Batista
by Joseph McGreechin
Revolution Format

BACKLASH (12)

Pre-match (6)

A New Plan x2.
Hardcore Hell
The Degenerates
The New Breed
Tomorrow's WWE Legends

Strategy Notes: Batista can take advantage of Hardcore Hell like no other superstar and it's what my deck in revolution 1 and 2 has been based around and revolution 3 only fuels Batista further. The reason Batista uses this card so well is because as all the non-unique maneuvers are throws almost anything that is used with hardcore hell will make your opponents lose cards and this can be especially useful when used with Snapmare, also the release of one card in revo 3 makes Hardcore Hell even more effective: Slam. Slam allows you to pick up any non-unique with target back so completely abuse this card to pick up some irreversible manuevers. If you have Snapmare in your ringside pile your opponent is losing three cards as you can easily pick it up with Slam . You can also pick up some of the more devastating throws in your arsenal like Press Slam or Powerbomb which easily win games for you as Press Slam can let you search for a devastating reversal or a crushing manuever and with so many target back in the deck Powerbomb can get rid of the incredibly annoying mid-match reversals like Before This Gets Out of Hand and I Can do Anything I Want. Then there are three Factions each with either great abilities or great cards. Tommorow's WWE Legends gives you a free Pre-Match slot, a boost to your superstar value and some great cards. The New Breed while reducing your hand size can give you several advantages of being an Extremist : the main one is that you can play Overexposure from your hand but you also get some good cards from the new breed and The Degenerates gives you access to some of the best reversals in the game.

Mid-match (6)

A Thousand Years of Anger
Before This Gets Out of Hand x2
Caution: You’re Entering the O-Zone
It's All Led to This
Keep Your Eyes Open or It's Game Over

Strategy Notes: A Thousand Years of Anger gives Batista the ability to stop all means or colossals whenever he wants. Other decks like CM Punk and HHH have excellent mean and colossal reversals but they have to be drawn to have their full effect but Batista will always be able to play A Thousand Years of Anger providing he can get three fortitude. Before This Gets Out of Hand is to stall your opponent until you get three fortitude or, if you have already used A Thousand Years of Anger, until you draw a reversal. Caution: You're Entering the O-Zone can stop your opponent's strongest moves while taking out a vital Pre-Match or reducing their fortitude. Keep Your Eyes Open or It's Game Over is there mostly to stop antics but use it to stop means if it will give you a boost in fortude or if you can't let your opponent use it again and so don't want to play Before This Gets Out of Hand.This boost in fortitude is enough to play all of your cores and even though you have to drop two random cards Batista will gain his advantage in hand size very quickly with all of his throws. It's All Led to This is the only non-reversal in the Mid-Match but because most of my cards target the back so it is too good not to include for Batista as any card gains momentum stopping the mid-match reversals from having any effect.It can help force a vital card through like The Hanging Tree picking up throws that will take away your opponent's hand or to win the game like The Demon Bomb or Press Slam.

ARSENAL (60)

Superstar-specifics (7)

I’ll Chew Them Up and Spit Them Out
Inside This Pit of Danger
The Animalistic Clothesline
The Demon Bomb
The Evolved Spinebuster
The Guardian Powerslam
The Hanging Tree

Strategy Notes: Batista probably has the best set of Superstar-specifics in the game as I’ll Chew Them Up and Spit Them Out can give you a massive hand which can be packed full of reversals and should guarantee that you draw Snapmare or if all of them are in the ringside Slam to pick them up and you should get some Superstar-specifics as well.You can also discard some dead cards like You Telegraphed It and Masochist at Heart which can be eventually put back into your deck. Inside This Pit of Danger gets rid of yet another card from your opponent's hand while giving you enough foritude for A Thousand Years of Anger , also it is one of the cheapest antic revrsals in the game.The Animalistic Clothesline has a great fortitude to damage ratio and lets you get rid of any two cards from your opponent's ring which could be Pre-Match strategy or reducing foortiude and playing The Animalistic Clothesline gives you enough fortitude for It's All Led to This and The Hanging Tree. The Demon Bomb is one of the most damaging manuevers in the game while having a great ability of shuffling five cards back boosting your arsenal.The Evolved Spinebuster is absolutely brutal as it can stop all assaults and throws, even mean and colossals while fitting in perfectly with batista making your opponent lose five cards which should destroy their hand as all the throws should have made it small enough and does a punshing fifteen damage which means you can play The Demon Bomb. Once you rech 30F your opponent will have to make the tough choice of playing amove and risk getting it reversed by some high damage reversals or suffer to the aggression rule every turn with The Guardian Powerslam and The Evolved Spinebuster. The Hanging Tree can let you pick up almost anything in your deck and of course with all these throws your opponent will have just taken 14 damage and then batista starts wrecking their hand and of course The Hanging Tree gets you to 30 fortitude which means your opponent could have virtually any move reversed easily and that could almost finish them off.

Antics (3)

Eat Spit
Live Fast-Fight Hard
Prepare for the POUNCE

Strategy Notes: These three antics are excellent as the most expensive one is just three fortiude and two of them cost nothing.With a Superstar Value of 8, Live Fast-Fight Hard should have momentum and this card dosen't just need to be used to play high damge colossals, it can also be used to play cores like snapmare and atomic drop for 0F and as they are under hardcore hell you have guaranteed fortiude which means in future turns you will have enough fortiude to play more moves under Hardcore Hell. Of course you can use it to play Press Slam or Powerbomb in the first turn(the reason I picked two colossals is that they are harder to reverse on low fortiude than means).Eat Spit can in the first turn give you a huge boost to your hand and start reducing your opponents and if Batista has over 11 cards in his hand on the first turn there should be something good like a powerful reversal or some good throws. Prepare for the POUNCE while not being able to pick up any extremes(because there are none) make your opponents moves easier to reverse and cards like Not What We Came to See and Here's a Lesson Plan can deal damage to your opponent easily especially Here's a Lesson Plan as it can now reverse any non-unique maneuver so your opponent's means and colossals become easy to reverse.

Antic-Reversal Hybrids (6)

Head-to-Toe Defense x2
Centered Defense x2
Lateral Flank Defense x2

Strategy Notes: These are great reversals to everything as in a combination they can reverse any manuever and can be useful if you need to delay your opponent after taking a mean or colossal and can give you a turn to get some fortiude.

Maneuvers (23)

Arm Bar Takedown x2
Atomic Drop x2
Belly to Back Suplex x2
Japanese Arm Drag x3
Jaw Jammer x2
Leg Drag x2
Powerbomb
Press Slam
Russian Leg Sweep x2
Scoop Slam x3
Snap Mare x3

Strategy Notes: Arm Bar Takedown can be used to put useless cards from your hand like You Telegraphed It onto the bottom of your arsenal and draw new cards.It is under Hardcore Hell which is never bad and takes one card from your opponent's hand. Atomic Drop can pick up 4 of your 7 Superstar-specifics and can be under Hardcore hell meaning you will jump to 9F. Use Belly to Back Suplex to pick up Not What We Came to See against Extreme decks and The Second Solution against other decks and while you pick up a card your opponent dosen't really gain one as Batista's ablity takes one away.Japanese Arm Drag replaces itself while taking away one of your opponent's cards and it contributes towards Powerbomb and It's All led to This. Jaw Jammer and Leg Drag are some of the most crucial throws in your deck as you can choose which card to get rid of but your opponent will lose two random cards and they do quite alot of damage for 0F. Powerbomb should always make your opponent discard their backlash deck.So looking at what this card does 17D, opponent loses one from their hand, everything from their backlash and you put one card from your ringside on the bottom of your arsenal,pretty good for one manuever.Press Slam is another fantastic all round card as you can search your arsenal for any one card and with Press Slam unless the fortitude has been modified you should now have the fortiude to play any card in your deck so search for either The Demon Bomb or a great reversal. Use Russian Leg Sweep if It's All Led to This is reversed or you removed A Thousand Years of Anger with I Won't Be Beat Tonight.Scoop Slam is the main source of recursion in this deck as you can get back four cards so in total you can get back twelve cards with the three of them and Snapmare seems to be made for Batista as your opponent will lose three cards every time this is played and it is under Hardcore Hell if you have less fortiude and it targets the back adding up to a great maneuver.

Maneuver-Antic Hybrids (2)

Slam x2

Strategy Notes: Earlier on in the article I commented on Slam and what this awesome card can do and it can be used in combination with almost every throw and the best things to do with this is either pick up one of the colossals,pick up Belly to Back Suplex which lets you pick up any non-unique, pick up atomic drop to pick up superstar-specifics or even just any antic or reversal or snapmare which has been previously highlighted as one of the best cards in the deck.

Maneuver-Reversal Hybrids (3)

Only One Solution : Revolution x3

Strategy Notes: Always play these as reversals as they are so good and Batista should never have much trouble getting to 4F and when he does he has six omni-reversals in his deck ready to be used. They are always useful in any deck and are almost necessary in a deck using the second solution as they replace many of the hybrids.

Reversals (16)

Assisted by the Dirtiest Player in the Game
Heartbreaker
Here's a Lesson Plan
I Won't Be Beat Tonight
Masochist at Heart
Not What We Came to See x3
Outmaneuver x2
Overexposure x2
The Second Solution x3
You Telegraphed It

Strategy Notes: Odd as it sounds this is where you are likely to get your fortitude from at least, at the start of the match.Most of your 0F maneuvers will be reversed at the start of the match but with one Second Solution or Not What We Came to See will get you ready to abuse Hardcore Hell.Assisted by the Dirtiest Player in the Game is such a good reversal as it can stop Trademark cores and of course it can reverse A New Breed Unleashed. Heartbreaker is the main reson to pack The Degnerates Faction as it stops any maneuver except cores and Assisted by the Dirtiest Player in the Game can deal with them,it is Unique but that can be a good thing as it gets around Underestimate the Competition. This card combined with other good reversals are the reason for only one I Won't Be Beat Tonight and no Try to Get Away. Here's a Lesson Plan is the best extreme reversal in the deck and is cheap, it can be played after one Not What We Came to See and helps to deal with extreme decks(Khali,Terry Funk)and deals three damage.I Won't Be Beat Tonight is another colossal reversal in this deck which like I said before can be used to put A Thousand Years of Anger from the ring to the ringside and then it can be brought back by Russian Leg Sweep. Masochist at Heart is in case you get hit by a colossal before you have much fortitude.Not What We Came to See is a brilliant card which deals three damage, hopefully you will still be behind in fortitude,and it gives a boost to the hand.So combined with the second solution you have a revesal to almost every core and you can draw up to twelve cards. Outmaneuver is the cheapest way to stop A New Breed Unleashed and can pick up manuevers if you are playing an extremist which includes almost anybody as many people are packing The New Breed.Overexposure is a great reversal which can take out means and colossals as well as extremes and many cards in this deck can pick it up into the hand from the ringside in this deck. The Second Solution gets you fortiude to play your cores and reverses almost anything in your opponent's first turn that is not covered by Not What We Came to See. And You Telegraphed It is the only momentum reversal in the deck but there are alot of cards which can put it on the bottom of the arsenal so it can be reused again and again.

Final Strategy / Other Notes: This deck is built around Hardcore Hell but by the time any ring removal card will be played you should have got some use out of Hardcore Hell and taken out most of your opponents hand. With this deck one fortiude should be enough to get a lot of damage in and you can even just try and play one move a turn until you have destroyed their hand and then just keep hitting throws until they have no cards left in their arsenal.