Thor - Silver blood (expert wins)

I recently got back to playing Thor after quite some time and got a solid reminder that soloing him is a real challenge. I tried including some of the recent cards such as Hand Cannon, Looking for Trouble, etc.

And got my ass kicked. Repeatedly.

I grew a bit frustrated. Why is it that Thor's Hammer Throw takes away your hammer, it ends up costing too much! Why is Asgard so costly for a character who really need it? Why can't I just pick up and play him like most characters?

This lead me to this deck. I got back to my best times with Thor (https://marvelcdb.com/decklist/view/5822/thor-finally-edit-number-2-1.0), decided to build something both new and inspired by some of the cards that allowed "FINALLY" to have a little fun.

And just like that, this deck is both enjoyable AND WINS against expert scenarios, better than I ever did with any previous decks.

So far, all scenarios on expert have fallen with relative ease, except for the campaigns that I haven't played yet. I suspect RORS will be somewhat easy, it's GMW that should prove to be too much (but then again, what hero wins THAT campaign in true solo / expert without a struggle?).

Here's the deal.

Economics

Yep, Thor's hand size and key cards (Hammer Throw, Asgard, Lady Sif...) really put a strain on your economy. You can't just pick up and play Thor easily, he really, REALLY needs to build a solid resource income.

So I went for resources cards with the "Silver" aspect: The Power in All of Us to pay for key upgrades, supports and allies (Avengers Mansion, Quincarrier, Team-Building Exercise, Deft Focus, all allies are also basic).

In between getting rid of minions and keeping the threath level down, the first part of your game will be devoted to putting as many of those in play. That means don't Hammer Throw just because you can on turn 1, not when you can delay damaging the villain to play Avengers Mansion, for instance, which you'll be thankful for all game long.

Also, I went back to TBE and Assess the Situation, which I had stopped playing in order to make room for new things a while ago. I should never have let them go!!! Assess the Situation is pure gold for Thor, and TBE, combined with Deft Focus, allows to throw the hammer for 2 resources then put your Mjolnir back in play for free. THAT, my friends, is what this Thor's all about!

A splash of red

All-silver seemed a little limited in damage-dealing, especially for a hero who will want minions in his way. So, I included the all-stars from "finally": Into the Fray, a solid addition to help with the main scheme threaths, Relentless Assault and Moment of Triumph. That last card is a critical piece of the puzzle, allowing you to keep in hero form longer.

Because in the second part of the game I tend to not revert to AE, I skipped Hall of Heroes. Still, 8 cards hands were plentiful (4 + a minion + Asgard + Mansion), especially in scenarios like "Mutagen Formula" or "Ultron".

Winning the game

The strategy here is all about long-term thinking. Build a solid board, priorities including Asgard, Avengers Mansion, God of Thunder, every upgrade you can.

In the meantime, allies will help you thwart and block attacks so you can keep in hero form. Priorize allies for thwarting if you can, espcially in scenarios where the minions are super-high on hp (Klaw's "Masters of Evil", for instance). Defender of the Nine Realms is good for sure, but if you get 6, 7 hp minions that will slow you down for 3 turns, it suddenly becomes less of a win for you. by the end of the game, when you can play more Hammer Throws (your deck beign thinner) and for a lesser sacrifice in cards, that logic becomes moot so you can use Defender of the Nine Realms with more confidence and just demolish every fool who opposes you!

Once you've got the econ going, Thor basically becomes unstoppable! Using Deft Focus, God of Thunders to play Hammer Throw, then putting the hammer back on the table with TBE, then still having 5 cards so you can play, say, Nick Fury, draw 3, play another Hammer Throw... Seriously the end game here feels incredibly rewarding.

I guess THAT is why Thor starts so slow, once built up, he truly is The God of Thunder!

Have fun!