Phoenix vs Dark Phoenix (& Kingpin)

The Matchup

A deck to take on one of the most intimidating solo matchups in the game: Phoenix vs Kingpin.

Dark Phoenix is basically a secondary villain with 12 HP, toughness, villainous, and steady and Kingpin brings her out at the beginning of the game.

And even if you defeat her, Kingpin has multiple ways to bring her back: when Kingpin flips to B side and starts the 2nd main scheme, 3 copies of Unrelenting Hate, and Burning Hunger (if conditions are met).

This deck can win against Expert Kingpin, but inconsistently because true solo Expert Kingpin is very swingy especially with Dark Phoenix in the mix.

Kingpin A Side Strategy

Since Restrained Phoenix does not have very many attack options and Dark Phoenix could come back at any time after being defeated and with a guaranteed return if she's not in play when Kingpin flips to B Side, she will be kept alive while Kingpin is on his A Side.

The swarm of X-Men allies you have is the main way to protect against Dark Phoenix's attacks.

Try to stay on the Restrained side of Phoenix Force before you are ready to flip Kingpin to keep the base 3 THW to manage threat and carefully manage using power counters as resources to have stronger turns.

Clearing threat on Consume the World is important. The amplify icon is very dangerous for Kingpin's schemes. Flipping to alter-ego can still be worth it for the extra card draw and recovering for extra power counters.

Notes on Specific Cards

• Utopia is the most important card to get out ASAP. Restrained Phoenix's 3 THW is a big help against all the threat being added. So getting that once per turn ready to thwart again when playing an X-Men ally is important.

• Psychic Misdirection can redirect a Dark Phoenix attack to another minion.

• Psimitar is a great source of passive damage and should be played when possible to chip away at Dark Phoenix's HP or to help deal with other minions that appear.

• Kingpin has a lot of strong non-Elite minions, so Mind Control can be very powerful. You can leave Superpower Training in play until a good minion to control enters play. Then you can clear Superpower Training with a basic thwart to put Mind Control on them. Tracksuit Mafioso is the most valuable minion for Kingpin A side with his 3 THW and 7 HP.

• Rogue is the strongest ally you have. She can touch Professor X or Phoenix to get 5 THW or touch Colossus or Rockslide for 5 ATK. She is the ideal target for Protective Training.

• Karma is interesting. The minion she can steal may go over the ally limit and may need to be discarded right away. Still worth it as Karma can still activate Utopia and Psimitar and provide a block herself. If Karma's minion does stick around, remember that it takes 2 consequential damage, so it might be more useful for defending..

• Telekinetic Shield can take the smaller minion attacks and then a bigger Dark Phoenix attack when it's almost destroyed.

• Unflappable is not a huge priority, but it's nice to have if you're able to play it. Psychic Misdirection is the best way to trigger it, but you can also basic defend against a minion that attacks for 2 or less if you really need to draw a card.

  ---

Flipping Kingpin

When you are ready to flip Kingpin, you should turn Unleashed if you have solid ally thwarting available to clear the Organized Crime side scheme when it comes out or be ready to switch with 1 power counter.

When Kingpin flips, if you are in Hero form and have a Psychic Misdirection, choose Spot as the Underling minion to bring out. You can use Psychic Misdirection to have Dark Phoenix attack him and clear his spot counter and reflect the damage back to Dark Phoenix.

Otherwise, Black Cat is probably the safest Underling minion to bring out when Kingpin flips.

Kingpin B Side Strategy

Besides the flip, there's not much strategy for this side. Clear the Organized Crime side scheme with your basic thwart if you're still Restrained, then go Unleashed and do as much damage as you can with allies helping out with Utopia readying, thwarting, and defending as needed.