What If: Noodles Academy

A Paired Deck, meant to be played two-handed solo, Duo, or multiplayer alongside Venom: Agent of Acquisitions (https://marvelcdb.com/decklist/view/47380/agent-of-acquisitions-1.0)

I've used these decks on all the expert villains of the Age of Apocalypse expansion and had a blast, winning most games.

What if Illyana Founded the X-Men?

Illyana's brother Colossus was recruited by Charles Xavier from rural Russia while she was just a child, but later he brought her to America to protect her from threats. She was invited to the School For Gifted Youngsters, but before she could formally study there, she was abducted to Limbo by Belasco, where he tourtured and corrupted her. After many years of harrowing ordeals, she eventually manifested the Soulsword and defeated her nemesis, claiming Limbo for her own use. At this in the story she returned to the X-men, grown into her power and haunted by trauma, but due to a time warp of Limbo only moments had passed on Earth 616.

But imagine with me if Limbo had warped her back in time, and in an mind-bending ouroboros, Illyana sets out to found the organization that attempted to rescue her, the X-Men.

The Direct Approach

Illyana is not known for her subtlety. The traumas she's endured have left her with a cynical and jaded view of conflict, and unlike the Professor that she recruited (to someday rescue her), she believes that talking to villains is wasted time.

I've seen several decks focused on staying alter-ego the whole game, but most of these lean into the Justice aspect to make that strategy viable. Illyana wouldn't choose Justice as an aspect; justice is a word for the weak. Illyana will protect the weak... with aggression. As the new Leader of the X-men, she will make connections and train powerful allies (sorry LazyTitan) to deal aggressively with problems while she enjoys a cup of noodles and surveys the smoking remains of the battlefield.

Building the Noodles Academy

The X-men have fantastic supports such as Utopia, the X-Mansion, Weapon X, and maybe she'll build an Avengers Mansion on the campus for good measure. Also, she arrived early enough in time to claim the title of The Sorcerer Supreme before Steven Strange's hero's journey even began. This sets up for a hand size of 7 in alter-ego, and functionally 8 if you use the Mansion for yourself each turn. Note that this makes the deck feel a lot smaller than 49 cards, and Magik ends up decking out on the same turn as her 40-card partner Venom. More on that later.

Your big support cards are even easier to set up using 3 copies of Meditation, and the whole setup us fun when you casually throw Wolverine and Psylocke and Goldballs and Boot Camp onto the table with cards in your hand to spare.

Weapons Deals and Acquisitions

Some upgrades like Attack Training (https://marvelcdb.com/card/32043) and Sidearm can be sourced locally by local agents Beak, Triage, Forge, and Professor X. These allies can also be used to distract the Villain in a pinch, and do small thwarts here and there. They are the hired help.

For more exotic wares, Illyana depends on her space-faring kindred spirit Agent Venom. This connection to the stars allows Illyana to import great voltron upgrades to her star pupils, including Honorary Guardian, Reinforced Suit, Inspired, Laser Blaster, and to make use of the old Energy Spears that she found in the attic. Additionally, Venom learned a few tricks from the Guardians, and can help the X-men function more as a Team. Once Illyana's heavy-hitting problem-solvers are fully decked out, they will be swinging for 9-10 damage with overkill, piercing, and ranged. X-Mansion and Triage can keep these allies healthy, and Utopia can sometimes get multiple swings per turn.

Threat

As with any alter-ego focused deck, the main scheme (and any side schemes that arise) are going to be much more menacing than they might otherwise be. Luckily, even when we're not focusing on Hero form, when Illyana flips up to hero form, she does great and takes control of the battlefield. While I don't usually prioratize her upgrades (Magik's Crown, Soulsword, and Mystical Armor), her ability to put Exorcism on top of her deck from the discard pile is clutch in dealing with side-schemes or taking the main scheme down (with bonus if you can confuse the enemy at the same time). Additionally, her pupils can thwart if needed. It might feel lackluster for an ally with 6-10 attack stat to thwart for 2, but sometimes that's what the board state needs. Gatekeeper is a wonderful card in this deck, because if you were going to overkill a minion anyway, trading two less overkill damage for 4 threat off the main is almost always a good trade (War Room helps a little too). Psylocke comes in with two confuses, and Exorcism and Venom's Behind Enemy Lines can confuse if you meet the kickers.

For Stalwart villains, you will need to spend more time in hero form, but Magik should always flip up at least once per game to show that she's got the chops to be an Honorary X-Men. This can make sure Uncanny X-Men stays active even when she goes back to the Academy to eat some noodles while Wolverine and Colossus shred minions and beat down expert villains.

TLDR Wrapup

Huge deck, but spending time in Alter-ego gives you a hand size of 7-8 and the deck doesn't feel that large. Play down big allies and keep them around until they're fully upgraded (by you and partner Venom). Keep threat off the main and side-schemes however you can. If you can scrape through until you're set up, no Villain can withstand the power of the Noodle Academy. Have Fun!