Iron Man - Who Said Protection Can't Win Fast?

Ooooh well this is a deck I have fallen in love with!

This deck is about building fast and winning fast and that is very doable because of how many tech upgrades and energy resources protection has to offer!

I will be playing this deck live on twitch 6.6.22 (https://www.twitch.tv/thelivingcardgamer) and will update with the VOD for YouTube once it makes it's way there: https://youtu.be/GGaXEkq00Ag (https://www.youtube.com/c/thelivingcardgamer)

Lets talk about the deck:

Upgrades:

3x Energy Barrier

3x Plasma Pistol

1x Electrostatic Armor

1x Arc Reactor

1x Mark V Armor

1x Mark V Helmet

2x Powered Gauntlets

2x Rocket Boots

Set Up:

This deck sets up absurdly fast due to starting with effectively a 7 hand size (6 plus Tony Stark's AE ability). The goal is to drop 3 tech upgrades turn one and then 1-2 more the next round to get you to the max hand size of 7 within 2/3 turns.

During set up mulligan hard for tech upgrades, if you can grab doubles to pay for them, even better.

I prioritize the 1 cost upgrades (Rocket Boots, Electrostatic Armor, and Mark V Helmet) so we can get as many as possible onto the table to get ourselves into hero mode quick.

The more expensive upgrades order I prefer to play:

1. Arc Reactor - This is tied with Energy Barrier and Energy Barrier does take priority if you have The Power of Protection in your hands
2. Energy Barrier
3. Powered Gauntlets
4. Plasma Pistol (or as I like to call it "The Tough Remover 9000"

If you get lucky and draw into an early Pepper Potts then sometimes the math works on getting Mark V Armor onto the table, but typically I wait until the second deck pass to play it.

Mid Game (round 2+):

After round 2, you should be at 5-7 cards in hero form and you can start throwing down the damage.

There are 3 main sources of damage in this deck:

1. Repulsor Blast - this is going do be the main source of damage here. This deck is stacked with energy resources so this one cost event will reliability deal 9-11 damage.
2. Supersonic Punch - this is a 2 for four damage, or 8 if you have aerial. Quincarrier is in this deck to pay for the mental cost of the Rocket Boots to give Iron Man aerial for the round.
3. Fighting Fit - Because you have many ways to beef up Iron Man's health (Endurance, Mark V Armor, Rocket Boots) and events/upgrades to prevent damage (Defiance, Subdue, and Energy Barrier fighting fit is a great

Late Game (After Villain Flip):

This late game lasts maybe a round in solo. Usually I like to set the villain up to flip and kill in one turn so I dont have to deal with the nasty level 3 (or 2 in standard) abilities for a long time.

Not much change here, on the second deck pass I like to try and get out minions to block and then also getting Mark V Armor onto the table is nice to continue to trigger Fighting Fit.

Other than that, keep spamming Repulsor Blast and Supersonic Punch and you'll do just fine!

Notes:

You go through your deck really quickly with this build, I typically do not play allies (maybe Victor Mancha) on my first pass through the deck, I let the events / Energy Barrier prevent damage. But on the second pass through, I love getting Nova to the table. Since his ability triggers off energy resources you can use him to clear some minions!

Even though this is a protection deck I do not defend. Electrostatic Armor can be triggered with Defiance and Preemptive Strike, but really its main purpose is to get you that +1 hand size.

Depending on the villain and modular set I will sometimes sub Subdue in for Preemptive Strike, just kinda depends on how hard the villain can hit

This deck can clear solo villains in 3-5 turns easy and can be so very much fun to tinker with!

If you want to live dangerously, toss in Symbiote Suit and enjoy yourself!

Let me know what you think of this build! I have been having a ton of fun with it!