"Don't Poke the Panther" (T'Challa Hits the Griddy)

Card draw simulator

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Derived from
Gwen Hits the Griddy 122 97 13 1.0
Inspiration for
None yet

Greg · 317

What is "The Griddy?"

Black Panther Fortnite skin, doing the Electro Shuffle
actually this is the Fortnite Electro Shuffle emote, but I couldn't find a high quality screenshot of Black Panther doing the actual griddy

In short, it's a dance, and a Marvel Champions archetype which involves using Repurpose to ready and boost stats, and "After defense" responses like Counter-Punch and True Grit to turn your defense into offense and board control.

There's little I can say that hasn't already been said better, so you should really just go read the write-ups on journeyman2's original "Griddy" decks for Ghost-Spider and Shadowcat.
Gwen and Kitty synergize with this play-style with built-in readies and easy perfect defense, respectively.
T'Challa, on the other hand, wants to take attacks, so we're going to goad the villain into taking more swings at us with Taunt and Bait and Switch. I'll do my best to teach you the steps, Wakandan Style.

The Dance

1.) Bend the knees

Since we'll be taking lots of attacks, survivability is a must. Bend your knees to help absorb the impact.

2.) Hop & Tap the Heels

  • Repurpose is central to this archetype by readying us, and boosting our stats. It's important to note that these stats last until the end of the Round, so you still have them in the villain phase.
  • Desperate Defense helps us ready back up after defending.

Since we actually want to use our basic DEF quite a bit, staying bouncy and light on the feet helps us keep a rhythm.

3.) Speed up

  • Taunt gives us three cards at the expense of the villain attacking us. Except we want that, so it's a win-win.
  • Bait and Switch also makes the villain attack us, and gives us a source of threat removal.

Defense based decks often have lack luster player turns, and responses in the villain phase. Instead, we'll draw attacks in the player phase to force the villain into our tempo.

4.) Swing your arms and throw your B's

  • Black Panther automatically has Retaliate 1 so any enemies without ranged will aready pay the price for attacking us.
  • Electrostatic Armor also punishes those foolhardy enough to attack us... Provided we defend. Fortunately, we will be doing that frequently. It's also a Repurpose target, and we run 2 so you don't have to feel bad about throwing it away.
  • Energy Barrier was already mentioned, but this too will deal damage. Note, it doesn't specify that the damage must be done to the attacker, but just "an enemy."
  • Counter-Punch will ideally be used in turns when we've boosted ATK with Repurpose, effectively double-dipping into our stat boost.
  • True Grit is a source of threat removal not limited to the main scheme. Similarly, we ideally use this on a turn when Repurpose boosted THW.
smiling face with sunglasses; B)

Mulligan Priorities

There aren't super strong priorities here, but getting your draw engine early helps. Generally speaking, I look for:

These make getting other cards into play easier.

For the Black Panther upgrade from T'Challa's Foresight ability, I like one of

depending on whether I anticipate the scenario will put more presure through threat or damage.

It's good to be king

Black Panther, or more specifically, T'Challa is RICH. His kit has 3 double wilds with Vibranium, and The Golden City draws 2 cards. Since we'll be taking a lot of attacks, we'll often need to flip down to AE to recover, so we'll have ample chance to use this, along with the recycling from Ancestral Knowledge and Defensive Training. Unflappable rewards perfect defense with an extra card, and Taunt gives us another three. Even our allies come with a rebate.

Riri, Shuri, and Fury

As luck would have it, this trio of black excellence fits our deck both in theme and build, since they all contribute to our turbo-draw approach. With Ironheart and Shuri each adding a card to your hand, and Nick Fury adding three, it's almost as though each of the allies cost only one. Ironheart's MCU debut in Wakanda Forever only sweetens the deal.

Shuri and Riri slap hands in greeting, Wakanda Forever

Which carrier? Heli- vs Quin-

Helicarrier and Quincarrier are both viable options for this deck, and for the most part, interchangeable, but there are a couple of trade-offs. Helicarrier is not trait locked so it can be played from alter-ego. It's an action so you can give other players the benefit, but not use it in the villain phase. Quincarrier on the other hand is a true Resource that can be used in the villain phase, but not shared. It is unique, and only playable in hero form (though useable either form). We don't need specific resources for kickers, so I opted for the Heli, but in solo, or if you're not playing with another Avenger, you can definitely go Quin.

Sidedeck

Endurance and Dauntless fit this deck pretty well, and earlier versions of the deck included them. Having Retaliate 2, plus 1 from Electrostatic feels really good. Between Vibranium Suit healing and flipping to AE to recover, it's pretty easy to keep yourself at or above 11 HP. Unfortunately, without the cushion of 3 over-healing from Endurance, Dauntless didn't feel quite consistent enough, and since we already have retaliate from the get go, these lost their place.

Hard to Ignore adds a little extra thwart when we can perfect defend, but we need two of them to get the same value as True Grit with un-boosted stats. These ultimately lost their place to allow for more events.

Defense Specialist is awesome in this deck, but clearing Specialized Training felt too unreliable in solo, since you're mostly relying on True Grit or Wakanda Forever! and Tactical Genius for side schemes.
Superpower Training initially seems good for a hero with important identity upgrades, but you'll start with one in your hand and can tutor them with Shuri. If you are bringing a side scheme, Specialized Training is much better.

Forcefield Generator is also a good target for Repurpose, and T'Challa can certainly afford it, however, I liked keeping the cost curve a little lower for most consistency. If you're feeling greedier, it's a solid include over a second Electrostatic Armor.

2 comments

Mar 15, 2024 andyr · 4349

I don’t generally do repurpose decks, but I loved how this one played. I didn’t mind it at all. Great deck, as always

Mar 15, 2024 Greg · 317

Thanks @andyr! Yeah, I'm often a bit hesitant to discard my upgrades, but T'Challa's so rich he has no trouble getting more into play. Glad you enjoyed it!