Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
All Axxess
by Alex “Destaro” Solomon

BACKSTAGE (16)

Backstage Signature x1
Backstage Signing Appearance x1
Raw Deal Fifth Anniversary x1

APA or A-Train Enforcer x1
Coach, Cole, or Finkel Enforcer x1
Chris Jericho, Kane, or D-Von Dudley Enforcer x1
Edge or Big Show Enforcer x1
John Cena or Your Freak’n Hero Enforcer x1
Mankind / Cactus Jack or Dude Love Enforcer
People’s Champ, Big Freak’n Machine, or The Game Enforcer x1
RVD or Booker T Enforcer x1
Rikishi, Chris Benoit, or Eddie Guerrero Enforcer x1
Rock, Deadman, or Matt Hardy Enforcer x1
Shane O’Mac or Stephanie Enforcer x1
Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, or Christian Enforcer x1
Test or Freakzilla Enforcer x1

Strategy Notes:

In my experience, going first is helpful. I would reveal my Fifth Anniversary every game and the other two non-Enforcer Backstage Area cards if you need to go first. Using the APA as your Enforcer lets you start at 6 SSV, so you shouldn’t have too many issues. RVD/Booker T, Edge/Big Show, and Cena/Your Freakin’ Hero are other alternatives you might consider. Usually, I check to see if my opponent is packing a Restricted Use in this Area. If he’s not, then I might consider switching to a different Enforcer, but it’s hard to go wrong with the APA.

BACKLASH (20)

Pre-match (10)

[Revolution] Previously Unannounced Match x1*
Bitter Rivals x1
Calling you Out x1
ECW Title Belt x1*
I'm Gonna Break You x1*
Managed by "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart x1*
Old School Wrestling Match x1
The Title is on the Line x1
Through All These Years x1*
Vince McMahon Interferes x1*

Strategy Notes:

Since you get to check what your opponent is packing before the game starts, I’ve included a little bit of Pre-Match disruption. Bitter Rivals is there in case you run up against another Legend Superstar and want to play managed by Jimmy Hart before they do. I’ve starred the normal Pre-Match set up, but feel free to adjust your play based on what your opponent is packing. If you don’t think you’ll need the Vince McMahon Interferes, play the Title is on the Line instead. You’ll be using [Revolution] Previously Unannounced Match to keep your opponents Backlash deck options slim (as almost all of your Pre-Match cards are Activated Card Effects), but it is not essential to the build, rather just intended to force your opponent to make decisions he’d rather not.

Mid-match (10)

[Revolution] Critical Injury x1
[Revolution] Keep Your Eyes Open Or It’s Game Over x1
Backlash x1
Chase Off Manager x1
Living the Good Life x1
Ready to Fight x1
Restricted Use In This Area x1
The King Interferes x1
The Sex, the Gods, the Freaks, the Frauds x1
You’re As Graceful As A Cow On Ice x1

Strategy Notes:

Your Mid-match gives you plenty of options. You have reversals, some recursion, some Ringside Pile manipulation, and a few other tricks as well. Since you can see your opponents hand, you will know whether you should play Chase Off Manager to make any Manager Interferes useless. The [Revolution] Critical Injury should help seal the deal, either taking your opponent’s hand or Backlash deck out of the equation.

ARSENAL (60)

Actions (4)

A Few Heel Men x1
In My Day, A Maneuver Was a Maneuver x1
I Wish Monsoon Was Here x1
Pulp Mania x1

Strategy Notes:

Since you’ll be Enforced by the APA a majority of the time, the only Actions I’ve included are Unique. There isn’t a lot of strategy here, check to see if your opponent can reverse them, if not, play the one you want, and if they can, play the one you’d rather have reversed. None of these Actions make or break this deck, but they are all very useful.

Antics (6)

[Revolution] Out Here All Night x2
[Revolution] Look Under the Ring x2
[Revolution] A Spirited Turn of Events x2

Strategy Notes:

Most of your recursion will come in the form of Antics, which in the Revolution 2 environment, will see much wider play. This deck is rather smash mouth, so your Antics are just tools, not a crux of the deck. I was tempted to add in [Revolution] Double Your Value-Double Your Fun but I didn’t see the need to jump the Fortitude curve with Antics. I was also tempted to include [Revolution] Headed for a Fall and [Revolution] Concentrated Attack to work in conjunction with [Revolution] Critical Injury, but I felt that the deck was aggressive enough and I didn’t want to bog it down with too many Antics.

Maneuvers (23)

[Revolution] Big Boot x3
[Revolution] Bulldog x2
[Revolution] Chicken Wing x3
[Revolution] Dragon Sleeper x2
[Revolution] Drop Kick x2
[Revolution] European Upper Cut x2
[Revolution] Inverted Atomic Drop x3
[Revolution] Knee Lift x2
[Revolution] Press Slam x1
[Revolution] STF x1
The Brain x1
The Finisher x1

Strategy Notes:

All the maneuvers you play will be above 7D, keeping you away from Elbow to the Face. None of your maneuvers are reversible by A Revolution of the Mind either, hopefully making at least 6 cards in your opponent’s Arsenal dead before the game even starts (in addition to any reversals that hit the “classic” maneuver types, Strike, Grapple, Submission, High Risk). Most of your maneuvers (13) target the head, which you’ll need 7 of to make Critical Injury work. So if you have a choice, throw a maneuver that targets the head.

Reversals (27)

[Revolution] Try to Get Away x1
[Revolution] Welcome to My World x1
[Revolution] Why Don’t You Kiss My A$% x1
A Revolution of the Mind x3
Armageddon x1
Blindside Control x2
“Cowboy” Bob Orton Interferes x1
Divine Intervention x1
Don’t Try This At Home x1
Elbow to the Face x3
Get the F Out x1
Hold the Phone x1
I Change the Questions x1
Manager Interferes x3
Overshot the Mark x1
The Price We Pay x1
Volley This! x3
You Fight Like a Woman x1

Strategy Notes:

You have a pretty strong reversal set here. You also have Managed by Jimmy Hart which should help keep your opponent low on Fortitude. You may want to add in a Raw Deal Revolution or a Leg Drag (TB) to deal with Atomic Lariats, but there should be enough reversals here to hold you over long enough to put your opponent away.

Any Final Strategy Notes / Insights:

At the very core, Raw Deal is a simple game. If you can get put your opponent’s Arsenal into his Ringside Pile before yours, you win. However, there are so many facets to this game that very rarely will one strategy guarantee you victory. So you might ask what all of this has to do with Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. Put bluntly, everything. You could have the most innovative build, the best Superstar Specifics, or even just great luck, but bad decisions can cost you the game. Bobby “The Brain” helps making smart decisions that much easier. Besides allowing you to choose your Enforcer after looking through your opponent’s Arsenal and Backlash deck, you get to see his hand the entire game. How much easier is it to pin your opponent when you know all the options he has and a method or two to take them away? Well give this deck a whirl and let me know. Good luck and have fun!!!