Psionic Skills that Kill 2 (4-Pack Challenge)

4-Pack Challenge (up to 4 packs outside of the Core Set): Phoenix, Storm, NeXt Evolution, Psylocke, Core Set

Introductory note regarding this series of decks: This challenge was inspired by watching a series of videos by the content creator The Masked Hero (https://www.youtube.com/@TheMaskedHero) and his series of New Player Hero discussions, including this one on Psylocke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=505UfYxTJq8&t=166s.

This series of deck builds were not sponsored by The Masked Hero; the topics of this series of videos just provided me with the challenge of building these decks for a newer player with the limit of using the Core Set and up to four other packs. :-)

VILLAINS TESTED AGAINST (in standard and expert and UNDEFEATED): Klaw; Rhino (with The Doomsday Chair encounter set, which includes M.O.D.O.K); Mutant Genesis villains (Sabretooth, Project Wide Awake, Master Mold, Mansion Attack, and Magneto).

Important note: Helicarrier cannot be used with Make the Call, so be sure to use Psi-weapons as a resource generator for this instead.

STRATEGY 1: Go to Alter-Ego form whenever safe to do so (unless Nick Fury can block for you).

Additional skill cards available as targets for Training Regimen: Leadership Skill and Directed Force. When added to Psylocke's own 3 upgrades that are also skills, this makes 7 targets, which turns Training Regimen into a considerable resource generator when in Alter-Ego form, especially when combined with X-Bunker.

Also, of course, Psylocke gains two additional cards when in Alter-Ego form when compared to Hero form. Flurry of Blades helps by providing Confusion and damage, and, when either Psi-Knife or Psi-Katana are available in Alter-Ego form, Psylocke can throw Flurry of Blades back into her deck with her own ability. Sometimes this isn't really possible, but the extra card draw from Nick Fury and Maria Hill, as well as the extra resources drawn by X-Bunker, Training Regimen, and Avengers Mansion make that a more viable possibility. In addition, Flurry of Blades can Confuse steady villains twice (or a second time when combined with the use of Psionic Redirect.

Side note: Avengers Mansion is practically an auto-include in my Psylocke decks. Even with her hand size of 4 in Hero form, her two Psi-Weapon resource generators tend to make it very easy to play Avengers Mansion. If Avengers Mansion isn't drawn in the early game, though, I usually don't bother playing it.

STRATEGY 2: Make the Call retrieves the right ally at the right time.

Ally targets: Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Forge, Gentle.

Most of the time, Nick Fury is the most obvious ally to retrieve with Make the Call or Call for Backup, with Maria Hill as a natural backup when Nick isn't available; however, Forge can help bring X-Bunker to hand, while Gentle can help wipe the board of a pesky minion or two when Psychic Kicker is in hand, especially if Leadership Skill is in play.

STRATEGY 3: Allies don't have to do something every turn.

There are times when allies won't necessarily have something important to do. If that's the case, one can wait till Leadership Skill or Psychic Kicker are available to make their contributions more impactful. Letting Psyclocke take some damage, defend with Psionic Redirect or Martial Arts Training can facilitate this optimized use. Allies can often be used to their full potential rather than as defenders, especially since they can be recalled with Make the Call. Of course, if Make the Call is available to bring an ally immediately back into play, then one might as well attack the villain with it and then get it or another ally back into play.

Overall, I found this deck to be quite facile at handling the many threats thrown its way.