Modular Grey Angel

Angel is a powerful and versatile hero who can handle most situations by relying primarily on his identity-specific cards and a few Basic cards. Your setup priorities are getting Techno-Organic Wings, Worthington Industries, and at least one copy of Team-Building Exercise in play.

Worthington Industries gives you AERIAL card recursion plus a card draw in alter-ego form. If you're not sure which AERIAL card you need to shuffle into your deck, Metamorphosis is a safe default option. Adaptive Plummage is available if you're trying to status-lock an enemy, while the option to recur Razor Dive is good against enemies with a lot of Tough statuses.

While you'll often prefer Angel's Angel of Life for the card draw (on those turns when you can't flip to get both), remember that Angel of Death in Archangel form is not an attack, so it ignores retaliate and Guard. Metamorphosis's damage and threat removal aren't attacks or thwarts either. In Aggression, Bombs Away also isn't an attack.

An additional copy of Team-Building Exercise along with X-Gene, Moira MacTaggert, and Weapon X increase your ability to play cards but aren't required to function. Similarly, Soaring Acrobatics is a great boost to your basic powers, but your powerful events will be doing most of the heavy lifting.

Vivian is a cheap AERIAL ally for cards like Bombs Away, Eyes in the Sky, and Aerial Intervention; just as usefully, she can negate a nasty WHEN DEFEATED effect on a side scheme for you. Psylocke is great once you have a Team-Building Exercise (or two) to help pay her cost.

Player side schemes let you thin your deck to maximize your chances of drawing your best events, plus you're great at clearing them in Angel form thanks to Techno-Organic Wings. Build Support also accelerates your setup; if you don't have both copies of Team-Building Exercise in play, that's your target for it.

You can swap in the cards below for other aspects without drastically changing how the deck plays. Aggression and Justice have a slight edge for event-focused Angel decks, simply because Pitchback and Yaw and Roll are so cost-effective. You can often use Avian Anatomy to play one copy twice in a row.

Justice:

• Agile Flight (x3)

• Eyes in the Sky (x2)

• Lay the Trap (x1)

• Skilled Investigator (x1-3)

• Yaw and Roll (x3)

Note: I'm a big fan of putting in an extra Skilled Investigator for multiplayer games as a 41st card since it's Cost 0 and makes a great sacrifice for an unlucky Caught Off Guard. You can skip it if you like to stay at exactly 40.

Leadership:

• Adam Warlock (x1)

• Air Supremacy (x3)

• Call for Backup (x1)

• Cloud 9 (x1)

• Flying Formation (x3)

• Sunspot (x1)

Protection:

• Aerial Intervention (x2)

• Ever Vigilant (x3)

• Perseverance (x3)

• Render Medical Aid (x1)

• Starhawk (x1)

Other Options:

Angel is very durable thanks to the free healing from Regrowth in alter-ego form and solid DEF in both hero forms, but some scenarios put out absurd levels of damage. Against extremely high-damage enemies, if you're not running Protection, you may want to add in Crew Quarters to double your free healing in alter-ego form. This can be a 41st card or a replacement for either Specialized Training or Weapon X. In Protection, The Night Nurse is a more versatile option, especially for status-heavy scenarios.