User:Jack

Who am I

I'm Jack Truong. I run this wiki. I also run the main website. I'm a programmer who's also interested in OverPower. I'm combining my skills to help the OverPower revival.

What are my skills

I'm a database programmer, which means I love tables. I'm the current maintainer of the OverPower Database. I prefer to use MySQL/MariaDB for my database engine.

I'm also a very proficient PHP developer, the main website is written by me from scratch. I also use Javascript/jQuery as well as HTML5 to make the site more lively.

I know my way around Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro. I use VirtualDub to record the OverPower matches at our Toronto Meetups. I own three webcams, 2 Microsoft Lifecam Studio and 1 Microsoft Lifecam as well as two Snowflake microphones for proper sound recording.

What are my interests

I'm interested in OverPower. I'm also interested in new technologies and social media (I also run the Twitter account, YouTube page and Facebook page.

My OverPower background

My first exposure to the game came in 1996 or so after my brother and I received some IQ packs. We did nothing with them for a while until we picked up some starter decks. We played a little bit but it never stuck and I caught the Pokemon TCG craze. My interest with OverPower still stuck around and I came up with an online nickname based on the Web-Headed Wizard card: webheadwiz. I first used it in an online version of X-Men vs. Street Fighter and then on Battle.net and Diablo 2. I kept reading about the game but because I was only a teenager with strict parents, I couldn't afford any cards. After getting a part time job, I started buying more OverPower. While attending the University of Waterloo, I had several jobs and was able to find local sources of OverPower and discovered eBay. This was around 2006.

In 2008 or so, I thought about creating an OverPower fan page because there weren't any around. So I created overpower.ca. Nothing came out of it for a while but people kept asking if they knew people who played in their area. Eventually, I was contacted by Sean Ballantyne and we organized a meetup in December 2010. From there, work on the website increased, social media accounts created and this Wiki was born.

My OverPower collection

Like the majority of hardcore collectors, I own the entire set of playable cards minus 2 of the Classic Inserts (Any-Power Teamwork and Avenger's ID). I also collect miscellaneous items to establish a complete collector's set of OverPower cards. This includes magazines and comics that has OverPower cards sealed inside them, Monthly Venture newsletters, posters, booster boxes, etc.

Items I am missing

From the collectibles checklist I am missing the following:

• $5000 OVERPOWER KICKOFF TOURNAMENT! CARDS
  • Large 6 3/8"-by-7 15/16" cardstock, long advertisement text and some art on mostly yellow front, uncropped Spider-Man vs. Wolverine artwork on back. (Gen Con version)
• OVERPOWER PROMOTIONAL FLIERS
  • THE REINFORCEMENTS HAVE ARRIVED Tall 4"-by-9" fold-out flier
• OVERPOWER GAME GUIDES (Comic book size and format)
  • No. 1 CLOBBERIN' TIME "special pre-released edition"
• BOOSTER DISPLAY BOXES
  • MARVEL OVERPOWER Original Base Set ( 24 packs, 17 cards each ) (August 1995)
  • POWERSURGE Marvel Expansion ( 24 packs, 17 cards each ) (December 1995)
• OVERPOWER DISPLAY STAND
  • Big Wolverine/Venom/Gambit die-cut artwork, thick cardboard, slots to hold Booster/Starter Deck Display Boxes, Game Guides and Promotional Fliers
• DUAL STARTER DECK COMBOS (2 Original OP Decks in peg-hanging black box)
  • LETHAL ALLIES VS. DEADLY FOES (sealed)
• OVERPOWER POSTERS 16"-by-20"
  • SPIDER-MAN VS. WOLVERINE No text
  • VENOM BATTLING GAMBIT No text
  • STORM MET THE THING No text
• OVERPOWER FILE FOLDERS
  • SPIDER-MAN VS. WOLVERINE Plain OverPower logo
  • SPIDER-MAN VS. WOLVERINE PowerSurge logo
  • SPIDER-MAN VS. WOLVERINE Mission Control logo
  • OVERPOWER LEGION Mostly white
• OVERPOWER BADGES
  • LOGO PIN Small rectangular enamel, OP logo on white background
• OVERPOWER LEGION NEWSLETTERS
  • THE MONTHLY VENTURE No. 1 March 1996
  • THE VENTURE Vol. 2 Iss. 1 September 1997
  • THE MISSION STATEMENT Vol. 1 No. 1 (November 1998)
  • THE MISSION STATEMENT Vol. 1 Iss. 2 (March 1999)
• LOST PROMO CARDS
  • TACTIC: ARTIFACT 6I 5A AVENGER'S ID CARD Hulk & Wasp
  • UNIVERSE: TEAMWORK 6A AA +0+0 Capt. America, Spider-Man, Wolverine

From the promotionals checklist I am missing the following, mostly sealed items.

• WOLVERINE FIGHTING 6 PROTOTYPE CARD
  • Ventura Magazine Vol. 2, #2 (Mar./Apr. 1996)
    • I have the magazine but the card wasn't in it
• WARLOCK HERO CARD
  • Inquest Gamer Magazine #52 (August 1999) (sealed)
• DC ANY CHARACTER CARDS
  • THE BATCAVE
    • Combo Magazine #23 (November 1996) (sealed)
  • DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
    • Tuff Stuff's Collect Magazine (November 96) (sealed)
• UNIVERSE: CAPTAIN UNIVERSE CARD
  • Inquest Magazine #14 (June 1996) (sealed) -- pending transaction

What decks I like running

The main types of decks I like are decks that are heavy hitting, mostly with high damaging cards like AR or HN.

H1N1

The deck is named after the special code that's prominent in the deck: HN. Since the H1N1 virus of 2009 was supposedly deadly and fits the moniker, I figured to bestow the name upon it.

Characters

• The Hand (19)
• The Starjammers (19)
• Nick Fury (20)
• Hawkeye (Reserve) (17)

Strategy

This deck is one of the "staples" of OverPower, but I added my own strategies to it.

I like this deck because each character has a way to deal an 8 damage. With the Marvels OverPower Expansion, the deck has some tricks with Nick Fury's no-Activators and Hawkeye's Action Leader. The strategy is to just hit them hard and fast. I employ Maximum Carnage's Lambs to the Slaughter in the deck and just go ahead and KO the opponent's main character, there's almost no defense that battle.

Record

In its current (June 2012) form, the record for the deck has been 4-4 in Toronto Tournaments.

Offensive Energy

I haven't really put much thought into the name.

Characters

• Adam Warlock (20)
• Cyclops (20)
• Gambit (20)
• Velocity (Reserve) (16)

Strategy

The point of this deck is to also deal damage, just like the H1H1 deck. This deck employs the FE special to allow for damage chaining (FE from Adam Warlock to Cyclops' FT and Gambit's EJ or HN) to get a much more sustained attack. Cyclop's FT from the Marvels OverPower expansion allows for a 9 damage -- more than HN's 8 damage and it's non One Per Deck. I use that card with Captain Universe to get the damage up to 10 so I can bypass some defense deck's AD specials (the 1 to 9) and its legal to use in the FE chain. I tend to like throwing in some of the lesser used cards in my decks as seen with Captain Universe and with the Basic/Training/Doubleshot on my Muir Island deck. Adam Warlock also has some AR specials.

The deck also employs Maximum Carnage's Lambs to the Slaughter event for a battle of pure damage. The only drawback to this deck is that there's no natural 8 Energy characters, it's a bit weaker since that 8 won't be possible for an attack. H1N1's strategy was to always place the 8F on The Hand so if venture is not won from the hand, you can win it with The Hand.

Alterations of the deck could include:

• using the 3-stat Adam Warlock (14) to give myself a 18-point character in the reserve
• using Invisible Woman (20) (who also has FE) to give myself a 17-point character in the reserve
  • this would help me with the +2 venture each battle as well as allowing me to put Hawkeye in the reserve for a lot of damage (as opposed to Velocity's MW), no (or very minimal) AD specials would be used however
• using 3-stat Invisible Woman (12) to give myself a 20-point character in the reserve
  • this allows me to put Captain Atom (20) in the reserve to throw out some 6F teamworks
  • or Sunfire (20) to get some chip damage from his FT and NG from reserve -- useful for spectrum KO
• using Superboy (18) to give myself a 18-point character in the reserve
  • this would bring in the elusive EY special into my deck

Offensive Strength

I haven't thought of a name for this one either.

Characters

• Savage Dragon (19)
• Heroes for Hire (21)
• Super Skrull (3-stat) (15)
• Hawkeye (Reserve) (17)

Strategy

Strength decks have always been known as the power-houses of OverPower and this deck is no exception. As of this edit, the deck has only been built and not tested or tweaked.

The same strategy with FE specials in my Offensive Energy deck is employed in this deck. Savage Dragon plays FE followed by Super Skrull's HN and Heroes for Hire's HY. Unfortunately, you don't receive follow ups with FE specials so you can't use the JW special and do a massive chain (3->[8|[3->8]]). With 2 characters with 8-Strength in the deck and Hawkeye's EJ from Reserve, there is plenty of venture damage per hand in this deck.