The Game Plan
Black Knight is fundamentally a deck design challenge, and one that will have to continue to be experimented with, but I think this list is the best at taking every opportunity to find synergy with and without Black Knight.
This list has quite a few play lines, and while the highest of highs come with Black Knight, we can make a ton of other competitive plays so long as we're patient. To start, getting our Infinaut or Giganto discarded with Lady Sif or Blade is our ultimate goal. We can bring both of these targets back with Ghost Rider and secure ourselves a lane almost single-handedly. When this is combined with Black Knight, we can then hide our huge Ebony Blade and copy it with Taskmaster or Arnim Zola and put easily 20+ power across 3 lanes.
For an alternate play line where we don't get the combo in the right order, Magik sets us up for some other powerful plays. Psylocke into Giganto or skip into Infinaut can open us up to Arnim Zola/Taskmaster later on. In either the first or second play line, we can use Armor and Cosmo to defend and attack our opponent's strategy.
If all else fails, we retreat for 1 cube and get ready for the next setup.
The Decklist
- Black Knight is easy to drop on turn 1, but sometimes waiting until a turn or two later can be a surefire way to protect him from Killmonger or something similar. It's also important to consider where he's placed, as Giganto may need the left lane later on.
- Blade is an easy to include targeted discard in this list, and has saved me a number of games where I needed to top deck my win condition.
- Psylocke is a key piece in allowing Lady Sif + Ghost Rider on turn 6 or setting up Giganto for turn 5. I debated Zabu in this list, but there are many, many games where Giganto really benefitted from being played on 5, and this list is already so tight I feel that Psylocke can sub for both roles.
- Armor is essential for blocking pesky Shang-Chi's and Killmonger's while disrupting destroy decks.
- Magik is an extra card draw, insurance for our Infinaut play, and a great way to remove locations we don't like.
- Cosmo is a really multi-faceted defense in this list. It protects our cards from being destroyed, but it is especially good at protecting the Ebony Blade, which is weak to cards like Shadow King or Valkyrie.
- Lady Sif is a reliable discard for our Giganto or Infinaut, but it should be noted that having Arnim Zola in the hand can make this tricky. In the event we discard Zola, it's a 1 cube retreat. The tradeoff, however, is demonstrably worth it in my opinion.
- Ghost Rider is extremely reliable in this list and really is the foundation for the decks I love running. Being able to bring back an additional 14 or 20 power on top of the Ebony Blade is incredible, and I like especially that he can get around locations like Death's Domain.
- Taskmaster Is a bit greedy in this list, but ultimately plays extremely well with the big cards in this deck. What's better than two Ebony Blades?
- Arnim Zola is good for all of the reasons as Taskmaster, but allows for some board manipulation. Marvel SNAP is based around winning two lanes, and Arnim Zola is incredible in that sense if we set up our plays correctly.
- Giganto is cumbersome but necessary in this list. Being the third biggest card in the game naturally (tied with Agatha and Redskull), at first glance you may think he only serves as a backup to the Infinaut. I have to say that, to my surprise, playing him with Psylocke has saved me countless times when other combos were harder to hit. 14 power is nothing to scoff at, and the natural synergy with Taskmaster or Arnim Zola has won me so many 8 cube standoffs.
- The Infinaut is the ultimate "big guy" in the game, and fundamentally works with discard for that reason. We also have Magik in the deck, which allows for some crazy turn 7 shenanigans in a similar vein to Giganto. He's big, meaty, and greedy, but works extremely well in this list.
The Wrap-Up
I actually found myself really enjoying this list because of the decision making and over-the-top nature of putting what is effectively 3 Infinaut's on the board. If you like big numbers, you might like this list too.