H.ulk U.ntap L.ots K.apish!! (Aggro/Prot)

Alright, here we go...

Everyone's favorite punching bag, HULK, is here with a pretty darn good Protection deck, if I do say so myself.

Like most of us, I've been trying to find a good deck for the big green guy. With the recent cards from SP//dr, I think I may have a winner, maybe, sort of...

The Logic

With Limitless Stamina, Hulk has 5 ready effects (untaps) in the deck now, alongside Unstoppable Force. This gives him a pretty decent chance of being able to ready during his turn after blocking, or getting exhausted some other way.

You'll still have to gauge if you should block or not, but that answer is usually "yes". Only think about it if you have Hulk Smash in hand.

His massive health pool + Symbiote Suit help Hulk stay green (Hero) most of the time, which most Protection decks want anyway. Going back to Banner is also awesome with this setup, giving you 6 cards plus the filter ability.

The Breakdown

So anyone who has dissected Hulk knows his main weaknesses: small hand size, stuns, exhausting, cannot hold cards, etc. With the cards chosen, we can hopefully alleviate some of these issues.

As you'll have noticed, this deck is very basic card heavy, but that's by design. The main cards that help Hulk out (Avenger's Mansion, Symbiote Suit, Helicarrier) are very expensive, so running The Power of All of Us helps this even out. Other cards in the deck also lean into the above logic as they are basic cards that cost 2 or more (Machine Man, Nick Fury, etc.).

Mana-rocks (permanent cards that help pay for cards) are also key to Hulk playing as many cards as he can every turn.

There are also only six (6) Protection cards in this build, but every one of them has a very specific purpose. Here's the full breakdown of all the cards on the list (going in order):

Blade / Machine Man / Lockjaw are our "dead hand" cards. These are there to assist Hulk when he's just shy of playing a good card or is getting "mana-flooded". Everyone of these cards is also a potential block for someone, which is the point of Protection. Do not hesitate to block with these guys.

Ironheart / Clea / Mockingbird / Nick Fury are our main Protection base. They are really good at blocking and all of them have some upside. Most of our allies being basic helps consistently get value from The Power of All of Us. Clea is here because she's the best at this role, and a "fist" resource to boot.

Limitless Stamina / Unstoppable Force are our "ready" effects that are very important in the build, as they allow us to get the most out of our "big body" (blocking). Hulk Smash is definitely Hulk's best card, and you want to prioritize it, and these cards help ease that pain.

Muster Courage is a natural fit in this deck due to Hulk being an Avenger, the card being a "fist" resource, and it being one of the best Protection cards in the game (IMO). So much value and synergy make this a no brainer.

Crushing Blow / Thunderclap are some of our main DPS, and they don't require us to actually exhaust to use. They can also be lowered in cost using Helicarrier and/or Deft focus, respectfully.

Sub-Optimal Leap is what it is, but don't sleep on it. If the Justice player is in trouble, it can really make a difference, and sometimes it's all you have as your "big wammy" for the turn. There's always "Deft Focus** as well.

Limitless Strength / The Power of All of Us are wonderful at flattening our hand curve. They can make cards fly out of our hand, which was the design intent for Hulk, I believe. Getting as many awesome cards out using explosive mana and/or mana-rocks works wonders for Hulk.

Avenger's Mansion / Unflappable / Symbiote Suit are our answer to that 4-card hand size. Since Unflappable is a hit or miss, you can usually skip it for other cards, but blocking minions to draw a card, or blocking while tough to draw is just as important. These should all be priority, with the order being as such: Avenger's Mansion > Symbiote Suit > Unflappable.

Helicarrier / Deft Focus / Ingenuity / Banner's Lab are our mana-rock suite and they all have a roll. Helicarrier / Ingenuity are constants that can always be used, and can make being short 1-2 resources so much more manageable. With a 1/4 of the deck being superpowers, Deft Focus should be getting use often. Banner's Lab has the the benefit of the recovery bonus, which shouldn't be ignored since Symbiote Suit also give +1 Rec, bringing us up to eight (8). Try to use the lab for all it's worth every time you go down to Alter-ego, since you can usually ready with a card when you come back up to hero. If I had to give you a priority here: Deft Focus > Helicarrier > Ingenuity > Banner's Lab

The Night Nurse is our cure for stun. She helps the whole table, but you should always save one (1) counter for that really inconvenient stun you know will always come at the worst time. Never waste her last counter.

Boundless Rage / Immoveable Object are our late game plays that get a lot of work once we are stable. Boundless Rage rounds our ATK to five (5) with Symbiote Suit, which equals out to fifteen (15) ATK with a Hulk Smash. Immoveable Object is just icing as the extra health is nice early if you happen to get it, and the retaliate is always appreciated.

Other Tips

As always, playing this deck alongside someone who can focus on thwarting is key. You can more than hold your own with two (2) people, prioritizing blocking and minion control until you can go crazy with villain damage.

Tough status is also a bit of a pain, but try to use the attacks from your allies to take these off and/or Thunderclap as many as you can handle without being too inefficient.

Going down to Alter-ego to heal up and get more cards should be looked at very closely, but don't think you have to stay Hulk forever. Ingenuity should be a priority only if you can safely go to Alter-ego, and if you need to stay down an extra turn at the beginning of the game to make it happen, just make sure your partners can handle it.

Conclusion

I really love the big green lug and his cousin, and recently I've come up with a few decent decks for them. I play them 2-handed and they really complement each other with this deck and a She-Hulk S.H.I.E.L.D. Justice build.

I hope you can find some success with this deck, and SMASH the hell out of some cardboard.