Zoo has Gilgamesh. Destroy has Knull. Now, this week’s newest card, Ajax, is the affliction archetype’s big stat stick. This card has been nerfed from a 4/4 in his original data mine to a 5/5, then buffed within the last week to a 5/7. His ongoing effect gives him +1 power for every card in play afflicted with negative power.
The Spotlight Caches
This week’s Spotlight Caches are interesting. Ajax will be a good card and open up the possibility of making toxic-type decks viable. Darkhawk is a must-have in any collection–not only as an Arishem counter (who is running rampant in the meta right now) but as a good card in his own right. Beta Ray Bill is also a solid card and opens up several “hammer” builds utilizing him and Thor. If you have none of the cards this week, this is a very solid week to use keys if you have them. However, if you are only missing Ajax, I would evaluate whether you want Ajax at the end of the week. As strongly as I feel he will be a solid card, nothing beats seeing some data before making your decision.
Ajax Basics
Ajax’s ability is interesting for two reasons. First, his effect is ongoing. Unlike Gilgamesh, it does not matter when he is played; he will grow with cards that become afflicted no matter when it happens. This also means Mystique can copy him.
Second, his description implies it is a mirrored effect; it counts cards that are afflicted on both your and your opponent’s sides of the field. This means that Ajax can get up to 24 additional power in any given game. The average number of cards on each side of the field varies widely depending on the common and meta archetypes of the time. It is also important to note that he only gets +1 per card; you can afflict a single card with -10 power, but he will still only get +1.
Archetypes like Arishem, Loki, Clog, and Zoo tend to flood the board with cards and thus would be prime Ajax matchups. Destroy, Shuri, High Evolutionary, and Hela tend to have fewer cards on the board by the game's end, and thus, Ajax has fewer bodies to benefit from affliction. You aim to mitigate the bad matchups with clog-type cards and capitalize on the flood decks with your affliction cards.
The Cage Conundrum
So, a central question has been posed: Do you run Luke Cage in Ajax decks? Luke Cage does not allow your cards to be afflicted, thus Ajax would only grow for every card afflicted on your opponent's side of the field (a maximum of 12 value). Naturally, This can be further limited by your opponent’s Luke, who will likely be everywhere this first week to counteract Ajax.
So, as reflected by my decks below, I do not think Ajax will be most effective when paired with Luke. Instead, I think he will work best in decks that dare smart at afflicting themselves. Back in the days when Luke Cage only protected a single lane (and was thus played nowhere), I was likely one of few people running Hazmat (without Luke) to any success. The key was knowing when to play Hazmat, where to play her, and when you can afford it.
The key is recognizing when you can detract some power away from a lane to benefit another. At most, Hazmat takes away 4 power away from you in a lane. She does the same to your opponent. Thus, it would help to recognize what lane you can maximize her value in and when that is beneficial. Locked, clogged, and lanes you generally win overwhelmingly can all lose some power if it means winning a second lane. That is the key: power reallocation. Ajax, when not paired with Luke, can now win a second lane on his own, as he is a 5-power card that, on average, is likely over 20 power when paired with Hazmat because he can take power taken away from lanes and focus it in a lane you need to win.
This also has implications for other cards. I think Typhoid Mary will pair excellently with Ajax. He turns her effect—afflicting -1 to all the cards on your side of the board—into a positive because you can choose where to focus the power you are losing across the board into one card. Typhoid is a stat stick in her own right, so she can go in a lane with some other support and Ajax another and likely be lane-winning. This is where Ajax will be best; not overly greedy toxic decks, but little toxic effects here and there with smart plays to allocate power amongst the board where needed.
There are two ways to play Ajax. One, afflict as many cards as possible with that -1 power, so Ajax gets big. These are the power reallocation decks. Then, there will be decks more focused on afflicting your opponent as much as possible, which forgoes the need for Luke anyway. Both of these types of decks are below. But before that, let's discuss some specific synergies.
Synergies
Two classes of cards synergize best with Ajax: (1) the obvious cards that afflict negative power to feed Ajax power, and (2) cards that put more bodies on the board to be afflicted. The first class also has its subcategories: (a) cards with mirrored affliction (affect both sides of the board), (b) cards that afflict only your cards, and (c) cards that afflict only your opponent’s cards.
Afflict Us
Hazmat: She will be an auto-include in any Ajax deck for obvious reasons–she gives Ajax +1 for every card she afflicts when played. She will be the simplest and most effective way to get Ajax's maximum value, bar none.
Man-Thing & U.S. Agent: I pair two of my favorite cards together because they function similarly; they afflict each side with negative power depending on their cost. The idea with these cards is you can afflict your opponent’s cards and (in limited circumstances) your own to juice up Ajax nicely.
Selene: A bad card (that I have legitimately split 15 times). However, if you are running her with Goblins, you can get up to 10 power value with her (-3 to their card, -3 to a card you send their way, 2 of her power, and 2 juicing up Ajax). Something to consider, I suppose.
Afflict Me
Typhoid Mary: I used this card in my example above, so I will not dwell on her much. She has a neat synergy to consider and a stat stick that will be useful when afflicting yourself.
Yellowjacket: In one of the few instances where this card’s effect can be used to some benefit, Yellowjacket can reduce a lane you are confidently winning to feed Ajax by up to 3 power. This makes Yellowjacket a free 5 power play (regarding power reallocation).
Afflict You
Scorpion: A card that used to be in every deck back when Snap first released, I think Scorpoion will be a great staple in Ajax decks. When played early, he can be of huge value in his own right; playing him with Ajax basically doubles his effect value.
Evolved Cards (Wasp, Cyclops, the Thing): These cards all work to solely afflict your opponent’s cards, which naturally feed Ajax, assuming they all hit different cards. One trigger from each of these cards (assuming all hit different targets) would alone be +6 for a 5/13 Ajax.
Spider-Woman: A stat stick in her own right that, at most, can afflict three of your opponent’s cards to feed Ajax. I do not anticipate her being used too often since she is a high-cost card and serves a similar purpose to Ajax (a stat stick). Still, she is worth mentioning here, especially since lower collection-level players who get access to Ajax may need to consider her.
Red Guardian: He is a general-use tech card that technically afflicts a card with -2 power. So, he is a 3/6 with Ajax. It is not an explicit build-around, but it is a good card to include if you are looking to fill a flex spot.
Kingpin: He technically works to afflict cards that are moved into his lane. I do not believe Kingpin will work well with Ajax. If you can prove me wrong, please let me know below.
Cassandra Nova: A quick mention must be made to the card coming in two weeks, as she will be a superb addition to Ajax decks, as she afflicts your opponent's deck.
Let the Bodies Hit the Board
Debrii: The best cards to get cards on the board to afflict for both you and your opponent. Debrii into Hazmat brings Ajax up by 5 power alone, without considering other cards played.
White Widow: She clogs, and her clogging piece is afflicted with negative power. While the negative power often won’t come to fruition, she adds more cards to afflict either way. Just remember that the widow’s kiss is not affected by Man-thing!
Black Widow: Same idea as above; if played on curve or turn 4, it is a card that your opponent is nearly guaranteed to play.
The Goblins: Throw your opponent some negative power gifts with Green Goblin and Hobgoblin, and afflict them later!
Now, onto some decks!
JimmyDickin's Day 1 Ajax Decks
JaxHawk
Darkhawk and Ajax are two stat sticks made in toxins! The idea here is pretty straightforward. You disrupt them with rocks and clogs and win lanes with big boys. Mystique can copy either of the two big stat sticks on turn 6, or you can even play Hazmat with Ajax or Darkhawk (if you played Ajax already) on turn 6 to get the maximum effect. Note that the sole Ajax activator is Hazmat. With all of the Arishem around, this is likely the best deck to bring so you can safely test Ajax and still be prepared for all the Arishem decks. Credit to YoWoodyMJ, a superb deckbuilder and streamer, for the list. Check him out on Twitch!
AnniJax
This deck is Sentry-less Annihilus. It aims to clog the opponent with Debrii and White Widow, and if the stars align, you can Annihilus over some afflicted junk utilizing Man-thing, Hazmat, and Yellowjacket. Ajax is then the big power to finish off the game where needed–there should be plenty of cards afflicted naturally at that point. I am looking forward to running this deck, and hopefully, Luke Cage will not be too rampant to see if it can be successful.
High Evolutionary Ajax
Toxic High Evo decks have been slightly power-crept, but I think they can make a return with this new stat stick. The goal is to make Abom cheap and finish the game with Ajax Abom, or play Ajax on 5 and Hazmat everything (and then play Abom). This is likely a space many will be experimenting with.
Jax n’ Doctor
This deck takes inspiration from the Dagger Clog list independently made by TLSG and HuskyPuppies35 (both excellent creators; check them out on Youtube/Twitch and Twitch, respectively). This looks to totally clog a lane with either Doctor Octopus or other clog cards (Debrii into White Widow/Green Goblin & Titania will catch many off guard), win that lane, and then win another with a big card. That big card here is Ajax, of course. Magik gives you more time to enact this plan and lets you Ajax/Hazmat on turn 7 to have a significant effect. This will be a powerful version of this deck that will become more viable as Luke Cage loses popularity.
SkaarSick
So this deck is a bit silly, but hear me out. This looks to play some bil ol’ cards and win that way simply. Gwenpool helps make some cards on the precipice of 10 power get that threshold, and it also synergizes with Mysterio. Ideally, you want a very cheap Skaar to play on the last turn. It seems to both have synergy and anti-synergy together with the Typhoid Mary, but I think they can work quite well together. This is a point slam deck that may catch people off guard.
Conclusion
Ajax is a card that excites me because I think he has the potential for greatness and is a great stat stick in an archetype that has been quite shy of validity for some time. He doesn’t directly answer the meta tyrant, Arishem, but he may in the next OTA or upon the release of Cassandra Nova. I hope this article inspires some ideas and gives you a good sense of the possibilities with this card. Let me know your thoughts on the card, how incorrect I am about omitting Luke Cage, and any other thoughts you might have on the card below. Happy snapping!
