Introduction
Probably the deck I'd recommend in early to mid Pool 1 (besides Odin). Decided to revise the deck for when you've just finished the recruit season.
Game plan
The goal is to stack a bunch of Ongoing effects in two locations and buff them with Spectrum. The alternative win condition is to win with Iron Man, Blue Marvel and Ka-Zar.
Decklist
The deck is made of only Starter and Recruit season cards which can be slowly rotated as your collection level progresses:
- Ant-Man, a staple 1-drop of Pool 1. Never play him on turn 1 (unless the location's Knowhere). Has great synergy with Ka-Zar and Spectrum.
- Hawkeye, good stats for the cost, though you're telegraphing where you'll be playing a card next turn. Can also use him just to bait the opponent.
- Misty Knight, a vanilla 1-drop for additional synergy with Ka-Zar.
- Nightcrawler, a very versatile card, this ought to be your turn 1 play (at the farthest location on the right). Can/will win you Sanctum Sanctorum or Death's Domain.
- Good old dependable Colossus for Death's Domain, Necrosha, Sewer System, Negative Zone. Receiver of Spectrum buff.
- Sentinel is great on curve if you've nothing else to play, you can also choose to run any other 2-drop.
- Mr. Fantastic, not much to say, play in the middle, push 6 power across all locations. Ongoing card.
- Punisher, contests stacked locations, also Ongoing.
- Ka-Zar rewards you for running a lot of 1-drops and is another target for Spectrum.
- Iron Man, once again not much to say, a great card, especially after being buffed. Alternative win condition to Spectrum.
- Blue Marvel helps you push more power through the locations and is able provide a fun alternative win condition.
- Spectrum, the big finisher, adds + 16 power to a full Iron Man lane.
Snapping
The Snap is an interesting mechanic which makes your matches similar to games of Poker. Meaning, knowing when to fold (retreat) or double down by snapping will heavily impact the amount of cubes you'll be gaining. It also means that while I'm in love with the game, I wouldn't recommend playing it if you're struggling with gambling addiction.
Snap in the midgame if you look at your hand, can already see your endgame and you like it - depending on the matchup - is the short answer on when to snap.
I'll go over some general rules I try to stick to which may help out players maximize cube gains and minimize losses, as I see a lot of them using this mechanic in questionable ways.
- Never snap before all the locations are revealed is probably the first one I adhere to. Therefore, turn 3 should be the first moment when you ought to consider snapping as you never know whether that final location will turn out to be Ego, Worldship or a location which supercharges the opponent's archetype and the whole game plan just flies out of the window. Not to mention, the opponent also has agency and will use it by playing Storm, Scarlet Witch, Aero, Magneto, etc. That also brings me to the second rule.
- I don't recommend snapping until you've figured out what archetype the opponent's playing. This can delay your decision to do so by a turn or two, but you could have the best hand in the game, but a disruptive deck doesn't care about that. This leads us to the next point.
- Watch the game, take note of what and where the opponent's setting up their plays. To be honest, this is probably the most complicated one as it requires a broader knowledge of the archetypes and it will take some time to gain enough experience. If you've considered all the options and are feeling comfortable, go ahead and snap before locking in your play on turn 5 at latest - the reason to do so is related to the next rule. The same goes for when you're feeling behind and the opponent snaps on turn 5, there's always the option to retreat. Also, if you've accepted a snap earlier or have snapped yourself, it is not wrong to retreat if you see an unfavorable outcome. No need to feel obligated to commit just because there's more than 1 cube on the line as losing 1 or 2 cubes doesn't matter in the long run as they can be replaced easily by winning just a single match.
- Never snap on the final turn. This is probably the most common thing I see when playing, the math is mostly on the table on the final turn. Be it a close game or they're ahead, the opponent snaps. Best case scenario; it may occasionally cheat out 4 cubes from a less experienced player. What it usually ends up achieving is a retreat in a close game where the other party would stay in for those 2 cubes (because now they know that they've managed to draw their finisher and people are very rarely bluffing on the final turn), making a loss of 1 cube. Worst case scenario; the finisher's been anticipated, countered and you make a loss of 4 or more cubes.
- I'll dub this one 'Avoid bad snaps', it's about snapping before making a play of small significance. One of my favorite examples is snapping when playing Armor on Nova or The Hood. Remember that the opponent has 11 more cards in their deck, was also just informed about the 'big counter' and will likely adjust accordingly.
Final thoughts
The deck is capable of some impressive power plays, though skilled players will probably anticipate your actions and retreat or counter you as everyone progresses through Pool 1. Perhaps slightly weaker than Zoo, but will remain relevant in any card pool given some tweaks.
Don't worry about making some 'misplays' here and there (a lot of the time the turn 6 play comes down to a rock-paper-scissors situation), that's how we all learn.
And remember to have fun!