You can't collect me! - With Video

You can't collect me!

As the name suggests, I built this deck to take on Collector I, and you can see the video here.

This deck is built to hit with allies which can stick around for a long time (and thus avoid going to the Collection)!

It's important to keep the Collection to 0 or 1 (so that should always be a priority) for two reasons:

• Boost and Encounter cards will add cards to the collection.
• In the late game you can freely use up your allies (which might have an Attack Training and thus send 2 cards to the Collection) and throw Wrapped minions (which will ALSO send two cards).

Magneto has several cards which help you manage the Collection:

• Magneto's Cape is the highest priority card in the deck! Exhaust to remove a card from the collection, then perform your Magnetic Pull Action to ready and still Thwart or Attack.
• Metal Shards let's you defeat a minion (which will go to the Collection) but you'll also get a tough, allowing you to take Villain hits so you're not forced to chump block.
• Magnetic Bubble again lets you take villain hits without chump blocking. You'll lose it to the collection, but you can get it out and back to your discard pile. Flip down to Alter-Ego and use your Survivor Response to shuffle it back into your deck. This should stick around for a while though because Collector doesn't have a lot of 2- or 3-boost cards!
• Wrapped in Metal turns off a non-ELITE minion completely. Of course you're temped to then use Magnetic Missile on that minion, but that would be two cards going to the collection, so don't do it unless you can "afford" to, and can then immediately take a card out of the collection. The Stun is nice as long as you're not going to lose to a Treachery card which adds a card to the Collection!

Allies:

All allies are X-MEN so that you'll get a 4th ally slot (and extra readies) with Utopia. This also allows you to play Attack Training on any of them (making them hit harder and adding 2 HP) and use Game Time to heal and ready them.

• Angel only costs 2 because you're an X-MEN, and will attack for 3 with an Attack Training.
• Forge can tutor Danger Room, The X-Jet, Utopia, or X-Mansion, and will attack for 2 with Attack Training.
• Goldballs is attacking for 5 with Attack Training!
• Magik allows you to shuffle a minion back into the encounter deck - completely bypassing the discard pile - and attacks for 3 with Attack Training.
• Psylocke gets you two Confuses (and only 2 since you don't want to use her up and lose her to the Collection). She attacks for essentially 3 twice with Attack Training, then 2 after she's out of counters.
• Sunfire can get rid of a pesky attachment (which goes to the Collection) and can then atta k for 3 with Attack Training.
• Wolverine attacks for 4 with Piercing with Attack Training.

Why no White Fox or Professor X??

White Fox makes a lot of sense with Magnetic Pull and Goldballs, except that she's not X-MEN traited, so she turns off your 4th ally slot. If I ran her I'd want to also run Honorary X-Men, and that feels like a wasted card spot which might not show up when needed!

Professor X is in most of my decks but he doesn't make the cut when facing Collector 1. He Thwarts big and confuses the villain (or readies an X-MEN), but then goes straight to the Jail without passing go.

What about Gambit?

Gambit was actually in the first version of this deck, but for the same reason Magnetic Bubble is so good (generally low number of boost icons), Gambit isn't great in this matchup!

Events:

• Game Time is clearly here to interact with Attack Training, allowing you to take additional swings with allies as well as keeping them in the fight longer.
• X-Men Instruction shuffles allies back into your deck which have been discard by Magnetic Pull or Goldballs (or one that was defeated which you got out of the Collection), and draws a card if X-Mansion is in play.

Player Side Schemes:

• Build Support isn't as clear-cut here as it is for most decks in which I include it. I typically like it to get The X-Jet in on the cheap, but since this deck is built to "hit hard and fast with allies which can stick around for a long time" the target shifts either to
  • Danger Room so can can get a "free" Attack Training when you play an X-MEN ally in Alter-Ego
  • or X-Mansion which helps keep your allies alive.
• Use Superpower Training to grab Magneto's Cape or Magnetic Bubble if you already have the cape.

The Power in All of Us:

This card isn't 100% needed, but I included it because there are 6 cards which could use it (granted, that's not a lot). Feel free to replace this, maybe with Beak or Triage (although in the video I never had a problem with threat or damage).