Alright, I'm not a huge fan of having to go first (and not having the safety net of host-posted writeups) but I have the luxury of counter-prep because of my spying, so it's not as big of a deal.
And this is roughly 700-800 words, just for reference, since the limit is 1000.
Step 1: Spygate
Since I paid for the ability to spy on my opponent, The Doctor opens a portal through which we can watch my opponent’s prep time.
My team comprises characters from Marvel, DC, Wildstorm, and Ultimate Marvel. There won’t be many people we don’t recognize, so my entire team will be briefed on our opponents’ powers. Beyond that, their power will usually be obvious during their prep anyway.
More on this later.
Step 2: The Plan
First some background on The Doctor. Habib Ben Hassan is the most recent Doctor, but has the shared experience of every Doctor that preceded him. This can be confirmed via any bio on him, and I can also prove it with scans if needed. So feats from any Doctor are valid.
The Doctor’s every thought becomes reality:
http://img282.imageshack.us/my.php?image=95wr.jpg
…with obvious limits on his sphere of influence (he’s far from a universal or even planetary threat in most cases).
Of course, many things are banned this tourney (BFR, organic matter manip, time manip, mind control, etc.)
But the important thing that IS legal is inorganic matter manipulation. Which wouldn’t be a big deal if I just had The Doctor. He turns ships into flowers, steel doors into air, etc. Nothing spectacularly useful. But that’s why I have Reed and Lex.
The Doctor can transfer his power to others for use:
http://img530.imageshack.us/my.php?image=14qr2.jpg
…in that fight, the evil Doctor has the powers for 60 minutes, but Habib can choose any arbitrary amount of time. A few minutes for Reed and/or Lex should suffice for anything we need. And the power is then transferred back to Habib, so no power boosting takes place (though I also bought the power boost, but likely won’t be using it this round).
So I can instantly create anything that Ultimate Reed Richards and Lex Luthor have ever invented.
Few things:
1. I am not violating the “instant tech” rule because I am creating everything using the power of my team. The insta-tech rule only applies to situations where it is beyond the team’s means to create said tech within their prep time.
2. Tech enhancements (battle suits or guns, for example) don’t count as a power boost since the power is extrinsic and I’m not actually changing or boosting the person’s power set.
3. None of my tech creations will be using banned powers, or powers that I haven't purchased, since I know that tensions about this may be high after Trick's match.
4. This has all been confirmed either in the discussion thread, or with Evangel via PM.
Now let’s put it to use.
Step 3: Project Backhand
Cresh might have something deceptive for me, but on the surface he seems like a one-trick pony. Empath + lots of women…I can only assume that he’s going to go for some sort of empathy overload.
To that end, Reed will be building psi-blockers for the team using Habib’s powers during prep:
http://img218.imageshack.us/my.php?image=17cg4.jpg
It’s actually important to note that the person who he created the blockers for was empathic and technopathic as well. She overrided the blockers, but it was due to her technopathy, and Reed foresaw this and “spiked” her powers.
http://img218.imageshack.us/my.php?image=18jw1.jpg
In any case, she was only able to penetrate the psi-blocks with technopathy, and even then Reed had the surprise for her.
…
Beyond that, we have other options. The Doctor, no slouch himself in the psi department, has empathically overloaded a being before:
http://img282.imageshack.us/my.php?image=185kg.jpg
…so I could just use their own power against them.
And there’s two ways I can see Cresh utilizing Empath. One, she somehow grants the women similar powers using her skill. Two, they have powers but the power itself flows from Empath and is dependent on her. If it’s the latter, The Doctor can simply cut off her connection:
http://img67.imageshack.us/my.php?image=210sr.jpg
…thus making 17/18 of Cresh’s team powerless (beyond some martial arts skill for a few of them).
…
None of that should really come into play though. Psi-blockers + backhands = lots of unconscious women (or headless women, if Thor isn’t careful). To that end, The Doctor will be making Lex a pimp cane during prep.
Step 4: Spying
Since I paid for spying during drafts, I “see” their prep, but won’t be made known of it until the match starts. I retain the right to use my last 5-6 minutes of prep to say what I’d do to counter Cresh’s prep. If needed, this will be done once I have seen his writeup.
I don’t plan on using it this match, but leave it open as a possibility in case I severely misjudged my opponent’s strategy.
Lastly
Good luck to Cresh, and I hope everyone enjoys our match.
