Captain America - Pump It Up (Deck-Tech)

Hi Listeners (and now Readers!)

KennedyHawk here. I wanted to type up a deck-tech on one of the decks I've been running. Each week I'll be posting a deck-tech or some other article to our Podbean site so be sure to follow us on Podbean or facebook to get the latest updates. This week's article will focus on a Captain America / Leadership deck - that is NOT all about his allies! Instead, we will focus on Captain America's awesome statline and ability: "I Can Do This All Day!". Most people recognize this from the Captain America movies but it really embodies Cap's spirit to give his most. The images used on this blog-post are from the Hall of Heroes website. Be sure to check out their site as it's a top notch resource for the Marvel Champions LCG community! (Thanks HoH!)

 Secret Origin

When building a deck I often have an objective in mind. I like to consider this the Secret Origin of my decklist. For this deck our objective is to pump Captain America's hero stat line, then use his basic attack and thwart as many times as possible in one round. Cap's hero ability to ready once per round is amazing, it means any card we use to increase his stats can become super efficient. If we play an event to increase our heroes attack value by 1, we can now get 2 damage out by using his basic attack twice in a round. Without further ado let's look at this deck's stat buff cards. We will be pairing our hero with the leadership aspect mainly to obtain as many stat buff cards as possible but the first card belongs to Cap's hero pod. We get to include 2 copies of Fearless Determination. This card increases Captain America's thwart value by 1 until the end of the phase. This is great for removing annoying side schemes that begin with 3 threat (looking at you Klaw!) but also for taking large chunks off of the main scheme. Iron Man's arc reactor is often used to allow Iron Man to double tap while thwarting. Cap has this ability built in and Fearless Determination makes it even better. My favorite part of this card is it's net effect on your hand. Often when a card costs 0 it still has a net effect on your hand as playing the card removes a resource from your options. This is not the case with Fearless Determination as you get to draw a replacement card! That means if you plan to flip there's little reason to mulligan this event as it will just pump your stats and allow you to see the next card in your deck.

 Next, we have three leadership cards which all can be used to increase our basic abilities. First, Morale Boost, this card comes from the Ms. Marvel pack, but don't be confused. It is an obvious combo piece with Captain America. For 1 resource we can increase our attack, thwart, and defense values by 1 until the end of the round. The use of the word round instead of phase is key here. If we play this card to begin our turn we can perform a basic attack (increased by 1), trigger Captain America's ability and thwart/attack (again increased by 1), then we can defend during the villain phase and since the round hasn't ended our defense value for this defense is increased by 1. That's amazing value! Combined with Cap's shield you'll have 4 defense which is enough to really hamper many villain attacks!

Another leadership card available at our disposal is Lead From The Front. This card is helpful at increase Cap's attack and thwart values and also the values for all his allies. In this deck the allies are mainly used to draw cards but this can set up some pretty big turns once you have 3 allies in play. Overall this card is often the last stat buff I will play unless I plan to end the game that turn and expend all my allies.

Finally, we have Avengers Assemble! This card plays double duty in our deck, it both increases Captain America's stats and readies him (along with all the other Avenger's allies you control). The stat buff even hits all Avengers in case another player has a turn later in the phase! This card is pretty expensive at 4 cost but can really pay for itself. If you've pumped your stats with one of the ways above and then played this, you'll ready and get to Thwart or Attack at a value of +2. My RPG characters like those passive buffs and so does Cap! This card combos well within the deck and is often critical to getting Cap's big splashy turn off!

We now have 4 stat buff cards and 2 ways to ready our hero but I also wanted to make use of a lesser used card and that card is Tenacity. In most decks Tenacity can't seem to find a home but it slots into this Cap deck perfectly. We really want to optimize the use of our buff cards. Tenacity is like providing your hero with an extra "I Can Do This All Day!" with some upfront cost. If you can get 2-3 copies in play just a single morale boost can see it's benefit 4+ times in a round! Now that's a combo to write home about.

 Try this deck out and let us know how it goes. You can comment on the article here, on facebook, or yell at me about my bad decisions on the MCM Podcast discord!

Deck-list:

MarvelCDB Link: Pump it Up! Captain America / Leadership

 Upgrades [7]

• [1] Captain America's Helmet
• [1] Captain America's Shield
• [2] Super-Soldier Serum
• [3] Tenacity

Allies [5]

• [1] Agent 13
• [1] Falcon
• [1] Hawkeye
• [1] Squirrel Girl
• [1] Wonder Man

Support [3]

• [1] Avenger's Mansion
• [1] Avenger's Tower
• [1] Steve's Apartment

Event [20]

• [3] Avengers Assemble!
• [2] Fearless Determination
• [3] Heroic Strike
• [3] Lead From The Front
• [2] Morale Boost
• [2] Shield Block
• [2] Shield Toss
• [3] Strength in Numbers

Resources [5]

• [1] Energy
• [1] Genius
• [1] Strength
• [2] The Power of Leadership

Strategy Tips:

Here are a few strategy tips for this deck.

• First and foremost, use your allies as thwarting support to set up your combo. Get to 3 allies out and use Strength in Numbers as much as possible. Ideally you'll have 3 Avengers allies, play Strength in Numbers, and draw the cards to play Avengers Assemble.
• The sequencing of your basic attack/thwarts and buffs matters a lot. If you are going to play Avengers Assemble make sure you have exhausted all of your Avengers characters first (don't waste a Cap activation.
• Set-up Tenacity and your allies on your first deck pass. Later in the game Tenacity can combo with Super Solider Serum for a free activation.
• Live the dream, using 3 Tenacity activation, your hero ability and Avengers Assemble you can get 6 activation in one turn. That turns a single morale boost into +6 attack or thwart!

Mulligan Thoughts:

• Mulligan hard for ally set-up - You really want to get your draw engine going, this consists of playing Strength in Numbers to greatly increase your handsize.
• Search for Super Soldier Serum  - The combo in this deck can be expensive don't be afraid to hard mulligan away combo pieces for ramp early in the game.
• Consider Keeping Morale Boost - Depending on the villain it may be prudent to keep a morale boost in hand. For just 3 cards you can play Morale Boost and thwart or attack for 6 in the opening round. This is great for getting rid of Klaw's minions and schemes or clearing an early game Breakin' and Takin!

Multiplayer Tips:

This combo works well in solo but really shines in multiplayer. If you can con your aggression friends for a Combat Training or the guy who always plays Justice to dump a Heroic Intuition on you, then bingo-bango. You can really take full advantage of those stat buffs. Don't be afraid to ask for cards if you are close to an explosive turn. 1 additional card can mean an extra 5-6 damage easily.

YouTube Content:

• Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/DCMTEziZzuA
• Vs Expert Rhino: https://youtu.be/q8mUfMWA1WI
• Vs Expert Klaw: https://youtu.be/XshtOF9rrW4
• Vs Expert Ultron: https://youtu.be/HdIb4gY_Zx0
• Vs Expert Green Goblin (Risky Business): https://youtu.be/j33O0utNgLY
• Vs Expert Green Goblin (Mutagen Formula): https://youtu.be/V7MB5alnFeM

 Thanks for sticking with me - until the end of the line! This deck can be a really fun combo piece in solo or multiplayer. I hope you check it out and see a new angle to leadership!