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[Hogtrail]

My goal is to spotlight and break down a different superstar every week by going in depth on their cards, referenced cards, and different types of builds for them.

I posted a poll on the TCO discord channel and this week's superstar this strategy session is dedicated to Sting!

PART ONE
Let's take a look at his specifics:

Sting
Starting Hand Size: 5     Superstar Value: 5
WCW Superstar Ability:  Once during each of your turns when you successfully play a Unique maneuver, shuffle up to 5 cards from your Ringside into your Arsenal.
You can pack Once a Horseman, Always a Horseman and No Sell Maneuver, ignore the "When played from your hand" text on those cards, and when they reverse from Arsenal, remove them from the game.
V2

A 5 hand size is middle of the road, but a 5 value is elite territory. Also, Sting is a WCW superstar, giving him access to a nice suite of cards I'll cover in Part 2.

As for his ability, I really like it. It gives Sting potential to survive for a loooong time. There are a ton of unique maneuvers in Raw Deal, so he has no shortage of maneuvers to trigger his ability. Plus he gets a super beefed up No Sell Maneuver – making it basically a Revolution of the Mind, just for any maneuver.

It's Showtime! - Throwback
Pre-match Event
Your Starting Hand Size is +3, and your opponent's Starting Hand Size is -2.
His It's Showtime is blank.
When he has a maneuver card in his Ring, your Sting-specific maneuvers are -10F; when he does not, your Ability is blank.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     WCW logo
V2

Oh man, this is a great card. Jumps your starting hand up to 8, and your opponent's hand gets -2, AND his ability to get the first turn is diminished with his Showtime getting blanked. But the next part really intrigues me. Getting -10F to your specific maneuvers is potentially great.

Once a Horseman, Always a Horseman
Pre-match Event
Cannot be blanked.
At the end of the Pre-match phase, draw 4 cards and when you are not The Brain Busters, put 4 cards from your hand on the bottom of your Arsenal.
When you are Ric Flair, Revolution Ric Flair, or The Four Horsemen, ignore the 'Cannot be played...' text on To Be the Man, You've Got to Beat the Man!, and when you are The Four Horsemen, that card cannot be reversed.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique
V1

This card is a good way to cycle a few cards in your opening hand, but it also gives you access to a few decent Four Horsemen themed cards.

The Man Called Sting!
Pre-match Event
This card and your It's Showtime! cannot be blanked. Your Superstar-specific Pre-Match cards do not take up Pre-Match slots in your Ring.
When you are The Stinger, when you Activate Sting-specific cards, they cannot be reversed; your Superstar-specific maneuvers are Trademark Finishers instead, and when they would be removed from the game, put them on the bottom of your Arsenal instead.
ACE: When your ability is not blank, once during each of your turns you may remove 1 card in your Ringside from the game and then draw 1 card.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     WCW logo
V6

Getting free pre match and mid match slots is always a good thing. But on top of that, the ACE of this card will assure that you'll always have at least a few cards in hand. Something i'll cover throughout this article is Sting's ability to always have cards in hand. This card is one of the reasons.

The Vigilante Has Come to WWE
Mid-match Action / Reversal: Special
As an action, your opponent cannot prevent you from playing this card and he cannot respond to it.
As a reversal, this card is F:0, completely reverse any Run-in, or any card with "GM" or "Chairman" in the text.
Shuffle up to 1 card removed from the game into your Arsenal.
ACE: When this card or No Sell Maneuver would be removed from the game by another effect, put up to 2 of your cards removed from the game on the bottom of your Arsenal and then remove this card from the game.
F: 8     D: 0     Unique     RMS logo
V7

This is a solid card. I wish it were just F:0 in general, but F:8 really shouldn't be too hard to attain anyway. Reversing any run-in is the type of card you're likely to reverse with this, and that's quite good with all the good diva run-ins. Now the real reason this card exists is the ACE. Being able to recycle your No Sell Maneuvers (or any other 2 cards you may have lost) is a really nice effect. And you get the effect even if it's reversed.

Sting's Howl
Mid-match Action
Cannot be reversed when played after a successfully played maneuver.
Reveal the top 4 cards of your Arsenal, you may choose any Face, Fan Favorite, or WCW cards and put them into your hand; put the rest on the bottom of your Arsenal.  When you did not choose, draw up to 2 cards.  When the next card played was one of the revealed cards, ignore the "Can only be played..." text on it.
ACE: During your turn when this card is in your Ring, Ringside, or removed from the game, you may discard 2 cards, and then put it in your Backlash and end your turn.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     WCW logo
V5

This is another card that can really help Sting maintain a decent hand. Of course it kind of leads you towards a Face/Fan Favorite build, but it doesn't pigeonhole you to that build if you don't want it. And the ability to get it back from any area is also quite good. Oh, and if one of your revealed cards is Let Me Get A Shot In, you can play it regardless of your fortitude haha.

On to the arsenal specifics:

Sting's Black Baseball Bat
Strike + Strike: Foreign Object
Can only be reversed from hand by or Arsenal.
When your opponent is The Immortal One or has an nWo card in his Ring or Backstage Area, he cannot play reversal cards to this card.
F: 10     D: 8     Unique     Multi     WCW logo
V2

On its surface, this card is pretty good. But when you remember that this card is -10F as a maneuver if your opponent has a maneuver in his ring, then it's great. And the added bonus if your opponent is nWo is better than you may think (I often use the nWo allegiance). Oh, one more thing, if you are going with a Face build, this card can work rather nicely with Everything and the Kitchen Sink.

Stinger Splash
Strike + High Risk / Reversal: Special
As a maneuver, can only be played after a successfully played card or if you reversed a card to end your opponent's turn and this is the first card played on your turn.  When played after Throw Into the Corner Turnbuckle, he cannot play reversals to this card.
As a reversal, reverse any Strike or High Risk maneuver.
F: 18     D: 8     SV: 2     Unique     Multi     WCW logo
V2

I would most likely try to save this card as a reversal, but an F:8 & D:8 Strike + High Risk Multi is also pretty good. And I would actually consider packing the non throwback Throw into the Corner Turnbuckle just to get the added 6D to this card, on top of the reversal restriction.

Sting's Press Slam
Grapple + Grapple
Put up to 2 of your cards removed from the game that are not non-hybrid reversals on the bottom of your Arsenal, and your opponent discards 2 cards.
F: 20     D: 15     SV: 2     Unique     Multi     WCW logo
V6

A Friendly F to D ratio, multi, 2 stun, ability to recover a few RFG cards, and makes opponent discard cards. Very good card

Scorpion Death Drop
Grapple + Trademark Finisher / Reversal: Special
As a reversal, reverse any Grapple or Trademark.
When successfully played, search your Arsenal for a Unique maneuver, reveal it, put it in your hand, and shuffle your Arsenal.
F: 30     D: 20     SV: 3     Unique     Multi     WCW / nWo logos
V2

Another card I would love to save as a reversal if I could, but still a really good maneuver (at F:20 too). This card seems to me like Sting's best way to defeat his opponent. Also an underrated card to use with in conjuncture with an Eye Rake.

Scorpion Deathlock
Trademark Finisher / Reversal: Special
When your next card played this turn is Maintain Hold, you may ignore the 'Can only be played...' text, and when that card is successfully played as your next card this turn, you win the match via Pinfall Victory.
As a reversal, this card is -10F,  reverse any Submission or Trademark Finisher with "maintain" in the text.
F: 40     D: 15     SV: 2      Unique     WCW logo
V2

This card will more than likely always be -10F no matter how you play it, which is good. The damage is a bit lacking, but when you factor in the Maintain Hold text, it means you could potentially win via the pin condition easier than if it were higher damage. And any card that reverses a Trademark Finisher is always welcome.

Sting's Muscle Pose-Down
Reversal: Special
Can only be played after a successfully played maneuver; blank that maneuver's text and damage and end your opponent's turn.  Shuffle up to 5 cards removed from the game into your Arsenal. 
When this card is in your Ring, do not discard for No Sell Maneuver.
F: 9     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     WCW logo
V6

Sting's version of Hulking Up. Unfortunately his is not F:0, but it's still very good. Blanking the text and damage of any successfully played maneuver is great, and shuffling in 5 cards is a good bonus, but the part I really like is not discarding for No Sell Maneuver. Even though I would like to keep recycling them from RFG as an arsenal reversal, it's nice knowing that you can throw it freely from hand to hit any maneuver.

The Only Thing That's For Sure About Sting...
Action + Action
Search your Arsenal and Ringside for ...Is That Nothing's For Sure, reveal it, put it in your hand, and shuffle.
ACE: Once during each of your turns, you may discard 1 card, and then look at the top 3 cards of your Arsenal; put up to 1 of those cards under a WCW card in your Ring with cards under it, up to 1 card into your hand, and remove the remaining cards from the game.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Multi     Permanent     WCW logo
V6

...Is That Nothing's For Sure
Action / Reversal: Special
As an action, reveal any number of cards in your hand, then shuffle the same number of cards from your hand into your Arsenal and draw the same number of cards.
As a reversal, reverse any non-maneuver card.
When this card is in your Ring, you may play cards from under WCW cards as if from hand.
F: 10     D: 0     Unique     WCW logo
V6

These cards, clearly, go hand in hand. The first one on it's own it fine, giving you options for cards in hand, but the second card essentially makes it so you put 2 of those cards in hand. Being able to put cards under Where The Big Boys Play can also be valuable if you're playing from behind.

That's it for his specific cards. I believe they can be quite powerful and they interact very well together.

PART TWO
Now let's look at a few non-specific cards that can be helpful for Sting.

Sting, being a WCW superstar, has access to (or gets bonuses from) the following cards:

Where the Big Boys Play
Pre-match Allegiance: WCW
Can be played regardless of The Boogeyman's Ability.
When you put a WCW card into your Ring, your opponent discards 1 card.
When played by a WCW Superstar, you may search your Arsenal for 2 cards and put them under this card, then shuffle.
Once during each of your turns, you may put the bottom card of your Arsenal under this card.
ACE:  Once during each of your turns, when it is not your first turn of the game and you have lower Fortitude, you may remove 2 cards under this card from the game; then look at his hand, choose 2 reversals, and they cannot be played in response to the next maneuver played this turn.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     RMS logo     WCW logo

Welcome to Monday Nitro!
Pre-match Event
Requirement: Allegiance: WCW
When you are a WCW Superstar, this card does not take up a Pre-match slot in your Ring, and when you Activate Where the Big Boys Play, you may put the cards on the bottom of your Arsenal instead.
When Houston, Texas is not in your Ring, you and your opponent draw 4 cards, and he randomly discards cards until he discards a hybrid card; then, you discard the same number of cards.  When Flanked by Arena Security is not in any player's Ring, all players' Starting Hand Size are -2, and all players draw 3 less cards for The Best Laid Plans.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     RMS logo     WCW logo

One of the Big Boys
Pre-match Event
This card cannot be blanked; cannot be packed when packing Pre-match cards with 'McMahon' in the title.
Overturn 6 cards.  At the end of the Pre-match phase, put up to 1 non-Unique card in your Ringside into your hand.
When this card is in your Ring, your opponent's non-Unique non-Superstar-specific reversals deal no more than 1D, and when you are a WCW Superstar and you have greater Fortitude, once during each of your turns you may put 1 card from under a WCW card on the bottom of your Arsenal.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent

Chaos and Pandemonium at Ringside!
Maneuver: Special
When you are a WCW Superstar, this card is Multi.
When played, choose up to 5 cards in your hand, shuffle them into your Arsenal and draw the same number of cards +1.  Your opponent shuffles # random cards from his hand into his Arsenal and draws up to # cards, where # is the number you chose; for each card he draws, this card is +1D and when successfully played, he removes 1 random card in his Ringside from the game.
F: 13     D: 4     SV: 2     Unique     WCW logo

A Great Deal of Confusion - Throwback
Reversal: Special
Requirement: Allegiance: WCW
When played, you may ignore a 'can only be reversed' or 'cannot be reversed' effect from a card.
Reverse any non-Superstar-specific card that 'cannot be reversed' or with a 'can only be reversed' effect.  Draw up to 1 card, and put up to 1 card under Halloween Havoc and up to 1 of your cards removed from the game under Where the Big Boys Play.
F: 5    D: 0     Unique     WCW logo

Ready to Rumble
Action: Movie
When you are Goldberg or a WCW Superstar, this card is F: 0 and cannot be reversed.
Discard 1 card, shuffle 5 cards from your Ringside into your Arsenal, and your next card played this turn cannot be reversed.
Your The King Interferes! is -15F.
F: 14     D: 0     Unique     WCW logo

Another card you should consider is:

Kristal: Broadcast Beauty
Action: Run-in
Shuffle 7 of your cards removed from the game into your Arsenal.
When this card is in your Ring area or hand, your cards titled Kristal: Broadcast Beauty may replace 1 card listed on <WWE logo> Divas: The Next Generation or <WWE logo> Divas Rule!
Fan Favorite Logo
F: 14 D: 0

I feel like I always bring this card up, but being able to manipulate your RFG cards can really make a difference.

I'll cover a few more cards in...

PART THREE
Specific build types:

First idea: There is No Escape + Uniques

There Is No Escape
Pre-match Feud
All players' maneuvers cannot be reversed by non-Superstar-specific hybrid Reversal cards. Your maneuvers also cannot be reversed from your opponent's Backlash deck.
Your maneuvers are +2 Stun Value.
You cannot play non-unique maneuvers not titled Arm Bar, Arm Bar Takedown, Arm Drag, Atomic Drop, Belly to Back Suplex, Belly to Belly Suplex, Body Slam, Chop, Clothesline, Collar & Elbow Lockup, Drop Kick, Haymaker, Head Butt, Hip Toss, Press Slam, Punch, Roundhouse Punch, Russian Leg Sweep, Snap Mare, Vertical Suplex, Wrist Lock, Backhand Slap, Drop Toe Hold, Elbow Drop, Foot Stomp, or Hammerlock. 
Permanent
F: 0      D: 0

This card can, at first, seem rather restrictive. However, upon further review, it still lets you play Unique maneuvers. And with Sting's superstar ability, Unique maneuvers are what you're likely going to fill your deck with anyway. So this card gives Sting a People's Champ-like ability by restricting your opponent's backlash reversals.

As for which Unique unique maneuvers to pack, There's a whole array of "Classic" maneuvers that could help, but there's really no shortage of unique maneuvers Sting can throw.

And the icing on the cake is the +2 Stun Value to your maneuvers. Sting already has the ability to keep his hand up, but the added stun value will really make sure of it.

Second Idea: Foreign Object

This idea is perhaps a little too cute for a competitive design, but it could be quite fun. And I bring it up mainly for these cards:

Table
Strike: Foreign Object
This card is also considered to be titled Table! Table! Table! for card effects.
Cannot be reversed by Elbow to the Face, Revolution of the Mind, or Sidewalk Slam.
When playing an Extreme of printed 5D or greater, Grapple, Throw, High Risk, Trademark or Trademark Finisher without 'Maintain' in the text, you may choose this card until that maneuver finishes resolving.
ACE: When this card is chosen, put this card into your Ringside and then your successfully played maneuver is +8D and +1 Stun Value.
F: 8     D: 6     SV: 1     Unique

Chair
Strike: Foreign Object
This card is also considered to be titled Chair Shot for card effects.
When playing a Grapple, Throw, Trademark or Trademark Finisher without 'Maintain' in the text, you may choose this card until that maneuver finishes resolving.
ACE: When this card is chosen, put this card into your Ringside and then your successfully played maneuver is +4D and +1 Stun Value.
F: 10     D: 10     SV: 1     Unique

Ladder
Strike: Foreign Object
This card is also considered to be titled Ladder in the Ring for card effects.
When playing an Extreme of printed 5D or greater, Grapple, Throw, High Risk, Trademark or Trademark Finisher without 'Maintain' in the text, you may choose this card until that maneuver finishes resolving.
ACE: When this card is chosen, put this card into your Ringside and then your successfully played maneuver is +6D and +3 Stun Value.
F: 12     D: 8     SV: 2     Unique

Overhand Chairshot
Strike + Strike: Foreign Object: Heel
Cannot be packed by Female Superstars.
Cannot be reversed by the card titled Back Rake.
When this card is in your Ring area, you may put this card into your Ringside pile to reverse any Foreign Object or any card played after the card titled Roll Out of the Ring and end your opponent's turn.
Raw logo
Multi
Unique
F: 5      D: 5

Chain Lashing
Strike + Strike: Foreign Object
Cannot be packed by Female Superstars.
Can only be played after a successfully played card.
When successfully played, your opponent randomly discards 2 cards from his Backlash deck.
Throwback
Multi
Unique
SV: 2
F: 3         D: 7

All of these being unique means they will Trigger Sting's superstar ability when they are successfully played.

But the main reason I bring this up is because of this combo:

Chicago Street Fight (SS2)
Pre-match Stipulation
Overturn 3 cards.
This card is not affected by the card titled Hell in a Cell Match.
Once during each player's turn, that player may discard 1 card and then put 1 Foreign Object from his Ringside pile into his hand.
When the card titled Dem Damn Dudleyz! is in your Ring area, once during each of your turns, you may also discard 1 card and then put 1 Foreign Object from your Ring area into your hand.
   (Activated Card Effect Symbol) 
Active
Permanent
F: 0      D: 0

Dem Damn Dudleyz!
Action: Foreign Object: Run-in
Search your Arsenal for 1 Foreign Object, reveal it to your opponent, put it into your hand, and shuffle your Arsenal.
Throwback
F: 3      D: 0

This allows Sting to keep recycling the same unique FO maneuvers (like Table, with all of it's reversal restrictions), and shuffle in 5 cards each turn that one is successful. And that can also help you manipulate your own F so you can activate Where The Big Boys Play more often.

Hell, you could even use this FO build and combine it with the above There Is No Escape Idea!

PART FOUR
In Conclusion:

Sting seems like a pretty straight forward superstar. Keep throwing unique maneuvers, keep shuffle cards with your ability, and keep your hand up. I've yet to build a Sting Deck, but he feels like he could be a solid superstar. In fact, Sting is probably a very good superstar to start a new player with.

I can't really think of a way or reason to improve upon Sting. He seems very balanced as is. Maybe a support card that makes him a legend, or at least able to pack Legendary Defense? But that may be a little too much for him.

Please comment anything I may have forgotten or overlooked, or if you've built Sting before!

I hope you enjoyed this, and hopefully learned a few things. Check back next week when I cover Rhyno!

[Drywall]

A decent combo one could consider is WCW Title Belt TB; since you'll have a Sting Logo card in your ring area you can attempt to push through a non-unique action if they reverse your maneuver (without removing it from the game per the text)

[Hogtrail]

A decent combo one could consider is WCW Title Belt TB; since you'll have a Sting Logo card in your ring area you can attempt to push through a non-unique action if they reverse your maneuver (without removing it from the game per the text)

Perhaps a Dem Damn Dudley's???

[Daeva]

Nothing's for Sure also works very well with this card:

Halloween Havoc
Pre-match Pay-Per-View Event
Can only be played by a WCW Superstar.
This card does not take up a Pre-match slot in your Ring.
Your opponent draws 3 cards, and then you put the top card of your Arsenal face-down as a non-Unique D: 3 Strike played from hand, and he may attempt to reverse it as if it was your turn; if he does not, put the card under this card.  He discards 2 cards.
When there is a card under this card and you have no Pre-match cards of D:1+ in your Ring, your Fortitude Rating is +3F.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     RMS logo     WCW logo

[Drywall]

A decent combo one could consider is WCW Title Belt TB; since you'll have a Sting Logo card in your ring area you can attempt to push through a non-unique action if they reverse your maneuver (without removing it from the game per the text)

Perhaps a Dem Damn Dudley's???

Or Kristal: Broadcast Beauty!