3 resources for a single tough card is way too expensive, but if you're at the 2nd (or 3rd) villain stage you probably want a 3-resource event to actually make progress, rather than stave off one round of attacks. I find that I usually want to just damage the villain's face down to zero once the heros have set up their tableau.

Same cost as Agent 13, one more attack, if you are in Tiny form she has the same remove 2 thwart ability. Has the option of doing damage instead if in Giant form. She's just better in every way than an ally that I already considered very good in Cap's deck.

I finally got to play Ant Man and WOW!! He's got to be one of the coolest and most powerful heroes there is, probably one of the most complete heroes, with so many possibilities he's clearly a top choice for solo.

DAMAGE: Among the strongest in GIANT form, with 3 ATK, but also 1 auto-DMG when you turn into giant mode (so no more tough status for you, villain!), and maybe some extra damage from Giant Strength. To put it simply, HE'S DOING BETTER THAN THE HULK! Even in TINY mode, if you put all Army of Ants into play, you're a 4DMG hero.

And not to forget: Giant Stomp. Unless the villain is guarded by a minion, you can play that card THEN attack... meaning you'll be dealing almost as much damage as Hulk Smash, and getting rid of Ultron Drones.

HEALING: Nice healing, in between Ant-Man's Helmet, Scott Lang's time to unwind, and Pym Particles, shifting between alter-ego and hero modes will have you heal a lot of damage.

RESOURCES: Not his strongest attribute, ANT MAN doesn't have resource-producing cards like Cap or Thor, and doesn't have crazy double/triple resources like Black Panther or Captain Marvel / HUlk. Still, Ant-Man's Helmet and Pym Particles can get you a relatively stable way to draw cards, not something every hero can claim.

EFFECTS: with Wrist Gauntlets, ANT MAN can become a very serious stun / confused card-dealing hero. It's quite possible to build you deck around the resources needed for this, you could potentially end up stunning the villain every turn, which s always a strong move in solo.

THWART: Last, dealing with threaths and schemes. A few recent popular decks have successfully combined ANT MAN with the Justice aspect, because THW isn't his best ability. While that line of thinking is correct because he has few THW options (1 copy of Hive Mind which isn't all that great unless you have Army of Ants in play multiple times, Wasp ), it needs to be said that he still has a much easier time at THW then a lot of heroes. For example, playing expert, you often have to deal with side schemes right of the bat. Flip to tiny, remove 1 threath, THW for 2... job's done! Except CAP (and it costs him a card to activate "I can do this all day"), no other hero can do it better.

All in all, ANT MAN is a very strong hero and very fun to play. If you don't have him already, you should seriously consider it!

Numerics

• Recap: I like calculating at; 2 Damage per 1 Resource. 1 Thwart per 1 Resource. Piercing is worth 1 resource.
• Total Cost: 3 Resources.
• Goal: 6 Damage or 4 Damage + Piercing
• Actual Value: 3 Damage + Piercing
• Summary: 3 Damage + Piercing equates to 2.5 resources worth of value (less than ideal).

Conclusion

In my opinion, this is a total counter-play card. If you know you're going up against a Villain who spams Toughness a lot, this is a card to grab. Alternatively, if there's ever some kind of build that allows you to add Toughness to enemies for some kind of huge benefit, this would also be a good card to grab for that.

If you're running a Hero who has only 1 ATK or lacks powerful Attack events, this card loses some additional value. In the sense that, you would want to use this card first to allow your Hero to follow-up with a big attack; whether that's a high basic ATK or an Attack event card.

As it is, you could spend 1 extra resource for Uppercut. Or, play Drop Kick and get arguably better results more often than not. For that reason, I'm not super stoked by this card. It's a below-average niche performer. It'll have its moments, but I think you're better off with slotting other more consistent attack events.

sigh. This card is ruff.

Numerics

• Recap: I like calculating at; 2 Damage per 1 Resource. 1 Thwart per 1 Resource
• Total Cost: 3 Resources
• Goal: 6 Damage or 3 Thwart or a combination of the two.
• Actual Value: 4 Damage or 2 Thwart or a combination of the two.
• Summary: 4 damage is 2 resources worth of damage (very bad) and 2 Thwart is 2 resources worth of thwart (okay).

Ability Analysis

Kate's ability turns 1 resource into 1 damage. If you pitch a card worth 3 resources, you'll deal 3 damage. It's not an efficient use of resources but, I don't think that's the intention of this ability.

In my opinion, Kate exists as a means to use cards that might have been leftover in your hand at the end of your turn. Cards that didn't quite fit in the strategy of your turn. Cards that you were planning on discarding anyway.

Conclusion

Hoh boy. So obviously, her base numerics aren't that good. Thwart is fine, as is using her as a meat shield, but the real goal of this card is to use her ability. You can use it with something like Sky Cycle to trigger twice per turn. I also think that you may want to look at running cards like Team Training, Teamwork or Strength In Numbers to further cover your bases.

I think a deck that runs Kate is a deck built around variability and adaptability. You're not building for big upgraded allies like Iron Man, Ronin, or Giant-Man, but instead looking to throw out allies who have very niche uses (Wonder Man, Ant-Man or Stinger).

You're looking to optimize every turn by filling in the holes of that turn with actions that would normally be less optimal.

You could run a card like this in Leadership Hulk, as a means to capitalize on Limitless Strength and the fact that it's Hero Mode only. Strength In Numbers decks may actually help Hulk have some decent turns. Both Captain Marvel and Black Panther have multi-resource cards that you may sometimes find yourself not using.

Ultimately, it's a very niche card that requires a particular mindset when attempting to play. Similar to the O.G. Hawkeye, I don't see this being ran in nearly all Leadership decks.