Jump Around!

“Jump Around” by House of Pain

Pack it up, pack it in, let me begin
I came to win, battle me, that's a sin

Did you know that the classic X-Men animated series that first introduced me to Jubilee debuted in 1992, which earlier that year the classic song "Jump Around" by House of Pain became one of the songs of the summer? I didn't until I googled it while looking up the lyrics for this dumb gag. But it is quite the coincidence. So indulge me for a bit and let me take a page from my betters and more clever deck builders (link to https://marvelcdb.com/decklist/view/40955/what-s-up-danger-1.0 and https://marvelcdb.com/decklist/view/9685/going-knowhere-fast-disco-death-race-2000-1.0) because everyone knows mimicry is the best form of flattery.

The goal of this deck is to play allies, unite all mutants under one banner, and then have one hell of a party. Jubilee is here mostly to groove and help everyone else have a good time. While I think it would be pretty easy to tack the non-hero cards listed here to any X-Folk character, Jubilee does come packing a trio of good resource cards and she can exhaust to give us more resources to get people into the party or crank up the boombox and get everyone hopping.

I won't ever slack up, punk, ya better back up
Try and play the role and yo, the whole crew'll act up

In order to throw the biggest banger Genosha has ever seen, we gotta get the crew together, but that we can't neglect booking the venue. Renting both The Triskelion and Utopia will make sure everyone has enough room to bring the house down. While Utopia is a little more important than the Triskelion because of the card draw, if you wanna pack the club, you gotta have both of them. Probably the most important aspect to all of this is making sure everyone gets along, because this party works a lot better if we can all agree that the lines drawn between X-Men, X-Force, and X-Factor are silly. We're all X-People in the eyes of the RNG Gods. So Children of the Atom fixes it so we can all focus on partying instead of who might have potentially betrayed who in the past.

So who are we inviting to this party? Only people that can make a big entrance, of course. We are only playing people that know how to show up on the red carpet and really make an impact. If they don't have enter play effects, we don't want them.

The first people to arrive at the party are Beast, Caliban, and Pixie. Beast is bringing everything we need to get the party started and keep it going all night long. Caliban and Pixie are fellow party planners, specifically in charge of making sure those we invite actually show up. If you are looking for a good time, you gotta have at least two of these people ready to dance their butts off.

Get up, stand up
(C'mon) c'mon, throw your hands up
If ya got the feelin', jump up towards the ceilin'

Now that we've got three of the most important guests/assistants where we need them, it's time to get the music bumpin'. This is where the most important card in deck comes in. Mutant Mayhem is here to get everyone jumping with the beat. Every time you throw this card down, two of your allies will Jump! Jump! and retrigger their enter play effects. For the three we've talked about already, Beast will bounce a resource to your hand while Caliban and/or Pixie gets another party goer into your hand. Whenever they bust a move they will fuel the party and crank the tunes. Depending on what you need, I recommend bouncing one of these almost every time you play Mutant Mayhem, atleast until you're ready to close out the game or you need someone else to do something useful.

Muggs let the funk flow, someone's talkin' junk
Yo, I bust him in the eye
And then I'll take the punk's hoe

Sometimes when the villain isn’t happy just wishing he could break up our party, he sends some of his goons to crash it. So we gotta have a couple of people to deal with the party crashers and ultimately give the villain a good beat down. Cyclops, M, and Wolverine are here to throw hands at whoever decides to show up uninvited. Cyclops and Wolverine are particularly good at taking down the villain. If you play and then have Cyclops do the hokey pokey into and out of your hand, he can set the table up to do a ton of damage. Two extra damage for the phase per attack can be huge and your Aggression party guest will probably love you for it. Wolverine is invited only because Jubilee doesn’t go anywhere without him, but he’s good damage who has really good staying power naturally and he’s invincible if you let him cause some Mayhem every now and then. He can also make a decent blocker for you since most everyone else you don’t want leaving the party for long and he’s good at getting in a scrap and sticking around. He’ll just drink it off. M is gonna work as security for most of the night because whenever she decides to do some dancing, someone is getting thrown out. Whenever the dance floor is getting too crowded use her to thin the herd a little bit.

Feelin', funkin', amps in the trunk
And I got more rhymes than there's cops at a Dunkin' donuts shop
Sho' nuff, I got props from the kids on the Hill
Plus my mom and my pops

Speaking of mom and pops, we gotta talk about Phoenix and Professor X. These two are a good support system for Jubilee and everyone else that shows up to the party. While he might not have any ups himself, the Professor is handling catering and keeping the haters from shutting the party down. Whenever he shows up, his job is either to make sure the villain is too confused to turn the music off or he is getting one of our party people back on their feet. Phoenix has a similar role as when she hits the dance floor she always drags someone with her. With the supports we’ll talk about later, you can get the Professor out just by having Jubilee feel the groove of the music and turning her sideways for a moment. He ready her back up and then she can pay for a use of Mayhem or something else. His ability to confuse and thwart for three will keep anything the villain is trying to do at bay. The team mom is getting people ready to dance and making sure they stay hydrated so they can dance for longer.

I came to get down, I came to get down
So get out your seat and jump around

Jump around
Jump around
Jump around
Jump up, jump up, and get down

Jump, jump, jump, jump!
(Everybody jump) Jump, jump, jump, jump!
(Steady on the left) Jump, jump, jump, jump!
(Everybody jump) Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump!

As the party rocks on past midnight and it starts to get late, you’ll likely have your crew dancing on and off the floor as needed. Whenever the beat drops and it’s time for more Mayhem, just pick two people and have them join the dance battle. Just rinse, repeat, don’t get dehydrated and you’ll be good until the night is over. Starting a mosh pit with Wolverine and Cyclops is a good way to show the bad guy you mean business and get him to back off permanently. It should be too much effort to close things out.

I'll serve your ass like John McEnroe
If your girl steps up, I'm smackin' the hoe
Word to your moms, I came to drop bombs
I got more rhymes than the bible's got Psalms
And just like the Prodigal Son, I've returned
Anyone steppin' on me, you'll get burned

Jubilee brought a handful of tools to make sure the party works as well as possible. Rapid Response is there in case someone parties a little too hard and ends up needing a little help getting back on the dance floor. Uncanny X-Men makes everyone a little bit more likely to dance all night while also making it easy to get people in the door. It does require everyone to already get along well for it to work though. Team-Building Exercise will help most of your friends have an easier time getting to the party and we have The X-Jet as an Uber. Jubilee took a course in Leadership Training, mostly to make it easier to cause more Mayhem. That same course made her a Mission Leader (although you really only need this one if you are partying with people that aren’t in your deck, remove it if you’re dancing to the beat of your own drum). Call for Backup and New Recruits are there to get people onto the floor for free once in awhile. Only other aspect thing to discuss is Sneak Attack while lets people cut in line before they have to go back outside to get some air, that is unless they give in to the rhythm of the night and you get them hopping with a bit of Mayhem. Once the party is in full swing, you should never have any pay full price for the cover to get into the show.

'Cause I got lyrics, but you ain't got none
If ya come to battle, bring a shotgun (shotgun)
But if you do, you're a fool, 'cause I duel to the death
Tryin' to step to me, you'll take your last breath
I got the skill, come get your fill
'Cause when I shoot the gift, I shoot to kill

Only thing left to discuss partywise is the lightning, which Jubilee excels at. Even though it’s not a focus for this dance off, it’s still useful to keep in mind, especially late game or if things get a little overwhelming. Her party trick will confound the party crashes or buy your moshers time to do a little break dancing of a different sort. Hope Summers will usually be fine waiting in line until it’s time for the fireworks to start. Jubilee has her rave attire waiting in the dressing room, but since the party is mostly about her friends, she may or may not need it. Just depends on how she feels as the party progresses.

We have a few optional guests that aren’t on the list but are potentially good dance partners in some scenarios. Marrow, White Queen, and Triage can all be good depending on what you feel like you might need. If you want to get the deck down to 40 cards, you can cut Mission Leader, Leadership Training, M, Triskelion, Rapid Response, or a Sneak Attack. I don’t mind running this at 44 cards, but I can see a preference for thinning it out some.

That pretty much wraps up everything you need to know to get your friends jumping with the music. Everything else should be pretty simple and straight forward. Have fun and remember to drink water while dancing. There’s no easier way to crash out at a party than to not realize you’re getting dehydrated. Enjoy the rest of the song lyrics since I already have them pasted here.

I came to get down, I came to get down
So get out your seat and jump around

Jump around (jump around)
Jump around (jump around)
Jump around (jump around)
Jump up, jump up, and get down

Jump, jump, jump, jump!
(Everybody jump) Jump, jump, jump, jump!
(Steady on the left) Jump, jump, jump, jump!
(Everybody jump) Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump!

I'm the cream of the crop, I rise to the top
I never eat a pig 'cause a pig is a cop
Or better yet a terminator, like Arnold Schwarzenegger
Tryin' to play me out like as if my name was Sega

But I ain't goin' out like no punk bitch
Get used to one style and yo, and I might switch
It up, up and around, then buck, buck ya down
Put out ya head and then ya wake up in the Dawn of the Dead
I'm comin' to get ya, I'm comin' to get ya
Spittin' out lyrics, homie, I'll wet ya

I came to get down, I came to get down
So get out your seat and jump around

Jump around (jump around)
Jump around (jump around)
Jump around (jump around)
Jump up, jump up, and get down

Jump, jump, jump, jump!
(Everybody jump) Jump, jump, jump, jump!
(Steady on the left) Jump, jump, jump, jump!
(Everybody jump) Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump!

Jump, jump, jump, jump!
(Everybody jump) Jump, jump, jump, jump!
(Steady on the left) Jump, jump, jump, jump!
(Everybody jump) Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump!

Yo, this is dedicated to Joe "The Biter" Nicolo (steady on the right)
Grab the bozack, punk (steady on the right)
(Steady on, steady on the right)
(Steady on the right)
(Steady on the right)