Underplayed: [Revolution] Flying Topé
by Ryan “The GOAT” O’Donnell

As I sit here typing this article for all of you, we have seen all of the spoiler waves for Revolution 3: Judgment Day, and while it might sound like I’m tooting the company horn: I love this set! Everything from the new Faction and In Your Corner cards, to the great selection of superstars, and all the way down to the commons and uncommons…this stands to be one of the best sets of Raw Deal ever! And with the release of Revolution 3: Judgment Day comes a whole new play environment, one that encourages players to try playing cards that they typically don’t play. Specifically, I see a lot of support for Means and Follow-up maneuvers. Our card of the day just happens to be both:

Flying Topé
Extreme: Mean: Follow-up: Maneuver
If played by an Extremist: -1F.
chest
F:4 D:8

Before we delve into the pros and cons of this card, lets make sure that everyone understands what we have going on here.

It’s an Extreme, one of the 5 maneuver types in Revolution, and one of the 10 maneuver types in All Axxess and Afterburn. Extremes are perhaps the most interesting maneuvers in the game, because of their complete removal from the pattern established by Assaults, Holds, and Throws. There are no hybrid F:0 reversals to Extremes and no all-encompassing reversal in Revolution that also targets Extremes.

It’s a Mean, the mid-range maneuvers in Revolution, meant to help players bridge the gap between their game-starting Cores and game-ending Colossals. Up until now, most decks in Revolution format have shied away from Means, in favor of more Cores and Colossals.

It’s a Follow-up, more specifically, it’s a Follow-up: Maneuver. Being a Follow-up allows us to pack more than 3 in our Arsenal. Also, it has to be played after a successfully played maneuver.

Why doesn’t it see play?

Strictly speaking for Revolution format, [Revolution] Flying Topé doesn’t see play because Means in general don’t see much play. While they do offer many things to the Revolution player, they are also easily reversible from the Backlash, and as such are generally avoided.

Added to that, we have the issue that this particular maneuver must be played after a successfully played maneuver, making it even harder to successfully play.

In All Axxess and Afterburn, this particular maneuver mirrors many High Risk maneuvers that came before it. While the Fortitude and Damage ratios are similar, and they both require a successfully played maneuver beforehand, there are differences that make [Revolution] Flying Topé less desirable to play. Stun Value, for instance, is a game mechanic that does not exist in Revolution. Most comparable High Risk maneuvers have at least one Stun Value, giving them an added bonus. Also, there are a variety of ways to ignore the “Can only be played after…” text on your High Risk maneuvers, and as of yet no way aside from [Revolution] Jeff Hardy’s ability to ignore the Follow-up in [Revolution] Flying Topé. Also, should your opponent be packing one of the Mean Reversals from Revolution, he can easily stop your maneuver from his Backlash deck if you are playing [Revolution] Flying Topé instead of something like Flying Leg Scissors.

Will it ever be more popular?

Revolution 3: Judgment Day provided many benefits for playing Means.

It also affords us with [Revolution] Run the Ropes, which will make it easier to play cards like [Revolution] Flying Topé.

Additionally, with the release of [Revolution] The New Breed, anyone can be considered an Extremist and as such get the benefit of playing this card at lower Fortitude.

Combined together, all these factors could easily make [Revolution] Flying Topé a very popular card in the next set.

How do I make the most out of this card?

Of all the cards to come out of Revolution and Revolution 2: Extreme, this has one of the best Fortitude to Damage ratios. As an added bonus, if played by an Extremist, this card is –1F. That is the single biggest strength of [Revolution] Flying Topé in any format.

Another strength of this particular card is that while it is reversible by the easily accessible [Revolution] Before this Gets Out of Hand and [Revolution] Keep Your Eyes Open or It’s Game Over, there are fewer reversals to Follow-up Extremes than to any other maneuver type.

In order to really play to the strengths of [Revolution] Flying Topé, obviously you will want to pack this card in Extremists, as you’ll be granted the –1F. Also, you will want to either limit the amount of Mid-match your opponent can play with [Revolution] Previously Unannounced Match or play a multitude of Mean maneuvers to force your opponent to use his Mean reversals early and often.

Why should I play it?

While it may not be the easiest card to successfully play, it offers a fantastic jump in Fortitude for those who do successfully play it. Of all maneuvers in Revolution format, this one accomplishes that task better than any other card.

Another fantastic feature of this maneuver is that if you are an Extremist and you successfully play [Revolution] Flying Topé when you have only 3F, it gives you 11F on the board, just enough to play [Revolution] Overexposure, which can be a huge advantage.

In All Axxess and Afterburn, there are advantages to playing [Revolution] Flying Topé over Flying Leg Scissors, or similar High Risk maneuvers.

Firstly, there is no Damage requirement on the maneuver to be successfully played prior to playing [Revolution] Flying Topé, which allows you to play it even if your opponent has reduced the damage of your prior maneuver to 0. This can be a big plus if you’re playing against a deck that utilizes Sustained Damage.

Secondly, while you do give your opponent the change to play [Revolution] Before This Gets Out of Hand against [Revolution] Flying Topé, you are not walking into Lift a Boot (Throwback) or Brass “Nuks” Shot. While the reversals to Mean Extremes may be more accessible than the reversals to High Risk maneuvers, they are far less devastating and tend not to give your opponent much Fortitude.

What superstar should I play it in?

This card should absolutely be a staple in any [Revolution] Jeff Hardy design. In Revolution format, this card is gold in him. While in Afterburn and All Axxess, you might have a little more trouble if you run up against a superstar who can play The Brahma Bull or against Mankind or Cactus Jack, it is still an incredibly solid choice in the Rainbow-Haired Warrior.

The card is good in any Extremist, but particularly good in the Extremists who have synergy with the Extreme maneuver type (Terry Funk, Kevin Thorn, Tommy Dreamer, Balls Mahoney, and Marcus Cor Von).

Ball Mahoney seems to have his name written on [Revolution] Flying Topé as if he successfully plays [Revolution] Eye Rake, he has just enough Fortitude to play this card AND he gets to search his Arsenal for it.

This card is also particularly good in any superstar restricted from packing High Risk maneuvers. While [Revolution] Flying Topé and the other Follow-up Extremes are similar to High Risk maneuvers, they are not in fact High Risk maneuvers and can be packed by The Big Show, Sgt. Slaughter, Bobby “the Brain” Heenan, and the Junkyard Dog.

And with that, I think I’ll conclude another edition of Underplayed. I’m excited about the prospect of trying all the new superstars and cards coming up in Revolution 3: Judgment Day and I can’t wait to see if cards like [Revolution] Flying Topé get a boost in popularity with its release. Until next time.