest. It’s good, and it’s a fucking heartbreaker.
The Last Ronin - The Lost Years
Rangers Forever
I also checked out Boom Studio’s Power Rangers run. This is a bit different since we have the primary ongoing series along with Go Go Power rangers, a prequel series that focuses more on the the team when they first got their powers and how they try to balance their lives with being rangers.
Same deal as TMNT; I love Power Rangers, but it’s been years since I’ve actually watched it, especially OG Mighty Morphin. It felt good to get reintroduced to the OG crew. They do some really good character work across these two books, especially Go Go. The biggest standout here in this regard might be Rita, ironically. She’s way scarier and more competent here, and benefits from the character focus just like the heroes do.
One strong part of these comics is that they can touch on things the shows never can and expand on the power rangers mythos. The biggest examples I can think of are the Shattered Grid event and the Power Transfer. The former is a comic-original event about the power rangers going against Lord Drakkon, an evil Tommy Oliver from an alternate timeline. It’s your usual crisis crossover fare, but it’s executed well and takes full-advantage of the comic book format to give us interations and stories that never could’ve happened in the shows. The latter is also a strong use of the comic format to expand on something that was handled horribly in the show. For context, in OG Mighty Morphin, Jason, Trini, and Zack’s actors walked out on the show, so they had to be abruptly replaced, and the very weak in-universe reason was that they went to a peace conference. The comics actually give the three of them a real reason for their sudden leave that expands into an entire different atory arc, and the team has very real, torn-up reactions to their friends and teammates seemingly suddenly leaving them high and dry.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on Amazon Go Go Power Rangers Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Also, not a comic(yet), but I did check out Power Rangers Hyperforce this month. I didn’t expect to like this that much, but it’s a lot of fun. And it’s also getting a comic one-shot really soon . It took me a little bit to really get into the format, but the actors do a great job and create some really fun times.
Other Stuff
I finally started Persona 5 Royal. Game’s been sitting on my PS4 for over 2 years now; it was time to boot it up. Game’s a load of fun. I’ve been streaming it and putting the vods on youtube, so if you wanna watch me ramble on, that’s an option for you.
A buddy of mine sent me some distillate, so I basically have on-demand edibles now. Been nice to just get high and do something like play Apex or watch anime to just relax.
I’ve gone back to going through Jetman, and I’m about halfway through now. Show’s very wild, but very good. If there’s one thing Inoue knows how to do, it’s put people of different backgrounds and views in the same group and make their interactions engaging to watch.
I did decide to formally drop Yugioh. I’ve been playing less and less and feeling less interested in it, even after I started playing less of Marvel Snap. The game can be fun, but I don’t think I’ll ever really be able to put aside my dislike for how frontloaded the game is. I know that alternate formats are a thing, but that doesn’t fix my actual problem, and those formats aren’t perfect, either. At the end of the day, YGO’s kinda just a heinous game. It’s fun, but only one person involved gets to have fun, and who that person is between the two people playing is just very dependent on who opened what. Nearly a year and a half of playtime and a bunch of good times vs friends ain’t bad.
Climax of Night, a really great tournament for French Bread games, is probably done. I haven’t been able to go to the last couple ones because life be like that, but I have nothing but love for that event, man. First event I went out of state for, first event I met my online friends at. That event was top class both times I got to go IRL, and it was a wonderful time watching it the years I couldn’t go. So much love to Shinobi and everybody in his corner. One of a kind event. If the event’s calling it quits, it had a great run. Thank you to Shinobi and all the French Bread community that pulled up every year for his event. Long live the night.
Update on Climax and its Future.
— Shinobi! (@sitkosEP) April 10, 2023
Read: https://t.co/m0iHeAZ2MN