Hello fellow card floppers! Tommy of Titan, back again to talk about one of the most versatile and powerful card types in the game we know and love, Marvel Champions. My goal in this article is to talk about what allies can be used for, as well as how to select what allies are going to work best in whatever deck you are building. For the purpose of this article we will be looking at the allies outside of the signature sets since they are locked in with a specific Identity but of course should be considered for what they bring to the table.
So let’s start at the top. Obviously, an ally can be used to attack or thwart. The big value typically comes at the end of an allies life cycle on the table when they use that last little bit of health to soak up a big attack from the villain. Digging deeper than these obvious uses, some allies have abilities that give them more of a specialized purpose. I think a good way to think about allies is to create a few categories and group them together. This way, when you are making a deck and you know what weaknesses your hero or even your teammate’s might have, you can use allies to help you strengthen your decks in those areas. In addition to weighing those factors, it’s important to think about the encounter you’ll be playing. A lot of encounters at the moment use a lot of minions so bringing allies strong against minions is a good option.
Category Crowd Control:
In this category I would include allies like Hawkeye, Squirrel Girl, Tigra, Valkyrie, and Nova. All of these allies have the ability to deal spread damage or deal damage to enemies over a period of time, or in an instant. Any of these options can turn the tide for you when minions are in the equation but be sure they suit your specific needs. In the case of a Squirrel Girl type ally she will be able to deal with a swarm of Ultron Drones no problem but be less effective against the goblin horde of Mutagen Formula. Nova might be a better option to help deal with the goblins but make sure your deck has a strong economy and a way to consistently generate energy resources.
Category Thwarting Allies:
This category is pretty self explanatory. It’s allies that either thwart well or have the ability to remove threat in other ways. I would include allies like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Falcon. You could include any ally that has 2 thwart like Maria Hill but she typically thwarts once and then blocks in the same turn. The other allies listed can help control threat in more impactful ways and can really help get you through the turns you want to be in Alter-Ego. Daredevil is kind of an outlier though since he just does some additional damage while thwarting.
Category Damage Dealers:
Again, self explanatory, allies that deal damage. Specifically single target damage though. This separates them from the category of Crowd Control. I would include allies such as Hulk (who could be crowd control based on deck construction), Hercules, Vision (who can double as a Thwarting ally as needed), and Wonder Man. This is a category, just like the previous Thwarting category, dioes consider the base stats of the ally. Each of these allies have specific needs or require certain things to reach maximum efficiency. Another great way to utilize these allies is with the new event Teamwork. This will prolong how long you can keep them on the table and still give you great value.
Category Defenders:
While any ally can jump in the way of an attack this category will highlight some allies that fill this role better than others. Allies like Luke Cage, and Mockingbird are the first that come to mind. Anything that places stun or tough status cards is great from a defensive standpoint. Just remember not to attack or thwart with Luke Cage the first turn you play him so you can make some real use of that tough status. With an ally like Luke Cage there’s even the potential he could block up to 3 legitimate attacks before being discarded if you refrain from using him to attack or thwart.
Category Utility and Combo:
This last category is really a home to the allies I have a hard time categorizing. Allies like Nick Fury, Lockjaw, Maria Hill, and Black Widow all end up her for me. Each of these allies offer something more unique than any of the other categories. I recommend pulling allies from here for specific combos such as playing Lockjaw from the discard while Steve Rogers has his ability active, or playing Nick Fury to dig for the last piece of a combo.
Now knowing which allies to put into your deck is really up to you and you won’t always know what’s best when you’re first building a deck. Sometimes you’ll have to take a deck for a spin and see where it’s weak. Then after realizing what allies can help that area, you can adjust accordingly. For instance, I was recently building a Thor Aggression deck for solo play and I knew I was going to have a hard time dealing with Threat. In aggression my options are limited and I don’t want to change aspects. This lead me to adding in lots of allies with 2 Thwart to help with that. That might seem like a simple thing to do but it’s often overlooked and you end up discovering that some of the allies in your deck really just give you more of what you’re already good at, and while that can certainly work, sometimes a shift in priority is necessary for a specific encounter.
These are some of the ways I like to think about allies and honestly this will probably be a more helpful concept once we have a larger pool to choose from. Anyway, I hope that you found this useful or interesting in some way. As always, if you are interested in more content please stay tuned here for more articles, as well as checking out The Side Scheme on FB, YouTube, Twitch, Patreon, and wherever you listen to Podcasts. I’m Tommy of Titan ominously drifting into the shadows.
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