Ant-Man Smash

The Basic Idea

This deck is the result of my overindulgent examination of the Brute Force card.

What occurred to me was that Brute Force has both a significant limitation, as well as a lack thereof.

To the first; it must be discarded after you make a basic attack.

To the second; you can have all three copies in play at once.

The upshot: As long as you don’t make a basic attack, you can maintain +3 ATK.

A year or so ago, that wasn’t very interesting. But now we have numerous ways to utilize the total ATK of a hero without ever needing them to actually attack.

I settled on Ant-Man because in his giant form he has 3ATK, but he also has two copies of Giant Strength, which each give him +1ATK the turn he goes Giant. Combined with Combat Training and two Brute Strength, Ant-Man is sitting pretty at 8ATK on any turn in which he changes to Giant form.

Then I just put every card that capitalized on this scenario into the deck.

The Cards

Quick Strike- When you change to Giant form, this is 8 damage for 3ER. Technically better than a Swinging Web Kick, but not really, since so many resources were spent for this set-up.

Smash the Problem- Also a potential 8 damage, but this time to the threat on a scheme. Any scheme, by the way.

The Best Defense…- Okay, this may be my favorite. Once again, a potential 8 damage, now being applied to DEF. But better yet, you can play one of the attack events and still defend with this card, since the attack events don’t require exhausting.

The final piece of this puzzle is a bit slap-dash. Honed Technique is here because it can do incredible things, but there are really only four cards to which it applies. Which would normally not interest me much, since a combo with such limited interaction is inefficient. But Clobberis the gift that keeps on giving, and can take advantage of Honed Technique every single turn.

Assuming you can pay for it, which is why I built in as many science or wild resources as possible.

And for sure, if you are playing with other Avenger heroes, this is the deck that gets to use the Quincarrier, without a doubt. The Quin literally solves the Honed Technique issue. (Use a science resource when playing an Aggression attack event)

The Dream

So the best-case scenario here is: Flip up to giant form, get +2 ATK from Giant Strength You are now at +5 ATK (Combat Training and two Brute Force) Play Clobber using Quincarrier for 5 Damage Exhaust Fluid Motion for +1 ATK You are now at total 9 ATK Next you play Quick Strike or Smash The Problem and either deal 9 damage or remove 9 threat Defend for 8 with The Best Defense… during the villain phase (because Fluid Motion only lasts until the end of the hero phase) You can also add +1 to all of those numbers if you chose to wear the Symbiote Suit.

The Reality

Are there issues with this pie-in-the-sky situation? Oh yeah.

First of all, the flip to Giant Form is a significant event, so you have to capitalize on that immediately. Further, Ant-Man has a 4 hand size in Giant form, so unless you have a Resize in hand and the extra resources (Helicarrier, Genius, The Power of Aggression) you are going to be hurting for cards the next round.

But this is the beauty of Ant-Man, he takes these issues and turns them into strengths.

You went into the villain phase in Giant Form and only draw 4? No problem. Use your boosted ATK to play The Best Defense… and shut down all possible damage. Then flip to Tiny Form and draw a card (courtesy of Ant-Man's Helmet) and regroup. Even in Tiny Form you can dish out 5 damage with Clobber and Honed technique. Then pile on with a few Army of Ants.

All of this flipping around to play these cards triggers Ant-Man’s innate abilities as well as his helmet (if it’s in play). While it may just be a point here and there, it adds up noticeably over the course of a game.

The Play

I really enjoy this deck, because it feeds directly into the heart of Ant-Man’s play style; organized chaos. Scott Lang has a versatility that can be harnessed if you properly anticipate what you’re up against, and this build can swing wildly into damage or threat removal so long as you stay on top of his events.

Which is a serious consideration because there are only 13 events. Of the 40 cards, 16 are permanents (Support or Upgrade) and 5 are allies. Which means half the deck can be in play at any given time, meaning you to drill down hard on those events during the second or third pass through. And you should be clearing your hand each round while abusing the Helmet and Pym Particles for card draw to ensure you work through the available cards rapidly.

Once you reach a point where you have most of the upgrades in play, Ant-Man becomes a reactionary machine. Clobber is always there to dish 5 damage, but maybe this turn you want to remove a ton of threat and play an ally. Or you need to Giant Stomp to soften up a bunch of minions, and then hold back to defend.

In case of emergencies, you can break the glass and just swing at the villain for an additional 9 damage. After 5 for Clobber and 9 for Quick Strike, you can probably finish off a villain phase. And you’ll see those Brute Force upgrades again soon enough.

The Alternatives

There isn’t a lot here that really punishes a villain for bringing loads of minions, so you may want to lose a card for Hall of Heroes. Or one of the Aggression events that damages more than one target, like Meleewhich synergizes well with Honed Technique.

If you’re playing with another hero (I almost always do) and they are carrying the defense or thwarting loads, you can ditch the associated Aggression events and replace them with Jarnbjorn, another Brute Force or Down Time, as your tastes allow.

You could also ditch the Symbiote Suit for another more focused card, if you’re not interested in dealing with that upgrade. I personally like having it in the deck as a last resort that also provides a wild resource while I struggle with the decision.