By archivist



The results of the first PDC Events have been received. Out of the 18 stores that held an event this weekend, we have received info from 9 (one of those stores only sent us partial info). The data we have collected covers the makeup of the 1st & 2nd place teams, the number of players in each event and where they placed – for PDC Leaderboard Points. As a reminder, the point award structure is:

1st Place = 5 points

2nd Place = 4 points

3rd – 4th Place = 3 points

5th – 8th Place = 2 points

9th+ Place = 1 point

As a friendly reminder, all stores must send in the WES Event Link and Top 2 Team Lists so their players can receive Leaderboard Points.

We have compiled the data from nine 1st/2nd pairings (18 teams total). {NOTE: based only on the data we have received so far, this covers only half of the PDC Events held} Some general stats and observations:

A total of 84 individual players participated (10 of these participated in 2 events).

There were 62 different character/action cards and 14 different BACs used.

Of the 62 character/action cards, 32 were used only once.

The most common character card used was Professor X, a total of 13 times (combining the Trainer and Recruiting Young Mutants versions, 7 & 6 times each respectfully); followed by Constantine – Hellblazer (7 times), Red Dragon, both Lesser and Greater versions (7 times), Wasp – Founding Avenger, Human Paladin – Lesser Emerald Alliance and Parallax (the Source of Terror and Fear versions) (6 times each).

The most common action cards used were Millennium Puzzle and Lantern Ring – Limited Only By Imagination at 4 times each.

Character/action cards from The Avengers vs. X-Men set had the most used by far (20 total), followed by War of Light (9), Uncanny X-Men (7), Age of Ultron (6), D&D and Yu-Gi-Oh (5 each), Justice League and Amazing Spider-Man (4 each) and 2 promos (Iron Fist – The Immortal and Spider-Man – The Amazing ).

Of the 14 BAC used, the most common was Magic Missile (7 times).

5 BACs were only used once.

The sets from which the most BAC were used were from the D&D and Uncanny X-Men sets (4 apiece).

While we now have 8 sets and over 1,100 cards to choose from, based on this data it shows that the cards from the AvX Set are still very viable in tournament play. There are still stalwart cards being used from the Meta (Tsarina, Green Goliath, Gobby and Johnny Storm) – used no more than 4 times each – Johnny Storm only 3 times, but many of the 20 cards used from the AvX set were only once – 12 total. This shows that there are still many winning combos within this set.

Many of the most frequently used cards (4 to 7 times) had key globals. One particular omission was Doomcaliber Knight – Fiendish Fighter: this card was not used at all. The globals from these cards are very familiar to many players: PXG, Human Paladin, Wasp, Mera, BEWD, Red Dragon and Parallax.

The War of Light set, while only having 9 different cards making an appearance, had the most instances per card. Even though AvX had the most cards used, many were only 1 time instances. The cards from the WoL set were used between 3-7 times a piece and only two (Lantern Battery – Power Source and Lyssa Drak – Future Sight) were each used once.

The familiar cards from the D&D set that have made many top 16 team tournament lists are still strong: Red Dragon, Human Paladin and Kobold – Greater Humanoid. Interestingly, Prismatic Spray was used only once.

The most recognizable cards from the Yu-Gi-Oh set were still being used, but not as you’d expect. BEWD and Millennium Puzzle were used 4 times apiece, but it was the Skeletal Warrior version of Doomcaliber Knight that was used (3 times); Jinzo – Trap Destroyer only 2 times and Morphing Jar – Canopic Jar only once.

The Justice League set had the poorest showing. Constantine – Hellblazer is the only standout. There were only 3 other cards used (one time apiece): Black Manta – David, Cheetah – Cursed Archaeologist and Constantine – Antihero.

The latest released set, the Amazing Spider-Man, only had 4 cards used, all except one was used only 1 time: Aunt May – Independent, Black Widow – Stinger, Kingpin – We Do Not Speak His Name and Mary Jane – MJ: the only card used 2 times. This is to be expected as players have not had as much time to test their teams with these new cards. Interesting omission, given all of the discussion and hype, Vulture – Adrian Toomes and Silver Sable – Hero For Hire were not used. I do not expect this to be the case going forward.

Overall, many teams were build for fast, aggressive play. There were a few control teams, but as stated above, many of the familiar control cards were not as frequently used as have been seen in past tournaments. I am pleased to see such a wide variety of cards and combos doing well in competitive play and looking forward to even more interesting brews.