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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 Strategy Session is dedicated to Los Guerreros!

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

Los Guerreros
Starting Hand Size: 6     Superstar Value: 3
Superstar Ability: Before damage has been applied from a card successfully played by your opponent, you can remove any number of Face or Heel cards in your Ringside pile from the game and reduce the damage by 2 for each card removed. You may play any cards with the Eddie Guerrero logo, but you do not count as Eddie Guerrero. You cannot play any Title Belts except the Tag Team Title Belts.
INX

Firstly, Los G's are a tag team which means they get to pack Handicap Match – which is a very good card.

Secondly, a 6 hand size and 3 value are pretty middle of the road, but easy enough to inflate.

Finally, their superstar ability is one of my favorites. Combined with Sustained Damage, it allows them to potentially soak up a ton of damage. It also rules out anyone wanting to build them BASH. Also, Eddie Guerrero has some decent cards that I'll continue to cover.

El Paso, Texas
Pre-match Venue
During your turn, you may put this card into your Ringside pile and if your next card played this turn is a maneuver, you can ignore the "Can only be played after..." text.
F: 0     D: 0     Universally Active     Permanent
ARM

Not a tremendous card. I feel like there are a lot of better Venues to play if you're so inclined. However, if you can actually activate this card without it being reversed, playing a high risk right out of the gate can be effective. I would skip this card, personally.

Yo, Ese, I Know You, Homes!
Pre-match Feud
Your card titled Eddie's Roll Up is -10F.
If your opponent is Chris Benoit, Edge, Rob Van Dam, Rey Mysterio, or The People's Champion, your Superstar Ability now reads as "Each turn, the first two High Risk maneuvers you play cannot be reversed."
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     Smackdown logo
VEL
   ---OR---
Yo, Ese, I Know You, Homes! - Throwback
Pre-match: Feud
The maximum number of Pre-match cards you may have in your Ring area is increased by 1.
Your cards titled Guerrero Frog Splash and Eddie's Roll Up are -10F.
When your opponent is Chris Benoit, Edge, Rob Van Dam, Rey Mysterio, or The People's Champion, your Superstar Ability now reads as "Each turn, the first two High Risk maneuvers you play cannot be reversed."
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     Smackdown logo
SS3

Another so-so card. It's free to play, but it only makes 2 specific's cheaper (unless your opponent is listed – then it DEFNITLY shouldn't be played when you're Los G's). If you have an extra slot in your pre-match to fill, or if you don't have a better feud to play, then go ahead and pack this card.

We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal
Pre-match Event
Search your Arsenal for 3 cards, put them under this card, and shuffle your Arsenal.
When this card is in your Ring area, once during each of your turns, you may put 1 card from under this card into your hand.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     Smackdown logo
INX

Heeeeeeeere we go. This is a GREAT card. Allowing you to get ANY 3 CARDS and save them until you need them. Some of my favorite cards to get are Ref Takes a Bump, Pump Kick, German Suplex, Boot Lace, Revolution of the Mind, Don't Be a Douchebag, or a specific like Cheat 2 Win. There is no shortage of great cards to go fetch. Amazing card.

Viva La Raza! Low Rider
Pre-match Object
Search your Arsenal for 1 Foreign Object card and 1 Grapple maneuver, reveal them to your opponent, put them under this card, and shuffle your Arsenal.
When this card is in your Ring area, once during each of your turns you may discard the card titled Roll Out of the Ring and then put 1 card from under this card into your hand. When the card titled Roll Out of the Ring is in any Ring area, all Foreign Object maneuvers and Grapple maneuvers are +3D.
When this card is put from your Ring area into your Ringside pile, put all cards under this card into your Ringside pile.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique
VEN
   ---OR---
Viva La Raza! Low Rider - Throwback
Pre-match Object
Search your Arsenal for 1 Foreign Object card and 1 Grapple maneuver, reveal them to your opponent, put them under this card, and shuffle your Arsenal.
When this card is in your Ring area, once during each of your turns you may discard a card and then put 1 card from under this card into your hand.
When the card titled Roll Out of the Ring is in any Ring area, all Grapple and Foreign Object maneuvers are +3D.
When this card is moved from your Ring area, put all cards under this card into your Ringside pile.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique
SS3

The throwback version of this card is certainly worth packing. Another card that allows to search for a few key cards (I prefer getting Table and Let Me Get A Shot In!).

Ultimo Rechazo
Mid-match Reversal: Special
Reverse any non-Trademark-Finisher maneuver and end your opponent's turn. Draw up to 2 cards.
F: 0     D: 2     Unique
MA, SS2, SS3

Simply put, this is one of the best reversals in the game. F:0, D:2, reverse any non-trademark, draw 2 cards. Knowing this card is in your backlash gives you a lot of freedom to take a few more chances in your pre-match. This card won't make you think twice about throwing 2 or 3 In The Interest of Fairness in your pre-match. And it makes discarding for the chain trait an easier pill to swallow if they throw a Flawless transition at you in the first turn.

Whatchoo Talkin' 'bout, Ese!
Mid-match Reversal: Action
Can only be played when you have 1 or more cards in your hand.
Reverse any Action card and end your opponent's turn. Discard 1 card. If the first card you play during your next turn is a maneuver of #F or less, it cannot be reversed, where # is equal to the reversed Action card's printed Fortitude.
F: 2     D: 0     Unique
SUM, SS2, SS3

I like this card a lot too. It's a good way to bait out opponent's Restricted Use, or if they've already played it, it gives you an irreversible maneuver on your turn. A lot to like about this one.

Cheating Out of a Pinfall
Mid-match Action
When you are about to lose the game via Pinfall Victory, put this card from your Backlash into your Ring, shuffle up to 5 cards from your Ringside and up to 2 cards removed from the game into your Arsenal; your opponent then removes the last card he successfully played from the game.  End the current turn.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     Cheater
V3

This is an interesting card. Of course any card that prevents you from losing is good. But the quirky thing about this card is that it doesn't say "During any turn" - this means that it's able to be put into your ring during the Pre-Match phase. This means there are a few ways to exploit it. Such as using the Linda McMahon feud to give yourself extra pre-match and mid-match slots. Or using Dallas, Texas or Deville, New Jersey without having to worry about being effected by either card. There's one more way to exploit this card, but I'll save that for Part 3. And if the last card your opponent plays isn't permanent, it will go Bye-Bye when this card is put into your ring – even during the pre-match.

That's it for their backlash cards. I think the pre-match cards (other than Lie/Cheat/Steal) are forgetable, but the mid-match cards are all really good. Moving on to the arsenal specifics:

Snap Senton Splash
High Risk
Can only be played after a successfully played 4D or greater maneuver or if this is the first card played of your turn and you reversed a High Risk maneuver to end your opponent's last turn.
F: 5     D: 10     SV: 2     Unique
FL, SS2, SS3

Pretty standard high risk. A better card for Eddie Guerrero than for Los Guerreros, but not a bad card.

Lasso from El Paso
Submission / Reversal: Submission
As a maneuver, cannot be reversed when played after the card titled Eddie's Roll Up, draw up to 2 cards or search your Ringside pile and Arsenal for the card titled Maintain Hold, reveal it to your opponent, put it into your hand, and shuffle your Arsenal. 
As a reversal, reverse any Submission maneuver and end your opponent's turn.
F: 15     D: 10     SV: 2     Unique     Smackdown logo
INX, SS3

I like this card as a submission reversal. And unless you're sure your opponent will not be playing any submissions – only then would I play it as a maneuver.

Eddie's Roll Up
Grapple
Can only be played after a successfully played 5D or greater maneuver or if this is the first card played of your turn and you reversed a card from your hand to end your opponent's last turn.
When successfully played and damage has been applied, if you have 5 or more cards in your hand than your opponent, you win the game via Pinfall victory.
F: 20     D: 5     Unique
BL, SS2
   ---OR---
Eddie's Roll Up - Throwback
Grapple
Can only be played after a successfully played maneuver, or if this is the first card played of your turn and you reversed a card from your hand to end your opponent's last turn.
Cannot be reversed from your opponent's Backlash deck.
When successfully played, if you have 5 or more cards in your hand than your opponent, you win the game via Pinfall victory.
F: 20     D: 5     Unique
SS3

If you're doing it right, this card should be pretty easy to win with via the text. Having 5 or more cards in your hand than him shouldn't be too difficult if you load your deck with Spit at Opponent's or Face the Music's.

Gory Special
Submission / Reversal: Strike
As a maneuver, you may search your Arsenal for the card titled Eddie's Roll Up, reveal it to your opponent, put it into your hand, and shuffle your Arsenal.
As a reversal, reverse any Strike maneuver of 7D or greater and end your opponent's turn.
F: 20     D: 10     SV: 2     Unique     Smackdown logo
DO, SS3

Reread my comments about the Lasso from El Paso and apply that text to this card, only replace submission with strike.

Chavo's Inverted Powerbomb
Trademark Finisher / Reversal: Special
You may search for this card as if it were a High Risk maneuver.
As a maneuver, can only be played after a successfully played maneuver or the cards titled Throw Into the Corner Turnbuckle or From the Top Rope.
As a reversal, reverse any maneuver played after the card titled Throw Into the Corner Turnbuckle or From the Top Rope and end your opponent's turn. If the first card you play during your next turn is a High Risk maneuver, you may ignore the "Can only be played after..." text.
F: 25     D: 20     SV: 3     Unique     RMS logo     Smackdown logo
INX, SS3

A decent trademark finisher that's perhaps a little more difficult to play for the lack of effects it has.

Guerrero Frog Splash
Trademark Finisher
Can only be played after a successfully played 5D or greater maneuver or if this is the first card played of your turn and you reversed a High Risk maneuver to end your opponent's last turn.
F: 25     D: 20     SV: 3     Unique
FL, SS2, SS3

Remember that this card is made -10F if you have Eddie's feud in your ring, so it's potentially a F:15 trademark finisher. However, it's just like the Chavo Powerbomb – too little bang for it's buck.

Addicted to the Heat
Reversal: Special
Reverse any non-unique card if it is not the first card played on your opponent's turn or any Heat card and end his turn. Put any number of cards from your hand on the bottom of your Arsenal and then draw that many cards.
F: 6     D: 0     Unique
UNF

This is a good reversal that allows you to cycle your hand. Nothing to complain about here.

Tu Locas, Ese ... You Crazy, Man
Reversal: Special
Reverse any non-unique card and end your opponent's turn. Discard 3 cards.
F: 6     D: 0     Unique     Smackdown logo
INX

This is ALMOST a great card. But it has that nasty "Discard 3 cards" text that ruins it. Sure, you can discard 3 face or heel cards to fuel your ability... But... like... C'mon. You're better off letting this card just reverse from Arsenal and keep shuffling it back in.

Cheat 2 Win
Action
Search your Ringside pile and Arsenal for 2 Face or 2 Heel cards, reveal them to your opponent, put them into your hand, and shuffle your Arsenal.
F: 2     D: 0     Unique     Smackdown logo
INX

This is my favorite of their arsenal cards. I'll go get 2 Spits or Face the Musics and then your hand goes away. OR if you have Mean Gene in your ring, you can get Turn the Tide and Who Booked this Match and opponent cannot do a single thing about it.

Study for Your GED
Action
Search your Arsenal for up to 6 cards, randomly shuffle 3 of them into your Arsenal, and put the rest into your hand.
F: 7     D: 0     Unique
FL, SS2, SS3

Yet another card that allows you to go searching through your arsenal for a bunch of cards. I like it and so should you.

Stealing Life – Cheating Death
Action / Reversal: Special
As an action, your opponent overturns 5 cards and you put up to 5 cards from your Ringside on the bottom of your Arsenal.  When you are Latino Cheat, you may then put up to 3 non-unique cards from your Ring on the bottom of your Arsenal.
As a reversal, when overturned, reverse any maneuver and remove this card from the game.
When you are Latino Cheat and this card is in your Ringside, during your turn, you may discard 1 card to put this card on the bottom of your Arsenal.
When this card is removed from the game, it cannot be moved except by If You're Not Cheating, You're Not Trying.
F: 10     D: 0     Unique
V1

Decent recovery, decent overturn, but it's probably best used as an arsenal reversal.

Get Your GED
Action
Can only be played if the card titled Study for Your GED is in your Ring area.
Shuffle up to 15 cards from your Ringside pile into your Arsenal, draw 3 cards, and end your turn.
F: 15     D: 0     Unique
FL, SS2
   ---OR---
Get Your GED - Throwback
Action
Can only be played when the card titled Study for Your GED is in your Ring area.
Shuffle up to 10 cards from your Ringside pile into your Arsenal and then draw up to 3 cards.
F: 12     D: 0     Unique
SS3

I would personally want to pack the OG version and not the TB version if I have a choice. But watch out, they're both able to be reversed by Shoot Counter.

¿Que Pasa Aqui?
Action + Action
This card cannot be put under We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal.
Search your Arsenal for 1 card; put that card, 1 card in your hand and up to 1 card from your Ringside under We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal.  Shuffle your Arsenal.
F: 15     D: 0     Unique     Multi
V1

I'm not sure how your opponent would know that you didn't put this card under We Lie/Cheat/Steal other than just trusting you, but anyway, This is a good card that can get you even more key cards to out into your hand.

Latino Heeeeeeeat!
Action
Cannot be reversed when the card titled Get Your GED is in your Ring area.
Search your Arsenal for up to 3 Maneuver cards, reveal them to your opponent, put them into your hand, and shuffle your Arsenal.
F: 20     D: 0     Unique
FL, SS2, SS3

This card is probably too much fortitude for me to consider packing, HOWEVER it can go get you nice big cards like Dynamic Finisher, Punch After Punch, and Precision Heymaker. For me though, this is one of the first cards I'll cut if I need to make room.

Underhanded Tactics
Action
When you are The Radicalz or Latino Cheat, this card is F: 0 and Multi.
Search your Arsenal for 1 card, reveal it, put it under this card, and shuffle your Arsenal.
Once during each of your turns, you may switch 1 card in your hand with 1 card under this card.
When this card is moved from the Ring, shuffle the card under it into your Arsenal.
F: 20     D: 0     Unique
V1

I don't like this card unless I'm The Radicalz or Latino Cheat. F:20 is simply too high for what it does.

That's all of their superstar specifics. I guess I never realized just how mediocre they are. Other than Lie/Cheat/Steal, the mid-match cards, and Cheat 2 Win... they really aren't too good. I'm a little surprised at that.

PART TWO
Non-specific cards that can be helpful for Los G's

I've already mentioned these few:

Spit at Opponent
Action: Heel
Can only be played when you have 2 or more cards in your hand.
Discard 1 card and then your opponent discards 4 cards.
F: 4      D: 0

Face the Music
Action: Face
Your opponent discards cards equal to the number of Face cards in your Ring area. The maximum number of cards he discards from this card is 6.
F: 2      D: 0

Here's another few cards that can help them:

The Abraham Washington Show
Pre-match Event
Cannot be packed by The Heat Seekers.
When you are an Extremist, this card does not take up a Pre-match slot in your Ring and your opponent's Starting Hand Size is -1.
At the end of the Pre-match phase, search your Arsenal for 1 Heel Action, reveal it, put it in your hand, and shuffle.
The first Heel Action played on each of your turns is Multi when you do not have a card with that title in your Ring, and ignore "completely" on his reversal cards played to it.
His Once is Enough cards are +10F for each copy in his Ring.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique

Let the Heeling Begin
Action: Heel
Draw cards equal to the number of Heel cards in your Ring area. The maximum number of cards you draw from this card is 6.
F: 2      D: 0

Grab the Mic
Action: Heel
Draw 1 card. When you are a Tag Team Superstar or you have the card titled Trash Talkin' Interview in your Ring area or Ringside pile, draw 1 additional card.
Your next card played this turn cannot be reversed from your opponent's Backlash deck and his Reversal cards to your next card played this turn are +#F, where # is equal to your Superstar Value +5.
Throwback
F: 1      D: 0

And how about this one:

The Million Dollar Corporation     (Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, IRS, Bam Bam Bigelow, Sid, Nikolai Volkoff logos)
Pre-match Faction
You can pack this card regardless of Superstar.
You are now a Million Dollar Corporation Member.
When you have 10 or more cards removed from the game, your maneuvers without 'reverse' in the text are -2F and +1D, and your non-Superstar-specific actions are -2F.
When your logo is printed on this card, your maneuvers are -2F and +1D for every non-Heat Backlash card removed from the game.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent

Los G's can end up with a lot of cards RFG so this card could give them discounted F on their maneuvers and +1D.

Speaking of RFG, if you're going Fan Favorite this card is a must pack:

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

One of my favorite cards to use with Los G's is:

San Diego, California
Pre-match Venue
All players discard 3 Pre-match cards and 3 Mid-match cards.
Universally Active
Permanent
F: 0      D: 0

This gives you the opportunity to put 6 face/heel backlash cards in your ringside at the start of the game.

PART THREE
Specific Build Types

First Idea: Back to Basics

Remember how I said there was another card that you could exploit Cheat out of a Pinfall with? Back to Basics is that card. Here's the general idea:

You play B2B, your opponent finds an arsenal full of German Suplexes, Boot Laces, Precision Heymakers, maybe some Eye Rakes, Back Rakes, and Ab Rakes – Just a bunch of really good cards. They they say, "Hey, you lose." Then you put Cheat out of a Pinfall in your ring.

Sure, you lose We Lie/Cheat/Steal, but you gain either 3 Old School Psychology's, or 3 Old School Beatings (and the bonuses those cards get) while throwing MUCH better maneuvers than B2B has to offer. Worried about your 6 hand size? Ultimo Rachazo is in your backlash. And you could still have a few maneuvers under B2B to help you out in a bind (Backhand Slap comes to mind).

Another thing, if you go Face and have 3 Old School Psych's in your ring, Yo Ese... becomes a MUCH better card. The reason being that if they play Restricted Use... they have to discard 3 cards.

This idea is certainly out there, but that's what these articles are for.

Second Idea: Blindside

The general idea of this build is to be able to sponge a whole lot of damage while being able to throw maneuvers every turn. The blindside maneuvers are always great candidates to be discarded for Sustained Damage as they can be played from ringside. Also, blindside gives you this card:

Blindsided by the Dangerous Divas
Action: Run-in
Can only be played when you have at least 2 cards in your Ring area with the word "blindside" in the title.
Remove the top 5 cards of your Arsenal from the game and then shuffle up to 10 of your cards that have been removed from the game into your Arsenal.
You may play this card from your Ringside pile.
When played from your Ringside pile, discard 1 card.
Fan Favorite logo
F: 4 D: 0

This, along with Kristal: Broadcast Beauty can help you recover all of your RFG face or heel cards.

Third Idea: Foreign Object

A number of foreign objects are heel, and a few are face. So not only can you use them as regular maneuvers, but you can also remove them from the game for your superstar ability. Handcuffed, Chair Shot, Brass Nuks Shot, and Microphone Cord are all heel and all playable as maneuvers.

And as a foreign object deck, this card is a good pack:

<ECW logo> One Night Stand
Pre-match Pay-Per-View Event
When any player successfully plays a Foreign Object maneuver, he may choose 2: draw 1 card, shuffle 1 card from his Ringside pile into his Arsenal, or have his opponent discard 1 card.
Permanent
Unique
F: 0 D: 0

Fourth Idea: Redemption

Remember Redemption?

Redemption
Action
Cannot be reversed when the card titled Backstage Politics is in your Ring area.
When this card is in your Ring area, you cannot reverse cards from your hand.
When your opponent reverses a card from his hand, put this card into his Ring area.
Permanent
Unique
F: 0      D: 0

Los G's can get this card with We Lie/Cheat/Steal, and as the card states – it cannot be reversed when backstage politics is in your ring.

Backstage Politics
Pre-match Feud
Your opponent's Starting Hand Size is -1.
When this card is in your Ring area, during your opponent's turn, he may put 1 non-unique card from his Ring area into his Ringside pile and put this card into his Ring area.
When this card is in any Ring area, cards that go to Right to Censor's Ringside pile are removed from the game and their cards and effects cannot modify the Fortitude of their opponent's Reversal cards.
Active
Permanent
F: 0      D: 0

This card is good for Los G's because if opponent puts it in his ring, then you can get rid of a face or heel card in your ring to get Backstage Politics back.

Also, Backstage Politics gives you 3 of these:

Power Struggle
Mid-match Action / Reversal: Special
As an action, search your Arsenal for 1 Set-up card, reveal it to your opponent, put it into your hand, and shuffle your Arsenal.
As a reversal, can only be played if the card titled Backstage Politics is in your Ring area. Reverse any Strike or Grapple maneuver and end your opponent's turn.
F: 4      D: 0

Combine 3 Power Struggles with Ultimo Rachazo, and all the other normal backlash reversals, the downside of Redemption doesn't hurt you all that much.

Of course, this tactic could be used in conjunction with another build type – so have fun with it!

PART FOUR
In Conclusion:

I think Los G's will always be a good, versatile superstar.  Their superstar ability allows them to survive longer than a lot of other superstars can.

However, I didn't realize how a lot of Eddie Specific pre-match cards are only... okay. That makes me want to build them as a B2B deck.

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

I hope you enjoyed this, and hopefully learned a few things.

Check back next week when I cover Goldust

[Drywall]

Making Your Escape, which many people pack (and rightfully so) kills Redemption dead, BTW.

[Scotty]

Making Your Escape, which many people pack (and rightfully so) kills Redemption dead, BTW.

The majority of decks I've seen lately have 80-100% of permanent prematch cards. That means they have to resort to burning 4 to Blank the cards on MYE and that's borderline OSWM Tb territory. I've been building decks lately to test your theory to see if MYE really does kill cards dead.

Combined with Politics (which many have to remove prematch cards to steal as well) and the Los G specifics, this deck should still be fine with Redemption.

[ponder505]

Making Your Escape, which many people pack (and rightfully so) kills Redemption dead, BTW.

The majority of decks I've seen lately have 80-100% of permanent prematch cards. That means they have to resort to burning 4 to Blank the cards on MYE and that's borderline OSWM Tb territory. I've been building decks lately to test your theory to see if MYE really does kill cards dead.

Combined with Politics (which many have to remove prematch cards to steal as well) and the Los G specifics, this deck should still be fine with Redemption.

Redemption isn't part of the ACE.

Making Your Escape
Pre-match Event
Your opponent's effects cannot prevent you from playing this card. Can be played from Ringside.
Any player's First of All and Hell in a Cell Match are blank until the start of their first turn. When Redemption is in your Ring, it is blank.
ACE: Once during each of your turns, you may either overturn 4 cards or remove 1 Pre-match card in your Ring from the game, and then you are not affected by his Hell In A Cell Match, There Is No Escape, or First of All until the start of your next turn, and he is considered to have not played a Volley card on his last turn. This effect cannot be reversed.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     RMS logo

[Hogtrail]

I'll take the advantages Redmption brings with the possibility of having 1 useless card in my arsenal. Not too big of a deal if they play MYE.