Raw Dealing with Changes  
By Mike ‘VenoM’ Bauman
AKA The New VenoMinon

    Welcome friends and guests. We of course are here for a very vital reason. A reason that will impact our decisions and our futures for years to come. This choice that we currently making is one that will have substantial impacts across the world and even beyond.

… Huh? No this isn’t about the War In Iraq….
… I can’t do anything about Social Security….
… NO ONE CARES ABOUT BRITNEY SPEARS!!!

    Hold on a minute here. I’m not here to talk politics or celebrities. Today we speak of the dilemma that is Revolution. Our game is at a crossroads, and some of us will be forced to make sacrifices. Helping you with making those sacrifices is my goal. And with that in mind I have one word that can sum up the future of Raw Deal and the future of Raw Deal Revolution. That word is CHANGING.
    Now I don’t mean changing as ‘you should change your opinion on Revolution’ but rather this kind of changing is the kind of changing that we have done as Raw Deal players multiple times in the past. This is a change of strategy. There are two key strategies that have been added to the Raw Deal world, and of course, as I have always been, I am here to show you what has changed and what to do about it. The first is how we look at the game, and the other is how we play the game.
    There is one change that has nothing to do with game play or strategy, and I feel it is necessary to address this. That change is the way we teach Raw Deal to new players. I personally do not like Revolution as a product that will be the only future of Raw Deal. I feel that the best thing that Comic Images can do right now is to go back and forth making sets. That is to say that after Revolution II, I feel their best option is to make a Non-Revolution set that, of course, is not playable in Revolution format, but is legal in All Axxess and Afterburn. This advances the game that we are playing currently, and also allows the intricate strategies that have become commonplace in our game to continue and change, without tainting the newer ideas that Revolution has created. I do not personally like Revolution being a part of Afterburn, in All Axxess it is okay, not great but it can be dealt with. However, I feel that Revolution is a very good way to teach players the game of Raw Deal. It plays almost exactly the way that many people suggested as alternate solutions to Revolution when the ranting and raving were at its peak. I am not a fan of throwing in the Area Attacks (Head, Leg, Chest) since it referenced one card in the set and made it seem useless, but other than that it is a great way to slowly wean players into the game that we want to keep thriving and growing.
    Anywho, the game is in a state of change. It is nothing that we as players haven’t gone through in the past. The problem comes in the fact that this is the first time that the change has been a complete overhaul of what we know. In the past the changes have been handed to us. There were always specific answers to what was overpowered and new cards that were waiting to be exploited. This time the game has instead given us an alternate reality in which we must decide how to deal with both halves of the spectrum.  However, this massive reconstruction should not worry us as much as it has. 95% of the cards in Revolution are not powerful enough to make a killer combo or top tier deck. They can be used with the old tricks, but by themselves are weak and futile. Therefore it is merely a matter of finding what tech will be brought back into a new light to make the new decks. This will make the value of some cards go down, and the value of others go up, just like any other set. The difference with Revolution is that more cards have substantially changed in value than ever before. Lets take a look at the big movers in value after Revolution
    UP---- Elbow to the Face and Clumsy Opponent.
    Anyone who wants to play Revolution Maneuvers is going to have cards that get reversed by both Elbow and Clumsy (except for LAISE, I’ll get to that later). This is aside from the fact that they reverse most of the Shoot cards, the best Technical cards, any early Chain and Heat cards, and get you some fortitude to boot. Getting that early Fortitude, even if it is 2 or 3F, is vital in the new format.
    DOWN---- The worries about dealing with Antics.     
    There is not one non Superstar Specific Antic that I would worry about. I would rather pack 3 copies of  any of the Follow Up Antic cards, since they reverse themselves and get you a Momentum Maneuver at the start of the turn. The other Antics are cards that have been ignored for such a long time that it isn’t something that you would reverse with a Volley This anyways. Would you seriously reverse a copy of Recovery if it was in the middle of the game? If I saw someone play Recovery on me, I would hold any Action reversals wondering if they have a Break It Out or Simply The Best waiting behind it.
    UP---- I Change The Questions
    This card will be a lynchpin in some of the new era decks. Some of you may not have ever played with or against this card, so I will post it here. This is the Survivor Series 2 version, and is not playable in Afterburn, but it is awesome for All Axxess Decks.
    #73/383 ... I Change the Questions (SummerSlam, SS2)(Rare)
Reversal: Special
Reverse any non-Trademark-Finisher maneuver and end your opponent`s turn. Search your Arsenal for 1 Trademark Finisher, reveal it to your opponent, put it into your hand, and shuffle your Arsenal.
When this card is in your Ring area, your opponent cannot play the card titled When You Thought You Had All the Answers...
F: 18        D: 0
    18 Fortitude to set up a game winning kill condition and keep your opponent down? Almost every superstar can pack at least 3 Trademark Finishers. Don’t forget that Trademark and TMF are different things, so this card reverses all the new Trademark cards just as easily as it reverses a Technical Drop Kick.
    UP---- Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Deadman Inc, Kane, Two Man Power Trip, Big Show, Al Snow, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, The Immortal One, Brock Lesnar, The Rattlesnake, Big Poppa Pump, Gene Snitsky, and Heidenreich
    Does this list look familiar? These are the characters who can pack No Sell Maneuver. The guys who are underlined can also pack Over Sell Maneuver. The underlined guys can lay down a river of red cards better than any Revolution of the Mind deck, and keep his hand size solid. By the time you have to Over Sell a card, you should have enough Fortitude to get your other Omni type Reversals online. (more later)Even at the cost of discarding two cards and only playable from hand, these guys are the best way to stop LAISE decks. There no much less satisfying then seeing a nigh impossible card to reverse be stopped dead in its tracks.
    UP---- High Risks that have Cannot be reversed or Can only be reversed text
    Cheap Revolution maneuvers can get through an opponents defenses without any help, especially later in the game. If they are running short on cards, you can play REVO Punch and they won’t reverse it, saving their Manager or Sloppy for the bigger card. They won’t be expecting a High Risk after one of these and you can sneak some big damage in under their Reversals
    UP ---- (I hate to say this) GOLDBERG and CHYNA
    His ability is going to be one that will last in Raw Deal for a very long time. Her ability means that you can pack Revolution Maneuvers and Standard Reversals, and cover the entire spectrum better than anyone else (Except for Goldberg). Don’t Be surprised if you see one of each of these characters at the finals in Canada or the LCQ.
    UP---- Activated Card Effects
    With every loss there is a gain. More reversals to Maneuvers means less reversals to something else. There have not be many decks recently that have exploited Activated Card Effects, and therefore you will probably see a lot of people taking out most of their Don’t Try This At Home. Take advantage and build guys like William Regal, (I’ve Been Besmirched and Proper Planning save deck space) Snitsky (No Sell, a better Headstrong, and Baby Carriage) or Leader of the Peepulation (Tyson Tomko and Blindside Ego)
    DOWN---- Its All About The Game and guys with 3 or less hand size
    As much fun as this card is (uh…. Right) there is so much potential for a player to blast through your deck without hitting a reversal that starting without Cow on Ice, Road to Victory, and -5 hand size is too much to risk, even going first. The same applies to Carlito, Spike, X-pac, and others with a small hand size. You just can not afford to have your opponent hit an early Hold or Assault and then bridge into Mean and Colossal Maneuvers that you can not stop
    With all these changes,  your deck is still going to look very similar to what it was in the Great American Bash Era. Most likely your deck will have 25-30 Reversal cards, about 5 of which double as Maneuvers.  A deck should have plenty of search mechanics, which puts a large emphasis on That’s Broken and That’s Balanced, along with superstars like The Undertaker and Teddy Long who have search abilities. Characters that reference a specific name of Maneuver (DDT, Suplex, Punch) get a boost, while others that target a Maneuver type like Grapple or Strike get weaker. Action Combos will still see plenty of play, and get a minor boost in the fact that weaker players will take out Action Reversals to fill in the slots of the new cards to go in. Maneuvers will still be the basis of the game, and many of the decks you are playing right now merely need to have the Reversal set changed to be viable in the new formats.
    Even though the game looks to be turning upside down on its head, if Comic Images listens to the fans and provides support for both the current game and Revolution, we will be playing Raw Deal for a long time coming. I do not mind letting Revolution draw new players into the game, and they will be moving into the regular game when they wish to get more intricate and advanced in the game. I have been saying the same thing since I heard some rumors at Gen Con Indy from a Drunken Monkey outside of the Homewood Suites on Saturday night (You know who you were. They were good times). Revolution should be treated just like Portal was in Magic: The Gathering. It is a simple and straightforward way to introduce the players into the game. It is not exactly Magic because it is too easy to play, but players will move towards the full game when they feel comfortable with what they learned from the easy game. All I can hope is that Comic Images hears what the players are talking about and stops trying to spin and twist their way into our wallets. We love this game, and we do not need lies and articles and separation to like the new game. If anything, the forced segregation  of Raw Deal and Revolution is only hurting the game and its loyal players. I understand that their may be some problems with listening amongst the creators of the game, but they need to get a firm slap in the face from a Raw Deal Diva. It might even put them back in touch with the players….

You can contact me at Dementedlytwisted@yahoo.com
You can reach my AIM at Dmentedlytwiztid
You can read my Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/dementedlytwiztid
(Check out the blog, its not like any you’ve ever seen, and its really inspiring and intelligent)
    G’night Folks.
    Mike ‘VenoM’ Bauman