Beast of Burden

Card draw simulator

Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
Ironheart Beast Up 0 0 0 1.0
Ironheart Leadership campaña 4 0 0 0 1.0
Ironheart 0 0 0 1.0
Heart and soul 0 0 0 1.0
Ironheart - Beastiful! 0 0 0 1.0
Beast of Burden - Minor Edits 0 0 0 1.0
Ironheart's Beast-Force 8 5 1 1.0

VillainTheory · 28963


Yesterday, I searched for Ironheart decks that use Beast. To my surprise, there wasn't a single one on marvelcdb!

Today, this deck is fixing that.

Beast can grab Stroke of Genius, and Stroke of Genius is arguably the best resource card in the game. And Rapid Response puts Beast into play for cheap.

Using this combo, you can quickly cycle through your deck and amass a huge wealth of progress counters!


If you like this deck, feel free to give it a ❤ ! Thank you!


Stroke of Genius


Stroke of Genius = 1 resource, 1 card draw, 1 progress counter.

A card drawn is worth more than a resource generated, as it gives you another option in hand and helps cycle through your deck - this alone puts Stroke of Genius slightly above a double resource like Energy even before we consider the progress counter. However, a progress counter is roughly worth a resource as well, though given how vital they are for Ironheart, they are arguably also worth more than a resource.

So, at a conservative estimate, Stroke of Genius, is worth 3 resources. But is likely actually worth more!


Beast


Beast = 4 damage/threat removal, 1 block, 1 Stroke of Genius.

If Stroke of Genius is worth at least 3 resources, his ability to put it in your hand can be seen as a refund of at least 3. Which can be seen as making Beast effectively a 1-cost ally (2 effective resources).

A 1-cost ally with 2 THW/2 ATK/3 HP? That's pretty crazy! And this is still only a cautious estimate.


Rapid Response


Rapid Response = Beast with -1 hp.

In other words, using Rapid Response on Beast means you turn Rapid Response, a 2-cost (3 effective resource) card, into a 3+ resource Stroke of Genius and a 2 THW/2 ATK/2 HP ally.

Needless to say that this is very good value!


Strategy Talk


While I have tested this deck against various Expert villains, the one big downside is that - while at Version 1 - Ironheart only has a hand size of 4. And that means that Beast can be hard to play in that form and tricky to get full value out of.

Fortunately, with various ways to draw cards, resource cards, and resource generators, you can still often get huge value from Beast even in the early game! Use Make the Call to get him back when you can afford him with cards like The Power of Leadership and Ingenuity.

And don't forget to Make the Call for Professor X when Beast isn't an option. Confusing the villain allows you to go alter-ego, which allows you to draw more cards and get more progress counters. And thus also more easily find/afford Beast.

Note there are two copies of Ingenuity to help you find it in your opening hand/when you're able to go alter-ego. And note that, while there are a lot of allies, you should be playing them aggressively and using at least one to block almost every turn.


Alternative Cards


Clarity of Purpose, Champions Mobile Bunker, Strength In Numbers and another Assess the Situation are other great cards that find value here which I used in earlier versions of this deck - they don't change anything dramatically, simply adding various resource or card options. Note that if you do add Strength In Numbers, you will likely want The Triskelion as well.

In multiplayer with other Champions, "Go for Champions!" is a must-have. And Regroup is always good in multiplayer for an immense boost in power. You'll likely want The Triskelion here too if you do take Regroup.

The most obvious cuts are, in my opinion: 1x Rapid Response, Squirrel Girl, or - against steady/stalwart - Professor X. Personally, I felt they earned their place here over the other options in my testing - but your experience may vary!


Good luck and have fun!


13 comments

Nov 07, 2022 KakitaJamie · 346

Any thoughts on going the Meditation route. I built around Beast in Captain America with Meditation and loved it. Riri Williams incentivizes you to go into Alter-Ego anyway.

Nov 07, 2022 VillainTheory · 28963

I like Meditation but I think it's a bit of a trap. There are diminishing returns on resource cards, and it's effectively a double resource card that only works in alter-ego and exhausts you in order to get a third resource.

If you get it at the right time, it's very good, but I personally feel like there are enough resources here. It can really clog up your hand I'd you draw it early in hero form.

Love the idea though.

Nov 08, 2022 Alexin · 205

Splendid deck, I love the sinergy between Beast and Stroke of Genius. With so many allies, I´d make room for The Triskelion, maybe replacing one copy of Ingenuity or Professor X.

Nov 08, 2022 teamcanadahockey2002 · 9067

I have a (unpublished) deck like this one myself. I also add in Regroup and Strength In Numbers for some pretty sick card draw.

Nov 08, 2022 VillainTheory · 28963

@Alexin The Triskelion is definitely a fine option, I used it in my first version of the deck. I never actually ran into a problem with the ally limit in subsequent games but your experience may vary. I do tend to use my poor allies pretty aggressively!

@teamcanadahockey2002 Yeah, there's so many good cards in Leadership and so little room! I'll add Regroup to the write-up as another option for multiplayer optimizations. I did like this deck with Strength in Numbers but, since Ironheart is already a little slow to start, left it out of the final build. Yet there's no denying it's a very strong option.

Nov 08, 2022 teamcanadahockey2002 · 9067

@VillainTheory Personally, I like SiN because I've actually found it to help with the build up faster... if you get a couple of cheap allies out quick it can really help with that 4 card hand size in hero form, particularly if you manage to get Brawn down. It also gives Beast something to 'do' (read: exhaust) on turns you don't have another Rapid Response down yet.

Forgot to mention this in the first comment, but glad you posted a Beast/Riri deck... Stroke of Genius is probably the best resource card in the game and I'm surprised no one made one sooner. Well done!

Nov 13, 2022 Clintparker13 · 118

First time playing Ironheart today, used your deck in solo, it is really good. Maybe I´ll switch some allies that I don´t like much (Kaluu, for example) but overall I think is a really good build. Great work!

Jul 10, 2023 Jamesdarcy · 83

Yup, worked exactly as expected, an early drawn beast really accelerated counters. Thanks as always.

Jan 24, 2024 NiceShot318 · 14

Any changes you would make to this deck with the latest card pool? call for backup?

Jun 28, 2024 kevetoile · 1

Really good deck, I didn't know how to play ironheart before that. It's really good, even more with the most recent extensions ! Thanks a lot !

Jul 07, 2024 BoardGameKid · 126

Love this. I have a deck just like it.

Aug 19, 2024 Goatzilla · 233

I have just bought Ironheart and tried this deck to test her out. I love the brilliant combo you came up with. Already on of my favorite decks to play in this game so far!

Nov 16, 2024 Bedi · 22

Ironheart was already my "That's It I'm Gettin' Me Mallet" hero but this deck improved her to an another level.