[{"text":"Hey guys! Today I\u2019d like to talk about the main character Trickster, a couple different ways to play him, and how he matches up against some of the top tier threats! "},{"image":[{"src":"1-p574421.png"},{"caption":""}]},{"header":"Ability Breakdown"},{"text":"Trickster has two abilities. His first one we\u2019ll touch on is his teamwork ability. Like every other character from the Rogues Crossover Pack, he has the ability to play the top card of an opponent\u2019s deck in exchange for giving them 1 VP. This ability lets you reach for cards earlier than you would typically be able to buy them otherwise by playing your opponents cards that generate power."},{"text":"His second ability is what makes him so unique. Whenever you shuffle your discard pile to become your deck, you can leave one card of your choice in your discard pile. This will be whatever card you\u2019re trying to loop more often than not, though you can leave a vulnerability in the discard pile to give yourself a higher chance of drawing a strong early game hand.&nbsp;"},{"header":"Raven and Lightning Lad"},{"image":[{"src":"2-p899872.png"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"The first Trickster team I\u2019d like to cover is a personal favorite of mine, and is one I have a lot of fun with, and it utilizes Lightning Lad and Raven.&nbsp;"},{"text":"The gist of this team is to buy as many cheap villains as you can early to help you be able to afford a strong super power to loop with Raven. Lightning Lad\u2019s ability will also often let you trigger Raven\u2019s ability, even if you only have one villain in hand. Lightning Lad not only helps you trigger Raven\u2019s ability, but also allows you to reach those higher power numbers in the early turns to be able to purchase those high cost super powers that you want to leave in your discard pile with trickster."},{"image":[{"src":"3-p2356753.png"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"This team often prioritizes ongoing villain cards, and benefits a lot when the first villain on the stack is Edward Fyers, Slade Wilson, or Vandal Savage. Ongoing Villains make it to where you only ever need to play one additional villain per turn to trigger Raven\u2019s ability. Some of the ones you want to keep an eye out for from the main deck include:"},{"image":[{"src":"4-p1196334.png"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"Don\u2019t forget that you can loop a Kick with Raven\u2019s ability worst-case scenario. +2 Power every turn isn\u2019t bad. Animal Man is a 4-tier hero after all."},{"header":"Braniac 5 and Captain Boomerang"},{"image":[{"src":"5-p760665.png"},{"caption":""}]},{"text":"The next version of a Trickster team I\u2019d like to talk about is probably the most consistent and competitive Trickster team. It consists of Braniac 5 and Captain Boomerang."},{"text":"The looping ability of choice here is Braniac 5\u2019s ability to discard two cards to add a 5 cost card from your discard pile to your hand. If you manage to start with 4 punches and use Trickster\u2019s Teamwork ability for a punch, you could start playing a powerful 5 cost card every turn as soon as turn 2! "},{"text":"The cost of discarding two cards early in the game isn\u2019t too bad because you\u2019re typically discarding starters to play a 5 cost card; however, as the game goes on, it becomes less and less likely that you want to discard two cards from your hand for your 5 cost card. Captain Boomerang basically lets you mitigate the discard cost of Braniac 5 by one card. Captain boomerang lets you add the card with the lowest VP value in your discard pile to your hand. It doesn\u2019t matter if the card he gets back is a weakness, starter, or low cost card you bought. He\u2019s worst-case scenario just adding a card back to your hand that you\u2019re going to discard anyways to get back your 5 cost card with Braniac 5, but best-case scenario he adds back that 5 cost for free if it\u2019s the only card in your discard pile."},{"header":"How Does Trickster Fair Against the Tiers?"},{"text":"Overall I think Trickster teams have a lot of potential in the upcoming season. Trickster teams tend to have some of the most consistent mid to late game of any team compositions out there. Their main weakness is not being able to get set up before one of the more aggressive compositions gets too far ahead. When playing against those kinds of teams, getting some impactful attack cards that can hinder the aggressive teams hand can buy you time to get set up. Being able to play strong cards every turn is just inherently powerful, and makes Trickster definitely something to consider next time you sit down to play! I think that\u2019s all for this week! See you next time! "}]