Welcome back to Precon Recon, the series of decks that look to make the best, most thematic decks out of the limited card pool FFG has provided. Today, we're looking at the bombastic War Machine, a hero that uses his massive arsenal of guns to solve just about any problem. If you want to see our thoughts on the hero himself, head on over to our BGG article here: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2811614/1-2-punchboards-precon-recon-war-machine

Spray and Pray

War Machine is all about firepower, and this deck looks to capitalize on that, giving him more guns to shoot and more ways to shoot them. All the while, you'll be recouping plenty of cards from your discard pile to see play again and again, making this a well-oiled machine of destruction.

Mulligan priorities are as follow:

• Shoulder Cannon: This is probably your most important gun, as it allows you to deal a free damage every turn, effectively negating stuns or toughness, and is the only gun that consistently allows you to use every bullet before flipping down. Plus, it's a great target for your events, since it can ready again.
• Missile Launcher: Your cheapest weapon, meaning you'll be able to get it into play easily, and it deals a decent amount of damage each turn.
• Munitions Bunker: The one thing you'll always have a need for is bullets, and Munitions Bunker has you covered. This will set you up for big, game-ending turns, allowing you to set off all your guns and every event your hand can hold.
• One *Gauntlet Gun**: While getting both into play is a priority, Gauntlet Guns are more useful later in the game than they are when you're just starting out since you'll have fewer opportunities to set off your events anyway.
• Upgraded Chasis: For such a powerful card, it may seem strange for it to be at the bottom of your priority list, but realistically you'll be spending a decent part of your hand to play just this card. You'll certainly want it against some villains, and you'll especially want to play it while in Alter-Ego so you can immediately begin reaping the benefits, but this is a hard card to recommend from the get-go since you are forgoing a lot of your other tools to put it in play.

Of course, any combination of the above cards is great to see, and it may depend on what villain you're facing; retaliate or piercing make your Chasis useless, for example. But getting that engine started up early is crucial.

On average, you will spend 1 turn flipping up, and the next flipping down. This means that cards like Targeted Strike and Chase Them Down are crucial to allow you the opportunity to flip more freely. You may wonder why Looking For Trouble is Here; depending on the villain, this is a cheap, easy way to remove 3 threat for War Machine, since he has so many murderous options he can unleash at the drop of a hat. They won't always see play, but they can be useful in a pinch.

When in Alter-Ego, you'll be loading up your deck with only the best of the best, using your core ability and Assault Training to load up your late game with some insane combos. It's pretty hard for you to deck out with War Machine, and your end-game hand will likely end up being a collection of your finest events. Beyond your core events, Mean Swing and Fusillade are both fantastic options to use on your Shoulder Cannon or if you are out of bullets, allowing you to deal a ton of damage on top of your already insane output. Hand Cannons are also here as additional weaponry, although it's less frequent that you'll see them in play. They're worth having though, for no other reason than to have targets for Two Against the World later in the game.

With any luck, you'll be able to take out the villain before they get much headway with their master plan, especially if coupled with another Aggression hero. If you wanted to attempt a rush-down style of play, we'd recommend pairing him up with She-Hulk, as they are Avengers who have fought side-by-side against some of the most intimidating of odds.

Thanks as always for stopping by and reading! If you want more of our Precon Recon decks or be the first to see any updates made to our decks, feel free to stop by our Discord here: https://discord.gg/Cf68TY8KTu