I've been a fan of this archetype for a long time. I like it because it's a very unique concept that i haven't seen before in a card game..
So I have decided to put together a list of all the cards that we usually see everyone play in this archetype, rank them, and then use this info to create the most optimal Junk deck and find out which cards truly define this archetype.
(Deck shown above is the most popular Junk deck on Untapped.gg)
Here are the six cards that should form the base of every Junk deck
Nebula: Forces your opponent to play in one lane allowing you to clog them easier.
The Hood: Send him to your opponent with Viper or Annihilus (or destroy him) and get a Demon that you can save for turn 6 usually to play alongside a 5-cost card.
Green Goblin: Let's you target any location to disrupt with the only downside being that he is very risky to play on the last turns of the game. In some locations he can just win you games by himself. (Like Space Throne or Bar Sinister.)
Debrii: She is the most optimal way to clog your opponent because she does it on two lanes! And you can still send those rocks if you play cards like Hazmat or Typhoid Mary.
The Sentry: Is your main source for BIG power on two sides of the board. He can be vulnerable to Shang Chi but there are many ways to compensate for that.
Annihilus: Ever since his release, he has been the card that has enabled this archetype into existence, he is to Junk what M.O.D.O.K is to Discard.
And below are all of the flexible options available from most synergistic to most niche:
Synergistic
Yellowjacket: Can give extra negative power to cards you can send to your opponent with Annihilus like The Hood, Debrii's rocks or The Void. (Works on the same turn as well!)
Ghost Spider: Can be played on turn 6 along side a 5-cost card after having played Doctor Octopus the turn before to juke your opponents. Or she can move a Green Goblin you have already played before turn 4 into another location to clog them safely.
Selene: Must be played with The Hood, Green Goblin and Hobgoblin (Or Black Widow!) to secure that most of the time you hit a good target on your side.
Titania: Is your plan B when you don't have a Demon to play on turn 6. But she can be played early as well if you have clogged your opponent beforehand. Also, Titania into Green Goblin on turn 4 works pretty nicely most of the time.
Carnage: Has been used in the past to get rid of negative power cards on your side of the board, but i believe Annihilus has taken his spot in this archetype, he fits the curve better and also destroys any that can't be sent to your opponent. Still, Carnage can work well when your deck is designed with a lower curve.
Daredevil: Works PERFECTLY here. Trust me, the info he provides is really, reallyyy valuable. He let's you set up your your win cons for turn 6, what locations you can close for your opponent, or if they plan to use their own Annihilus against you.
Mysterio: Reduces the cost of Mockingbird and if you play Man-Thing on one of the illusions you can send them over with Annihilus.
White Widow: Seems to be another Junk staple. Will update again when she releases.
Black Widow: Isn't really played here because of the card draw disruption, but more because the widow's bite occupies a board space on the side of your opponent. And on turn 4 you could play her with Selene to give the widow's bite -3 power.
Polaris: Is underated in this archetype, she may not always guarantee to clog your opponent because she relies on them playing low cost cards on the first two turns of the game. However when location that spawn tokens appear, she can feel devastating.
Spiderman: Can do the same Polaris does but less reliably.
Vyper: Even if Annihilus might do the same thing but better, she offers consistency and lets you take advantage of locations that spawn tokens like Savage Land.
Man Thing: Can feel hard to play, he REQUIRES you to plan ahead of your turns. You don't want to play him on the same location where you have your low cost cards like Titania, Daredevil, Debrii or Viper. But you WANT to play him on the same spot you have The Hood, Green Goblin or Debrii's Rocks to send them over with Annihilus.
Typhoid Mary: Allows you to send the rocks from Debrii on your side with Annihilus. Also protects Doctor Octopus from Shang Chi.
Shuri: Is just a powerful card that fits here perfectly because of how many strong 5-cost cards this archetype runs. If you feel like running her in a deck I recommend to run Armor as well and swap Hobgoblin with Taskmaster.
Aero: Now with the change to only move revealed cards, you have more control on what card from your opponent you want to move and where. You can use this effect to clog them of course. She also fits the theme of having multiple 5 cost cards for the final turn of the game.
Cannonball: Synergises very well with Professor X. He is the best reward you can get for clogging your opponent.
Doctor Octopus: This card always puts in play Shang Chi for the opponent, I know, but if you have filled your opponent's side with junk, you reduce the chance of this happening and most of the time his big power stat will beat whatever you pull out of your opponent's hand allowing you to only focus on the other locations. Be smart when you play him, if you see your opponent playing Hela, just don't. (Unless you are running Shang Chi in your deck of course.)
Hobgoblin: At first i didn't like him because of how risky he feels to play without Daredevil, but with Selene added to the game now he feels like a must. Also he enables Galactus to be played in this archetype as well.
Mockingbird: Has synergy with The Hood (When you play the Demon), Mysterio, Debrii and Sentry.
Spider Woman: Most of the time should only be played on the final turn of the game alongside a Demon or Titania for a powerful swing.
Valkyrie: Before Annihilus, she was the card that everyone used to negate the Void negative power. Fits well like Aero because she is a 5-cost card that you can play on the final turn of the game alongside a 1-cost, but she can feel restrictive because The Void only spawns on the right location which means most of the time she only should be played at that location.
Alioth: Most of the time you will get priority on turn 6 if you managed to do the Sentry into Annihilus combo. I would play him on a deck that doesn't rely on playing a Demon on the final turn of the game.
Galactus: Believe it or not, he works great here, usually the opponent will not expect him because of how little he sees play. Just make sure to leave space for him on one lane at all times. The Hood, both Goblins or The Void (Sent by Annihilus) can help him trigger his ability easily.
Useful tech cards
Spider-Ham: You can make him -2 power with Selene or -1 with Man-Thing, then send him with Annihilus to your opponent.
Shadow King: Great card in the current meta to counter a lot of things. I dont play him because he just doesn't really fit the curve. If he was 1-cost he could be a perfect play on the final turn of the game, but yeah, that could be way too strong. There is an argument to be made to play Magik in this deck to allow him to be played on turn 7 alongside another 5-cost card, but we usually don't want to give time to our opponent to find answers to what we are doing.
Armor: Is your answer to the worst matchup this archetype has: Destroy. She disrupts your opponent and protects most of your junk (like The Void or Hobgoblin) from being destroyed by a Carnage or a Deathlock. The only negative side to this is that if you wanted to send junk to your opponent with Annihilus and they filled the location, then it won't be destroyed. Other uses this card serves: He protects Sentry and Doctor Octopus from Shang Chi.
Grand Master: If you played Debrii on turn 3, on turn 4 he can be played alongside Hazmat to give himself and the rocks -1 power. That way you can send them with Annihilus on the next turn.
Jeff: Great card in any archetype, useful in mirrors to guarantee you still have space to play cards in a location your opponent wants to clog.
Ravonna: Makes Grand Master, Havok, Green Goblin, Hobgoblin and Professor X cheaper. She also allows you to send Havok to your opponent with Viper on turn 4 but that requires you to draw 3 different cards early and in order which is a very rare thing to happen in this game.
Zabu: Allows you to play Sentry on turn 3 to Viper the Void on turn 4. He also allows you to setup Man-Thing early and gives you more consistent final turns like Sentry + Viper or Shang Chi.
Crystal: Keep in this mind this archetype is VERY dependant on combos and she can allow you to fix your curve when you don't draw the cards that you need for turn 4. (Mainly Sentry + Annihilus.) Other combos she could allow on turn 4: The Hood + Viper , Selene + Black Widow or Titania + Green Goblin.
Storm: I've seen some people mix Lockdown with Junk, it can work well if you Storm the right location, into Sentry, into Annihilus to send the void to the flooded location. But it can feel awkward when you dont draw Sentry.
Shang Chi: I recommend to play him on a low curve deck with Zabu to be more optimal.
Absorbing Man: There is some funny things you can do with him, like getting another Demon from The Hood, sending more Rocks from Debrii, adding another Void from Sentry or triggering Annihilus effect again if you know your opponent has him as well, but most of the time he can feel very situational.
Professor X: Like Storm, he is another Lockdown card that other players combine with Junk, seems to work well with Daredevil, Ravonna and Canonball.
Legion: Can let us take advantage of many locations like Central Park, Savage Land or Shadow Land to clog our opponent. Or even locations like Death's Domain because we still have many ways to interact with the board with cards like Jeff, Viper, Shang Chi, Sentry or Annihilus. He also counters Shenaut decks as well.
Very niche
Havok: Could be sent to the opponent with Viper but usually it's just not worth the effort.
Hazmat and Luke Cage: Can work in a negative affliction junk deck.
The Punisher: In theory he could be good here, you fill your opponent side with junk and he gets stronger, sadly, the power is usually not enough to justify a slot.
And of course, feel free to experiment yourself with all the diferent flexible options. This archetype can be build and played in many different ways!
Made by Zarkot. ☺
I'm going to keep updating this as i keep experimenting more with this archetype.
Update 18/01/2024: Man... they just keep trying to erase this archetype from existence. Now Selene can't be sent by Annihilus. They keep removing every interesting interaction that Annihilus and this archetype can do.
Update 12/04/2024: My Junk deck doesn't work like it used to after the Zabu nerf. So I will replace it with the most popular Junk deck on Untapped.gg for now.