Swift Attacrobatics

Deck concept

I did quite a long series of decks trying to make the case that Brains Over Brawn could be a useful card for heroes with high native THW and access to readying effects. That didn't convince a lot of people, so I've moved on to advocating for Swift Retribution. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment.

There is actually a theory to this deck. Swift Retribution is one of a group of cards that can make the villain activate during a player turn. Other examples are Taunt, Bait and Switch, and Toe to Toe. When I play Black Widow solo I often find that she plays preparations faster than she can trigger them. The benefits to her of going to alter-ego are so large that you aim to do it every other turn, but there are only a few preparations you can trigger in alter ego.

Swift Retribution can trigger Counterintelligence or Attacrobatics in turns when Black Widow starts in alter ego, getting value out of Synth-Suit and Widowmaker, and putting preparations back into the discard pile where Safe House #29 and Black Widow's Gauntlets can benefit next turn. By increasing the rate that we use up preparations we can get better value out of these cards and win the game quicker.

There's no doubt that Taunt is a better card than Swift Retribution for this purpose, but Justice is a better aspect than Protection for this approach, because Justice supports the frequent flipping that Black Widow wants to do.

That's the theory, anyway.

Card choices

The theory of the deck demands cards like Under Surveillance and Sonic Rifle to support frequent flipping by Black Widow, but I chose to theme the allies around S.H.I.E.L.D. because Sky-Destroyer gives me some extra damage, while Agent 13 and Agent Coulson can both help me get more preparations into hand. Ready to Rumble and Plan B can also increase my damage output a little which is valuable in Black Widow as she can be underwhelming.

Playing the deck

The goal with this deck is to set up a steady pace swapping from Hero to Alter-Ego, playing as many preparations as you can to get the full benefit from Black Widow's Gauntlets, Mission Prep, and Safe House #29. Swift Retribution should ideally be used not when the villain is confused by Sonic Rifle, but when you have both Attacrobatics in play and Synth-Suit ready. If Synth-Suit wouldn't otherwise have activated this turn, then Swift Retribution has effectively given us a free activation to thwart any threat that the villain's scheming managed to place. As it also procs Widowmaker, we effectively get only 1 less damage than Dance of Death for 2 less cost, which is pretty useful.

On turns you start in Hero form you are likely to have used an Attacrobatics already in the villain phase, and Synth-Suit is likely to be exhausted. You'll therefore get less benefit from using Swift Retribution; but consider what you have in the discard pile before you just use it as a resource, because there may be no attractive targets for you to use Safe House #29 on after you flip to Alter-Ego (maybe you clocked with an ally and didn't use Attacrobatics). In that case it is still good value.

Black Widow is never that great at burning the villain down and needs to output a steady stream of damage over several turns. Float Like a Butterfly can certainly play a role here, as it makes Dance of Death more competitive (9 damage for 4ER if Float is in play when Swift Retribution does 5 damage for 2. Nick, Quake, and Bucky can also put out a bit of extra damage this way, although the other allies remain pretty limited in that department. Sky-Destroyer can also chip away at the villain as well as helping to deal with minions that come out when you are in Alter-Ego, and therefore escape the Widow's Bite.

How to lose with this deck

Black Widow is squishy until she can get the right pieces in play, especially Synth-Suit and Attacrobatics. Usually when she loses she loses early, so focus on having some allies to hide behind in case of the inevitable Assault. The deck is also obviously weaker against Steady and Stalwart villains, where Sonic Rifle and Covert Ops lose effectiveness.

Conclusion

I'm not really expecting to persuade anyone that Swift Retribution is a great card, but this deck works well enough for me on true solo expert. I think it can be useful in the right deck.