Hulk is Strongest there is! - Schtick!

In the animated series 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes', Hulk and Banner come to an agreement. Banner allows Hulk near permanent control of their shared form and in exchange Hulk will take on the role of a Hero. Hulk joins the Avengers on the grounds that Cupid (Hawkeye) joins too, and they both take up residence at Avengers Mansion. Later in the Series, Hulk is transported to Vanaheim, takes up Scourges Axe (We're using Jarnbjorn as a stand-in) and still makes an effort to be the Hero when he could have walked away.

This deck is built using a thematic mod called Schtick! In this format you trade an increased game difficulty for some card advantages if they feature your Identities image (More Details Below) We also use some home revisions for cards. If you don't like home rules, for theme and fun then this deck and this format isn't for you.

In this deck we have decided to stay in the expected Aggression aspect. The idea is to stay in Hulk mode ignoring Banner and smashing away with the only Ally being Hawkeye. For Schtick! remove Banners Laboratory and Sub-Orbital Leap. For Mentor, usually run with Unflappable and Clarity of Purpose.

Revisions

These are the Card Revisions we play with that are used in this deck.

• Bruce Banner gains "Setup - Search your collection for a copy of Strength and add it to your starting hand. (ignoring deck limits)"
• Hulk adds to his Enraged ability "For each resource icon discarded this way heal 1 (heal 2 if a Physical Resouce)
• Boundless Rage gains "and an additional +1 ATK for each 5 damage on Hulk."
• Enhanced Physique gains "Reduce this cards cost by 2 if your printed hit points are 14 or more."
• Invulnerability gains "Reduce this cards cost by 2 if your printed hit points are 14 or more."
• Avengers Mansion gains "Play only if your identity has the Avenger trait."

Schtick Cards

Basic

- Strength

- Unshakable

Aggression

- Brute Force

- Enraged (If Hulk changes down to Banner this card is discarded. Your Identity isn't Hulk at the moment, so it does not match)

- Drop Kick

Protection

- Desperate Defense

Leadership

- Strength in Numbers

- Leadership Training

- Joining Forces

What is Schtick! And why play it?

Schtick is the Image and Actions that define a character and give it personality. The game can be very easy and has a lot of dead cards. In exchange for a more difficult game, we give Characters some thematic life and dead cards some useability under some heroes. An Example would be Hawkeye, he was the first to use the Sky Cycle in the comics, but in game he cannot use it in any way. He is also a weaker character. Giving him the use of the cycle is thematic and boosts his power level in a Unique way. Hulk has a massive defense value and known for soaking damage beyond ends but because the game only lets him use one basic action it never matters. The Schtick rules allow Hulk to add and use desperate defense to his aggression build and also soak attacks without having to build a protection deck and lose access to dropkick and other Hulk themed cards. This Mod is for fun and theme, not to prove you broke the game. If you have Wolverine with Hulk cool, they've done several team-ups, but Goldballs is not going to appear in your Normal Hulk storyline.

The Schtick
To have Shtick! a card must show your identity as a protagonist or be something that is directly familial. Identity specific cards are already costed and unique to your Identity so will never benefit from Schtick!.

Deck Building
The Deck building rules on Schtick allow you to use cards outside of aspect if they show your Schtick and if it is in aspect or could have already been added to your deck you get a draw as reward. The other rules here allow you to build for theme. If you are playing 2 players and the other players identity is that of your Identity specific ally, pull it out. If a card doesn't work with the theme or process you want to play, you can pull it out. You can also add Allys even if you would have a conflict due to a name. Captain America could take both the Basic Agent 13 and his Signature Agent 13. Does not allow more than 1 to be in play but still gives his deck access to a mechanic on a card he would not normally have access to. Finally, is the ability to add up to 3 out of aspect Allys to support your theme. Hellcat only appears in the She-Hulk Identity set but if you want to play an Iron Man from the time when Patsty and Tony were involved and teamed up it would not normally be allowed. This rule lets you get that Ally on the table. Another example would be playing the first 5 Avengers, Ironman, Antman, Wasp, Hulk and Thor. These 5 are split across two Aspects, play one or the other this Rule lets you use the missing members.

Setup – When building their deck, a player may:

• Choose to exclude 2 Identity specific cards by title.
• Add cards of a different Aspect if that card features the image of their Identity.
• Ignore naming conflicts.
• Include up to 3 Allies of Any Aspect or Hero Identity if that Ally shares a trait with your Identity.

The Play Side

The play side gives you the actions and abilities rewarding you for your themed cards and give an extra encounter draw increasing the difficulty.

"If a card features your Identity and has an ally requirement, your Identity may be that ally. If a card features your Identity, you may play that card on your identity ignoring trait requirements."

This lets you attach cards in ways that they would not normally work if they feature your Schtick. Sky Cycle is Hawkeye's bike. His was the first from which all others are copies. This rule lets you attach it to him and get its benefits even when he is not an ally. Honorary Avenger features several of the Young Champions mentored by Vision. This Rule lets Ms. Marvel play the card on herself without already being an Avenger or needing another player to play it on you.

"Response: When you play a (or use a resource) basic card or card of your chosen aspect featuring your Identity --> Draw a Card."

Pretty Simple, play a card that features your Schtick, draw a card. Note you only use the card for its ability. This means playing it for most cards with only resources giving the draw if specifically used as a resource.

"Hero Interrupt (defense): When you would take damage from an Undefended attack, prevent any amount of that damage up to your DEF. This ability cannot prevent more damage than your DEF each round."

This gives your hero some damage reduction each turn using your DEF without exhausting. You will need this to handle the extra encounter cards. This does little for Heroes like Hawkeye with just 1 DEF but gives Hulk the ability to soak multiple attackers. Hulk can soak 3 damage from an attack but is pinged to death by 3x 1 ATK drones. This ability lets Hulk share his DEF around if need be.

"Forced Response: When a player ends their turn, place a token here. If there are 2 or more tokens here, remove them and deal the first player a face down encounter card."

Have to Balance out these advantages a bit. This adds difficulty about that of +0.5. Somewhere between Expert and Heroic. This matches the difficulty level I play at. If your decks are too powerful or still a bit weak you may need to adjust this, but this is our default.

The Other Meta Cards You Might Use

"Continued Next Issue..."
This came about with the abuse of the burst play. In almost all scenarios it was to the benefit of the heroes to load up damage and blow through both Stage 2 and 3 in one attack sequence. The Villain never got to do his thing, and it felt like it was cheating the game. With this rule the Villain could only have one stage knocked out each turn and get its turn to use its power and/or effects. In Exchange the Heroes can't have an advance or other Threat blowout and lose without first getting a player phase to deal with it. It is a longer game and not as prone to luck, but you get to see more cards and the Villain do its thing. This feels best with playing Stage 1 through to Stage 3 but again, it is a long game.
"Mentor"
Mentor acts as an extra player in the game without having to run the Literal extra player. Play an "Honorary" card to get your Hero into another faction or just get you another resource generator.
"Dedicated Team-Up" This is for that Solo Player who want the Team-Up cards to actually do something reliable. You lose an Ally slot but can fetch the Ally you need for the Team-Up. The Team-Up card is almost never dead.