Game: WWE Raw Deal

Thread: Re: King of the Ring Tournament

Dam the Man — 2008-10-23T07:06:29+00:00

franklincobb wrote:
Dam the Man wrote:

You'll probably deny reading this thread after I say I used to be a huge mark for the Ultimate Warrior / (and used to be might be bending the truth as well, still love watching that Hogan vs Warrior from Wrestlemania VI) !

Are you kidding? That's one of the best booked matches of all time, playing to each guy's strengths, hiding their weaknesses, and keeping the audience eating out of the palms of their hands.

Never really thought about it, to be honest. One of the reasons I like wrestling from back in the day is that a 1-on-1 match usually stayed that way, you didn't get people running in to interrupt every 5 minutes.

Too bad Warrior went batshit insane and could never be made in Raw Deal, even after they started making Legends. At least you can do Hogan/Andre!

I did get 2-3 Andre starters in the original shipment and did try him out, but he just seemed WAY overpowered. Pack a 100 cards into deck AND end your opponent's turn after their 2nd card ? Egads!

On a completely unrelated note, before continuing with the tournament, I have to say that I still use Win98SE on my other comp. Mainly it's to play System Shock 1 and Virtua Snooker, but also let's me kick back with these two:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWF_WrestleMania:_The_Arcade_Game

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWF_In_Your_House

And now on with our scheduled programming:

Semi-finals

The Phenom
Rhyno

Carlito
Brock Lesnar

Match 1

The Phenom vs Rhyno. Phenom started off great, Running Lariat right off the bat, but somewhere along the way his momentum stalled and Rhyno creeped ahead. Sadly for the Phenom, during the mid- to late-game when he needed maneuvers, pretty much any maneuvers, he kept drawing reversals to hand and overturning maneuvers to Rhyno's moves. Last three turns were thus: Garbage Can Lid, Rhyno Stampede, Garbage Can Lid, not one was reversed on overturn (and couldn't be from hand, since they were the first card played on each turn). Extreme Warfare saw Rhyno defeat the Phenom.

Match 2

Carlito vs Brock Lesnar. Carlito loses rarely, but more often than not, it happens against Brock. Thanks to his RAW Intercontinental Title Belt (+1 Superstar rating) and a higher roll, Carlito gets to go first. Using Apple and Cabana, he manages to land Kick TB on Brock, but sadly nothing else. In fact, that's all Carlito manages to do for the rest of the match, which would consist of Brock's next (and FIRST!) turn. Finally Brock managed to play Vince McMahon Interferes! for the first time in the tournament in the pre-match phase and he utilizes to help him pull off the following sequence: use Vince, BASH Punch, BASH Suplex, Crowd Roars, Running Lariat, Battling the Voices, BASH Punch, BASH Suplex, which puts him at 36F, and since BASH Suplex was a Grapple, F-5 follows for a 1-turn pinfall!

(oh well, not like Brock never had any squashes, or Goldberg, or Khali, or... )

Final

Rhyno
Brock Lesnar

Rhyno vs Brock Lesnar. Brock was expected to be here. Rhyno? Honestly didn't think he'd make it this far. But Extreme Warfare helped him deal damage on the way, would it carry him for one last match? Rhyno gets ahead, but Brock quickly builts up Fortitude as well. Rhyno utilizes Foreign Objects + ECW One Night Stand Event to recycle cards from his discard, as well as forcing Brock to discard from his hand. Brock is sitting with 35+ Fortitude, waiting to unleash the F-5, but Rhyno hits Chain moves when he's removed Brock's hand to 1 and FO: Strikes at other times. Sadly, Brock damage-reduction is too much for Rhyno to handle. With 15 cards left in Brock's deck, he finally deals enough damage to put Rhyno away.

Winner: Brock Lesnar

End notes

- Something I forgot in the opening part, about the deck composition. Of the 27-30 Maneuvers, 9-11 are F0 maneuvers in each deck, so on average one should have at least 1 of those in the starting hand (barring some low starting hand Superstars).

- Kurt Angle getting so badly beaten was a real shock. Even without his Backlash cards, he normally does well (Ric Flair and Immortal One decks have Summer of Slam).

- Rhyno in the final was a positive surprise. Would've needed to be packing RMS Strikes to finish Brock off. Or Spit at Opponent to destroy Brock's hand. Or something. He might've had enough Fortitude at the end to play GORE! GORE! GORE!, but sadly, don't have that card.

- Jake the Snake came within 1 (of 2 possible) cards of beating Brock. Given that Jake deck had actually never won a game before this tournament (it's one of the 4 new batch decks), that was a shocker. Shifting Jimmy Hart from the Ted DiBiase deck has helped balance Jake.

- What could Ted DiBiase have done, if he'd not met Carlito on the 1st round? His power makes him able to normally get Million Dollar Dream (and possibly Maintain Hold afterwards) into play without hassle.

- Brock winning, well, it was sorta expected. He loses very rarely, you really need to somehow keep him below 35F (or make him discard cards from his Backlash deck, Phenom could've done that). That way you can play Grapple/Submission/High Risks without fear of getting hammered by the F-5 on reverse. Benoit did manage to pull off a Turn the Tide + Suprise Drop Kick combo, which took out 26F from Brock earlier this week. Also, if Benoit can hit From the Top Rope his Kamikaze Headbutt (can't be reversed), it means 20+ damage. Alas, Ultimate Survivor wiped the floor with the Benoit deck.

Thread: Re: King of the Ring Tournament

vandemonium — 2008-10-23T01:53:44+00:00

Great write up! I've been enjoying the hell out of this game. I've been buying up the sell offs as well

Thread: Re: King of the Ring Tournament

franklincobb — 2008-10-23T01:25:59+00:00

Dam the Man wrote:

You'll probably deny reading this thread after I say I used to be a huge mark for the Ultimate Warrior / (and used to be might be bending the truth as well, still love watching that Hogan vs Warrior from Wrestlemania VI) !

Are you kidding? That's one of the best booked matches of all time, playing to each guy's strengths, hiding their weaknesses, and keeping the audience eating out of the palms of their hands.

Too bad Warrior went batshit insane and could never be made in Raw Deal, even after they started making Legends. At least you can do Hogan/Andre!

Thread: Re: King of the Ring Tournament

Dam the Man — 2008-10-22T18:39:07+00:00

franklincobb wrote:
Seemed like the Jake the Snake vs Undertaker match at Wrestlemania VIII, where Jake just couldn't put Taker away.

Awesome! An old school wrestling fan.

These reports are great, they bring back memories. We used to run events in our area that drew about 30 or so on a couple of occasions. I was *heavy* into this game and it was the last CCG that I was heavy into after a long line of them.

Keep them coming!

You'll probably deny reading this thread after I say I used to be a huge mark for the Ultimate Warrior / (and used to be might be bending the truth as well, still love watching that Hogan vs Warrior from Wrestlemania VI) !

Thread: Re: King of the Ring Tournament

franklincobb — 2008-10-22T18:21:17+00:00

Seemed like the Jake the Snake vs Undertaker match at Wrestlemania VIII, where Jake just couldn't put Taker away.

Awesome! An old school wrestling fan.

These reports are great, they bring back memories. We used to run events in our area that drew about 30 or so on a couple of occasions. I was *heavy* into this game and it was the last CCG that I was heavy into after a long line of them.

Keep them coming!

Thread: Re: King of the Ring Tournament

Dam the Man — 2008-10-22T16:03:06+00:00

franklincobb wrote:
who is being managed by "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart

Whoa! You guys are playing with more than just starters if you have one of those. Up until the game's demise that was one of the hottest cards going, a tournament exclusive that sold for as much as $40.

Yeah, I mentioned to guy from Singapore. He was getting rid of his stuff and had that on the list, I figured what the hell. Mainly got Brock + F-5 (I still remain a Brock-mark ; stupid Velocity starter isn't available anywhere ), Brothers of Destruction specific cards and Jimmy from him (it was a 30 or so cards I bought from him, a few mentioned later in this post). Beyond that it's just starters + rumble packs.

On with the tournament

Round 2

Match 1

The Phenom vs Kurt Angle. Kurt gets hammered like never before. Right off the bat, Phenom uses You're Gonna Pay! to toss Kurt's Backlash cards. And Kurt has a hand of med-Fortitude maneuvers, zero reversals. In the end, Phenom reverses an Ankle Lock with Reach for the Ropes, then From the Top Rope, Undertaker's Flying Clothesline. Could've won by reversing with Clumsy Opponent or Elbow to the Face (both were in hand), but went with style. Kurt ends with 0F and only 2 Maneuvers attempted in the whole match.

Match 2

Ric Flair vs Rhyno. Flair starts off nice, but Rhyno manages to kick it into gear not soon after. Pretty fast Flair's ability doesn't hinder Rhyno at all, since he's got plenty of Fortitude and Extreme Warfare pretty much guarantees that the first maneuver each turn only adds to it. Nicely timed use of Hardcore Timekeeper's Bell gets rid of Flair's hand. Rhyno finishes Ric off with a Back Fist (kinda anti-climactic, but oh well) and ends with 48F.

Match 3

Carlito vs Ultimate Survivor. Using his Apple and Cabana lets Carlito get ahead on Fortitude. He then manages to reverse Survivor's "default" starting move: fish Matt Hardy Movement, play it. Survivor tries to gain some Fortitude, but is denied, always from hand. In the end, Corkscrew DDT into Carlito's Way DDT sees of Ultimate Survivor, who finishes with 0F. Carlito on the other hand, has 26 cards in hand!

Match 4

Brock Lesnar vs Jake the Snake. Jake hammers Brock, building enough Fortitude to be able to hit Snake Bite DDT Finisher, but can't draw it or Mind Games with which to fish it out (Brock is at 0F, so Hold the Phone! wouldn't stop it). Brock is in the last 1/4 of his deck remaining, still with 0F when he finally kicks it into gear. Power is Back (all cards cost -5F for this and opponent's turn), 2x Shake It Off and suddenly Jake has lost 19F. Then it's time to BASH Punch (Jimmy Hart was used on an earlier Power is Back + BASH Punch combo), Crowd Roars, BASH Slam (made multi by Crowd Roars, good thing for Brock, since it gets reversed once on overturn) and Technical Bear Hug. Brock finishes the turn with 38F!!! In the end no F-5, but a win for Brock.

Seemed like the Jake the Snake vs Undertaker match at Wrestlemania VIII, where Jake just couldn't put Taker away.

Semi-finals

The Phenom
Rhyno

Carlito
Brock Lesnar

(semi-finals and final tomorrow)

Thread: Re: King of the Ring Tournament

franklincobb — 2008-10-22T15:24:09+00:00

who is being managed by "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart

Whoa! You guys are playing with more than just starters if you have one of those. Up until the game's demise that was one of the hottest cards going, a tournament exclusive that sold for as much as $40.

Thread: King of the Ring Tournament

Dam the Man — 2008-10-22T11:51:51+00:00

First off, some background info. A while back I noticed that the local game store's website listed Raw Deal cards in the "selling off" section. Thought about it for a day or two, but then decided to order 4 Starters and 2 Rumble Packs, figuring those should be able to combine into 2 decks that would be competitive against each other. They sent an email saying that the shipment was sent and that they'd added a "little extra" for free. After the package arrived and I got it open, saw a note saying they'd sent all they had left. Which turned out to be 19 Starters and 4 Rumble Packs!!! So much for just 2 decks. Not that I was complaining.

After putting together 12 decks, used those for 200+ games with my friend. Some decks were a bit stronger than others, but that's the way it goes in the wrestling business as well. All the decks followed a standard formula of: 20 Reversals (basic stuff, like Escape Move, Step Aside, Clumsy Opponent, Elbow to the Face, etc.), 27-30 Maneuvers, rest Actions (regular or Hybrids) and/or Superstar-specific Reversals (Superstar Maneuvers were included in the Maneuver part). Also, total damage was pretty much in the same neighborhood.

Then a couple of weeks back I had my friend use his Visa to order more cards from a US store. After they arrived, put together 4 more decks following the same formula. Thus there were 16 decks, right number for a single-elimination King of the Ring tournament, to find out which is the best deck. Funny how it came to be exactly 16 decks !

Some notes on the decks. Given that they are mainly starters, there is a lack of Trademark Finishers (7 of the 16 decks have a Finisher). Similarly, Backlash deck cards are mainly limited to those that came in the Rumble Packs, though I did get a few when I ordered some individual cards from a guy in Singapore. Also, if there is a Rumble Pack featuring a Superstar involved in the tourney, I have it. In addition, they are "realistic" decks, so for example, Hulk Hogan won't be pulling Topes or Planchas, etc. Some decks have 2 Superstars listed, those get switched from one game to the next, adds a bit of variety. Hulk Hogan/Immortal One is the only Superstar I have 2 different Starters for. And finally, I'm using Rattlesnake instead of Stone Cold, 'cos I got 3 Ted DiBiase starters originally, and the Million Dollar Dream has Rattlesnake logo as well.

Pre-tournament, if I were a betting man, I'd put money on one of these three: Kurt Angle, Carlito or Brock Lesnar. Dark Horse might be Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase.

(note: all of the above was written before the bracket was drawn or any games in the tournament were played)

King of the Ring, single-elimination (lose and you're out)

Round 1

Brothers of Destruction
The Phenom

Edge/Leader of the Edge Army
Kurt Angle/Your Freaking Hero (Chain heavy)

The Immortal One
Ric Flair (Chain heavy)

Booker T/Bookerman
Rhyno (Foreign Object galore)

Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase
Carlito

Chris Benoit
Ultimate Survivor

The Rattlesnake
Brock Lesnar (BASH deck)

Victoria
Jake the Snake

Match 1
Brothers of Destruction vs The Phenom.

Early on BoD were dominating, but in the end, Phenom managed to reverse Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' which would've meant his defeat, then drew Rolling Neck Breaker (weirdly appropriate, no?), finishing off BoD. They had 2 cards left, Phenom only 3. Could've gone either way.

Match 2
Leader of the Edge Army vs Your Freaking Hero.

In typical Kurt Angle/YFH fashion, it was a question of when not if he'd get his Backlash cards into play. Once Wrestling with a Broken Freakin' Neck and Do YOU Live by the Three I's hit the table, it's usually a matter of time before Kurt wins. Most often those are precided by Chain Wrestling to fish out Angle's German Suplex or AGS from the starting hand. This time, it did cost YFH some cards to play Do YOU and the 3 I's, thanks to Indian Strap Match Stipulation + Leader's Superstar ability. Nevertheless, Back Breaker followed by Angle's Moonsault saw off Leader of the Edge Army.

Match 3
The Immortal One vs Ric Flair.

Ric Flair has always been an annoying opponent, because of his ability. But he also tends to get outlasted by opponents, as he normally has very few cards in hand, as he uses his power to keep opponent's Fortitude low. This time though, not only did he keep Immortal One at single-digit Fortitude, he also drew his high-damage moves and played them successfully, finishing off with Shoot Suplex which fished out Precision Figure Four that led to a Ric Flair win. Immortal One finished with 1 Fortitude!

Match 4
Bookerman vs Rhyno.

Rhyno's Extreme Warfare pretty much guarantees that both Superstars will built up Fortitude and fast. In the end, Rhyno grabbed the win with Powerbomb, Rhyno's Stampede and Struck by Kendo Stick triple.

Match 5
Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase vs Carlito.

Tough draw for Ted. Carlito's small starting hand is really deceptive, since he can built up a huge hand in no time. In this game he also twice used Spit at Opponent to make DiBiase discard 4 cards, which both time was his entire hand. Appropriately enough, Carlito's Way DDT Finisher finished off the Million Dollar Man.

Match 6
Chris Benoit vs Ultimate Survivor.

Benoit normally deals plenty of damage, but in this game, he never got off the starting line. Ultimate Survivor (Matt Hardy remake) used his ability to fish out Superstar specifics cards, ending up playing more of those than non-superstar cards. The final two turns were as follows: From the Top Rope, Matt Hardy's Patented Leg Drop, Matt's Moonsault. Benoit reveses on the overturn, but plays nothing. US then fished Roar For the Fans and played Standing Drop Kick TB for the win. Benoit finished with 0 F!

Match 7
The Rattlesnake vs Brock Lesnar.

Brock's BASH deck rarely has trouble dealing enormous amounts of damage. 35 Fortitude requirement on F-5 gets met very, very often, which then makes playing non-Strike maneuvers vulnerable to a D30 Reversal by the F-5! Add to that his Strike damage reduction and it's no wonder this is one of the tougher decks, not unbeatable mind you. BASH Suplex followed by F-5 dropped Rattlesnake.

Match 8

Victoria vs Jake the Snake.

Only Diva deck and one of the few Diva Superstars with no restrictions to the maneuvers she can pack. Even with her being managed by Stevie Richards was not enough to stop Jake the Snake, who is being managed by "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart! Leaping DDT finished off Victoria, who had 6F by the end.

Round 2

The Phenom
Kurt Angle

Ric Flair
Rhyno

Carlito
Ultimate Survivor

Brock Lesnar
Jake the Snake

(more updates later)

Thread: Re: WWE: Raw Deal - It's all about the game!

vandemonium — 2008-08-16T02:46:45+00:00

If you can get an Andre the Giant deck and challenge Coldy with it. He'll be amused. Trust me

Thread: WWE: Raw Deal - It's all about the game!

cold_fuzion — 2008-06-26T15:56:52+00:00

..and how you play it:
Each jabroni starts the game with a deck based around a different WWE superstar. Like this one:]]>
You'll notice the two numbered values, these will determine your starting hand size and who goes first. Each wrestler also has a special ability that can allow for different options during your turn.

It's all about control:
During your turn you may play as many cards as possible from your hand. These cards have three basic types maneuvers, actions and reversals.
]]>
There are sub types as well, but we'll ignore those for now. Each card has a requirement in fortitude to be able to play it. You start the game with 0 fortitude, but can quickly gain it by playing maneuvers that cause damage. So you keep playing cards on your turn until you run out of cards you can play, decide to stop, or you have a maneuver countered.

..and if you can take it
There are two basic ways to reverse a maneuver. Play the correct type of reversal from your hand, or while taking damage if you flip the correct type of reversal over it stops the damage. Whenever you take damage you flip cards from your deck into the discard equal to the amount of damage taken.

I am the pain and I know you cant take me
The game ends when either a player is taking damage and runs out of cards to flip or if a player ends their turn with no cards left in their deck.

Time to play the game
Like any CCG there is, of course, a lot more to the game than this. There is an optional deck of cards called the backlash deck, and loads of card types I haven't even touched on, but at it's base the game is quite simple. It does an excellent job of simulating the back and forth of a wrestling match and features many of the WWE superstars of recent years and a few classics as well. It also has the bonus of being out of print and relatively cheap to get started, I found starters for $1.

It plays quick. What? It's a lot of fun. What? Filled with inside jokes about professional wrestling. What? It features your favorite WWE superstars. What?

Now get of of your sorry butt, go out to your little car, go to the store and buy some cards. And that's the bottom line 'cause Stone Cold said so!]]>

Edit: Youtube Video

Thread: Raw Deal Superstar Creations and Overlays

Fireball Island — 2008-05-02T16:34:52+00:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10505289@N05/sets/7215760328807...

The above link will take you to all the superstars I've made, along with the overlays I made. Overlays are new superstar cards you simply overlay over an old superstar that acts the same as that superstar. Thus an old deck becomes new again.

Also check out the forum here:

http://www.teamcanadaonline.net/index.php/topic,4712.0.html

Thread: Tourney Kits Available.

BrucecO — 2008-01-06T17:09:06+00:00

Hey guys,

I got this link off of the Yahoo! Raw Deal list. They are selling the tourney kits @ www.rawdealshop.com. I know this is probably the cheapest way to get the belts, and for me (outside of ebay) the only way. I ordered the classic kit, I will let know you how the order went when it comes in.

Thread: Re: Cancelled

franklincobb — 2007-11-15T14:57:18+00:00

I think I'm pretty OK on stuff from that period--it's stuff from Royal Rumble--Great American Bash that I'm a bit lighter on. I'll look over some of the old stuff tonight and see if I'm short anything I need.

During that era I was a heavy collector, buying multiple boxes like crazy. I did a lot of running tournies from the Summerslam era through Armageddon, until I just didn't have time to organize the events anymore.

Thread: Re: Cancelled

sdiberar — 2007-11-15T14:50:01+00:00

Ken B. -- mail me if you are interested in lots of cards from Summer Slam on back to 1st edition. I will be reasonable...

Thread: Re: Cancelled

franklincobb — 2007-11-15T14:13:18+00:00

I'll just add that the game's creator made changes to the game roughly a year ago that the lion's share of the player base really hated, and was quite stubborn about it and would hear no criticism. I quit buying new cards once these changes were made.

He always maintained it was only a "vocal minority" who disagreed with the game's changes.

Now, less than a year later, we see the cancellation notice.

Good game engine hampered by a stubborn and eccentric creator. Oh, well...looks like in a few months I can just pick up old stuff for cheap, so it isn't a total loss.

Thread: Re: Cancelled

sdiberar — 2007-11-15T12:37:41+00:00

Guess I waited too long to sell my old cards on eBay.

Thread: Re: Cancelled

scooterb23 — 2007-11-15T06:25:43+00:00

Surprisingly, this was a pretty fun game. It captured the back and forth of a wrestling match very well.

When it came out, I was working in a game store, and the clientele was largely made up of huge wrestling fans. This game, in my store at least, was bigger than Magic for a good two years.

After a while, just like many games, they added some aspects that made the core players go "Wah?" Specifically the pre-match cards, and other cards like them...eventually, the enthusiasm for the game fell. But it still held its own (although Magic had regained it's #1 spot).

I know wrestling still has a strong following, but I think even the hardcore fans have become disillusioned with the whole thing. With stuff like steroids, and the scary number of wrestlers that have died recently, a turn away from action to "entertainment" and no real superstars left to hang their alliegance with...it was only a matter of time that the card game would die off.

Kinda sad to see it go, Raw Deal was a good time.

Thread: Cancelled

franklincobb — 2007-11-15T04:45:59+00:00

From Comic Images' website today:

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMIC IMAGES CEASES PUBLICATION OF RAW DEAL

After more than 7 years, numerous expansions and thousands of cards, Comic Images will cease publication of Raw Deal as of December 31, 2007, as the WWE and Comic Images mutually decided to end the game due to a declining interest in Raw Deal.

While many have played a part in the success of Raw Deal, we would like to take this opportunity to particularly thank the following: the WWE, who provided all the support a Licensee could ask for; all the distributors and retailers that stood behind Raw Deal from day one; Mike Foley and Barron Vangor Toth, the co-developers of Raw Deal; all the playtesters, who provided a steady stream of logical, insightful comments and, most of all, the players who made Raw Deal the success that it was.

Thanks!
Hank Rose
Alan Gordon"

Image

CondorTheMerciless — 2007-10-15T18:08:25+00:00

Rev3 Mid-Match Action Card

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CondorTheMerciless — 2007-10-15T18:07:18+00:00

Rev3 Mid-match Maneuver Card

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CondorTheMerciless — 2007-10-15T18:00:00+00:00

Mag Ad on Game Play

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CondorTheMerciless — 2007-10-15T17:57:50+00:00

Trade Ad for Qualifier Tournies

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CondorTheMerciless — 2007-10-15T17:43:56+00:00

Rev3 Undertaker Foil Card

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CondorTheMerciless — 2007-10-15T17:42:50+00:00

Rev3 Umaga Ultra Rare Card

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CondorTheMerciless — 2007-10-15T17:40:04+00:00

Rev3 Ultra Rare Stone Cold Card

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CondorTheMerciless — 2007-10-15T17:38:33+00:00

Rev3 Ultra Rare Ric Flair Finisher Card

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CondorTheMerciless — 2007-10-15T17:37:17+00:00

Rev3 Superstar Card

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CondorTheMerciless — 2007-10-15T17:35:36+00:00

Rev3 Premium Rare Faction Card

Thread: Raw Deal - The 1,2,3 for this Great Game.

CharlieWonka — 2006-10-02T23:18:54+00:00

Firstly, I have played this game competitively for over five years now and have had the greatest time doing so. I am a Local Manager for the game and am responsible for organising tournaments in the area of Stoke-on-trent, UK for local players to come and play and win Prize Support from the makers of the game Comic Images. Thankfully we have the great FLGS of Shire Games to host our tournaments in once a month but it can only host a 12 player tournament but we always get a full complement of players.

So what is the great game I hear you ask.

Well it's based on the World Wrestling Entertainment(WWE) franchise that brought us charcters such as Hulk Hogan and The Rock. The game is generally a 2 Player game although can be expanded into many different formats so you can play a tag match with four players or even a full 20 Player Battle Royale or Royal Rumble.

First of all you have to choose one of the many superstars to make a deck for which usually consists of your main arsenal of 60 cards and a Backlash deck of 20 cards (10 which can be Pre Match and 10 which can be mid match). Your superstar will have two statistics. the first will be his Superstar Value. This is an indication of how popular they are within the WWE and ranges currently from 0 to 10. The higher the superstar value the more chance you have of going first in the match. The second statistic is your starting hand size which is how many cards you will draw from your shuffled arsenal. Each Superstar also gets a unique ability that you should use to your advantage and consider when building your deck.

Before the main game there is a Pre match section of the game which represents all the story lines and things that go on Backstage in the WWE before the wrestling match actually begins. Starting with the player with the highest superstar value. The players get to play 5 of their 10 pre match cards.
This phase is split into 5 smaller phases. These are,
1. The Venue Phase - only one venue can be played.
2. The Feud Phase - Both players may play a feud.
3. The Stipulation Phase - The type of match it is
4. The Manager Phase - Has your superstar been accompanied to the ring.
5. The Event Phase - What happened Backstage.

Once this phase has been resolved the superstar values may have been changed by Pre-Match cards such as title belts. So the person who went first in the prematch is not necessarily the player who goes first in the match.

The main segment of the game now begins. The game uses a clever system that determines which cards you can play when. There are several types of cards. These are,

Action Cards - Let's you manipulate your deck or recover or bring a ladder or table into the ring.

Maneuver Cards - these are the moves that can be seen performed by WWE Superstars on Television. Suplexes, Body Slams, Punches, High Risk Moves which usually need a set up move or card played before they can be played.

Reversal Cards - These can only be played on your opponents turn and are Blocks to his moves and actions

You will need a mix of these cards for your deck to work well.

The game uses what is called fortitude to determine what you can play at any time. You start the game with 0 fortitude and can only play cards of 0 fortitude. These cards may have an amount of damage on them which then becomes your fortitude - the more damage you do then the more fortitude you will have to play the more powerful cards whcih have a much higher fortitude value.

On your turn you will play moves or actions, when you do your oppoentn has a chance to play a reversal to stop it. If he does not then the card goes into your ring area and if it had any damage gets added to your fortitude. Also if the card had damge on and was successfully played then your opponent must overturn cards equal to the amount of damage as the card played. It may still be reversed if an applicable reversal is overturned. It will remain your turn until you either choose to not play a card and pass or when your opponent reverses one of your cards. If a card is reversed it goes to a discard pile called the ringside pile.

You may play up to five of the cards that are in your backlash deck from the ten available at the appropriate time as per any other card.

The match is won when one of the arsenals has been completely overturned meaning no more damage can be taken and the superstar has been pinned.

The game is a great game for any fan of WWE wrestling. It has a huge choice of cards available as it is now in it's 20th set. Being a collectible card game will put some people off the game straight away but I urge you to purchase two starter decks and try this great game out. I remember when I didn't play in tournaments and used to just use starter decks to play games and games of Raw Deal. Hopefully you will become a better player than I and can travel to Wrestlemania to compete in the Raw Deal World Championships.

Thread: Tournaments start up again after the Summer Break.

CharlieWonka — 2006-10-02T22:25:14+00:00

Eleven Players turned up at Shire Games, so I needed to make up the numbers so everyone had a match each round and there weren't any byes, but all I had thrown into my bag that I could use to play with was a Kennedy Chain deck and I didn't have his better Ultra-Rare Foils. It wasn't even in deck sleeves. I have slipped in recent months.

Peter Dance - 5-1 - Paul Heyman
Lancelot Dance - 5-1 - Shane O Mac
Paul Allen - 4-2 - Largest Athlete
James Weaver - 3-3 - Spirit Squad
Martyn Tristram - 3-3 - D-X
James Mckeating - 3-3 - Randy Orton
Gareth Tristram - 3-3 - Dude Love
Truan Morrish - 2-4 - Bobby Lashley
Jack McQuiggan - 2-4 - Leader of the Peepulation
Dave Allen - 2-4 - Spirit Squad
Richard Jervis - 2-4 - Carlito
Mark Lockett - 2-4 - Ken Kennedy

You could tell I haven't played in a while although with no Ultras I'll take that win ratio of 2-4. He did have trouble finishing people off due to not having his Trademark Finisher although he did have a Chain Finisher in his mid-match deck.

Peter beat Lancelot to win first choice of the superstars on offer - All others played off against people in their win bracket to determine in what order they would choose their Prize Cards.

Gareth Tristram won the Signature - Johnny Stamboli which was nice as he has never won one before.

Thread: The Day of The Enforcer - Variant Tournament

CharlieWonka — 2006-02-21T02:24:59+00:00

It had been a long time coming but it was finally time for the two Kings to visit the home of Armageddon this year, Preston, UK.

Steve has had some great gimmick tournaments in the past and he didn't disappoint this weekend with his Day of the Enforcer tournament.

Along with your Superstar you get a random Enforcer whose ability you can also use during the game. No Enforcer Superstars can be played.

I had two choices of deck to play for the day. RVD or RTC and decided to play RTC as I had played RVD in Shrewsbury only weeks before.

A big submission deck that uses censorship match to censor strangle hold or reach for the ropes but does not essentially need to censor that and can adapt to the superstar I am facing.
Enforcer in brackets

Round 1 - RTC (3MW) vs Jeff Hardy (Nidia)- Ben Hickman
Well considering I was a smackdown deck I had the ability to draw three and ditch three - I could look at a lot of cards in one turn with RTC but I only actually used the ability once. Break it Down, breaking ground proved an immensely useful card in this match as di Here comes the Money reversing Lita to the Extreme. With Jeff stuck on low fortitude I hunted for moves until the submissions finally took there toll on Jeff.
1-0
Round 2 - RTC (Los Guerreros) vs Booker T (People's Champ) Leigh Thorpe
What a bad bunch of enforcers to see - I got nothing from Los Guerreros ability - I cannot pack Face or Heel cards and so will never have anything to remove from the game to reduce the damage of my opponents moves. Meanwhile Booker T gets the People's Champ and stops me from playing Right to Interfere not good.I see Premier Raw in ring area and Slingshot into the ringpost in hand. I censor it so it can't be played but in hindsight I I should have censored the Boooker Thrust kick. I didn't know you could keep getting it to hand and playing it which proved vital for Booker T to get fortitude. I eventually keeled over after a How Many Times and then soon after the Houston Hangover.
1-1
Round 3 - RTC (People's Champ) vs Eugene (Big Show) - Jon Berry
Bonus for me here - At least I know if I have the people's champ no one else does. I can also hit submission after submission after I have broken through the hand which happens in this game. I claw to take out the last reversal and then Test Of Strength fo the win. Eugene got stuck only playing one unique and one move a turn.
2-1
Round 4 - RTC (TB Hogan) vs Vince Mcmahon (Heidenreich) - Joe Townsend
Joe's excellent Vince Mcmahon deck took me by surprise but add in the ability of Heidenreich and it looks really bad. I use hogans ability a couple of times but find it difficult to break through Joe's hand as he plays Panic after Panic to build his fortitude - I t is not long before Garbage can Lid after Garbage Can Lid takes out each member of RTC one at a time.
2-2
Round 5 - RTC (Ric Flair) vs Big Show (Dude Love) - Pete
I let out a little cheer when I get Ric Flair but then see Dude Love as my opponents enforcer. If I remove cards then Big Show can pick them up and play them again. I manage to avoid my enforcer being changed from my opponents Suplex after suplex. This game turns into a marathon as neither player can kill the other. Big Show eventually runs out of reversals and a Camel Clutch takes out the Backlash and I have to play move after move after move to finish the Big Show off. This really was the monster game of the day which I just scraped in the end. I had five cards left in my arsenal at the end.
3-2
Round 6 - RTC (Goldust) vs Road Dogg (Big Show) - Steve Hassall
Having practised the night before against steve's deck I knew to censor Apply Illegal Leverage as the only way I could reverse it was by Iron will. thank goodness for Judo Takedown and the permanent F it gives stopping Road Dogg from using Comeback effectively or Undermine The Competition. Steve gets hit by the Big Show ability making him discard two for a Paniced move. Submissions break through in the end and finishes Steve off.
4-2

I made it to the semis but had to play Steve again.

RTC (Ric Flair) vs Road Dogg (Rhyno)
Almost an exact repeat of the last match bar for the finish as Steve realised he was beaten and adding Flair to the mix doesn't help Road Dogg in being ahead on fortitude.Steve used Rhyno's ability knowing he had no foreign objects in deck to pin himself denying me the satisfaction.

And on to the final which was to have two enforcers against Noel Corless.

RTC (Jericho, Hurrifriends) vs Los Guerreros (Raven, Your Freakin Hero)
We have a lot of back and forth but it seems Los Guerreros have an answer to everything - Right to Interfere is used early and leaves me with no defence to the German Suplexes(TB) that come my way. Los Guerreros take no damge at all from the moves I try as they reduce them down by removing cards from the game. The abilities of the Enforcers didn't come into it much. Latino Heta gets the moves required for to finish me off and Noel takes the win.

I get a Raw Deal Championship Belt for coming second and look forward to trekking up to Preston for Armageddon.

I urge anyone to try the Enforcer tournament as it is immense fun as you have no idea what you are going to get. You hear the groans and cheers as the enforcers are revealed. It was great fun - thanks for a great day Steve.

Thread: Raw Deal--A Quick Review

franklincobb — 2005-08-25T03:54:31+00:00

So you want to step in the ring?

Released in 2000, Raw Deal has proven to be a hit with wrestling and non-wrestling fans alike, provided they can overcome any prejudices against the license. Attempting to simulate all the antics you'll see on TV every week, Raw Deal puts two "Superstars" against one another to see who the better wrestler is.

THE OBJECT:

"Pin" your opponent by running his deck out of cards.

HOW TO PLAY:

There are several different types of cards in the game. First (and most importantly) is the Superstar card, which depicts your chosen wrestler and includes all types of wrestlers from big names such as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock to lesser-known guys such as Jamie Noble, Rene Dupree, and many others. On each card you'll find that character's starting handsize, any special abilities they may have, and their "Superstar Value", a number representing how big of a star that character is (and is used to determine who goes first).

Wrestler abilities really shine and give each character a different feel. For example, the Rock is able to place a card from his discard pile on bottom of his deck at the start of each of his turns, making him a tough foe to pin down. Then there's the Undertaker, who can trade any two cards in hand for one from the discard pile, meaning that as the game goes on and he takes more damage, he has more resources at his disposal.

Characters primarily deal damage to the opponent in this game via the play of maneuvers, such as Arm Drags, Body Slams, and more. Each move has a "Fortitude" cost and damage rating. Each maneuver also has a "type" associated with it to denote what sort of attack it is. Body Slams are 'Grapples', while Punches are 'Strikes'. This is important because whenever you attempt to play a move against your foe, he can attempt to reverse it by playing a Reversal card.

Reversal cards demonstrate crafty counters to your opponent's maneuvers, and most are keyed to reversing moves of a certain type. Step Aside, for example, is a Reversal that allows you to counter a Strike move and take no damage from it.

This is important because just like "real" wrestling, your turn continues until your opponent reverses you. Unlike other games simluating fighting or wrestling, you are only limited by the number of cards that you have at your disposal, so being able to play reversals to counter your opponent is vital.

Lastly there are "Action" cards that simulate all the in-and-out of ring shenanigans you'll see on each broadcast. Actions cover everything from rolling outside the ring to take a breather to using a female manager to distract your opponent.

OKAY...BUT IT'S A WRESTLING GAME

I realize the license is a difficult thing to overcome, particularly for people who aren't fans of the show. However, Raw Deal does indeed offer a great deal of attractive gameplay elements, particularly to CCG vets. All of your "standard" deck strategies are in this game--everything from direct damage to discard to aggro to control...given the wide range of superstars and related abilities plus a HUGE card base means that there are a lot of options out there to try.

Plus, the ability to keep pounding away at the opponent until he is able to counter you provides a nice give and take to the gameplay and forces interaction, something that is missing from a lot of other CCGs.

All in all, yes, you're playing a game based on wrestling....but the gameplay stands on its own without being dependant on the license.

HOW THE GAME HAS CHANGED

Since it's debut and the very basic mechanics you've seen above, there have been a great deal of mechanics added to the game. Most significantly is the addition of a sidedeck that contains cards that can be played both before the game starts (to help you setup a particular strategy, for example) as well as during the game (ensuring that even if your hand is empty you still have options available to you).

The game also attempts to keep as current as possible with the ongoing WWE product, so many changes you'll see are based on wrestlers leaving the company or the introduction of new stars into the game. Over the course of time everyone from Kane to Mankind to the Dudleyz to most recently legends such as Roddy Piper have been introduced into the game.

HOW IT'S PACKAGED

The game is packaged in the industry standard boosters and starters. The starters are a good deal, unlike for many CCGs; for one thing, each starter contains foil cards exclusive to that wrestler, and many of them are quite powerful. Also, Comic Images makes a habit of inserting popular rares into the starters, often polling fans before a sets release to see what rares they would like to see the most in the new starters.

There are "Ultra-Rare" cards, and to be honest these can be a bear to track down. Thankfully, unlike collector's nightmares such as Yu-Gi-Oh, generally speaking you only ever need one copy of any particular Ultra-Rare, making it a little easier on the pocket book. There's a very brisk Ebay market for Raw Deal cards, so it's very easy to find whatever you might be looking for.

TOURNAMENT SUPPORT

Raw Deal has probably some of the best Tournament Support I've seen. Earlier this year they began selling kits that contained an autographed signature gameplay card, 4 "prize" foils, and 12 promo foils. Everyone who entered the tournament gets one of the promo foils (multiple kits are used for higher attendances), with the winners getting the "prize" foils and the autographed card going randomly to one participant.

These signature cards are pretty hot commodities and are very cool to own for a wrestling fan. Raw Deal is very much in tune with what its fanbase would like, and this has helped them have a very solid following.

CONCLUSION:

Pros--

* Diversity of strategy
* Back and forth pacing of "match" encourages interaction
* Probably the best starter deck value of any CCG

Cons--

* Can be difficult to collect certain Ultra-Rare cards
* License can be a turn-off for non-fans
* Even with diversity of strategy, still not as "open" a system as Magic: The Gathering

All in all, Raw Deal is a fun CCG with a lot of strategy, great valued starter decks, and is a big draw for any wrestling fan. For those who aren't as big into the "wrasslin'" scene, there's still a great game to be had here if you can overcome the license.

Is it the best CCG of all time? Not quite. Still, it's fun and has enough strategy to explore to keep most CCGers occupied for awhile. Thumbs up.

FINAL RATING: 7.0 out of 10

Thread: Re: Session Report:: Small Tournament, Hazel Green, AL

franklincobb — 2005-07-30T17:57:07+00:00

Oh yeah, sub-optimal decks abounded here--but that was the point.

Ever since we branched out into the larger Tennessee area, my local guys were just getting hammered. They have large events once per month, and the most brutal tech always gets showcased...my guys were feeling left out. So we had a small, fun event.

I wouldn't have played that deck in a serious event in a million years, and with SS3 being available now, even the deck I had could be 1,000,000 times improved just with the TB Feud....

Thread: Re: Session Report:: Small Tournament, Hazel Green, AL

CharlieWonka — 2005-07-29T17:38:37+00:00

Nice little report - A very interesting mix of superstars.
I have been using this prematch with Austin and with his new throwback feud it works really well.

Feud
Rules were meant to be Broken
Break You.

You draw much quicker than they do and threaten there hand early limiting there pre match options otherwise you get a good start on them with any move you have in your hand bringing Austin's Excellent cards into play.

Thread: Session Report:: ATTACK OF THE KILLER LOCAL!

franklincobb — 2005-07-29T14:45:28+00:00

We had a MASSIVE local last month, here are the details:

When Jude arrived at Game Time in Hazel Green, AL that morning at 10:00 am, he was startled to find several guys waiting to get in.

And in they poured. And in. And in. Jude’s eyes got wider, and he quickly surmised what I had warned him: “Get more tables”. And off he went to secure more tables, somewhere out there.

Wess Victory, former World champ, was in attendance. I saw pretty much everyone who had said they were coming walk through that door, and then some.

And still the players came pouring in. Final total: 31

So when the smoke cleared and the registration cards were done, here’s how the superstar breakdown fell:

Superstars:

x 3: Babe of the Year, Booker T, Stephanie McMahon

x 2: Big Show, Chyna, Paul Heyman, Your Freakin' Hero

x 1: Al Snow, Big Poppa Pump, D-Von, Dude Love, Eric Bischoff, Evolution, FBI, Gail and Molly, HBK, Lita, People's Champ, Rock, Spike, Vince McMahon

And the tournament began in earnest, as everyone seemed to be having a blast…

After five rounds, we had our top eight!

Top Eight:

Anthony King (Babe of the Year) (5-0)
Wess Victory (Stephanie McMahon) (4-1)
Wesley Kinslow (Paul Heyman) (4-1)
Patrick Kincaid (Big Poppa Pump) (4-1)
Jesse Savage (FBI) (4-1)
Lynn Moody (Eric Bischoff) (4-1)
Jeremy Skelton (Your Freakin' Hero) (3-2)
Jason Griffey (The Rock) (3-2)

Due to a previous comittment, however, Mr. Griffey had to bow out. Our next few players in the standings were either Babe of the Year or Stephanie McMahons, leaving someone to sneak in via the diversity rule:

Jason Cope (Spike) (3-2)

First, we took a break to award two random DVDs, a booster pack to everyone who didn’t have a top eight finish, an extra Al Snow, Guest Ring Announcer I had….oh, yeah, and a little “Backstage Signature” card with Torrie Wilson’s signature on it.

Needless to say, no one left empty-handed, but some left less empty-handed than others!

So how did it break down after this?

Top Eight:

Anthony King (Babe) defeats Jason Cope (Spike)
Wess Victory (Steph) defeats Jeremy Skelton (YFH)
Wesley Kinslow (Heyman) defeats Lynn Moody (Bischoff)
Jesse Savage (FBI) defeats Patrick Kincaid (BPP)

Top Four:

Anthony King (Babe) defeats Jesse Savage (FBI)
Wess Victory (Steph) defeats Wesley Kinslow (Heyman)

And in the final, with an autographed “Miss Jackie” on the line:

Wess Victory (Steph) defeats Anthony King (Babe)

Final Standings:

Player Superstar W-L
Wess Victory Stephanie McMahon 7 - 1
Anthony King Babe of the Year 7 - 1
Wesley Kinslow Paul Heyman 5 - 2
Jesse Savage FBI 5 - 2
Lynn Moody Eric Bischoff 4 - 2
Patrick Kincaid Big Poppa Pump 4 - 2
Brad Reeves Babe of the Year 4 - 1
Jeremy Skelton Your Freakin Hero 3 - 3
Jason Cope Spike Dudley 3 - 3
Alexander Simbeck Stephanie McMahon 3 - 2
Jason Griffey Rock 3 - 2
Blake Edmonson People's Champ 3 - 2
Michael Holloway Stephanie McMahon 3 - 2
Eddie Walker Babe of the Year 3 - 2
Stephen Stults Chyna 3 - 2
Pete Sampson Big Show 2 - 3
Jerry Moody HBK 2 - 3
Max Goodpasture Paul Heyman 2 - 3
Brian Simmons Chyna 2 - 3
Bryan Grant Booker T 2 - 3
Cory Beasley Al Snow 2 - 3
Todd Jones Your Frekin Hero 2 - 3
Kenneth Moody Booker T 2 - 3
Michael Urbi D-Von Dudley 1 - 4
Chad Wawrzyniak Evolution 1 - 4
Tyson Hayes Dude Love 1 - 4
Elliott Cannon Big Show 1 - 4
David Hutto Vincent McMahon 1 - 4
Joe Jackson Lita 1 - 4
Luke Allen Booker T 2 - 2 (drop)
Jeremy Bradford Gail/Molly 1 - 2 (drop)

------------------------

Want some decklists? Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get either Wess’s or Anthony’s in time, but I do have a few others from my top eight players.

First off was Lynn Moody’s top eight, 45 reversal maindeck Bischoff monstrosity:

Eric Bischoff’s Dirty Low Blow
Heel Raw

Enforcers (8):
Jericho, Kane, or D-Von Dudley
Test or Freakzilla?
Shane O’ Mac or Stephanie
The People’s Champ, BFM, or The Game
Stone Cold, HHH, or Christian
Mankind/Cactus Jack or Dude Love
Coach, Cole, or Finkel
RVD or Booker T

Pre-Match (10):
Osaka, Japan
Bitter Rivals
Hell in a Cell Match
Managed By Paul Heyman
Managed By Miss Jackie
Managed By Eric Bischoff
Old School Wrestling Match
Backstage Ambush Attempt
Run the Gauntlet

Mid-Match (10):
Dirty Low Blow x 3
The Road to Victory
Unscrupulous S.O.B.
You’re As Graceful as a Cow on Ice
Backlash
Took That on the Chin
Undermine the Competition
This is Going Nowhere Fast

Maneuvers (1):
Atomic Lariat

Actions (14):
Comeback
He’s Playing Possum x 3
Inferno Match x 3
Jr. Style Slobber-knocker x 2
Defensive Cover x 2
Beating the Odds x 2
My New Gimmick

Reversals (45):
Strangle Hold x 3
Chained Heat x 3
Iron Will
Clumsy Opponent x 2
He’s as Crazy as a Pet Raccoon x 2
Too Many Rules, Too Many Refs x 2
Don’t Try This At Home x 2
Suplex into the Ring x 2
Escape the Rules x 3
Oversell Manuever x 3
Knee to the Gut x 3
Rolling Takedown x 3
Step Aside x 3
Elbow to the Face x 3
Escape Move x 3
Get the “F” Out x 2
Break the Hold x 2
There are Two Things You Can Do: Nothing, and Like It x 2
Hold the Phone!

------------------------------

Here’s Jason Griffey’s Rock deck, which would’ve been top eight could he have stuck around:

The Rock
Stall-tastic

Prematch
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Bitter Rivals
Wrestlemania
Managed by Dawn Marie
I’m going to Break You
Smackdown #1 announcer Funaki
Underrated Superstar
Shades of the Great One
The Brahma Bull
Know your Role

There are two different plans here: One is to just go Rivals/Dawn/Brahma/Break You. If that’s not the way to go, then you go: Saskatchewan/Rivals/Dawn/Brahma/Underrated. The final option is to drop Know your role last, then brahma, then Shades.

Midmatch
The People’s KipUp
Backlash!
Graceful as a Cow
F. Surge
Sustained Damage
Road to Victory
Panic Grab
Second Wind
FAD
How Important Is it?

I would probably drop the FAD, since I normally played Saskatoon/underrated

Arsenal
Reversals
Step Aside x3
Escape Move x3
Reach for the Ropes x3
Clumsy Opponent x3
Elbow to the Face x3
Chained Heat x2
Escape the Rules x2
Hold the Phone x2
Just Bring It x2
Two Things x2
You Fight Like a Woman x2
Nerve Hold x2
Inside Cradle x2
Backslide x2
Spine Buster x2
Take that Move…
The Price we pay
Not Today Pal
Lift a Boot

Actions
Inferno Match x3
He’s Playing Possum x3
That’s Broken x3
Enter the Stratusphere x2
ICBRTR x2
JR Slobbernocker x2
Energy Burst
People’s Eyebrow
People’s Elbow

Manuevers
Shoot Headlock x2
Waist Lock

-----------------------------

How about the guy who got to top eight in Jason’s place? Here’s a great Spike build:

Spike Dudley
“Attack of the Little Person”
Raw Heel

Pre-Match:
Houston, Texas
Bitter Rivals
Duchess of Queensbury Rules
It’s Showtime
Rules Were Meant to Be Broken
Underrated Superstar
Blood is Thicker than Wood
My Sacrifice
Bad Blood
Dance, Coach, Dance

Mid-Match:
Panic Grab x 2 (This should be something else, as it can’t be played with Strangle Hold)
Turn Up the Heat
Brothers From Another Mother
Raw Deal!
Dudley Dog
You’re as Graceful as a Cow on Ice
Backlash!
Pound 4 Pound
Unscrupulous S.O.B

Maneuvers:
Shoot Headlock x 2
Dudleyz^3
Drive Opponent Through Announcer’s Table
Backslide x 2
Beatings from Dudleyville
Pump Kick
Brass “Nuks” Shot
Struck by a Kendo Stick
Discus Punch x 2
Head Butt Drop x 2
Suicide Dive x 2
Strangle Hold x 2
Back Rake x 2
Atomic Lariat x 2

Actions:
Giant Killer
He’s as Crazy as a Pet Raccoon x 2
150 lbs. Soaking Wet
Don’t Hate da Playa, Hate da Game! x 2
Spit at Opponent x 2
Don’t Try This At Home x 2
Roll Out of the Ring x 2
Brotherly Love x 2
Commissioner Rules x 2
Let’s Wrestle Already! x 1
That’s Balanced!
Beating the Odds x 2
Forcible Entry x 2

Reversals:
Good Golly, Miss Molly Holly!
Step Aside x 3
Oversell x 2
Psychotic Bump x 3
Manager Interferes
Escape Move x 3
Elbow to the Face x 3

Still not enough? How about Wesley Kinslow’s top four Heyman deck:

--------------------------------------------

Here is the deck that made 3rd place (barely!) at the Hazel Green Event. A good time was had by all of The Untouchables and I can now rock it out with my Vince GRA. (BUH BUH RAY FOREVER!) Again, props to the anyone who has built something of this nature in the past because not all of these ideas are mine AT ALL. On to the deck...

Paul Heyman
Raw/Heel

Prematch: 10 cards
Underrated Superstar
Managed By Teddy Long
Backstage Politics
Managed By Miss Jackie
It's All About The Game!
It's Showtime!
You Rang?
Raw IC Title
The Title Is On The Line
Mangled Intro By Lillian Garcia

Midmatch: 10 Cards

You're As Graceful as a Cow On Ice
Road To Victory
Title Belt Clubberin'
Reverse 180 Degree Chairshot
Let The Bodies Hit The Floor
You're Dangerously Close
Dirty Low Blow
Took That On The Chin
How Important Is It?
Unscrupulous S.O.B.

Main Deck: 50 Cards

Maneuvers (16):
Struck By a Kendo Stick x2
Struck By An Unknown Foreign Object
Chairshot x2
Overhand Chairshot
Running Lariat x2 (SS)
Shoot Headlock x2
Blindside Slam x3
Judo Takedown x3

Reversals (25):
Let's Wrestle Already! x2
Manager Interferes x2 (SS)
Strangle Hold x2 (SS)
Step Aside x2 (SS)
Elbow To The Face x3 (SS)
Escape Move x2 (SS)
Get Outta Here!
Get The "F" Out!
Backslide (SS)
Nerve Hold (SS)
Kissin Up To The Stinkin' Fans x2 (SS)
The Price We Pay
Oversell Maneuver x2 (SS)
Brass Nuks Shot x2
Eye Rake (SS)

Actions (9):
Trailer Park Trash x2 (SS)
Don't Hate The Playa, Hate The Game! (SS)
That Won't Make The Cut!
Roll Out Of The Ring x2 (SS)
I Can't Be Reading This Right x2
Dem Damned Dudleyz!

+ ALL ENFORCERS and ALL LEGAL STIPULATIONS!

Usually start as Cole or as my opponent (Steph)... incredibly versatile but hates early agression... built to destroy turtle decks and other heavy reversal builds... and it works like a charm.

GIT ER DONE!
Wesley A. Kinslow

----------------------------

Well, that (FINALLY) wraps things up! Thanks for reading! Next time…..THREE signature cards. Stay tuned….Raw Deal action is definitely heating up in the Tennessee and North Alabama area!

Thread: Session Report:: Small Tournament, Hazel Green, AL

franklincobb — 2005-07-29T14:25:54+00:00

We had a small local last week with our more casual players, for which I donated some of our older prize support to cover. I did this so a few newer players could play in a less cutthroat environment.

Here were our players:

Jeremy Bradford--Team Angle
Philip Smith--Goldberg
Todd Jones--APA
Ken Bradford--Stone Cold Steve Austin
Luke Allen--Kane

First Round: Me (Steve Austin) vs. Luke (Kane)

My Austin deck was straight old school plunge/grapple w/ Hell in the
Cell, with DTA/What helping get rid of Surge if it was there. I had
tested it against my brother and it had done well, so due to being
short of time to build a new deck I just went with it.

Wish I'd taken the time to rebuild!

Luke's Kane deck was very aggressive, of course nailing you right
from the start with Born of Hellfire. Since I'd played the Cell (my
deck counts on it), I actually saved him a pre-match slot. Oh, and
I lost the Stunner in those six cards to boot. Ugh.

The match was brutal and ugly, with both of us nailing moves left
and right. Apparently we left our defensive game at home. I
actually thought I had him after using Do You Want a Hug? (This
card is definitely one of the best Premium Rares in DO) to give him
a hand of garbage and submission reversals. Unfortunately I had
lost my Stunner to the Born of Hellfire, so I didn't have a massive
move to finish him off with.

Last turn of the game--we're both really low on cards in the deck,
but I had Don't Trust Nobody in hand, and a big move to follow it up
with for the kill next turn. Luke takes one look at our respective
F values, then reaches into his Backlash deck--Dirty Low Blow for
four (boosted by BoH). I'm left to flip over damage for the pin,
the DTN unable to save me. Arrrrgh. Great game, but UGGGLY!

Result: L (pinfall) 0-1

Round 2: Ken (Austin) vs. Todd (APA)

APA has always been one of those decks that just has my number
usually. APA, Flair, and Jericho are like my big nemesis decks;
they always seem to get the best of me. I was determined this time
that my plunge was going to overcome their big handsize.

And it did....for awhile. But then I made TWO key mistakes.

For the first half of the game, I was dominating. He had no answer
for my plunge after I discovered he was running Fortitude Surge-
less. I hit him, hit him, and hit him some more, but I soon ran out
of plunger cards and he still had cards left. He had 4 fortitude,
and I had 27. And I had a Stunner in my hand.

First mistake: I used Do You Want a Hug? Not a mistake that I
played it, but how I resolved it. Seeing he had only four
fortitude, I stripped his hand of reversals and low F moves and
instead stuffed his hand with BIG fortitude maneuvers he couldn't
play. I had some reversals in hand, so I figured I was OK even if
he drew some low F maneuver.

Of course, his next turn he draws a Shoot Slam, for which my Escape
Move can only sit and curse at. Then he proceeds to unload on me
with some of the very moves I put in his hand.

Mistake #2: Remember I said I had 27 F and a Stunner in hand? I
had planned all along to nail whatever big move he played next with
the King Interferes, giving me 30 F and Stunner, game over.

But then he Eye Rakes me. And again, my "thought these reversals
were solid" hand had no answer for that. So his next move is
unreversible. He plays a German Suplex or something, and in my
panic I took the damage...then used my fourth pre-match slot for
Took That On the Chin.

Now, since I'd already taken the damage, TToTC was NOT necessary.
In fact, if he'd played another big move I could've still King'ed it
then. Instead, I ended his turn but he had a couple of pain
reversals and now the fortitude to play them, even if I plunged
him. And I'd used up all of my mid-match slots. Nothing I played
got through again, and he soon Powerbombed me (one of the cards I
put back in his hand with Do You Want a Hug?!?!?) for the win.

Me so stupid. Where's the jar to put the nickels in for the
stupidity fund?

Result: L by pinfall (0-2)

Round 3: My sorry 0-2 self earned a bye. Yay! 1-2 for me. Oh,
well, since I can't win the belts anyway, it's of little
consequence...the only thing hurtin' is my pride.

The final two came down to Todd's APA and Philip's Goldberg. Todd
had beaten Goldberg handily during the regular rounds, but in the
finals Goldberg proved to be too much for Ron Simmons and Justin
Bradshaw Leyfield...so for the second month in a row, Goldberg earns
a title (this time the coveted Raw IC title, which everyone had
wanted VERY much).

We'd wrapped up early, and I had an extra European Title in my
collection, so I said, "Who wants a Rumble?" By that time, two of
our players who were late were there, and everybody was gung-ho
about the idea. I was going to play but had to leave early, so I
left them to duke it out for the slightly less coveted but still
cool to those who didn't have it Euro belt.

Here were the rules:

1. Play goes to the left. When your turn ends, no matter how it
does so, play goes to the left.

2. You can hit anyone you like. However, you must do "follow-ups"
(High Risks, things of that nature) on the same player you set it up
with.

3. You can also reverse anything you like. If you do so, you take
any associated damage for having done it--for example, if you
Oversell a maneuver for someone, YOU take the damage and draw two.
The turn then passes to the left of the player who had their
maneuver reversed.

4. If you "Rake" someone or earn a "next turn unreversible" on
someone, it waits for your turn and then "remembers" who you'd
Raked, e.t.c before.

5. Everyone enters at the same time. Last man standing is the
victor. More of a Battle Royale than a Rumble, but hey, the "Royal
Rumble" name is much cooler anyway.

6. We had no alternate rules for the play of "Over the Top Rope",
e.t.c. Since no one knew that we were going to do a Rumble (myself
included), no one had a chance to construct their deck in that
fashion, so it didn't seem fair to toss those rules in there.

Last man standing: Jeremy's Team Angle eliminates Philip's Goldberg
to claim the Euro belt!

Thread: Session Report : Practice for weekend tournament

CharlieWonka — 2005-07-15T23:20:13+00:00

As per usual if me and my good friend Malcolm have nothing to do we usually play Raw Deal. Tonight however was a deck testing session for an upcoming local tournament only two days away. I had built a new deck I was dying to play based on the character of Eugene. His ability allows him to use any other characters superstar specific moves. This has the potential to be fantastic as the superstar specific moves are by far the best moves in the game. Eugene does have a downside that his superstar value is always considered one less than his opponent.

To overcome his downside I have built the deck using a heavyweight belt giving me +2 Superstar Value which should allow me to go first after the prematch phase. I used the Bad Blood Pay-per-View Main Event Prematch to get me a superstar specific move that I could use at the start of the game. This was usually Beatings from Dudleyville.

We played four games in total. 2 games against malcolm playing Hulk Hogan, 1 against Rob Van Dam and 1 against Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Eugene managed to overcome all these decks and not lose a game. The deck used high damage reversals after using Trademark Finishers to build fortitude. 2 games were won using JBL's Clothesline from Hell. One was won using Goldbergs Spear and the final game was won using Brock Lock as a reversal.

We'll have to wait and see if Eugene can hold his own in the tournament this weekend.

Thread: Raw Deal - Live in the Kitchen

CharlieWonka — 2005-06-29T09:08:26+00:00

As a huge player of this game, It looks like it needs some support on these boards and I am quite happy to give it some.

Each week me and a friend get together to play and test our decks for upcoming tournaments. The next one is in Shrewsbury UK this sunday.

I decided to build a deck before playing at around 7pm. I build Deadman Inc more commonly known as the Undertaker and think I need to use the flexibility of his ability to discard 2 cards to my Ringside Pile (Discard) and take any card back. His superstar specific cards lean me to a tactic of making my opponents reversals unplayable by using a tactic called plunge and then using my bigger damage moves to finish my opponent in one quick go. I add a card called It's all about the game to my backlash deck to disrupt a lot of tactics that are currently seeing play.

Malcolm turns up - a long time friend and we start to play.
I play the Deadman all night but Malcolm switches decks after 2 games.

He has Hulk Hogan to play in the first game.
My tactic of disruption slows down the Hulkster as I quickly find a move from my deck to gain fortitude after using a raw and ready. I play a Lariat Takedown which is not reversed and takes me to 7 fortitude which is almost enough to play most of the cards in my deck. I find another Lariat Takedown and get to fourteen which is when I can employ my tactic of plunging my opponents reversals for the quick win using This Is My Yard and I'll Make You Famous to get all the cards needed pinning the Hulkster with Takin care of Business and The Last Ride.

He says he got unlucky at the start (which I think is my disruption tactic) so we replay the game. Hulk Hogan gets a much better start this time and rumbles up to about 20 fortitude on the first turn to my 0. He used running lariat, atomic lariat, Ensuguri. Due to the amount of damage taken I have a large Ringside Pile for my ability to be effective. I use the card I can't be reading this right. To increase my hand size as I have less cards in hand than the Hulkster. I discard two of them to pick a Lariat Takedown from ringside to play which gets reversed. Next turn I try the same move and this time it is succesful and gets me to seven fortitude. The turn after I get another Lariat Takedown and get to fourteen. My opponent is continually passing as he has nothing in his hand he can use. I play Simply the Bests to remove his fortitude and then use the plunge tactic as above to win the game but didn't need the Last Ride this time.

He swaps his superstar to Edge and the first game goes much like the first game against Hulk Hogan with me finding moves or picking them from my ringside pile to gain fortitude while my opponent drew none. The big plunge finish went ahead unhindered.

The next game goes completely differently - Edge speeds to high fortitude using a Pump Kick and a Suicide Lariat which makes most of the decks cards playable. I try to play moves but each one gets reversed as I continue to take damage from my opponents moves. Edge has many great cards that have a high fortitude. These were all used to stop me as I ran out of cards in my arsenal (Draw Pile) Never Gonna Stop and Atomic Driver + Edge-acution to finish me off.

Overall 3-1 to me but I'm not sure I will use the deck at the weekend - I think it needs a little work until it is ready for tournaments. But a good ground to start from.