Explanations for each card listed below!
Main Objective: Boost the power of your cards in hand with Gwenpool, then take advantage of doubling effects to maximize on the buffs! Simple large power deck! Use utility cards to get multiple Gwenpool triggers to create large power differentials on cards that you can surprise your opponents with on last turns!
Wasp - As a 0-Cost card, Wasp‘s versatility is through the roof! After a couple triggers from Gwenpool (or even one!) you can have a 0-Cost, 3/5(maybe 7 if you’re lucky!) power card that can be played any turn you want and provide a reasonable swing at a location!
Quinjet - Goes well with Mirage and Moon Girl, and is helpful as a cheaper card for the curve!
Grandmaster - Useful for getting that super nice Gwenpool trigger again! I prefer this to Odin for the cheaper cost and the ability to use it earlier in the game or alongside another card you play that turn! On a smaller note, the move utility can be occasionally useful! Overall, he’s a super useful card! Honestly, I prefer him to Absorbing Man, but having both is by far the best play!
Armor - Numbers in this deck can get really large, but a Shang-Chi can stop some combos cold. Use Armor to help with this! Also, her cost of 2 mellows out the curve since Zabu is the only two cost that you really want to play on turn 2 (Grandmaster is typically best saved for copying another on reveal, though sometimes he’s useful on turn two following a Nico!). Getting Armor out on turn 2 doesn’t feel like you’re burning a card just to hit your curve, so she’s quite nice!
Valentina - Gwenpool can get around the power reduction (sort of. In some instances she can fully negate it, but when she can’t fully cancel out, she still cuts down the decrease!) Also, having a cheaper cost, yet possibly higher power card is helpful for the doubling effects (notably Shuri). Valentina is similar to Armor in the way that playing her on turn 2 is a good play that helps the curve!
Zabu - Our fun sabertooth tiger friend is an essential card for the deck, but if you’re missing him, there’s one other card that’s slightly more accessible and can fill his role fairly well! That card is Psylocke! In this deck, it’s ideal to play Zabu turn two, followed by a turn 3 Shuri or Gwenpool (if both are an option, go with Gwenpool, but Shuri is fine for sure!) or even Moon Girl if the timing works well! Zabu obviously works quite nicely here, but Psylocke does the same thing! If played on turn 2 (as is ideal), Psylocke still allows for a turn 3 Shuri/Gwenpool/MoonGirl, and actually has a bit more versatility! Still, Zabu exceeds Psylocke in the flexibility aspect. (Also, if Zabu ever gets restored to his Ongoing text lines he certainly outclasses Psylocke).
Magik - She performs like Quinjet, providing the deck with more flexibility. Most importantly, the extra turn allows more of your deck to see play, as the curve is on the higher side. Also like Quinjet, she could also be substituted for something with either more personally preference or tested effectiveness!
Shuri - Always a powerful card, Shuri gets to shine a different way in this package! After buffing cards with Gwenpool, toss them into Shuri’s effect with their +2 buff, and Shuri will turn it into a +4! And, if you’re lucky enough to go Gwenpool>Shuri>BlackPanther you’ll end up with a 24 power panther! (Pool buffs him to 6, and he doubles himself to 12, and Shuri sends him to 24).
Absorbing Man - Similar to Grandmaster, but works with Zabu. While not essential, he can honestly do quite a bit of work! He costs two whole energy more than Grandmaster as well as not having the moving text line, but he puts up a respectable (though not phenomenal) power of 4. This works well enough with Shuri and other buffing mechanics. While I do believe Grandmaster is slightly stronger, the ability to repeat the on reveal with two cards in the deck is very strong, so it’s worth running both!
Moon Girl - Her usefulness is specific, but quite useful! First, as a 4-Cost, she’s Zabu’s friend! Second, her synergy with Quinjet is always nice (although, Quinjet is dependent on her. If for any reason (and you shouldn’t, keep reading!) you drop Moon Girl from the deck, Quinjet should go. It’s worth noting, however, that even if Moon Girl and and Quinjet are dropped, it’s still worth keeping Valentina!). Third and most importantly, after buffing your hand with Gwenpool, she can copy those cards with the buff, providing lots of extra power!
Captain Marvel - Zabu synergy! Shuri Synergy! Gwenpool synergy! Moon Girl synergy! Cap’n Carol does a lot of work in this deck! Obviously, her text is very strong. Zabu allows you to get her out earlier (I don’t recommend this! Get any other 4-Cost (minus absorbing man) out before Captain Marvel!). Shuri doubles her power, making her text much more potent. Moon Girl allows you to have two Marvels if the situation is conducive for that (out of all of the combos, this one isn’t quite as helpful…) Gwenpool buffs her (similar to Shuri) and makes her text better as well!
Gwenpool! 🤍 - The star of our show! Her ability is nothing to sneeze at. Serving as a stronger yet more localized Nakia, her buffs are sizable at +2, and can impact the game. The only catch is that the cards are in your hand, so they’ve got to be played out! She is the enabler of the deck, and every other cards plays off of her to benefit the deck! However, she will not be the main source of power on your board, as that will likely be Black Panther. However, she enables him quite well! Overall, she’s a super fun and impactful card and is the backbone of (and also inspiration for!) this deck!
Black Panther - This card takes buffs it receives and turns them into something even more wild! With ideal synergies, Panther easily turns into a card with 12 or 16 power, and it’s not too hard to send that number even higher! His description isn’t quite as nuanced as some of the others, but his effect is simple yet strong, with a clear focus on his goal, that being to get buffs from other cards and use his and his buddies’ on reveals to get even bigger.
Sera - With Magik’s seventh turn, Sera allows for a two turns with a discounted hand. If she is played on turn 5 (ideal curve) you can likely play all of your cards that were buffed by Gwenpool!
That’s the deck, Snappers! Good luck, hoping for an eight-cuber, and happy snapping! Please feel free to comment with any suggestions or remarks about the deck (stay kind please!)