True Grit · MarvelCDB

True Grit has two problems as I see it. First, many of the heroes that most want to defend attacks (the ones with high DEF) have poor THW stats - for 1+card, one threat removed is very inefficient, two is not fantastic, and three is just starting to be reasonable. The second problem is that the timing is awkward. Usually you'll only want to be defending against villain attacks, which means you're typically only going to be able to use this to thwart main schemes, or side schemes that have already been sitting in play for a round or more. So it mostly isn't a solution to Protection's problem of not having good answers to side schemes.

Probably at its best in decks that can get their hero's THW stat up to 3 or higher (e.g. Rocket Raccoon, Wasp, Spider-Woman). Just remember that if your hero isn't basic defending, you need to have a lot of Defense events available so you can have one of those and True Grit in hand at the same time.

8/14/22

Fry · 277

If a hazard scheme comes out you, you can safely leave it on the board with a small amount of threat and plan to defeat it with True Grit during the villain attack before cards are dealt. If it's a crisis scheme, then you'll probably have plenty of threat on the main to worry about. It's really only amplify schemes and some other weird ones where True Grit's timing because a notable problem. — OrionJA · 8 8/27/22

I could see this being useful with Quicksilver as he’s going to defend every round anyway. If you’ve played Maximum Velocity and/or Repurpose his THW is somewhere between 3-7. Free card with — AgentPhil · 1 8/20/23

I think this card fits perfectly Black Panther with protection aspect: it has 2 THW and retaliate as ability so we normally will defend villain attacks — biosk · 1 9/6/23

This card deserves a 2nd look now that Cable is out. After TVP is in the victory display this combos with Askani’son to remove 6 during the villain phase and potentially ready Cable. In a multi-hero game Heroic Intuition, Specialized Training, and Sense of Justice could make for extremely efficient plays. — celric · 493 9/13/23

This combos well with X-23's Animal Instinct. but if you already have huge THW for a single turn, it's pretty likely you've already gotten your 'money's worth' from it. — RabidHobbit · 11 11/20/23

This card has simply been outclassed by so many other Protection cards (Jump Flip, Hard to Ignore, Not Today!...) that at this point nothing in the game can save it from oblivion. A conditional 1-2 threat removal (I'm not really considering 3, since you can only reliably get it if you're playing Phoenix, Spectrum in Photon form, or max level Ironheart) for 2 ER is just too low. For reference, compare it with To the Rescue!, which is a Basic card with a non-conditional threat removal / ER ratio of 0.66, and with Chase Them Down which is an Aggression card with a conditional threat removal / ER ratio of 2.

Also, it's a THWART Event, not a DEFENSE, so it cannot benefit from cards like Flow Like Water, Defensive Energy, or Nerves of Steel.

To solve all of its problems, I house-rule it as a 0-cost card. This makes it a thwart with a conditional threat removal / ER ratio of 1-2, which is either acceptable (if it's 1), good (if it's 2), or very good (if it's 3), but never too good since it's conditional.

3/24/25

Michebugio · 19

Well, it was released four years ago with Gamora, so it probably was designed with her in mind. Playing this triggers her Precision hero ability which can deals one damage to any enemy after a thwart event, helpful for pinging off toughs. It can be played for "free" with her Keen Instincts upgrade too. Comparing this to To the Rescue or Chase Them Down doesn't make sense because those are hero action/response after attacks, and this card is played during the villain phase. You can't compare threat/ER ratios when they invoked in different phases; it's not a fair comparison. Thwarting during the villain phase is rarer than the player phase. It's not a matter of chosen this versus something else, you can have "better" thwarts in your deck and the same time for the player phase. — erikw1984 · 29 3/24/25

The problem is exactly this, True Grit ONLY works with Gamora, and even then there are much better 1-cost thwart Events that can be used to trigger Precision (Clear the Area and Multitasking, just to name a couple). But I don't really follow you on the different phase argument. What difference does it make if the event is played during the villain phase or the player phase? You say it as if playing it during the villain phase is somehow better, but you're not really gaining anything from the different timing, are you? Or am I missing something? Anyway, I can see niche uses for True Grit for heroes that can defend well and have a decent THW score, like Captain America or Nightcrawler, but I'm still not sure if I'd choose it over Jump Flip or Not Today!... — Michebugio · 19 3/25/25

I would play this with any hero that is in Protection, has high thwart, and is actively defending all the time. Cards like Repurpose and Surveillance Specialist make it easier to get high thwart. If you're Spiderwoman running Justice/Protection, you could always slap Heroic Intuition on your self, or let someone else apply it to you in multiplayer. Cable is another good candidate with 3 thwart. It similar to Askani'son and can be played in the same response window has that. I wouldn't say removing threat during the villain phase is better, per se. It's just something that's rare, and could be useful. Hard to Ignore is similar, but can only be used on the main scheme, whereas this can be used on any scheme. In a way, it negates the first step of the villain phase. — erikw1984 · 29 3/25/25