Don't Phear the Revolution
by Ryan “Walter Kovacs” Alarie

The Undertaker. He is a mainstay in the WWE, having been around for a decade and a half. The secret to longevity is being able to adapt with the times. He started out as a monster, managed by men who spoke on his behalf, and he did his 'talking' in the ring. Over time, he went out on his own, become a cult hero, destroying monsters placed in his path, seemingly unstoppable. He has gone down a dark path of cult leader, and a more realistic path of a biker. In recent years he's gone back to his old school persona of a supernatural and unstoppable Phenom, but even now, he's retained some of the stylistic changes as part of his move set, making his action in the ring quicker than the stalking zombie of the past.

With Revolution, everything changes. Upon seeing these changes, my mind went to one of my existing decks, a BASH Phenom deck. BASH already has a naturally good match-up in the Revolution metagame, thanks to their open ended reversals. One particular card stood out because of the nature of the original deck.

First of all, the original deck was based on both parts of the Phenom's ability. First of all, being able to pack 4 of any card allows Phenom to take better advantage of BASH than most. Not only is he able to start with 4 fortitude, enough to start throwing BASH Punches, but he's also able to pack 4 of each of the reversals and maneuvers, which are very solid. Considering that BASH restricts what can be packed in a deck, packing more of the few cards you want is great. The second benefit makes up for the drawback of playing multiple BASH Pre-matches. Having his superstar specifics not count towards filling up Pre-match slots means that the Phenom can drop 5 superstar specifics, and still have room for a BASH heavy Pre-match.

One extra bonus is the Urn. It's ability to stop a card from getting removed from the game when overturned, for example A Revolution of the Mind or Divine Intervention, is very powerful. In a deck that is able to run four copies of A Revolution of the Mind, being able to also avoid losing the cards when they are overturned increases their utility even more. With an extra Pre-Match slot open, adding a copy of Rochester, New York gives the deck a way to put these cards back into the arsenal to be overturned again in the future. Add in the skipping of the draw segment from using the ACE on The Urn, and it becomes a useful way to recover over a series of turns.

Coming back to Revolution, the deck no longer has a catch all in A Revolution of the Mind. It can stop three maneuver types, however there are three new ones. Now, BASH gives some answers for the new maneuver types, but it would be nice to have something comparable to A Revolution of the Mind. Fortunately for this deck, starting at four fortitude gives an advantage. Specifically it means that this card is immediately useful:

P-2—FOIL
Only One Solution: Revolution
Hold: Core / Reversal: printed 1D—7D Assault, Hold, or Throw
arm
F:4 D:1

This card reverses any core of the three main maneuver types from Revolution. Having this allows the deck to not need to use it's open-ended reversals on the smaller Revolution maneuvers. Also, with the Pre-Match Big Evil – Red Devil, it's possible to start the game with Only One Solution: Revolution in hand.

Another helpful card gives a backlash answer for any mean or antic that you have the fortitude for right out of the gate:

88/130
Keep Your Eyes Open or It’s Game Over
Mid-match Reversal: Mean or Antic
Requirement: Not Your Opponent’s First Card This Turn
Discard 2 random cards.
F:3 D:2

One other important note about the deck. Playing BASH meant lacking the access to Volley This. Also, there are only a few BASH actions in the Arsenal. In order to make room in the deck, and to allow for a cheap action reversal, the actions were stripped from the arsenal, and copies of both All Talk, No Action and Blindsided Control.

Here's a run down of the Revolution-era Phenom BASH list:

BASH Fan Favorite Smackdown Phenom
By Ryan “Walter Kovacs” Alarie

Backstage Area(3):
Fifth Anniversary
Signing Appearance
Backstage Signing

The deck doesn't particularly require any of the Backstage cards. You may be able to get your venue into play by revealing both of the signatures, however in most cases they won't be necessary. The benefit of Signing Appearance is useful, however it isn't game breaking. Of all the cards to reveal, assuming you only reveal one to avoid Backstage Shenanigans, Fifth Anniversary is most useful, since it can allow for some recovery while also giving you an opportunity to get more copies of Blindsided Control into the ringside pile and to put a card you overturn onto the Urn.

Backlash Deck (20):

Pre-Match(10):
Rochester, New York
Managed by Paul Bearer
Big Evil – Red Devil
You Will Respect Me
The Urn
Armageddon Is Upon Us
It's Time for a Great American BASH x 4

Assuming your opponent doesn't interfere, you'll be able to play all 10 of your cards. Most of the cards are self explanatory. The uses for the Urn have been listed above. Managed by Paul Bearer acts as additional recovery power, but it can also be used to bounce some mid-matches that have been reversed to the Backlash deck for later use. One bonus of Big Evil – Red Devil is that, after it is used, it's ACE can be used to get a copy of Blindsided Control into the Ringside Pile.

Mid-Match(10):
Trevor Murdoch Is Gonna BASH Your Brains In x 3
This Is Going Nowhere Fast
Brothers 'til the End
Keep Your Eyes Open or It's Game Over x 2
You're As Graceful as a Cow on Ice
Road to Victory
Twelve Years of Terror

Trevor Murdoch Is Gonna BASH Your Brains In is an obvious choice for a BASH deck, it gives more Fortitude and goes to grab Maneuvers. Road to Victory, as an Action, doesn't use a Mid-match slot. Also, with Paul Bearer, it can be brought back into the Backlash Deck after it is played as an Action once. The Reversals are all quite broad in what they can reverse. This Is Going Nowhere Fast reverses any Non-Unique Maneuver, Keep Your Eyes Open or It's Game Over can reverse both Mean Maneuvers and Antics. Road to Victory can blank any Non-Unique Mid-Match played, including Mid-Match Antics. You're As Graceful as a Cow on Ice reverses any card, so long as you meet the requirements on the card. Finally, Brothers 'til the End reverses any Maneuver at all. The Twelve Years of Terror will occasionally be useful by removing a key card.

Arsenal(60):

Maneuvers(23):

BASH Headlock x 4
BASH Suplex x 4
BASH Punch x 4
Look Into The Eyes of The Deadman x 4
Only One Solution: Revolution x 4
Throttled Within an Inch of Your Life
Undertaker's Tombstone
Takin' Care of Business

Only One Solution: Revolution is technically a Reversal. The BASH maneuvers are solid, and playable right out of the gate. Look Into The Eyes of the Deadman are good to play one after the other, especially after reversing with Undertaker Sits Up. The superstar specifics are all difficult to reverse ways of dealing quite a bit of damage.

Reversals (37):
It's Great To Be Back Here In... x 4
The Return BASH for Scotty's W-O-R-M x 4
All Talk, No Action! x 4
A Revolution of the Mind x 4
Hold The Phone! x 4
Blindsided Control x 4
Blindsided Ego (TB) x 4
Divine Intervention
The Dead Will Rise...Again
The Raw Deal Revolution
There Is No Forgiveness This Time
The Price We Pay
The Deadman Is Alive
Physically Dominant Force
Bad to the Bone
Undertaker Sits Up!

The reversal set here is quite a selection. It's Great To Be Back Here In ... provides a solution to BASH being unable to pack Reach for the Ropes or Strangle Hold. There are a number of older cards with these restrictions on them, and it gives the deck an answer for them. Hold the Phone! is an incredible card, and many have referred to it as a Trademark Finisher killer, due to many Trademark Finishers being hybrid. As one of the few cards that can handle uniques, it is worth packing in multiples and is playable from the start of the gate thanks to the Pre-Match.

As you can see, the Phenom still has life in him. The Revolution era is another challenge for the Phenom to face, and if his record is any indication, he will be around for many years to come. With only a small amount of tweaking, an existing Afterburn legal deck, which was being played in All Axxess events, is able to take a few Revolution cards, and the untapped potential of BASH, and make a deck that should be competitive in either format once Revolution becomes legal.