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Pojo's VS System Card of the Day

Albert Gaines <> Nuke Atomic Powerhouse

Card #MAV-043

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Date Reviewed: 10.11.05

Constructed Modern Age Average Rating: 3.25
Constructed Golden Age Average Rating: 3
Limited Average Rating: 3.5

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ... average.
5 is the highest rating.

Nakaiya21	Albert Gaines <> Nuke - Atomic Powerhouse This week it looks like we are going to take a look at a highly overlooked team from the latest VS expansion - Squadron Supreme. Before I begin today's discussion concerning Nuke, I am going to take a minute to give my overall impression of the Squadron Supreme team in general. Like many of the teams in the Avengers set, SS has two clear cut ways it can played. You can either go the route of alternative breakthrough or the route of no cards in hand. While the route of alternative breakthrough has some interesting tricks, I feel that the more viable option with this team is the route of NCH (no cards in hand). Of course this raises problems in its own right. As a former YGO player, I know that top decking can be risky at best. Of course that problem was somewhat taken care of in VS with the idea of drawing 2 cards every turn. So now we are faced with two issues: (1) How do I get rid of an extra card each turn? and (2) Do I have the kind of luck it takes to even run this deck in the first place? Luckily UDE has gone the distance with this team in the creation of SS stamped PT's and getting rid of extra cards can be done provided you plan ahead. Still the team in general takes a certain amount of luck and a lot of practice to pull off properly, both of which can be in short supply when it comes to an upcoming PCQ. So for now, with GA right around the corner, I say look at this team only in terms of a fun deck and wait for MMA before making any serious decisions regarding this team. Now onto Nuke? Nuke is really a great card for the NCH-SS deck. Even his standard stats (10/8 with flight and range) are not all that bad. When you add the +3/+3 this guy gets when you have no cards in hand, he becomes a colossal powerhouse that is on par with many 6-drop in the set. When you add to the fact that he is a reservist (a quality I really like), you get a character that should be in every SS deck out there. Ratings: MMA constructed - 3.5/5.0 -.It should be relatively easy to be out of cards by turn 5. GA constructed - 3.0/5.0 -.Being without a hand in this format is risky at best. Limited - 3.0/5.0 -.While this guy serves well as a standard 5-drop, getting this character's effect is somewhat tricky in this format.
wierdofur	"No supplies? No problem." Albert Gaines <> Nuke, Atomic Powerhouse Number: MAV-043 Rarity: Common Card Type: Character Cost: 5 Team: Squadron Supreme Attack: 10 Defense: 8 Range: Yes Flight: Yes Reservist (You may recruit this card from your resource row. If you do, you may put a card from your hand face down into your resource row.) Albert Gaines gets +3 ATK / +3 DEF while you have no cards in hand. Cost: 5 Ok for his stats and cost. ATK/DEF: 10/8 Not too bad for his cost. Range/Flight: Both Fully versatile. Effect: Reservist is an interesting effect, and can serve as a nice 'Gotcha'. If you have 0 cards left in your hand, he gets +3/+3. It's an ok power-boost, but nothing truely sensational. Team Affiliation: Squadron Supreme Well, the team is still young, but I mostly see power-up and down effects. The deck also has a small number of tricks that only work or work well when your hand is empty. there's also effects that rely on you causing breakthrough damage to the opponent, or change if breakthrough occurs. The team has some odd tricks, but not much that's sensational, IMO. Overall: Reservist is an interesting feature, but it's his second effect that is useful. While promoting a severe lack of hand management, the effect can be somewhat useful. The effect would be better, however, if the stats of the character, or the boost was a bit higher. He's good for desperate times, but only a standard 5-drop the rest of the time. Constructed: He's ok, but I'd go with Whizzer for the 5-drop slots, as he can attack twice if you have the extra 2 endurance to splurge with. Nuke is a situational character who only gets good when things get tight, hand-wise. 3.0/5.0 Limited: An ok choice here, as that extra boost can be a real boon. 3.5/5.0
scyther8	"The Supernova goes pop!" - Powerman 5000 It's Squadron Supreme week, an often overlooked team in the Avengers set. Today, it's the Atomic Powerhouse, Albert Gaines @ Nuke. Let's see what this explosive individual brings to the game. Albert Gaines @ Nuke 10 Atk 8 Def Flight and Range 5 Resource Cost Rarity: Common Initative Preference: Either Effect: Reservist (You may recruit this card from your resource row. If you do, you may put a card from your hand face down into your resource row.) Albert Gaines gets +3 ATK / +3 DEF while you have no cards in hand. Albert Gaines has the supposed "average" stats of a 5 drop, where the total attack and defense total 18. Instead of course being a 9/9, he takes one point from defense and adds it to his attack. He first off gets reservist which is practically essential in any Squadron build, due to the nature of killing off your own hand to get other game benefits. Which leads us to Albert's second ability, getting a big boost in stats of +3/+3 when you've accomplished the feat of having no cards in hand. Regardless if you accomplish this on turn 5 and have Nuke at 13/11 at that point or on turn 6 alongside your other 6 drop, it certainly puts a big stop sign in front of your opponent. Accomplishing the no hand effect on turn 5 would allow you to swipe away Nimrod's pesky counter without retribution, unless your opponent cracks a Nasty Surprise that they wanted to save for a better time. Even if you don't get the bonus until turn 6 (whether it be by your own doing or by Doctor Spectrum) that means you'll have essentially two 6 drops to pummel your opponent with. All in all, a very good character to consider for any Squadron build. Marvel Modern Age: 3/5 As 5 drops go, it's either Nuke, Redstone or Whizzer. For the no hand build of Squadron, Nuke is the way to go. Golden Age: 3/5 See Marvel Modern Age. Sealed/Draft: 4/5 Flight and Range with an above average attack means an excellent include if you're going Squadron at all. Doesn't even hurt to splash him in to fill out your curve.