Elad · 10
I wanted a deck for our multiplayer table that is good at thwarting and good at dealing damage. It had to be flexible enough to help the more specialized decks. I also wanted it to have some synergies with the X-MEN decks of the other players.
Drawing cards in a card game is fun
Drawing cards in a card game is fun and there is so much cards drawing in this deck. Mental Detection can enable you to draw up to 2 cards. X-Men Instruction can enable you to draw a card if X-Mansion is in play (I play only multiplayer so another deck at the table has the X-Mansion). I sometimes use them only to draw a card at 0 cost, even if I don't have X-MEN allies in my discard pile. IPAC enable you to draw two cards. It can also be used to help the other players draw cards when needed, so it is an important card in multiplayer.
But it is not just about drawing cards. It is about drawing the right card at the right time. Cerebro enable you to draw a specific X-MEN ally at the exact time you need it, as long as you are in alter-ego form. Psylocke can make the most of it as a PSIONIC. Training Regimen enable you to to draw a specific SKILL card at the exact time you need it. These are mostly your upgrades, but also some events. Soaring Hearts help you draw identity-specific event card of your choosing from your discard pile.
A total of 10 out of the 40 cards in this deck (25%) have some kind of card drawing. All this extra drawing of cards will make this deck play faster.
Dazed and Confused
A big part of controlling the board is the ability to confuse enemies. Psionic Training, Upside the Head, Psionic Redirect, Flurry of Blades, and Professor X are the cards in his deck that can be used to confuse enemies. That is only 10 cards out of the 40 cards in this deck (25%), but Professor X can be drawn with Cerebro and Upside the Head can be drawn with Training Regimen, providing some more consistency. Besides, I play only in multiplayer and the other players at my table have some confuse options of their own.
Betsy's Besties <3
When playing this deck you should never be without allies in play. X-Men Instruction will help you bring back your fallen allies from the discard pile into your deck. Cerebro will help you draw your X-MEN allies (all of your allies are X-MEN except of Angel).
Angel will get you ready when he enters play. For me, he is our least useful ally, and his only saving grace is that we need him to play Soaring Hearts. If you can play both in the same round, it will be a vey impactful round.
Marvel Girl will help you deal with minions while keeping the main scheme in check. From my experience, when playing multiplayer there is never a short in minions.
Professor X is a very powerful ally. He can enter play, confuse the villain, thwart for 3, then do some blocking. I usually select the confuse the villain option because in our table almost every round there is someone in his alter-ego form, but sometimes I use him to ready one of the other players at the table, or even to stun a minion - especially if someone has their nemesis in play.
Husk is your only ally not affected by Team-Building Exercise, so playing her requires a big investment. I also spend resources whenever she uses a basic power. With all that costs, what Husk is giving you is an ally that can act as two or more allies. Attacking with Husk, heal her with the resource from your Psi-Knife, then ready her with the resource from your Psi-Katana to attack again is a great move. It is like having a second Husk in play for the cost of 2. The second thing I like about Husk in this deck is that she is equally good at attacking or thwarting. Whatever you need, Husk got your back.
As you may have noticed, the allies in this deck are the most expensive cards in this deck. They all cost 3 or 4 resources. I don't plan to use them for chump blocking (except Professor X when needed). I want them to stay in play to use their special abilities to control the board and to power up Gunboat Diplomacy when I draw it.
Katana Diplomacy
One of the most important card in this deck is Gunboat Diplomacy. It enables you to use your allies to thwart and attack at the same time without suffering any consequential damage, and it enables you to split the thwart and the damage between schemes and enemies however you like.
For example, Psylocke with two Psi-Knife has a thwarting of 3, the same as Professor X. Exhausting them both for Gunboat Diplomacy will deal 6 damage and remove 6 threat. Since Gunboat Diplomacy is an attack, if the enemy is confused then Float Like a Butterfly will increase the damage by 1. And it just so happens that Professor X can confuse the villain.
Gunboat Diplomacy is also one of the cards in this deck that synergize with the X-MEN decks of the other players.
Some Future Thoughts
I didn't add any double resource card to this deck. I hope that the resources from the Psi-Knife and X-Gene combine with Team-Building Exercise is enough. If not, I will need to add some double resources.
Also, I'm not sure about Psychic Manipulation. Is it too expensive? Do I really need this thwart? I think of replacing them with Stealth Strike to add some damage while still retaining some thwarting.