Defense...One Way or Another (Spider-Man Variant included)

One Way or Another is a card well worthy of it’s praise, but what if I were to tell you 2 heroes can have a crazy card draw like OWOA while defending for the team, AND avoiding the need/relying on a side scheme to come out?

Agent Venom and Spider-Man (Peter) both share two great traits, amazing flawless blocking ability and card draw. With Defensive Energy, we overdrive this potential.

Venom takes a little longer to set up as you need Spider-Sense and Unflappable to get it going, where Peter just needs the latter, but Flash benefits greater from the wild resource of Defensive Energy , helping to ensure you get the kicker for Grasping Tendrils.

Once you have what you need, all it takes is one Defensive Energy and a defense card and you are ready to party, drawing up to 3 while keeping the team safe.

“It’s not quite OWOA. You have to play at least 2 cards from your hand!”

Fair point, disembodied voice. I did say it was “like” OWOA. However…if you get Jocasta out…you only need to play the resource from your hand and then it is the exact value of the op justice card. Even better as it has a positive effect on the board! What’s more, this setup is useful at all player levels, where as OWOA becomes questionable at higher player counts.

"But I just drew more Defense cards!"

Machine Man will be happy to take those resources, as will Plan B if you have absolutely nothing in hand to spend it on. Plan B and Multi-Gun can be 4 damage each turn that gets around Guard, Retaliate, and even fellow Symbiote enthusiast Eddie Brock's Villain Response.

Let's talk combos:

• Helicarrier might as well be another hero card for Flash, as it helps him so much to ensure he gets his ability kickers. Agent 13 let's you easily get 2 kickers in one turn, or even turns Powerful Punch into a 1 cost, 4 damage attack that can trigger all that card draw if you can weather the villain's attack.

• Energy Barrier helps secure the card from Unflappable, particularly in swingy villain fights (cough Klaw).

• Venom and Spider-Man both get Black Widow's kicker easily, with the latter always having access to hit it with Ingenuity or his AE ability.

• Jocasta is an unbelievably good ally for both characters, as she can get both of their incredible hero defense cards attached to her. She can also snag Powerful Punch if you need a little more damage.

• Machine Man can turn any of those in hand defense cards you don't need into serious damage. and is a top contender for the heal on Med Team. Agent 13 edges out as the best contender with her combo. Or...you could heal both the same turn since Med Team is a S.H.I.E.L.D card!

The Spider-Man Variant

Add:

• Ingenuity
• Armored Vest
• 2 Hard to Ignore

Remove:

• Plan B
• 1 Energy Barrier
• 2 of your least favorite defense cards (recommend to sub out Jump Flip)

Note: you CAN overpay for Backflip with Defensive Energy

Important Note:

Sadly, the 3 card draw will only happen when the villain initiates an attack against "you." Nova is similar. However, getting 2 cards from helping out a friend is still very doable with Unflappable Defensive Energy and a Defense event, if you didn't trigger it on your own defense.

Final thoughts:

This is a deck that scales very well into multiplayer and does quite well in solo. It is an all-rounder, able to give a steady drip of damage and threat removal. Not Today! will replace Jump Flip when it is released officially.

Thank you for checking this out!