Magneto, Jedi Master

Magneto, Jedi Master: Have you ever pictured a Jedi Master who wields their swords without using their hands? That should make them potentially the most effective fighter of any force-using being in the universe, yet Magneto can do exactly that with Laser Swords, which we will assume are constructed with metal. :-)

If you'd like to see a discussion of this deck, see the following video: Magneto Deck Discussion | 'Pool | Magneto, Jedi Master

VILLAINS TESTED AGAINST (in both standard and expert): Klaw; Taskmaster; Red Skull, and the Magneto villain.

Results: Just one defeat against the Magneto villain in standard in a game in which our hero had just gotten set up to begin attacking. The villain pulled Exhaustion, followed by an attack by Fabian Cortez, and then another attack due to revealing Master of Magnetism.

NOTABLE ELEMENTS OF PLAY:

Dead Hand Insurance: Lockjaw.

Those of you who've played Magneto enough times know that he can be prone to having dead hands due to a combination of his Wrapped in Metal, Magnetic Missile, and Master of Magnetism cards, combined with discarding non-identity cards with his hero ability, Magnetic Pull. Lockjaw tends to be available much of the game for such situations.

This is also why I don't add Digging Deep, though I'm guessing those who do add that card see benefits far more often than they draw into dead hands; however, I've found that dead hands can be catastrophic, so I choose otherwise for my personal preferences. White Fox, on the other hand, is an easy inclusion.

Board Master: Magneto generally controls the battle due in great deal to multiple readies from Magneto's Cape, Stick-To-Itiveness (powered by The X-Jet), and Utopia (when an X-Men ally enters play), especially when his ATK is increased by Combat Specialist (chosen due to defeating the side scheme Specialized Training) and/or Magneto's Armor. The many allies and Magneto's own attack and thwart cards contribute significantly to this.

Jedi Master: At times, Magneto will become a Jedi master and nothing can then stand in his way. If the opportunity arises during the game, equipping Laser Swords will prepare him for the final villain stage.

Once Live Dangerously enters the board, Magneto can attack for a minimum of 6 damage for each basic attack. While he could potentially attack up to four times, he frequently will attack three times, and that damage can spike to 7 or 8, and in the Expert game versus Red Skull, Magneto hit with three basic attacks for 7 damage each, plus 7 points of damage from Metal Shards and 5 from a Wrapped in Metal minion tossed at the villain with Magnetic Missile for a total of 33 points of damage in one turn.

Conclusion:

This deck, like many Magneto decks, does a great job of controlling board and winning games. At times, though, Magneto reveals his inner Jedi, and when that occurs, he slices through his enemies with his seemingly god-like powers.

Due to his Magnetic Pull ability, these are somewhat random occurrences, so I recommend playing the deck enough times to allow this to occur. Using repeated basic attacks to deal 18 to potentially 30 points of damage is not a feat often accomplished in Marvel Champions.