Featured Builds: Aggression Captain America and Leadership Thor

Introduction

Today I want to share two deck lists I am iterating on that share a common theme: buffing allies and resource generators. The first deck is just one that I built for fun because I thought a solo deck that revolves around a team-up of Captain America and Hulk would be satisfying in a punch-everything-in-the-face kind of way. The second was an attempt to build a deck around my favorite probably-not-worth-it-yet card, Vision, using Thor’s God of Thunder to provide the needed resources. These are both probably a little early as it seems like we are about to get some support for upgraded allies in the near future as foreshadowed by the Leadership Iron Man ally from the upcoming Dr. Strange pack. I also anticipate that many cards from The Rise of Red Skull will find their way into one or more of these decks.

Let’s Get Physical, Physical

This deck came about because I wanted to explore an Aggression Cap deck that features Jarnbjorn. This is good in Cap because he has built-in Physical resource generators in Super Soldier Serum. I started putting in other cards with a physical resource as a back up for when I didn’t have the Serums out yet, and I realized that if I’m stuffing an Aggression deck with physical icons, then I might as well play Hulk. Once I put in Hulk I figured it would be a good time to try out Enraged (which has a physical icon), and once I was using Enraged, I thought it might make Lockjaw (yet another physical icon) just a little bit better. Lockjaw is a little divisive it seems, but I do like playing him in Captain America because you can wait to play him until you can get the Steve Rogers’ Living Legend discount since he doesn’t have to stay in your hand. Finally, Honorary Avenger (more physical!) can be very helpful for Hulk to get in one last swing.

So from this pool of somewhat synergistic cards an entire deck came together. I don’t think it’s top-tier or anything, but it’s definitely fun. Cap can hold his own so I don’t mind having a good bit of deck space devoted to a 1-of card because I’m not struggling before I get it out. Also, having two different 1-of cards that the deck is built around makes it seem like I get set up quicker. Some games you get an early Jarnbjorn and that defines your game, other times you get an early Hulk, and if you get both out then no enemy will go un-smashed. I built this to play solo like I often do but, with the high probability of flipping a physical icon, you could probably bring this to a multiplayer game without making too many people cringe when your Hulk attacks.

Thor and the Mind Stone

I have a weakness for the Core Set Vision. It’s probably too expensive and cumbersome to set up currently, but I just like the idea of it. Vision was my favorite character from this arcade game and I really liked Paul Bettany in A Knight’s Tale, so that probably explains a good bit of it. I used to play decks built around him with Spider-Man so I could use his Web-Shooters to pay for Vision’s effect. I wanted to try this now in Thor because, well for one he’s new, but his God of Thunder never runs out of charges and he has other uses in his card pool for Energy resources unlike Spider-Man. Everyone knows that the best way to improve a questionable card is to pair it with yet another questionable card, so I’m also trying to get use out of Quinjet in this deck. The theory is that it’s an Energy resource and it can help Thor pay for expensive allies despite his below-average hand size. You can also use it to play a Falcon or Hawkeye if it comes to that. Teamwork is another Energy resource that gets a use out of Vision without him taking any consequential damage. It was a much better card when I didn’t realize you have to exhaust the Ally as well. Even though he’s expensive, Heimdall has a great ability and stats and is another target for Teamwork. Using Heimdall to help you defeat Loki is a particularly good moment of theme.

Since I am building this deck around keeping Vision in play as long as possible, it seems I should consider The Triskelion, especially since it has an Energy resource. In my testing though I generally don’t get to my ally limit while still being able to afford yet more allies. Maria and Squirrel Girl get in and get out, so there’s usually an open slot. The card Lead From The Front never seems to be worth the cost, but it’s an Energy resource and is another little bit of Thwarting potential that Thor desperately needs. It will probably be one of the first cards dropped when some new cards are released. The cards Rapid Response (from Black Widow) and Team Training (from Rise of Red Skull) are both potential adds in the future. A definite add is Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, also from Red Skull, which reads something to the effect of, “exhaust an Avengers character you control to ready another Avenger you control.” The dream situation there is to exhaust a Hawkeye that is waiting around to use up his arrows so that Vision can get another boosted activation.

Conclusion

Even though the game is geared towards inhabiting a single hero, I really like the idea of hero team-ups. I don’t play a lot of multiplayer or two-handed solo, so the main way for me to accomplish this is playing decks like the above. I can’t wait to get that Ally Iron Man and any ally-centric upgrades that are released around him. I can recommend these decks for anyone that likes the idea of powered-up allies and wants a solo Thor build that isn’t Justice. I like Thor Justice but I found that even with a godly amount of hit points, never ever defending tends to use them up pretty fast. Having allies around to defend occasionally really helps with his longevity and help enough with thwarting to make him viable. Captain America doesn’t need any help but Hulk is one of the more fun cards in the game.

Thank you for reading.