Drunken Master

Card draw simulator

Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
Drunken Master 0 0 0 1.0
Drunken Master with Resources & Allies 0 0 0 1.0
Drunken Master 0 0 0 2.0
Test Shadow Cat 0 0 0 1.0
Drunken Master hang out with friends 0 0 0 1.0
dunken X team 0 0 0 2.0
Oh my god! I phased! 1 0 4 1.0
Kitty prot 0 0 0 1.0
Kitty prot 0 0 0 2.0
Shadowcat - Full Dodge 0 0 0 1.0
Drunken Master - Thwart and Heal 0 0 0 1.0
Drunken Master - Thwart and Heal 0 0 0 2.0
Shadowcat "Phased & Unfazed" 1 1 0 1.0
Drunken Master with Rogue and Vision cards only 0 0 0 2.0
Kitty golpea y huye 0 0 0 1.0
Drunken Master Protector 0 0 0 1.0
Ready Drunken Master 0 0 0 1.0

dr00 · 38765

Updated list: 401421

shadowcat So that's why the rum's gone

Ever feel like everything just goes your way, but you don't know why? Ever wake up after a long night of drinking even more money in your pockets, meaning you have traded goods and/or services? Or maybe suffering from imposter syndrome? This is the deck for you. Get ready to stumble into greatness. Or don't. It'll happen anyway.

Head Fu

The first thing about Shadowcat is that playing her revolves around getting the most out of Solid / Phased. It's subtlely different from other form changers like Ant-Man, Wasp, and even her closest anologue, Vision. Although understanding the card itself isn't all that difficult, there are some non-obvious implications:

  • Solid's flip response is not forced, so it is always optional.
  • Phased's flip response is forced, so it is always mandatory.
  • Shadowcat's mass form upgrade can flip an unlimited number of times per round.
  • Counter-Punch will always trigger after Phased, since the latter is a forced response
  • Playing Defiance, Preemptive Strike, or Quick Shift always counts as defending since you can only play it during an attack. This also always makes you the defender of that attack, whether your used your basic action to defend or not.
  • Powerful Punch is an easy way to interrupt an attack and switch to the appropriate form. It additionally redirects attacks towards you and counts as defending (and attacking) even if you have not used your basic defense action. It does not trigger Solid / Phased more than once since it is simultaneously an Attack and Defense in the same action. What is unclear based on the rulings is that, since it fully resolves before the attack, you should still resolve the flip after defending the attack as normal, but I think we're still awaiting clarification on that. They have finally ruled that if you are in PHASED when you play it, you will be in SOLID for the attack, and if you are SOLID when you play, you have the option (and you should) flip to PHASED for the attack. Since it is a defense event, you will then have the option at the end of the attack to flip again (if solid) and forced to flip (if phased).
  • Side Step can trigger during an undefended attack initiated against Shadowcat, declaring her the defender. If playing while in Phased, the damage prevention of Phased triggers, preventing all damage instead of just 3.
  • EDIT: SC0E has a very helpful video explaining a lot of this

Stumbling Into Greatness

The basic strategy of this deck is just defend a lot and win. It's so easy a drunkard can do it, so pour your favourite drink and get dodging. Drunken fighters always win. Thwart your enemies' plans, turn their attacks against themselves, and get drunk. Life's a party, and you're here to have a good time.

drunken master

Take a Swig

Most Protection thwarting options are highly vulnerable to side schemes. Thankfully, Shadowcat's ability can completely bypass it, but it requires some finesse due to the timing of Solid / Phased flipping if you also want to avoid all damage. To assist with thwarting, your first options are your designated drinking buddy and Airwalk. Phased and Confused additionally helps with confusing the villain, but be sure to line this up with a minion attack you can defend against, otherwise you will lose your normal defensive triggers. Hard to Ignore removes main scheme threat after defending. If you defend while in Solid, you can flip to Phased instantly and trigger the effects, ignoring any in play. With Intangible Interference, you can additionally help clear that side scheme at the same time. But you want to defend in your drunken stupor, but thankfully there's a nice combo piece: Counter-Punch. Here's the sequence:

  • Defend against an attack while in Phased
  • Immediately after the attack resolves, you must resolve Phased's forced response
  • Since Counter-Punch has the same triggering condition, you can also choose to resolve this before choosing to trigger Hard to Ignore, switching back to Phased
  • Have another drink, you've earned it! *Hic*

Head of Stone

The best part of drunken martial arts is having your enemy do all the work for you, leaving you more time to drink. Just sit back, drink, and let your enemies punch themselves. Counter-Punch, Powerful Punch, and Preemptive Strike can only be used before (if it's an interrupt) or after (if it's a response) an enemy attack. Side Step is unique in that it can be played any time you would take damage, even outside of an attack. If you are the target of an undefended attack, it will declare you the defender, and if in Phased, will prevent all damage.

Electrostatic Armor, and Flow Like Water double down on this, triggering bonus additional damage every attack. Keep in mind that Electrostatic Armor can only trigger once per attack, while Flow Like Water triggers every time you play a defense event, which can trigger multiple times per attack.

Outside of that, Lockheed, Phase Strike and Shadowcat Surprise can help put even more pressure on the opponent. Acute Control can occasionally pull work against Guard minions while keeping pressure on the villain. Keep in mind that you still cannot play Counter-Punch on the villain after defending from Phased while engaged with a Guard minion, since it will flip to Solid before you can trigger Counter-Punch. Similarly, defending while in Solid and using Powerful Punch on the villain will be stopped by a Guard minion.

Liquid Courage

Alcohol's final benefit is the ability to ignore an enormous amount of pain. Phased is the primary method of ignore damage, and you have many ways to phase out and have yourself another drink uninterrupted. Powerful Punch and Quick Shift can all be used before attacks to flip to Phased if they would initiate while you are in Solid. Defiance, Preemptive Strike, Side Step, and defending normally can be used mid-attack for the same result. And finally, Counter-Punch can help after attacks to help set up for the next one. Defiance and Preemptive Strike have an additional benefit of being able to work with your DEF to help prevent as much damage as possible.

Raid the Cabinet

When you need to restock for the next beer run, there are plenty of ways to chip in. Defensive Energy is one of the best, paying for Powerful Punch and Preemptive Strike and drawing an additional card. Kitty's Room draws additional cards while in Alter-Ego, Deft Focus discounts most of your own cards (seriously, almost everything is a superpower). Nerves of Steel pays for Powerful Punch, Preemptive Strike, and Side Step, additionally paying the correct resource type for Side Step's kicker. Unflappable is seriously easy to trigger, drawing an addition card every round. And finally, Solid has a every round for any Attack or Defense events. Once you have Nerves of Steel down, you can save it for mostly your Attack events, Phase Strike and Shadowcat Surprise. If you are paying for multiple Defense events, of course utilise it. There are plenty of both to get solid returns from Solid.

So get out there, get drunk, and win. What more is there?

hold fast

87 comments

Oct 03, 2022 LeahLorenna · 298

Great deck! I haven't played Kitty with Protection, yet. But this looks really good and definitely abuses her Phased ability to not take any damage. To a point where it doesnt seem fair? Reminds me a bit of Ghost-Spider except that not taking any damage is guaranteed since you dont have to overcome the enemies attack with your defense value.

Btw, in "Take a Swig" in the 2nd paragraph you referenced Acute Control when you meant Intangible Interference and during "Head of Stone" 3rd you referenced Intangible Interference when you meant Acute Control

Sorry for my OCD :(

Oct 03, 2022 dr00 · 38765

oh thanks for letting me know! how embarrassing lol. I'll try to fix it soon

and yes, this deck is just... absurdly powerful lmao

Oct 03, 2022 LeahLorenna · 298

Oh nothing to be embarrased about! It happens :) Especially since everything gets so tricky with her timing and writing everything up can be exhausting. So mistakes can easily happen. Don't worry about it :)

Oct 03, 2022 dr00 · 38765

you're too kind, @LeahLorenna :)

Oct 03, 2022 MrL1 · 17

Shaboing boing boing! Droo does it again! Im testing Shadowcat this week and this deck will be the first I try. I also like the lone wolf style on this deck. Pretty creative!

Oct 03, 2022 Kenji · 15

This character is very tricky to play and you need to have all the defense correct rules in mind.
"If you are the target of an undefended attack, it will declare you the defender, and if in Phased, will prevent all damage." So I don't even need to tap my character and is still considered as a defender? How? I thought you needed to tap your character to defend an attack!

Oct 03, 2022 LeahLorenna · 298

Yeah defending can be tricky!

You have to read carefully what the cards say. Like for example take Defiance. In order to play it, YOU have to be the target. That means if you wish to defend for someone else, then yes you need to exhaust / tap your character first in order to become the new target. Since it explizitly says "when an enemy is attacking you"

Now if you look at Preemptive Strike or Quick Shift it does not state that the enemy has to attack YOU specifically. It just say "When an enemy attacks". That means you do NOT havet to be the target to play these events. Both exhausting or playing a defense event count as "defending" :) So playing these events will make you the new target, they count as defending and thus preventing the damage :)

I hope that was understandable ^^#

Oct 03, 2022 jonnielawman · 1

DR00 love this deck for the name only.....but i know it will be good :)

Oct 03, 2022 Kenji · 15

yeah thanks @LeahLorenna but my question was more if the vilain attacks me and I'm not defending with anyone and no cards, you are not considered to be in defense and cannot use her ability to prevent damage right? You wuld need to tap her to make her a defender right?

Oct 03, 2022 LeahLorenna · 298

I see! Yeah, if you dont tap yourself, nor play any cards then you are not defending. Hence you wont be preventing any damage while phased and you wont be able to flip to solid even if you are the target of the attack

Oct 03, 2022 InigoMontoya · 4063

I didn't get why Shadowcat is so good until I realized how her Phased form works with defense cards. Brilliant deck! I'll try it tonight, and my son may play the Colossus Justice deck out there.

Oct 03, 2022 teamcanadahockey2002 · 6597

I build a really similar deck... havent been able to try it yet but my one addition is First Hit.

If the plan is to defend from Phased, then after the villian attack you'll be in Solid. First Hit can use the free Solid resource to hit a minion with you and flip you back to phased so you can not take damage again.

Or, you can just use it to hit the villian on your turn. Its essentially free if youre ever in Solid form and you dont really have many events in a deck like this to be fighting over that free resource so I think its a solid inclusion. Havent tried it yet though but hoping its a way to revitalize a relatively unused card

Oct 04, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@Mrlee01 no you're breathtaking!

@Kenji yeah, sorry if it wasn't clear. the main idea is to generally use your defense cards to become the defender, since you can use it even if you were exhausted from another attack, but you're correct that if you don't have any applicable defense cards, you must use your basic action to defend to get the damage avoidance from Phased

@jonnielawman definitely wrote this deck with drunken master playing in the background lol

@LeahLorenna thanks for the help!

@InigoMontoya yeah for sure! hopefully they just don't change how defense works again lol

@teamcanadahockey2002 yeah! i had First Hit originally. i think it's a good card here, exactly for the reasons you stated, but i think Powerful Punch seems a bit more versatile since you can also use it on the villain, and it's a defense as well, so you can pay for it with defensive energy and nerves of steel (but First Hit is cheaper and can be paid for with Solid, which is generally when you'd want to use it anyway). Powerful Punch also makes you the defender of the attack. i normally have a 'and these other cards too!' section but decided against it this time. i probably should have included it though lol. First Hit is definitely solid (hehe) here though, and there's some other interesting options, like Never Back Down as well.

Oct 04, 2022 teamcanadahockey2002 · 6597

@dr00 I must admit... I'm really struggling with Powerful Punch. Its a great card in Solid because you have a resource to pay for it and then get some free 'no damage'.

But starting in Phased I think its terrible. No generator and it takes you out of a place that mitigates damage so you'll need to defend another way now. At that point I would rather play Fighting Fit as 2 for 5. Since I expect to aim to start all turns in Phased, I just struggle in seeing how to make that card work... but thats just me.

Oct 04, 2022 dr00 · 38765

oh yeah for sure, starting in phased, you don't play it unless you can defeat the attacker before its attack goes off. i think the interpretation is that you still flip twice though, since the attack is still considered to have been initiated. the whole point is just to flip back, so you're right that First Hit is probably a bit easier in that it's specifically for minions, but that's when you generally want to use it anyway.

i had considered Fighting Fit but ultimately didn't even test it. it is a really strong card though.

Oct 04, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@teamcanadahockey2002 thinking about it even more, i was mostly doubting myself cos 'who plays First Hit, but at least it's just a single card with Solid in play' and 'Powerful Punch is more versatile... you can use it on any kind of attack'

but First Hit is more versatile in that you can actually use it to just attack if you want to and don't need it to flip your form. it also overcomes a lot of the strange rules conundrums. so thank you for sharing your thoughts. i think you're definitely right, and i shouldn't have doubted it.

Oct 04, 2022 teamcanadahockey2002 · 6597

@dr00 I really like First Hit if you (and I do) intend to try and start all turns in Phased. It guarantees to flip you back because it'll flip you if you have a minion in play. Otherwise just use the free Solid resource and hit the villain for 2. Its not splashy but reliable. I think Im going to be prioritizing reliability in her deck more than normal. The ability to just say Nope to damage is so powerful I'll want to ensure that this happens.

Notably, her obligation doesn't have two parts to it where one involves an exhaust plus always getting a free flip. So I don't really hate being exhausted at the end of the villain turn as much with her. Im also messing around with just using her basic action to defend and then throwing in Indomitable for a ready so I can just basic attack to flip back.

Oct 04, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@teamcanadahockey2002 yeah, i think i spend most of the time exhausted lol. i thought about adding things like Indomitable and Ready to Rumble, but then i mostly just used them to defend more, but there's plenty of defense cards for that. i also thought about making a joke of just to use your action to take another drink lol. the extra actions don't seem too necessary though

Oct 04, 2022 AeroHudson · 1

Great deck!! My first play through was with Kitty with a similar deck. Felt like I was cheating. Lol. She makes most scenarios trivial on normal.

Oct 04, 2022 mistergross · 1

About to try this deck for the campaign, paired with Phoenix Justice. Any recommendations for the extra Role card(s)?

Oct 04, 2022 gsquirrelgo · 1

@dr00 this deck is absurd and a blast to play. Bravo.

Oct 04, 2022 Durand · 22

Looks good. You might consider 'Warning' as well for a free defense card.

Oct 04, 2022 Theberg123 · 1316

@teamcanadahockey2002 My initial draft of this deck also included First Hit. Partially because of what it brings to the strategy, but also because of finally finding a decent home for it outside of niche Gamora decks :)

Oct 04, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@AeroHudson yes, thank you for the kind words

@mistergross Clarity of Purpose is a great way to capitalise on the fact she takes almost no damage. it's the primary reason i didn't include Dauntless actually. the other event can be Call for Aid, which can reset your deck quickly or Make the Call to get more Lockheed

you could also go Aggression with Martial Prowess, especially if you find room for First Hit. there are many good attack events you can include as well

@gsquirrelgo you're absurd

-ly awesome :D

@Durand unfortunately, the card has received an erratum that removed the defense label. maybe i can just ignore that though :)

Oct 04, 2022 Brian-V · 41977

The excitement of a new box/pack always comes with equal anticipation of what dr00 will put together with the new cards. "Intoxicating" deck, my friend.

Oct 05, 2022 ematlosz · 1

I really like this deck a lot. Yesterday with powerful punch. Today with first hit. They're both good but I'm leaning towards first hit. Thanks for a great deck.

Oct 05, 2022 Keddar · 1

Any tips for Sabertooth, specifically Infiltration from Mystique?

Oct 05, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@Brian-V no you rock! toasting to you my friend

@ematlosz yeah, more love for First Hit is always great :D

@Keddar Never Back Down can be used to help keep Sabretooth stunned. you also have Tackle. to be honest, it's quite difficult without minions in play since you want to tank a lot of hits, and that also heals Sabretooth every time. thankfully, you do redirect a lot of damage back to him when attacking with cards like Flow Like Water, Electrostatic Armor, and Preemptive Strike. another thing you can do is just generally keep him around his max health, just doing small pings of damage just to avoid the 'if sabretooth is at full health' kickers, then when you are built up, just go full bore with Shadowcat Surprise, Phase Strike, and such and burst him down as quickly as possible. the deck is quite stable thankfully that you don't have to try to burst him down right away. good luck!

Oct 05, 2022 andizzy · 1

I was initially not that excited for Shadowcat, but this deck changes everything. great write up as always

Oct 05, 2022 ripb3 · 24

This deck rules! So much fun against Project Wideawake.

Oct 05, 2022 salsatheone · 2

"Counter-Punch will always trigger after Phased, since the latter is a forced response"

So you mean the real sequence should be: Defend first, change to solid, attack with counterpunch and then go back to phased, right?

Oct 05, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@andizzy always happy to change people's minds to liking something :D

@ripb3 project wideawake is so fun. always happy with new loss conditions like Operation Zero Tolerance, especially when you can kind of ignore them :3

@salsatheone you understand just fine ;)

Oct 05, 2022 jeremysexton · 7

This deck is a lot of fun! Used it with this Cyclops deck and roughed up Sabretooth real good.

Have a question on timing…

If I have Preemptive Strike and Side Step in my hand, can I wait to see what the boost card is before committing to which one I want to play as my defense card against that attack?

Oct 05, 2022 salsatheone · 2

Both are interrupts I believe you can select after you see it.

Oct 05, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@jeremysexton actually they have completely different timing. Preemptive Strike will come up as soon as you flip over the boost card, and Side Step has two possible triggers (both after Preemptive Strike)

the first: if the boost card deals damage, you can play Side Step here to prevent it

the second: when the attack's damage would normally be applied at the end of the attack sequence

essentially, as soon as you flip over the boost card, you can make a decision about which one you will want to use as you will have all the information (unless there are multiple boost cards). hope this helps.

Oct 06, 2022 jeremysexton · 7

Yep, thanks @dr00!

Oct 06, 2022 Keddar · 1

@dr00 Thank you for the prompt reply!

For just the first mission, I ended up swapping the three Side Step for three Never Back Down, then one each of First Hit and Counter-Punch for The Night Nurse and a Defensive Training.

The Night Nurse came in clutch when I drew an Infiltration while first player and she took the hit instead of Robert Kelly. Whew!

Absolutely amazing deck! My buddy is playing Cyclops Leadership and we are just destroying the Sentinels. Can’t wait to finish up the campaign soon!

Oct 06, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@jeremysexton happy to help!

@Keddar that's awesome! Cyclops Leadership is just so so good. hope you guys have a great time! (but i'm sure you will)

Oct 06, 2022 robinsobigne · 1

I've a doubt about the timing and interactions of Powerful Punch with solid/phased form. When i play it while i'm in solid mass form do i still benefit of the no damage effect of phased form because the card itself count as a defense or i still need to defend by exausting or playing another defense card to trigger the ability of phased form?

Oct 07, 2022 LeahLorenna · 298

Thats what everyone is arguing / wondering about - some say yes, some say no. Have to wait for FFG to answer. Dunno if they have yet though.

Oct 07, 2022 salsatheone · 2

Rules reference v14.2 - page 28: If two or more effects with the same bold timing trigger would resolve simultaneously, the first player determines the order in which the effects resolve.

Oct 07, 2022 journeyman2 · 18689

A dr00 deck needs time to breathe, like a fine wine.

Shadowcat-P is so good. I’ve been taking her a different direction. Didn’t have the guts to cut out all resources and allies like this. Another excellent write-up!

Oct 07, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@robinsobigne yeah, it's really tricky. here is my understanding of it though based on the most recent rulings:

interrupts happen when something is 'imminent' meaning interrupts occur before their triggering condition

a canceled attack (even if canceled as an interrupt, like through Grasping Tendrils) is still considered to have been initiated

so even though Powerful Punch occurs when an attack is 'imminent' it's still considered 'initiated' i guess? so i would say that no, you don't have to do anything else to be considered the defender for that attack.

i think also based on the recent rulings, you still flip your mass form upgrade before resolving the event attack (after applying the damage of Powerful Punch), then of course would flip it again after defending the attack

things get really tricky when considering dealing damage to an attacking enemy that would defeat that enemy (ie: an enemy with 4 or fewer hitpoints). since the attack is still considered to have been initiated, and Powerful Punch seems to apply the defense tag to that whole attack, my interpretation is that you get two opportunities to flip in that situation (but again, unconfirmed)

tbh, i'm still completely baffled how something that can be canceled before it actually occurs but is still considered to have occurred. i fully understand how an ability in progress that is later canceled is still considered to have been initiated, but this ruling gives some weird insight into the timing structure that hopefully they'll share with us soon lol.

anyway the way i'm playing it:

playing Powerful Punch means you don't have to do anything else to defend, and you have two opportunities to flip (once before the enemy attack and once after)

if Powerful Punch defeats an attacking enemy, you still get two opportunities to flip, which means you can just pick the one you want when it's done.

this is not an official answer

@LeahLorenna yeah, hopefully we get some clarification soon!

@salsatheone yep, very true!

@journeyman2 'i like my decks like i like my wine: age and served with.... more wine?' but yeah. only crazy decks allowed in here lmao.

Oct 07, 2022 salsatheone · 2

@dr00 the thing is, you're never canceling the attack, you're still defending it. Powerful Punch allows you to create an attack over an attack. Since it's an interrupt you deal damage before the attack is initiated. The only effects that all out cancel attacks either say or phrase it like Webbed Up ("instead", sorry I don't know how to link cards) or killing blows.

So by activation sequence of the Reference Book:

1) Attack 2) Hero defends 3) Damage is dealt

Also, under Triggering Condition:

If a single game occurrence creates multiple triggering conditions (such as a single attack causing a character to both take damage and be defeated), those triggering conditions are handled with a single interrupt window and a single response window. During each of these windows, abilities that refer to any of the triggering conditions created by the occurrence may be used in any order.

Therefore:

1) Villain initiates attack

2) Hero interrupts and initiates an attack

3) Villain/Minion takes damage from Powerful Punch. If this brings the attacker to zero health they immediately die and this is the only instance the attack is cancelled.

4a) If Solid » (Optional) Response: After you attack or defend in Solid mass form, flip this card.

4b) If Phased » Forced Response: After you attack or defend in Phased mass form, flip this card.

5a) Hero defends with Powerful Punch while Solid - Move to 6A

5b) Hero defends with Powerful Punch while Phased - Move to 6B

6a) Villain/Minion deals damage based on defense and remaining is not ignored. Move to 7A.

6b) Villain/Minion deals no damage since it's all ignored. Move to 7B.

7a) Hero optinally flips to Phased.

7b) Hero forcefully flips to Solid.

Oct 08, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@salsatheone thanks for your perspective. sorry if i wasn't clear though. the ruling i was referencing was about canceled attacks, and i was referencing it because the timing is relevant (regardless if the attack is canceled by Powerful Punch). i don't know if that timing is exactly right, since interrupts trigger when something is 'imminent' and just literally interrupt the thing they're interrupting, and of course we don't have a great timing structure of things. but that said, there's no simultaneous triggers here. but ultimately i can't really see where you and i said ultimately disagree, so it's mostly an argument in semantics at this point lol.

Oct 08, 2022 salsatheone · 2

Sorry, my bad, I didn't mean to look like I'm disagreeing with you, just trying to breakdown and help everyone understand this really complicated thing FFG created, lol. The simultaneous trigger here is the Attack/Defense under a single interrupt window.

Oct 08, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@salsatheone no worries! always good to talk it out, so even if you disagreed it, it's all good. as for the attack/defense occurring at the same time, do you mean powerful punch having both the attack/defense tag?

Oct 10, 2022 Stephens3012 · 1

I was wondering if it was still worth keeping in the defensive energies if you are considering taking out the powerful punches for fighting fits once you have nerves of steel out is it not normally enough? Or do you often find yourself playing multiple defence cards during the villain phase to flip numerous times?

Deck looks really interesting, was aiming to test it later =)

Oct 10, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@Stephens3012 yeah, if you take out the powerful punches, i don't think they'll get as much mileage. you do sometimes need to play several defense cards, but thankfully a lot of them cost 0, and Nerves of Steel is often enough. i would probably suggest replacing with something else for sure

Oct 12, 2022 KLSanchez · 20

The best thing about the Mulaney video reference is that he voices Spider-Ham in the Spiderverse.

Also this deck is bangin' and I love that somebody other than me uses Defiance (in my local group, I'm the only one who ever uses it in protection).

Oct 12, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@KLSanchez i'm so glad someone caught that reference lmao. one of the funniest standups i've ever seen. and yeah, Defiance is so great! always happy to see 0 cost cards that fuel all of my protectiony stuff

Oct 12, 2022 salsatheone · 2

I've tested this deck on TTS and it's insane how often you get low cost cards in your hand, if you don't assess carefully you end up wasting good stuff and messing up the timing on solid/phase states.

Street smarts!

Oct 12, 2022 DarthCanuck31 · 7

I might be in love with this deck. Kitty is so cool and the Maruaders comic is awesome! Can't wait to give this a play!

Oct 13, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@salsatheone street smarts! lmao that's one of my favourite bits. just throw the wallet and run the other way! street smarts!

@DarthCanuck31 marauders has been absolutely some of my favourite comics in FOREVER. it's been so amazing. i'm absolutely loving this version of kate 'it's not kitty anymore'. such a badass.

Oct 14, 2022 Schnautza · 46

WOW. This deck is really something else. I just tryed it solo against Sabretooth, and while it took me 3 tries to win (first 2 runs Mystique came out early), it's the best results I have had against him. Looking forward to trying this in multiplayer.

Oct 14, 2022 Stephens3012 · 1

Gave this a quick shot solo on TTS and it seems pretty enjoyable, I like how it doesn't require much in the way of setup. I found myself on occasion having to end player phase in solid to deal having had to deal with a threat and then not being able to flip back. Its making me consider adding in a mix of powerful punches as well as first hits. Or in situations like those is it better to flip to alter ego if the situation allows to reset?

I was also wondering if the hard to ignores could be cut down depending how many people you are playing with? (e.g. 1 for solo, 2 for 2 players etc) I'm also wanting to make space for dauntless/night nurse, space is tight!

Oct 15, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@Schnautza yes, Mystique is really tough! glad you got it!

@Stephens3012 that's great to hear! honestly, First Hit is a great card here, but it's only for minions. in situations where it would be useful, you'd probably have all the minions coming after you, so definitely keep an eye out for that. and definitely, for solo, 3x Hard to Ignore is often a bit overkill. dauntless is fun and certainly fits in here. The Night Nurse really helps with scenarios that throw stuns and confuses at you, so making room can be a big help. also, don't be afraid to add a card or two if it's going to make a bit difference in a particular scenario (like Night Nurse). it's TOTAL BLASPHEMY, but i won't tell anyone lol

Oct 15, 2022 Sippik · 13

This game is sooo good! I played a few games and I never felt safe like that before. Thank you for sharing!

I however have a question about timing. If I'm in solid form and the vilain attack me. Let's say after revealing the boost card, he does 5 damage. I play Side Step to block 3. As it's a defense event, does it allows me to flip to phased form and so block all the damage, then flip back to solid form?

I feel like the timing about defense, response, interupt, etc. is a bit confusing. I'll continue to play to master it but I want to be sure to play it the correct way!

Oct 16, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@Sippik hi thanks for your comment! i've definitely ended games where i just took absolutely no damage the whole game lmao. so great

as for your question, the timing would be that you can play Side Step, prevent 3, take 2 damage, and only flip to Phased after the attack is completely finished.

there is a little bit of confusion about the timing of Powerful Punch, but for everything else, they just make you the defender of such an attack, and that defense doesn't end until the end of that attack. so even if you play multiple defense events or if they resolve completely before the attack is over, all it does is just make you the defender of that attack (and you can only 'defend' once per attack).

the only defense event you have that can flip you to phased in the middle of an attack is Quick Shift. however, if you are in phased, already exhausted, you can play any defense event and prevent all damage since phased will now kick in

hope this helps!

Oct 16, 2022 DarthCanuck31 · 7

Got to play this yesterday and holy $@#+! Technical, yet super fun. I know I made a few mistakes navigating the new mechanics, but yeah, Kate is right up there with Nova as my favorite to play.

Oct 17, 2022 bigfomlof · 1

And this is why you're such a celebrity guest on the cast! Could you make a video of this deck in action since my IQ is too low to understand what's happening here!? Another incredible deck with an equally superb write-up. You're a wizard, Harry!

Oct 18, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@DarthCanuck31 yeah sounds great! as long as we improve and have fun, that's all that matters. Nova is still probably my favourite lol (well, tied with SP//dr), but yeah, Kate is super fun

@bigfomlof hey man! i always love to see your comments. always positive, so thanks again. i can try to make a video haha. i've thought about doing them but just haven't actually gotten down to actually doing it, but maybe this is the kick in the pants i need to get it all working. and yeah, always happy to be on the show and can't wait till the next time!

Oct 20, 2022 DummyQt · 1

@dr00 Are you sure about the side step comment in response to Sippik? Recent rulings said that it is indeed legal to play a defense card outside of an attack so long as all of it's other triggers are met, and that one is not considered to have defended if that is the case. It's unclear whether preventing damage from a boost card would be considered to be preventing damage from an attack in my opinion, I would argue that it isn't and that side step would not cause your hero to defend in the first place.

Relevant ruling:

"We affirm that defense events can be played outside of an attack if their triggers are otherwise met, and we affirm that you cannot be considered to have “defended” against a “non-attack”... -Alex" hallofheroeslcg.com

If the Side Step was used only to prevent isolated damage from the boost and not damage from the attack itself then I feel it's somewhat unclear whether or not you would be considered to be defending.

Oct 20, 2022 DummyQt · 1

@dr00 I understand the question was likely about boost icons specifically now but I just thought it was an interesting interaction, what you said definitely still lines up with what I said. Shadowcat is a very interesting character as far as rules go

Oct 20, 2022 DummyQt · 1

@dr00 Also the ruling mentions that this only applies to things with the Interrupt timing so it might just be attachments that can be in play before the attack that can trigger this. I really wish Kitty was easier to understand with all the weird rules clarifications recently but she does seem very fun.

Oct 24, 2022 dr00 · 38765

@DummyQt you are correct that when you play Side Step outside of an attack, it doesn't count as defending. yes, Sippik's question wasn't specifically about that, but i can answer yours as well that it does work, since playing a defense event to stop a boost effect doing damage is indeed 'during an attack'. it doesn't have to be damage from an attack (since not all defense events event prevent damage)

to give an example, if the villain attacks you, you choose not to defend, draw Concussive Blast, and play Side Step to prevent the damage to Shadowcat, you are considered defending the rest of the attack as well.

Oct 27, 2022 Honorary Marleyan · 1

Shadow cat may be the best protection hero in the game with this deck. Like did i do something wrong? task master didnt land one hit and he got obliterated. Im shook.

Oct 31, 2022 SorryNameTaken22 · 1

Swapped Side Step with Jump Flip and used the Deck against Expert Thanos. Didn't take any damage and most damage to Thanos was done from the Defense events and upgrades.

Nov 16, 2022 Nashman88 · 22

Any thoughts on using Jocasta and/or Defensive Training to hold or recur the Protection events respectively?

Nov 24, 2022 2sith4u · 1

Any advice for minion heavy scenarios? Haven't been able to get a W against Mutagen Formula.

Depending on draws, either too much minion damage or one big scheme flips the scenario and even Hard to Ignore can't manage the threat.

Nov 25, 2022 dr00 · 38765

sorry all, i didn't get any notifications that there were any replies, but i'll do my best to respond now!

@MCAddict haha yeah, it takes protection in a whole new direction!

@SorryNameTaken22 yeah, Jump Flip is another great one if threat is an issue. good call!

@Nashman88 i think that can be a suitable strategy. she can also just jump in front of an attack if you are not ready, but i think Defensive Training could be a decent recursion tool as well

@2sith4u Energy Barrier, Nova, Dauntless, and First Hit are all pretty good at dealing with minions. you can also include more readies like Indomitable and Desperate Defense. Pinned Down and Daredevil are also good for letting you ignore enemies for a while until you're ready to deal with them. good luck! that's a tough one

Dec 02, 2022 NocturnalAnimal · 16163

Honestly, I have to say this has been one of the most fun decks I have ever played. I'm a longtime fan of Shadowcat, but Protection has fast become a favourite aspect. Absolute props to you for coming up with it!

Jan 01, 2023 Rlomauro · 31

I love the John Mulaney reference in the first paragraph lol

Jan 21, 2023 dr00 · 38765

@NocturnalAnimal thanks so much! i really appeciate it. i don't know if it was 100% entirely my idea. my playgroup definitely helped out a lot, but we're glad that you're enjoying it!

@Rlomauro 'so i shuffled away... feeling different'

Feb 27, 2023 Stretch · 344

This deck is almost broken, but a lot of fun. Thanks dr00.

Feb 27, 2023 dr00 · 38765

@Stretch hey i appreciate you. glad you're enjoying it :D

May 09, 2023 DBaustin · 1

Really enjoyed this deck. Protection is comfortably my least played aspect and normally play with a lot of allies so this deck felt really different to how I normally play but found it really easy to play had a blast.

May 26, 2023 dr00 · 38765

@DBaustin hey glad you enjoyed it! i know that going down on allies is blasphemy at times, but sometimes you don't need it but still come out on top :D

Protection is my favourite aspect, so i'm always happy to share the love <3

Jun 11, 2023 Jones · 1

@dr00 Thoughts on the new card Taunt from Angel in this deck?

Jun 12, 2023 dr00 · 38765

@Jones looks exciting! wish it cost 0 like One Way or Another, but i think there's still some nice combos. it also makes Defensive Energy more valuable (which i have been cutting lately cos Nerves of Steel is often enough). i'll definitely have to test it out, but i think it'll definitely be mainstay at probably 1 or 2 copies to keep the deck fueled and running smoothly

Sep 29, 2023 Yarro · 1

Hello, is phase and confused triggers before enemy attack ? So no possibility of playing defense reaction ?

Sep 29, 2023 dr00 · 38765

@Yarro that's correct. it triggers before the attack and prevents it entirely, so there's no possibility to defend

Jan 12, 2024 eapfel · 1

Such a fun deck. Protection Kitty is one of my favorite decks to play, The only suggestion I might have given cards that came a bit after you made this list is to swap Deft Focus for X-Gene. They have virtually the same effect on this deck, except X-Gene can also be used for Lockheed and Kitty's Room with the only downside being that you'd have to play it while in Alter-Ego.

Jan 12, 2024 eapfel · 1

Never mind! I'm just realized X-Gene is only for events. Oops I guess I messed up last weekend lol!

Jan 13, 2024 dr00 · 38765

@eapfel X-Gene is a great card here though! i generally run both X-Gene and Deft Focus though, since the cost to play them is quite low, and you can get a fair bit of mileage out of both of them. i think X-Gene is slightly lower, since you have to be in Alter-Ego to play it, but i do really like it here. i'm glad you're enjoying the deck!

Feb 25, 2024 cbergle · 1

Thoughts on including Jump Flip instead of Side Step or a mix between the two? It combos with Intangible Interference well and provides more scheme removal if needed. Side step is good for pinging tough statuses though and can provide more protection if you happen to be in solid form.

Feb 25, 2024 dr00 · 38765

hey @cbergle, thanks for your comment. honestly yeah, that's a great option! tbh, i never tested it. i think it's a great card that fits super well, but i guess my default is just Side Step cos it's the older card lol. i guess the only issue i can see is side step is still totally usable regardless of what form you're in, but Jump Flip specifically needs you to already be in phased to bypass crisis and trigger Intangible Interference. that said, it's not a huge deal imo, and the kicker is not that big of a deal (and is the same for Jump Flip)

and when you are phased, you still prevent all damage, so those values don't matter as much, and i think about the tough pings: with Flow Like Water and Electrostatic Armor, you're still going to get some anyway, as long as you use it against the attacking enemy with tough, but i do like Side Step for potentially defeating an enemy before it can even attack you. it's especially great in something like Ultron, where you can defend against Ultron, defeat the drone, and it's doing less ATK against you and the drone won't activate either

but i do like it! i don't know why i never considered it haha. i'll definitely have to test it out to see if i like it more than side step. at the very least, seems like a good option for encounters where that extra ping damage is much less useful, and the threat control would be very welcomed

i'm did try Not Today!, which allows you to remove threat from any scheme, but requiring you to already be defending was actually quite restrictive. Desperate Defense ended up being a lot better and that didn't make the list either