Beat the Odds

Agent Venom is here to beat the odds on the villain’s schemes!

A deck build prompted by Winning Hand podcast episode #88: Even the Odds. The conceit of this card is to thwart multiple side schemes simultaneously in order to deal damage to the villain. As such, it behooves the hero to remove small amounts of threat in multiple instances rather than a large push. One hero with such flexibility is Venom with his amazing Multi-Gun!

Alongside Venom are three Beat Cops to whittle away side schemes in play. If there aren’t enough from the encounter deck they can be tutored One Way or Another. Player side schemes Build Support (probably to bring in a Beat Cop), Superpower Training (priority target Multi-Gun), and Lay the Trap are on hand, too.

Ally assistance from Quasar to hit each side scheme simultaneously can set up a satisfying play of Even the Odds. Manifold brings a player side scheme to hand. Speed can thwart two schemes in the same turn, including the main scheme. Under Surveillance will keep pressure of the main scheme to allow time to focus on side schemes. Skilled Investigator gets card draw for Venom’s side scheme thwarting efforts. The Raft locks down minions eliminated by Beat Cops to keep focus on thwarting, bonus points for removing a small amount of threat from any scheme, including the main, when doing so.

To pay for this carriage of justice, the three basic cards are supplemented with Power of Justice to easily play Even the Odds along with the suite of aspect cars (Beat Cops ain’t cheap and you don’t want to deal with the union reps about overtime). Finally, Passion for Justice increases the thwart for Even the Odds (and flexes from energy to mental to easily triggers his hero specific thwart to confuse the villain).