Stats for the deck at the time of posting: https://imgur.com/a/2H914AT
This was the easiest climb to infinite I've ever done. I'm not sure how I feel about getting 50 free cubes every 10 ranks, but regardless, here is my anti-meta midrange deck. This deck is all about setting up power in the beginning of the game and pivoting one of several ways depending on the matchup. It’s completely pool 3 or lower. I have beaten most of the Shuri players I've run into with this deck, and I have a really good Thanos winrate with it as well.
The deck's greatest power is its flexibility - you can answer almost anything. It's weakness, however, is that the deck requires you to really understand the metagame and what people are trying to push to win. Mindgames and out of the blue gimmicks can get you if you don't have a good knowledge of what could possibly beat you. If you don't have a great grasp of the opponent's deck it can be tough to pick the line that will win, but I'll try to explain matchups to help with this.
I’ll give the usual card breakdown by splitting them into groups:
(Early Game) Iceman / Sentinel / Lizard / Mister Fantastic - These cards are super important for the early game. You want priority in this list. Sentinel is a godsend to midrange decks – unlike Sunspot, he doesn’t die to Killmonger, and he helps you to spread power out so that Doom can seal the game. If you have both Sentinel and Lizard in your opening, save Lizard so that you can play both Sentinel and Lizard on turn 4. Iceman is the best 1 drop for the needs of this deck, it doesn’t really matter if he dies to Killmonger and he slows the opponent down, letting you get priority earlier. Mister Fantastic is the GOAT of spreading power out. You want to threaten all 3 lanes with this deck so playing him on turn 3 or 4 is excellent, and he can even steal priority back when you have awkward starts.
I think if you wanted to substitute anything in the deck these would be the ones to substitute, but I don’t think it makes sense to considering how you should have access to all of them. Scorpion and Daredevil are interesting options over Iceman and Lizard that I haven’t toyed with too much.
(Meta Counter) Killmonger / Shang-Chi / Cosmo – These cards are really great for the metagame we are in. Unlike most decks, it’s usually not good to save them for turn 6 in this deck, you want to use them to get ahead on board presence. Killmonger is critical in this metagame. He helps a lot in the Thanos matchup (the trick is to play him before they can Leech you, pay close attention to their energy), and everyone and their mother plays Sunspot. Shang is very important for Shuri, and can sometimes win you games versus Galactus. He also obviously does well in general. Cosmo is really important for Thanos but also puts in work versus Wong and Galactus. All 3 of these cards have a main matchup they are good for, but still put in work in other matchups.
(Win Condition) Wave / Leech – Wave and Leech are both here to seal out games. There are matchups and locations that call for Wave, and others that call for Leech. If you realize early on that Leech is the call, try to use Wave on turn 3 to get a massive power lead on turn 4. If you Wave on turn 5 (and nothing else), you can use She-Hulk + anything, which leads to some truly crazy combos, like She-Hulk + Aero, She-Hulk + Doom, and even She-Hulk + Shang / Killmonger. Against certain decks, like Mr. Negative or Sera Miracle, Leech is way more devastating. These two cards are usually what you are snapping for.
(Game Sealers) Aero / She-Hulk / Doctor Doom – After you have Wave’d, She-Hulk paired with Doom or Aero will win against most plays in the game. She-Hulk is not as useful after a Leech, but Doctor Doom and Aero are both very powerful plays for Leech’d players. I haven’t found a good substitute for any of these 3 cards, but if you have a suggestion I’d love to hear it!
Notes for Thanos and Shuri:
Thanos: This is the hardest matchup. The main tip I have is that you should put Cosmo in front of Lockjaw if you have priority. This will deny Space Stone and Leech from ruining the rest of the board. Kill Quinjet as soon as possible because it’s messed up that all of the stones are free after Quinjet. As soon as the Thanos player can Leech (pay very close attention to their mana level / Leech cost), start playing cards as if you are going to lose them. Killmonger early is much more valuable than turn 6 Killmonger (unless you draw him on turn 6 and thus avoid Leech entirely).
Shuri: If you have priority in all 3 lanes versus Shuri, you should be able to play a line that beats all of their plays. Shang-Chi and Aero are your best friends. I won like 80% of my games versus Shuri so honestly I feel like it’s not that hard.
Leave a comment if you have any questions?