"Turbo Tech" Protection Iron Man

OK, so I was certain that Iron Man would not be very good true solo. That he'd be too slow to really do much. That every villain would run him over while he's trying to get more than a hand size of 2. I was wrong.

Introducing "Turbo Tech," and Iron Man Protection deck that aims to build up to that sweet 7 card hand size in hero form, sometimes as early as the third turn. Packing a whopping 13 tech cards, with this deck you're looking to build your shell as quick as possible.

This deck matches what is becoming a preferred playstyle of mine - playing as much "on the board" as from the hand, where you build up a slew of effects from permanents in play that allow you to interact with the game as much as you are doing so from your hand. This often has the secondary effect of "thinning your deck," where your deck plays very differently on subsequent run throughs as it's composition changes due to the majority of your upgrades winding up in play.

When you mulligan with this deck, it is quite simple what you're looking for: techs (and double resource cards). Pitch everything else (and possibly a double if you only drew a small number of 1 cost techs). You're digging for those tech cards so you can actually play. Don't forget that you get one more dig with the Futurist ability of the alter ego on turn one. Hopefully turn one you can get 3 techs down, then aim to add another turn 2 (or two if you are really fortunate), and then as quick as you can get to 6 techs or more, to get the full effect of the hero ability.

Let's say you had a card that gave you +1 hand size when you are in hero form. What would that cost? Asgard costs 3 to play, though it works in Alter Ego too. The Sorcerer Supreme costs 2. If you could get the same card for a cos of just 1, you'd be all over that, right? That's the reason why this deck runs three Electrostatic Armor, even though it can only ever play one. You need to get those tech cards down, and you need them down fast. Running three Electrostatic Armor's increases the likelihood that you can get three techs down turn 1. It also gives you the flexibility to use the first (or second) one that comes to your hand as a resource if there are other techs to play, knowing you'll get another crack at EA in that run through the deck.

In practice, this Iron Man tries to stay alive as it builds the suit. Often, you'll dip into the bonus hit points that you get from Mark V Armor, Rocket Boots, and Endurance. In a pinch you can flip back to alter ego, but there are a lot of main schemes that can go crazy when the villain gets to scheme, so we try to avoid that. Preemptive Strike and Side Step also help mitigate some damage, and have the side effect of activating Electrostatic Armor and potentially Unflappable. Allies are largely in the deck to use a basic power once and then soak up a villain attack. And of course, don't forget Energy Barrier as a way to deal with some of that damage - only be careful with the last charge, weighing whether that last damage is worth reducing your hand size by one. Of course, if you're way over 6 techs on the board, then go nuts.

Quincarrier is intended to be your constant source of a mental resource to go aerial with Rocket Boots. Once you're aerial, your suit can shine. Mark V Helmet takes one threat off each scheme. Powered Gauntlets hit for 2 damage each, helping you clear the board of minions or get some extra damage in on the villain.

Aerial also supercharges your Supersonic Punch. 2 resources for 8 damage? Crazy! Supersonic Punch and Repulsor Blast are the ways you are going to put a quick end to the villain du jour. We haven't completely sold out on Energy resources, so that Repulsor Blast will often only hit for 5 or so, but even hitting 5 for one resource is pretty sweet. A few shots like that will put down one of these foul villains. I try to avoid Repulsor Blasts the first run through the deck, as they can bin some very needed tech cards.

Is there room for improvement here? There always is. The cards on my "this really doesn't do enough to necessitate being here" list include: Unflappable and Down Time. Additionally, the allies can be swapped around. They all are either the cheapest options (Brother Voodoo could potentially cost 2 if he hits an event from his ability), they can be played from the discard pile (Love ya, Lockjaw!), or you have to play War Machine. There is a world where you could run Desperate Defense instead of or in addition to Side Step. Maybe the new Ever Vigilant card has a place here (though Tony can already do the ready trick with Arc Reactor and he clears threat pretty well with his basic power).

The Rise of Red Skull campaign presents you a lovely little cheat - the card you gain from the first scenario is a tech card! The market in the Galaxy's Most Wanted campaign also provides you the opportunity to pick up extra tech cards - and one card that, while not a tech card, is an amazing help - Armor Plating. I was able to beat both standard campaigns, though, in the interest of honesty, I stacked the deck against Ronan to see if it was even possible. I did use the side scheme though, so maybe my cheat was ok.

One last thing: Never exhaust yourself in the villain phase if you don't know where Business Problems is located. If you get hit with that second effect, all your suit building work goes down the toilet. Nasty!

Still, this deck has been a surprise. I thought, too slow, no go. But other than the potential for a rough turn 2, this deck has performed well. Sometimes you get a damage race where you need to keep adding suit parts before you get KO'd. Other games, you feel just like the Iron Man of the movies, where that suit has tricks upon tricks to deal with any situation.