Phoenix: Brand New Day (MCDC 2026)

This is a more thematic deck, inspired by the new movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The idea is to pair Phoenix with Spider-Man and shred through side schemes. It is built with four-player games in mind, where there are plenty of opportunities to bring side schemes into play and make the most of Spider-Man's ability to remove threat.

The Spider-Man engine

The key card here is Chance Encounter. The plan is to get Spider-Man into play, use him to clear a side scheme, then use Chance Encounter to bring him back to your hand so you can play him again later. The goal isn't to play him every turn or repeatedly in a single turn. You'll likely get around three uses out of Spider-Man per deck pass, and given how efficiently he clears threat, that should be plenty to keep the schemes under control.

To keep him supplied with targets, the deck runs two copies of One Way or Another. This lets you bring additional side schemes into play, giving Spider-Man more work to do and helping you find the schemes you need to keep the engine moving.

The player side schemes are also essential pieces of the plan. They provide additional targets and help support the deck's overall strategy. Feel free to swap these out for other player side schemes you prefer. In a four-player game, you might even remove a few if your teammates have brought their own player side schemes. You want enough targets to keep Spider-Man busy, but you don't need to monopolize the table's entire supply.

Removing ridiculous amounts of threat

Spider-Man is the star, but Phoenix has her own powerful thwarting tools to help clear the way.

The combination of Overwatch and Crisis Averted is particularly effective. Crisis Averted can remove a substantial amount of threat from a scheme, and Overwatch lets you capitalize on that thwarting by removing additional threat elsewhere. Together, they can clear huge amounts of threat very efficiently, especially in multiplayer, where there are more schemes and more opportunities to get value out of these effects.

Skilled Investigator also fits nicely into the plan, rewarding you when player side schemes are defeated. Between Spider-Man, Phoenix's thwarting events, and the Overwatch combo, the deck can make short work of a board that would otherwise be drowning in threat.

The rest of the deck

Phoenix brings plenty of her own tools to the table. Heroic Intuition and Innate Perception help support the thwarting game, while For Justice! provides another reliable way to remove threat. Telekinetic Attack, Psychic Blast, and Phoenix Firebird give you ways to contribute damage when the schemes are under control.

X-Gene helps with the cost of Phoenix's events, and White Hot Room gives you another piece of Phoenix's personal kit. The remaining Phoenix upgrades provide flexibility and support, while Helicarrier helps smooth out the costs of playing your cards.

Cyclops and Manifold round out the allies, providing additional support alongside Spider-Man. The basic resources help keep everything running, though the deck's real focus is on making its repeated thwarting plays count.

How it plays

This deck is at its best in a four-player game. More players generally means more side schemes, more opportunities to use your player side schemes, and more chances to get value from the Spider-Man engine. Your job is to keep the schemes under control, bring Spider-Man back when you can, and use Overwatch with Crisis Averted to make big chunks of threat disappear.

The beauty of the deck is that Spider-Man doesn't need to appear constantly to make a difference. A few well-timed appearances each deck pass, combined with Phoenix's own thwarting and the Overwatch combo, can provide more than enough threat removal to keep the table in good shape.

It's a fun thematic pairing that gives Phoenix a clear multiplayer role: keep the board tidy, make side schemes work for you, and let Spider-Man get back to work.