The King of Thieves

Sometimes, Marvel Champions is a lot like a heist movie. You have to gather a team (heroes), put a plan (deck) together, do the setup (play upgrades/supports) - then try to pull the whole thing off!

And no one knows more about heists than Thief Extraordinaire, Remy Lebeau.

Tap into your worldwide network of thieves with Global Logistics. Arranging the encounter deck has so many amazing uses!

• Can we hijack boost icons for Gambit's alter-ego action? Yes, we can.
• Can we smuggle in a star icon for Longshot? Yes, we can.
• Can swipe some more boost icons for a classic Justice ally? Yes, Wiccan.

With this deck, you're always the one pulling strings! Mastermind your very own heist from alter-ego, drop into hero form and steal away the villain's hp, then make a clean getaway back to alter-ego.

Note: This deck is designed as an all-rounder and is based around control, not as a specialist in threat removal. As of such, it's ideal for 1-2 player games! If you are bringing this to a 3-4 player game, make sure your other players are both happy and able to make significant contributions to threat removal.

The Setup

Every thief needs the right tools. Prioritize The X-Jet, Helicarrier, X-Mansion, or Monica Chang in your mulligan. If you can start with one of these, you'll be in a great place. Forge is also a great way to grab one of these early.

At some point, you want to get a SHIELD card in play and keep it in play - Quake or a Surveillance Team is ideal. And yet this is no SHIELD deck! Sure, you have a few corrupted agents on the team, but ultimately you only care about using their network. Get one SHIELD card in play and protect it, save at least 1 use or 1 hp, and use it to fuel Global Logistics.

Whoever said there was no honor among thieves clearly hadn't heard of Honorary X-Men! Combine it with Mission Training to make Wiccan the master thief he can be, potentially removing 2 threat and - with a little help - dealing 2-3 damage each turn. In a pinch, these make great targets for Dazzler, Longshot, and Rogue too.

The Heist

Once you have a couple of resource generators in play and a SHIELD card out, you're ready to really begin.

Use Mutant Education to keep Creole Charmer in the loop. Using confuses lets us dance in and out of alter-ego, and using our DEF as protection from the villain really lets us avoid blocking with our allies - and this build loves allies. You can't be a king without subjects, can you? Keeping Wiccan and Longshot in play gives you huge value.

And while all this is going on, your Charge counters are building us. Hit minions from the shadows with Stealth Strike alongside your signature attacks, using counters efficiently to clear them. Why Stealth Strike over Turn the Tide? Because we aren't using Gambit to thwart directly in hero form.

Bit by bit, chip away at the villain's hp. Plan B can be especially effective and really adds up over time. And, when the coast is clear, hit them hard with some juicy uses of Royal Flush! Bring them down.

If you're starting to amass a lot of charge counters, start using them more. You might not need to get overkill on Charged Card, but you could. And that damage might be the difference between defeating the villain on your next turn - or the villain living one turn longer and you losing the game to a bad pull of Under Fire/Advance/Shadow of the Past etc. There's no prizes for ending the game with lots of charge counters!

The Crew:

• Wiccan - Your right hand thief. You can use your alter-ego ability or Global Logistics to set his response up to deal massive damage! He is the primary target for both Honorary X-Men, Mission Training, and X-Mansion's healing.

• Longshot - It's a longshot to the top if you wanna rock 'n roll - at least, so he claims. Through arranging star icons through your alter-ego ability or Global Logistics, Longshot can pick off any pesky security minions with ease. He also loves X-Mansion's healing!

• Dazzler - Too much heat? You need a distraction! Call on Dazzler to confound and confuse your enemy! She's also a great target for Mission Training if Wiccan is on the run.

• Quake - When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Not only can Quake pick off targets when you're alter-ego, she's well-connected and can always arrange some Global Logistics.

• Monica Chang - Master of the stakeout, Monica manages your Surveillance Teams. Not only do your Surveillance Teams help your Global Logistics, but they have close ties with The Thieves Guild and work alongside them pilfer cards.

• Rogue - If you've ever played a fantasy game or rolled dice in D&D, you already know a rogue is a thief - and some things never change. Rogue is your all-purpose scoundrel who, thanks to your street smarts (Mutant Education, is always there when you need her. Try to maintain 3-4 Charge counters at all times while she's in your deck! Playing her for 0-cost is a real steal.

Underworld Connections:

Global Logistics is the star of the show. So let's talk about it in detail:

Quake, Monica Chang, and 2x Surveillance Team are each a great target to exhaust for Global Logistics, and - in a pinch - Helicarrier. When possible, try to keep one out at all times. If you don't need to block with Quake? Don't. If you aren't desperate for the last charge of a Surveillance Team? Then keep it!

Getting and keeping out a cheap SHIELD card is key to bringing Global Logistics online, and Global Logistics is key to getting the most out of your allies.

Aside from the combos with allies, you can also often choose your boost and encounter cards in solo play, and boost cards in multiplayer.

In an average Global Logistics turn, you will usually only use one or two of the encounter cards you arrange with your allies - there is not always a minion out for Longshot, and either him or Wiccan might not be in play. And you generally won't want to use your alter-ego ability every turn.

This leaves us with 2-3 encounter cards to arrange for the future! For boost cards, aim for low boost icons - if you can set them up to scheme for 0, you can safely go alter-ego. Avoid star icons unless the boost effect won't affect you.

For an encounter card, aim for the weakest ones - Quickstrike minions are great if you know you're ending the turn in alter-ego, and side schemes are usually great in solo if you have allies/Surveillance Teams out.

Using Global Logistics to its maximum potential takes some practice, and you have to be aware of whether you will run out of cards in your deck when drawing your hand - or else your carefully constructed order will fall apart! But, with some crafty planning, you can really pull the strings and mastermind perfect turns.

Good luck and have fun, mon ami!