Summer 2026 Playthroughs

Ant Man / Leadership + Wasp / Aggression vs Green Goblin Mutagen Formula

Pairing:  This was fun - I really like this pair.  Great opening hands helped out.  Both heroes built out steadily.  Wasp picked up Ingenuity on the opening hand, so that helped a ton.  Ant Man picked up Team Building Exercise late, but it worked out well.  They cleared the board on the first round.  They kept the main scheme low until it weas time to flip the villain.  They got GG down to one HP --so close, but Wasp was in Giant form-- retaliate got them the win on the villain phase.  That was cool.

Ant Man:  I finally picked up Ant Man.  I initially missed a few things --his power when he flips, plus I missed the lower hand size in giant form.  I guess it evened out.  Ant Man's Giant form hit's like a truck.  He was hitting for 6 at the end.  Then the ants joined in.  

Wasp: did over 30 damage on the last round, taking out two tough minions and hitting the villain for tons with all three Follow Through cards.  I really like Wasp's puzzle.  I'm still debating whether to leave Martial Prowess in her hand, but I think with G.I.R.L. power, and how many upgrades she has, her access to events increases as the game goes.  Her Retcon card was fun as well, adding to the form-switching puzzle.

Black Panther / Protection + She Hulk / Justice vs Thanos

Pairing: T'Challa really filled in the spaces with early defending and putting extra resources on the table.  Black Panther started defending for She Hulk, but later with all her recovery, she just didn't care.  Protection and Justice are usually just slow board control, but She Hulk is so versatile, and she has such good damage output.  Thanos hits like a truck, but with  

Black Panther: Took a little bit to set up, but Wakanda Forever! is such a great card.  I like his feel of always wanting to take some damage to go with the Vibranium Suit.  I usually pick that first to start healing.  Great ongoing support the whole way through.

She Hulk: She Hulk really got into her full heal-tank build.  This is the best I've seen her do.  I feel like recovery is one of the undersold stats.  She was healing reliably for 8 per round.  We used the Gamma Slam / Legal Practice home rules.  Linda loved those cards, and was able to throw two Gamma Slams for 10 and 12.  I really like the way this plays, being able to plan for the big hits.  

Wonder Man / Justice + Hulk / Aggression vs Collector 1

Pairing: Both are heavy event decks --that's the safest option against Collector 1.  This was my first win.  Still, we ended up with 9 cards in the collection.  Wonder Man was able to fill in with a little protection due his deck.  I put a lot of cheap events in his deck to be able to start tucking cards for his hero power.  He didn't attack very often, so it worked pretty well with his cards.  Of course a few Hulk smashes helped finish off the Collector.  The collection was at nine when we won.  Ugly.  I don't like rush strategies, but this is probably the most fun way to run Collector.  Board control is a slog.

Wonder Man: new deck.  I liked building his deck.  I didn't even look on Marvel CDB.  I just wanted another cheap event deck with hybrid abilities.  Versatility has value.  I put lots of defense and aerial thwart events into his deck.  Defense cards are usually cheap anyway.  He could be a cool protection deck.  He's already hybrid, he can easily play any aspect, but I'd shy away from leadership, allies are expensive.  I disagree with a lot of the reviews.  He's not too bad.  I like event decks, they're great in the early game.

Hulk: Hulk Smash saved the day again.  Vic played Hulk with the Retcon card to get resources from damage.  Hulk did great.  Plenty of events.  Hulk's Retcon card is really popular.  The 4-card hand size is limiting but then the rage counters pile up, and the events start flying.  It has a great feel.

Winter Soldier / Aggression + Venom / Protection vs Green Goblin Mutagen Formula.  

Pairing: This was a test for Venom's new Protection deck.  This was a great combo --tons of weapons!  The schemes were no problem between Bucky's hero power and Venom's Multigun.  Ready for a Fight was useless this game.  Venom healed both heroes significantly.  The Stun Gun worked great with Man on a Wall.  Very nice combo.

Venom:  Swapped Venom to Protection (swapped with Silk) more thematic to have a few web-warriors in his deck.  I'm starting to think Venom would be amazing in Aggression with all the readies.  Run and Gun with a Hand Cannon would be really nice.  With his pistols, he defends for up to 5 for the first defense, and then for up to 3, because he can't ready his guns on the villain phase.  Venom has so much healing for the table.  He was healing for 12 on a flip.  I may add Web Warrior to Venom's (and Spiderman's) hero cards.  He might need a few more defense events to block for other players, but with his versatility, he really encourages other players to flip down.  It's different, but it works.

Winter Soldier:  Maybe his deck is a little heavy trying to do too much between boosting attacks with weapon upgrades and boosting allies, I'm not really sure what to do.  Man on a Wall got used a ton this game.  That made his expensive upgrade deck worth it.  I don't like the SHIELD Sidearm compared to the regular Sidearm, but in practical terms, they have the same effect.  I wondered about giving all three to Maria Hill for Cheap counters...