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Revolution Sabu Strategy Guide
by Michael Ho

Sabu was one of the first superstar cards revealed in the Revolution spoilers. Let’s take a look:

Sabu (Superstar Card)
Starting Hand Size: 9
Superstar Value: 3
Extremist <Superstar Crossed Out> Ability:
You may put 1 card from your hand on the bottom of your Arsenal after you successfully play an Assault: your opponent discards 1 random card.

When I first saw it, I was less interested in his ability and more interested in the newfangled horizontal orientation of the superstar card and the cool photo pose. Sabu’s ability allows him to make his opponent randomly discard, but at the cost of 2 cards: the successfully played Assault and the card he puts on the bottom of the arsenal. Lose 2 cards from your hand to make your opponent lose 1? “Eh,” I thought, “not so great.”

Then the rest of the spoilers came out and I saw Batista’s ability. I thought Batista’s ability blew Sabu’s right out of the water. Batista only loses 1 card (the Throw he plays) to make his opponent randomly lose 1 card! I didn’t pay much attention to Sabu after that, even after his Superstar-Specific Pre-match was revealed in the TK spoilers. Let’s take a look at that, too:

Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal (Sabu logo)
Pre-match: Event
Once during each of your turns, before your Draw: put up to 1 Assault from your Ringside on top of your Arsenal.
Unique

Boy, was I wrong. Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal is brutal. It’s sort of like an alternate version of Triple H’s ability, but it some ways I think it’s much better. I came to discover the power of Sabu after playing a few games against some Sabu decks. I think I only won one of them and that was only because I had got massively lucky with my draws.

Using a combination of Sabu’s ability, Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal, and non-F:0 Assault cores, Sabu becomes a softlock machine that just won’t die! Onto the decklist!

BACKLASH DECK (12)

Pre-match (6)

Underestimate the Competition x1
Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal x1
Ring Psychology: Assault x1
Hardcore Hell x1
A New Plan x2

1) Underestimate the Competition – This is a staple card for this deck. We will always play this card in our pre-match. This deck is all about overturning reversals to reverse your opponent’s maneuvers and then recurring them right back into your arsenal. You cannot “reverse” damage you take from a reversal so there’s no stopping it once it starts. We want to then eliminate the damage we take from reversals. We can abuse Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal and keep chucking moves at our opponent until they stick without fearing damage from reversals.

2) Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal – This card is the staple of all staples in this deck. It grants us the following benefits:

a) Function with few or no cards in hand – This deck will usually see Sabu run low on cards in his hand by the mid-game. Most superstars wouldn’t want to be in that situation, but Sabu isn’t too concerned. Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal allows Sabu to use his ringside as his source of maneuvers and the deck design allows him to use the arsenal or backlash as his source of reversals.

b) Card recursion – Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal allows Sabu to keep playing Running Lariats and Roundhouse Punches to recur key reversals late in the game.

c) Exhaustion of opponent’s reversals – Much like Triple H’s ability, Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal allows Sabu to keep throwing the same move over and over again to exhaust his opponent’s reversal supply.

3) Ring Psychology: Assault – This will usually be the third pre-match card we play. There are some neat things we can do with this card. First it lets us pick up Holds or Throws to reverse our opponent’s maneuvers from the hand.

The even neater trick is to use it with Sabu’s ability. First of all it essentially decreases the cost of Sabu’s ability. You will only lose 1 card net to use Sabu’s ability:
+ 1 (RP: A) – 1(played Assault) – 1(card to put on bottom) = -1 net

The best part is that you can do this even if you only have 1 card left in your hand. If the last card in your hand is an Assault, play it, activate RP:A, then use the card you just got to fuel Sabu’s ability. Besides the obvious benefit of making your opponent discard a card at random, it also has an added benefit of recurring an extra card into your arsenal. Consider using Sabu’s ability even when your opponent’s hand is empty just because it essentially lets you put a Hold or Throw at the bottom of your arsenal.

4) Hardcore Hell – It’s a tough choice between Ring Psychology: Assault and Hardcore Hell. We probably want to play Ring Psychology: Assault instead of Hardcore Hell 95% of the time because of all the great reasons listed above. However, we definitely want to consider playing Hardcore Hell against a Triple H or a Batista deck.

Triple H will most likely be taking Throws from his ringside to his hand to reverse our Cores. He can possibly keep us down in Fortitude the whole game and reverse our key non-F:0 Assault Cores (Running Lariat, Roundhouse Punch, and Spinning Heel Kick). We need those non-F:0 Assault Cores to recur cards back into the arsenal so it’s very important that they are successful when we need them to be! Hardcore Hell will help in establishing fortitude and making sure that those key cards go through when we need them to.

Hardcore Hell is also appropriate for Batista because Batista decks are usually Throw-based decks. Batista can, like Triple H, keep us down in Fortitude and reverse our non-F:0 Core Assaults. In addition, Batista’s ability can strip our hand...but we won’t be able to get them back with Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal because they go to the bottom of the arsenal! So it’s doubly important that we play maneuvers successfully against Batista...and quick! Yet another thing to worry about with Batista: I’ll Chew Them Up and Spit Them Out. If Batista successfully plays this card, his hand will most likely be filled with a bunch of reversals to our maneuvers and we won’t be able to play anything successfully if not for Hardcore Hell.

In addition, Hardcore Hell can guarantee the successful play of Spinning Heel Kicks, which is incidentally important against Triple H and Batista! More on this in the final section of the article. So basically RP:A is a more aggressive, offensive choice of pre-match while Hardcore Hell is the more conservative, defensive choice.

5) A New Plan – They’re just in here as fodder. You almost never want to play this card because it’s so important to get 3 of 4 previously mentioned cards out. You will be seeing 17 cards (9 handsize + 8 from Underestimate the Competition’s overturn) at the beginning of the game so it’s highly unlikely that you’ll need A New Plan. Remember that you can pick up Assaults from your ringside using Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal so even if you don’t get F:0 maneuvers in your hand, you can just pick them up from your ringside. If you really, really, really must play this card, play it in lieu of Ring Psychology: Assault or Hardcore Hell.

In conclusion, you will always play Underestimate the Competition and Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal in your pre-match. Against non-Storyline Triple H and non-Storyline Batista, play Hardcore Hell. Against all others, play Ring Psychology: Assault.

Mid-match (6)

Before This Gets Out of Hand x3
I Can Do Anything I Want x1
Talk Is Cheap x1
Keep Your Eyes Open or It’s Game Over x1

The mid-match is used exclusively as an extra line of defense. Use Before This Gets Out of Hand to delay your opponent’s Means until you can get a Try to Get Away in your hand. This process will be covered in the last section.

Use I Can Do Anything I Want to reverse a Colossal that you really can’t afford to let through (such as Figure Four Leglock). You need not worry about the 3-card discard because this deck is designed on working with few to no cards in the hand. The self ring removal cost can also work to our benefit because it allows us to replay maneuvers we’ve already successfully played!

You will most likely use Talk Is Cheap and Keep Your Eyes Open or It’s Game Over to reverse the momentum follow-up Antics. Most people simply avoid playing Means and Antics as their second card to avoid being reversed by the above mentioned cards. So there’s usually little opportunity to play those reversals other than to reverse follow-up Antics. Talk Is Cheap also has no negative effect on us because there are absolutely no Antics in this deck.

ARSENAL (60)

F:0 Assault Cores (13)

Slap x2
Chop x3
Kick x3
Running Elbow x2
Big Boot x3

Play the Kicks, Running Elbows, and Big Boots as maneuvers to generate Fortitude. Depending on what types of maneuvers your opponent throws at you, the Slaps and Chops will either be used as reversals or as maneuvers to fuel Sabu’s ability and Ring Psychology: Assault.

F:0 Hold Cores (5)

Collar & Elbow Lockup x2
Wrist Lock x3

These F:0 Hold Cores will be used as reversals. I chose not to include any Chicken Wings because Throw Means don’t seem to be seeing much play.

F:0 Throw Cores (7)

Headlock Takedown x2
Double Leg Takedown x3
Inverted Atomic Drop x2

The F:0 Throw Cores will be used as reversals.

Non-F:0 Assault Cores (9)

Roundhouse Punch x3
Spinning Heel Kick x3
Running Lariat x3

You can think of these non-F:0 Assault Cores as the Antics of this deck. Use Roundhouse Punch and Running Lariat to put reversals back into your arsenal. Use Spinning Heel Kick to grab specific cards you need from your ringside. More details on how to use these maneuvers in the playing notes.

Assault Means (6)

Knee Lift x3
European Uppercut x3

Just keep playing these suckers as soon as you get enough Fortitude! You have no fear of Inverted Atomic Drops and other non-unique Assault Mean reversals because of Underestimate the Competition. You can also purposely play into Keep Your Eyes Open or It’s Game Over to tempt your opponent into using it. Keep taking the Means back with Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal and throwing them until they stick!

You can really force your opponent to make some difficult decisions with these Means. If he reverses it, he would use up one of his reversals and the maneuver would come right back at him next turn anyway. If he doesn’t reverse it, he’ll take damage, lose a random card due to Sabu’s ability (possibly the reversal he just chose not to use!), and suffer the consequences of the Mean’s card text.

I chose not to include any Discus Punches because it makes us take 3 uncontrollable damage, it has a high Fortitude cost, and we have no uniques in this deck.

Assault Colossals (3)

Clothesline x3

Here’s some more high damage Assault goodness. Clothesline allows us to shuffle 2 Holds and 2 Throws into our arsenal. Since all of the other recovery effects in this deck involve putting cards back in the arsenal in a certain order, it’s sometimes a good thing to be able to shuffle and randomize your arsenal. I do find that a lot of time I don’t have enough Holds or Throws in my ringside to take full advantage of Clothesline because I’ve been so busy recurring them earlier in the game using Ring Psychology: Assault and Sabu’s ability.

Reversals (17)

You Telegraphed It x3
Masochist at Heart x3
I Won’t Be Beat Tonight x2
Try to Get Away x3
Why Don’t You Kiss My A%$ x3
Only One Solution: Revolution x3

There are a whole bunch of reversals in this deck in order to reverse your opponent on overturn. More details on how to use these reversals are in the playing notes.

Antics (0)

We already achieve the function of Antics through the non-antic cards in the deck: Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal, Ring Psychology: Assault, and Spinning Heel Kick for ringside manipulation and non-F:0 core Assaults for recovery. Therefore...no antics!

Deck Construction Notes:

Some of you may be thinking that I’m crazy for not packing A New Breed Unleashed and Layla: <WWE logo> Diva to the Core. To be honest, the initial reason for why I didn’t pack A New Breed Unleashed was simply because I didn’t have one =P. But as I thought about the deck more and playtested it, I realized that those cards are not necessary in this deck.

This deck is based around using Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal to keep throwing Assaults at my opponent. Since A New Breed Unleashed is not an Assault, I cannot put it on top of my arsenal using Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal. If that is the case, then the only way to reliably get it from my ringside into my hand is by using Spinning Heel Kicks. However I have bigger fish to fry and more important cards to retrieve from my ringside with the Spinning Heel Kicks (as outlined in the final section).

So that leaves Layla: <WWE logo> Diva to the Core as the only reliable way of guaranteeing A New Breed Unleashed in my hand. Using Layla, however, will take up a precious mid-match slot. This deck is much more reliant on the mid-match than any other Revolution deck I’ve seen. We need those slots as defensive stops and we can’t afford to waste any on “frivolous” antics like Layla. So after weighing all the pros and cons, I decided not to pack A New Breed Unleashed and Layla.

Playing Notes:

Early Game:

Your job in the early game is to get to 4 Fortitude. Getting to 4 Fortitude allows you to play/overturn You Telegraphed It, Try to Get Away, and Only One Solution: Revolution. Along with the F:0 Masochist at Hearts, you achieve the ability to reverse any maneuver on overturn upon reaching 4 Fortitude. You can reach 4 Fortitude by way of Core reversals or playing Kicks or Running Elbows.

Try to avoid using Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal for now until you get into your hand/and or ringside the following cards: Spinning Heel Kick, Try to Get Away, Why Don’t You Kiss My A%$, and Knee Lift/European Uppercut. You can make these cards “appear” to you by either drawing from your arsenal without using Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal or by allowing your opponent to damage you with his maneuvers.

Mid-Game:

You should now be using Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal almost every turn. Now that you’ve reached 4 Fortitude, you can sit back for a little bit as you mosey your way to 7-10 Fortitude. Getting to the 7-10 Fortitude range allows you to play Means, I Won’t Be Beat Tonight, and Why Don’t You Kiss My A%$?.

Resist the temptation to reverse your opponent from the hand if possible. Inspect your ringside pile whenever your opponent plays a maneuver. Ask yourself if you have the cards in your arsenal to reverse it on overturn. If you don’t, then it might be a good idea to reverse from the hand/backlash and play a recovery Assault next turn to recur some reversals. But if there are still reversals-a-plenty in your arsenal, let the maneuver through and “trust in the heart of the cards” (::cry::) to reverse him on the overturn.

However, be mindful of powerful non-0:F cores such as Snap Mare, Sleeper, Spinning Heel Kick, and Atomic Drop. You may want to reverse those particular cards as they grant your opponent great benefits.

If things start getting ugly and you notice that you have way too many reversals in your ringside, use Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal to whip out a Running Lariat or Roundhouse Punch. Use those two maneuvers to put reversals back in your arsenal.

Late-Game:

By this point your opponent probably has a bunch of Fortitude on the board while you have about 15 – 25 Fortitude. His arsenal may also be more plentiful than yours, but that’s okay. He’s basically played into our “rope-a-dope” strategy and we’ve got him right where we want him. By now your arsenal is probably down to 20 or so cards. However, through crafty usage of Sabu’s ability, Clotheslines, Running Lariats, and Roundhouse Punches, those 20 cards should be comprised mostly of maneuver reversals.

You don’t fear damage from maneuvers at this point because they will probably get stopped after only a couple points of damage. Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal allows you to stack your deck with overturn reversals without the fear of accidentally drawing them into your hand.

Non-maneuver forms of damage may pose a problem. Now’s the time to use Spinning Heel Kicks to get a Why Don’t You Kiss My A%$ into your hand to defend against a possible A Spirited Turn of Events/Bow Before the Throne/I’m Tougher Than Nails.

Keep throwing your Means and Colossals at your opponent to take him out. Use Running Lariats and Roundhouse Punches to refill your tiny arsenal with reversals. That tiny, but efficient arsenal should be enough to hold off your opponent while you pin him with your maneuvers.

How to Protect Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal

The most effective way to beat this Sabu deck is to remove Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal. This card is central to this deck so we definitely need to protect it. There currently aren’t too many Revolution cards out there that can remove pre-match cards from the ring area. Let’s list them all:

Knock Your Shell Off
The Cerebral Sleeper
The Animalistic Clothesline
Figure Four Leglock

1) Knock Your Shell Off – This card is incredibly easy to defend against because it is a mid-match Mean. A Before This Gets Out of Hand will take care of it without any fuss. If you’re playing against John Cena, make sure to keep at least 1 mid-match slot open for playing Before This Gets Out of Hand against Knock Your Shell Off.

2) The Cerebral Sleeper and The Animalistic Clothesline – These will be a bit tougher to deal with. They are superstar-specific Means belonging to Triple H and Batista respectively. If you’re playing against these two superstars, try to keep a Try To Get Away in your hand at all times. If that is not possible, then try to get a copy of Try To Get Away and Spinning Heel Kick in your ringside pronto. Avoid using Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal early in the game until you draw out a Try to Get Away and a Spinning Heel Kick.

Here’s what to do if Triple H or Batista plays their respective Means against you and you don’t have a Try to Get Away in your hand:

a) First delay them by playing Before This Gets Out of Hand and return the Mean to their hand.

b) You then have 2 choices on your turn:

i) Pick up a Spinning Heel Kick from your ringside with Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal and play it in hopes that it’s successful. Use the Spinning Heel Kick’s card text to pick up a Try to Get Away from your ringside in preparation for the next time they play the Mean.

ii) If your opponent’s hand is small enough, try playing a hard-to-reverse Assault such as a low damage Core Assault. If it is successful, activate Sabu’s ability and hope that you manage to randomly strip the Mean from their hand. If the first one doesn’t get rid of it, try to keep going until it works!

c) Repeat as necessary and as long as you can keep it up. You’re in big trouble if Suicidal—Homicidal—Genocidal gets removed. Good luck!

3) Figure Four Leglock – This Colossal can be packed by any superstar, but they’re pretty easy to deal with. They can be readily reversed using I Can Do Anything I Want from your mid-match. Avoid using I Can Do Anything I Want for anything other than Figure Four Leglocks and try to keep at least 1 mid-match slot open at all times.

4) Momentum – One last thing to mention here: your opponent may get smart and play a momentum Antic before playing the above mentioned cards to guarantee their success. This is, admittedly, a soft spot for this deck. It is then important to keep a Why Don’t You Kiss My A%$? in your hand. This can be achieved by grabbing one from your ringside with a Spinning Heel Kick. It’s tough trying to figure out the right time to retrieve a Why Don’t You Kiss My A%$?. That can only come with experience...experience that I currently don’t have so sorry, can’t help you with this one!

I am very satisfied with this deck and surprised (even scared) at its power. Along with Test, I think Sabu is one of the Andre/Kennedy type beasts that people have to meta against in this Revolution 1 environment. You bet I’ll be packing Figure Four Leglocks in all my decks from now on! I hope this article helped both Sabu and non-Sabu players better prepare their decks. Thanks for reading!

Here is the decklist without notes.