Thor the Godly Minion Collector (Expert Venom Goblin)

Thor the Godly Minion Collector

This deck is all about summoning minions → draw cards with "Have at Thee!" and "Bring It!" → use cards drawn as resources to play The Bellerophon → delete minions. Name inspired by thebrandt's Vision the Intangible Minion Collector.

Deck showcase versus Venom Goblin (Expert)

The Bellerophon

The 6 cost S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarriers are difficult to justify a spot for in any deck outside of Maria Hill because their counters can't be refilled. But since I had the honor of revealing the Bellerophon, I've been searching for a deck to make it work...then I realized Thor is the guy to make it happen. Thor is one of the top minion slayers in Marvel Champions, not necessarily because he's good at defeating minions, but because each time he engages a minion (once per phase), he can trigger his hero ability, "Have at Thee!" which allows him to draw 2 cards and get value back. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for Thor to clear the minions that he summons because the only AoE damage he has is Lightning Strike which doesn't having piercing but instead ignores tough status cards (so if an elite minion has tough and more hit points, Thor will have to waste an exhaust to get rid of the tough anyways). Bellerophon has so much synergy here as an on-demand source of AoE damage with piercing. The main gameplan with this deck is to summon a bunch of minions with cards like Defender of the Nine Realms, Angela, and Face the Past, then draw a bunch of cards with "Have at Thee!" and "Bring It!" and finally use the resources drawn to pay for The Bellerophon to clear those minions bringing everything full circle.

Adding Minions to the Collection

We want to be conservative when and where to summon minions especially early game. Pick and choose when to get minions for "Have at Thee!" to draw cards in order to build out our board. Angela is almost always safe to summon because she allows Thor to pick which minion he wants, but Defender of the Nine Realms should be reserved for when Bellerophon is in play. Nothing feels better than summoning an elite minion with Defender of the Nine Realms, removing 3 threat, drawing 2 cards, then piercing the tough with Bellerophon and having Thor finish it off with his hammer.

Enter the Bifrost

The Bifrost is such a fun and thematic card for Asgardians to tutor allies from the deck and it essentially saves 1 effective resource by not needing the ally card to be in hand. This deck utilizes The Bifrost to tutor minions on-demand when Angela is in the deck, and late game Thor easily has the economy to summon Lady Sif and Heimdall. Throg and Valkyrie are also great options to summon when minions are in play.

Ally Breakdown

Every ally in this decklist was specifically selected for their ability and has synergy with our gameplan.

• Angela: One of the most safe minion summoning cards because it provides more control by allowing the player to search the top 10 cards of the encounter deck. Great way to play an ally for free and trigger "Have at Thee!"

• Grant Ward: An amazing new ally that helps 4 handsize/low thwart heroes like Thor tremendously. Free to play and can thwart 2 for three times before going away. Quincarrier is a great way to provide mental resources for to keep Grant in play by fulfilling the requirement for his Forced Interrupt.

• Heimdall: Uber expensive ally with a powerful scrying effect that can help Thor manipulate the encounter deck to either flip down safely or summon a minion to trigger "Have at Thee!" Heimdall is usually difficult to play, but Thor's late game economy is bonkers with Asgard, 2x God of Thunder, Quincarrier, Helicarrier, and Avengers Mansion. This combined with the ability to summon Heimdall on-demand with the Bifrost when we have the resources on a given turn makes it work well.

• Lady Sif: A powerful identity-specific ally that can thwart for 2 and give Thor a ready. She's like a pseudo on-demand ready with The Bifrost.

• Nick Fury: Strongest card in the game...we're building for power!

• Professor X: Confuse the villain or stun minions.

• Psylocke: More confuses to help Thor flip down to recover if necessary.

• Spider-Girl: Stun/confuse the minions we summon for some breathing room.

• Sunfire: One of the best aggression allies with his on play response, plus he's an energy resource for Lightning Strike.

• Throg: Tank hits, summon on-demand when a minion is in play with The Bifrost.

• Valkyrie: Knock out minions, summon on-demand when a minion is in play with The Bifrost.

• Vivian: Here to blank out Loki's text box if he comes out through Face the Past or Shadow of the Past.

Conclusion

Summoning a bunch of minions to draw cards is tons of fun. Finding the balance of when to summon the minions, when to defeat them, and getting out on top by gaining a card advantage is the key to making The Bellorophon work for Thor.