Ms. Marvel: Destined

Deck concept

I've been doing a lot of decks with Sonic Rifle recently. It is a fantastic card for any hero who likes to flip regularly. So far I've published Captain America (https://marvelcdb.com/decklist/view/12445/cap-flips-1.0) and She-Hulk (https://marvelcdb.com/decklist/view/11680/she-hulk-confusing-legalese-1.0). Ms. Marvel is the epitome of the hero who likes to flip every turn, so she was always destined to be added to the list.

Card choices

First the allies. I am pretty much a solo-only player, so I can't think of a deck I've played with as few as four allies in it. In this deck I aim to take every villain hit on Ms. Marvel though, and use her high REC regularly, so I've slimmed down the allies far beyond what I normally would. Quake and Wiccan are cheap allies who can sit on the bench in case of emergencies, and Quake will occasionally knock out a scheming minion while she does it. Lockjaw has a pretty specific use in this deck. I will summon him from the discard pile on turns when I get a handful of thwart events, and no side-scheme to use them on. Red Dagger can also absorb excess cards if I get a bad hand through his interrupt ability when defeated.

For events Multitasking and Clear the Area are more than enough thwarting for a solo game. They both combine well with Shrink to manage both side schemes and the main scheme. A total of nine Thwart events might seem excessive, and does create the risk that you'll have more in your hand than you can use, especially later in the game when the deck has thinned. Ms Marvel is very reliant on events to do her thwarting for her, though, and early in the game the deck is still fat and you may not have gotten Shrink down, so I think it is better to err on the side of too many thwart events than find yourself without at a critical moment.

Turn the Tide is fantastic value combined with Embiggen!, and Big Hands is a stalwart. I've had turns where I played three each of Big Hands and Turn the Tide for 23 damage (and then did six more with Red Dagger).

The deck is strong in supports and upgrades. Once set up, we will be hitting Big Hands frequently, especially with Aamir Khan's ability to put it back in the deck, and then Teen Spirit to fetch it out. Down Time is critical because we will be taking heavy damage on Ms Marvel every turn. Endurance is only a little less critical, because 10 hit points can be squishy. Deft Focus is fantastic. Even if you only use it for Big Hands, you will be playing Big Hands almost every turn from the mid-game onwards, so it will give great value.

Three Sonic Rifle are more than I would really think is necessary in most decks. I've allowed three because one can easily be discarded with Teen Spirit, so it just gives the deck that bit more consistency.

Alternative cards

As already discussed, you could cut back a couple of Clear the Area and/or Multitasking. They could make space for:

• more attack events, such as Scare Tactic or Stealth Strike;
• more allies. There are so many strong allies available in the game now that could give you more thwart and attack options when the right cards don't come to hand;
• Sense of Justice, although I find I rarely want to pay for more than one thwart event a turn so the cost-effectiveness is a bit dubious on top of Biokinetic Polymer Suit, Helicarrier and Nakia Bahadir (on those turns you start in Alter Ego); or
• Interrogation Room and/or Followed, both situational cards that can have real value against the right villain.

Playing the deck

The concept of this deck is to spend some of each turn in Alter Ego using Sonic Rifle where possible to keep the scheme under control, or the numerous thwart events in the deck if for whatever reason you find yourself without a rifle.

If you are in Alter Ego every turn, then Aamir Khan, Nakia Bahadir, and Bruno Carrelli offer incredible value and must be played as soon as they are seen. If you have to discard Shrink or Embiggen! to get it done it doesn't matter: Aamir Khan can put them back into the deck for you and Teen Spirit will be sure to find them.

Except in emergencies, you should always aim to take villain hits on Ms. Marvel. There's no point exhausting to defend with DEF 1, but where Wiggle Room comes to hand it is always worth playing. If you play it once you get the card back, but if you exhaust for Morphogenetics, you actually wind up a card ahead for saving 6 damage! Generally, though, don't use Morphogenetics if it means passing up a chance to use that incredible 5 REC.

With the main supports and upgrades down you will start to get great value out of Big Hands. Aamir Khan lets you put one back in the deck every turn so you will see plenty of it. With Deft Focus and Embiggen! in play it is 2 resources for 6 damage. With Morphogenetics a single copy can be 4 resources for 10, so although individually it seems an underwhelming card once the deck is thinned enough you will have what it takes to knock down any villain. By this stage of the game you will also have some pretty big hands. Aamir Khan, Teen Spirit, and Bruno Carrelli can add five cards.

How to lose with this deck

I've actually only managed to lose once with this deck, and that was by playing against Thanos. Stalwart opponents are obviously a problem. He also schemes for a lot so the strategy of having many weak thwart events loses some value. I've beaten him since. The deck just ate Hela for breakfast. Yay monotheism!

Conclusion

Sonic Rifle supports Ms. Marvel's most obvious play style, so this isn't really an innovative or clever deck but it does OK.