Sniper-Woman

Ever get tired of those pesky minions? Give us a call, we take care of them before they even reach you.

Sam Alexander & Clint Barton, probably

The Spark

The aim of this list is to get and keep the powerful duo of Nova and Hawkeye in play, so that in theory no minion with up to 4 HP can ever cause any harm. As you do not want do defend with them (unless they are tough), you will need a lot of cheap allies or other ways to deal with the villain’s attacks. Ideally, you are playing a chump blocker, a Tough, or a Stun every round.

The Core

Without these all hope is lost.

• Nova: Between 2× Finesse and Quincarrier Spider-Woman has more than enough (in form of ) resources to pay for Nova’s ability a couple of times a round, no matter which hand you drew. Finish low-health minions and/or slowly chip away at the villain.
• Hawkeye: Prepare minions for Death by Nova.
• Rapid Response: Bring Hawkeye back when he runs out of arrows. 1 copy should be sufficient.
• Quincarrier: Can be used for Nova’s ability.

The Outer Layer

Very helpful, but not top priority.

• Ready for Action: With Nova and Hawkeye (and possibly Captain Marvel or Black Widow) ideally just hanging out and never leaving after they entered play, making them tough over and over again for defense purposes is a no-brainer.
• The Triskelion: It is not uncommon to have 3 allies in play forever, so you need a fourth ally slot for someone to take the big villain hits.
• Black Widow: Another ally whose ability can be paid for with Finesse and Quincarrier and who might hang out for a while.
• Med Team: Heal Captain Marvel over and over again. Possible to reduce to 1 copy, but eternal fun starts with 2.
• Deft Focus: With 9 superpowers in the list, you will have 1 in hand pretty much every turn.
• Energy, Genius, Strength: The ever-present trident of resources. Too good not to play except for very specific circumstances. This is not one of them.

The Flavour

Can be swapped for a substitute from the sideline if you prefer a different taste.

• Clea: You will want a lot of cheap chump blockers or other ways to mitigate the villain’s attacks because you do not want to sacrifice your higher-cost allies who are meant to stay in play. Clea is one of the best as she will return sooner rather than later.
• Maria Hill: Effectively costs 1, and 2 THW is significant.
• Squirrel Girl: Nothing more satisfying than making everybody non-tough. Also a good forerunner for Nova.
• Brother Voodoo: With 17 events in the list very likely effectively costs 2. Thwart for 2 and block, that is all he needs to do. If he finds some Pheromones, even better.
• Spider-Man: The only true 3-cost ally in the list you would use for blocking. But 3 THW / 4 ATK is worth it.
• The Night Nurse: Always helpful (but possibly redundant, depending on the scenario).
• Target Acquired: Situationally helpful, always good to have in the back pocket, and there was a basic slot to fill. Can be cut with Spider-Man if you need space for another Protection and Leadership card.
• Make the Call: Sometimes your Nova or Hawkeye needs to defend, or you had to pay with or otherwise discard them. Get them back easily from your discard pile, so you do not have to wait a few rounds. One of the first cards to cut if you want to include anything else.
• True Grit: This slot changed a lot in my testing. Threat removal was lacking the most in this list, and although you will not defend often with Spider-Woman, if you do, it can easily be with 3 or 4 DEF, making True Grit very good value.

Hero’s Own

There is no way around them.

• Captain Marvel: Try to keep her alive with Med Team.
• Finesse: Essential for paying for Nova’s (and Black Widow’s) ability. Get it out as soon as you can.
• Jessica Drew's Apartment: Very good, but you will not be in Alter-Ego that often. Nice to have round 1.
• Pheromones: Always play this. You will not have a chump blocker every turn, and it allows you to switch to Alter-Ego sweat-free.
• Contaminant Immunity: Worth it for the Tough alone, but the healing on top of it makes it insane.
• Inconspicuous: Helps with thwarting, but that’s still the possible weak point of the deck.
• Venom Blast: I mostly just use it in the final villain stage to blast them down.
• Self-Propelled Glide: Surprisingly unimportant in this list, but you can get crazy value out of it, and it is free with Deft Focus.

Sideline

Some suggestions for substitutes if you want to make the list your own. Other choices are available.

• Starhawk: I prefer 2 THW chump blockers. Unlikely to trigger his interrupt in this list.
• White Tiger: I did not have her yet in testing, but she seems like a very good 2 THW replacement ally, especially on Expert.
• Ant-Man: Good choice if all you need is a 2 THW chump blocker.
• Power Man: Less flexible alternative for Spider-Man. Choose him if you are in need of more burst damage and have a Leadership slot open.
• Strength In Numbers: With Nova and Hawkeye (and Black Widow) this list would be ideal to play it, but I took it out in testing. You are usually not starved for resources.
• Get Behind Me!, Bait and Switch: With many opportunities for applying Tough, you could afford these cards if you need them.
• Side Step, Preemptive Strike, Defensive Stance: Alternative, cheap ways to soak some damage if you are not a fan of allies or are worried about too little ally slots.