Fight Plan #29: Target Neutralized

Fight Plan #29: Target Neutralized

Named after the safe house where the plan originated, Fight Plan #29 turned out to be more effective than anyone realized it would be at the time. Reliant upon years of Natasha Romanoff's training in Attacrobatics in the infamous Red Room, combined with tech upgrades, such as Black Widow's Gauntlet, Grappling Hooks, and Synth-Suit, this repeatedly Practiced Plan makes certain Black Widow is always Ready for a Fight and that her enemies feel her deadly Widow's Bite.

If you'd like to see a discussion of this deck, see the following video: Coming soon .... on https://www.youtube.com/@MCDeckDiscussions

VILLAINS TESTED AGAINST to refine the deck (in both standard and expert): Klaw; Unus; Dark Beast; and Magneto.

Deck Refinements:

• Removed:
  • Government Liaison: I passed on using this card too many times because I wanted to wait to play a card till I was in alter-ego form.
  • Med Team: This was highly valuable when played, but I hardly ever played it due to its expense and lower priority over other cards.
  • one copy of Defensive Stance: Similar to the above, but especially because I often had a wasted card in my hand because the other Defensive Stance was already in play. Also, Attacrobatics tended to serve a similar purpose.
• Added:
  • Leo Fitz: Leo is a S.H.I.E.L.D. card, and Black Widow has 7 tech upgrades in her deck for Leo to target. With Black Widow going to alter-ego every turn once her kit is set up (and perhaps every turn of the game), Leo proved reliably useful.
  • The Night Nurse (an alternative if facing a villain that does not stun or confuse the hero is Angel's Aerie): The deck was undefeated until playing against expert Magneto, where I lost twice in a row for the same reason -- a lack of healing for Black Widow, combined with blocked activations from confuse or stun. This card replaced the two removed cards Med Team and Defensive Stance, while making the deck slightly more efficient to assure allies get into play, which is key to the success of the deck.

Results:

• Klaw: Both games ended in similar fashion, with Return the Favor dealing 5 damage, and the treachery that was revealed from it being cancelled by Grappling Hook, which triggered another point of damage from Black Widow's Widowmaker ability. Then Dance of Death and ally and Black Widow attacks defeated the villain with a total of 18 and 22 points of damage, respectively, in standard and expert.
• Unus: Black Widow or her allies never attacked the villain until the final turn. Preparation upgrades, along with Black Widow's hero ability, Widowmaker, contributed all damage to the villain until Stage III Unus had 12 hit points remaining. The villain was then finished off with two Dance of Death events. Unus only schemed once the entire game. Ready for a Fight shut down the villain's scheming every turn thereafter, being brought back by either Practiced Plan or Safe House #29 every round, and Black Widow was always able to go to alter-ego.
• Dark Beast: Overall, these victories were similar to those against Klaw; however, by this time, I realized that several points of damage were consistently occurring during the villain's turn due to Black Widow's hero ability to set up the final attack. When combined, the total damage dealt to the villain in the final turn and pre-final turn was 23 and 24 points, respectively, in standard and expert.
• Magneto: Things could be harry against expert Magneto until Black Widow's kit was set up, but many of the allies plus Covert Ops help in that process. Once her kit is set up, Black Widow can dominate Magneto just as she did the other villains. The real danger is if a slew of minions enter the game early, especially in combination with Magneto's Helmet and/or Magneto's Armor entering play. Late game, those two attachments hardly matter.

  ---

NOTABLE ELEMENTS OF PLAY:

• Primary Target for the player side scheme, Build Support: Quincarrier, unless Helicarrier is in the discard pile (and Quincarrier is not), then one should choose Helicarrier, which can then be used later to help play Quincarrier.

  • Secondary Target: Helicarrier and/or Sky-Destroyer, depending on the needs of the moment.

• Primary Target for the player side scheme, Superpower Training: Synth-Suit, for the +1 DEF and readying capability after triggering a Preparation card, typically during the villain phase.

  • Secondary Target: usually none, but if for some reason Synth-Suit is in play, then one would likely choose the Preparation Grappling Hook.
    
    

• Key Cards: Safe House #29, Synth-Suit, Ready for a Fight, and at least one copy of Black Widow's Gauntlet.
  

  • Once these key cards were in play, Black Widow could virtually guarantee her victory by going to alter-ego to end every hero turn and allowing the villain to trigger Ready for a Fight during their turn. Black Widow then flips to hero side, immediately dealing one damage to an enemy with her Widowmaker ability.
  • After that, either an ally defends for her, or she defends for herself, triggering one of her additional Preparation upgrades, such as Defensive Stance or Attacrobatics, setting off her Widowmaker ability again, as well as her Synth-Suit, which readies her.
  • If Practiced Plan was in play, it had returned Ready for a Fight to her hand, also triggering her Widowmaker ability for another point of damage. If it wasn't in play, she would retrieve Ready for a Fight her next turn with Safe House #29 when she flips back to alter-ego once again to repeat the process.
    
    

• Sky-Destroyer's consistent additional damage:

  • With 9 S.H.I.E.L.D cards in the deck, the extra 2 points of non-attack damage delivered by Sky-Destroyer could be counted on to occur regularly, especially with the card draw in this deck.
  • Note that one wants to be aware that Safe House #29, Leo Fitz, and Helicarrier are also S.H.I.E.L.D cards, as well as Sky-Destroyer itself.
  • The above are also all great potential targets for Agent 13's ability.
    
    

• Why the need for confusion?

  • Professor X and Covert Ops help to delay the villain's schemes with both confusion and the thwarting until Black Widow can set up her key cards.
  • In addition Professor X can defend after Ready for a Fight is triggered, and the confusion provides extra insurance should Advance be drawn.
  • Many games, I would purposely leave the main scheme near completion because I knew there was no chance the villain could defeat it if both copies of Advance were in the discard pile.
    
    

• Consistent Card Draw is facilitated by the following:

  • Black Widow's alter-ego ability, Mission Prep, combined with the 11 Preparation cards in the deck.
  • Leo Fitz, combined with the 7 tech cards he could potentially find in the deck.
  • Safe House #29. along with the aforementioned 11 Preparation cards that might be in the discard pile.
  • Nick Fury and Nick Fury, Sr.
  • Face the Past (used judiciously when one knows for certain Black Widow's nemesis minion, Taskmaster, will be destroyed that turn). Be aware, though, that Taskmaster's boost ability could be very dangerous if the encounter deck is reshuffled.
  • Unflappable: Black Widow doesn't defend every turn in this deck, but she does so frequently enough to draw at least several cards a game once Unflappable and Synth-Suit are in play.
    
    

• The truth is that Return the Favor is completely unnecessary in this deck since Black Widow has the game firmly in control by the time it's used. I just wanted to see if I could build a deck where it was a viable source of damage, and it was fun to play to help finish off many of the villains whenever Grappling Hook was in play, which transformed it into a zero-cost, 6-damage attack. The deck should be slightly more reliable without it. :-)

  ---

Conclusion:
Fight Plan #29 proves to be a meticulously crafted strategy, leveraging Black Widow's unparalleled training and cutting-edge technology to systematically dismantle any opposition. With the reliable assistance of her S.H.I.E.L.D. allies and leaning into Natasha Romanoff's mastery of Attacrobatics, along with integrating essential gear like Black Widow's Gauntlet, Grappling Hooks, and the Synth-Suit, this deck ensures a consistent and powerful presence on the battlefield.

The core of this approach lies in the seamless execution of a repeatedly Practiced Plan, guaranteeing that Black Widow is always Ready for a Fight and able to deliver the decisive impact of her deadly Widow's Bite. Ultimately, Fight Plan #29 embodies Black Widow's ability to anticipate threats, control the flow of combat, and inevitably achieve the objective: Target Neutralized.