Scott's Recurring Nightmare

"Scott's Recurring Nightmare", an Ant-Man Haiku:

...Tiny to Giant,

over and over again,

Giant to Tiny...

This is another recursion deck for a guy named Scott (see me Cyclops deck here: https://marvelcdb.com/decklist/view/31349/a-baker-s-dozen-of-recursion-1.0)

Unlike the Scott Summers deck which recurs Phoenix to recur other cards (which recur other cards...), Scott Lang uses value-based recursion with a wider range of targets, all of which have "enters play" abilities (EPA) based on what he needs in the moment:

• Beast can recur those sweet Pym Particles, which you will turn into healing or a card draw based on which hero form you're in (or a double of course).
• Hawkeye's EPA gives him the tools to help whittle down minion HP when they enter, and I certainly don't mind using Rapid Response on him in minion-heavy scenarios to "reload" him.
• Maria Hill is just so powerful for her cost! I don't want to use RR on her though because I want to get some threat removal and a block out of her, so she's better recurred with Make the Call.
• Mockingbird's EPA isn't meant to stun-lock the villain, but it does add a nice reprieve from time to time.
• Nick Fury is so versatile, and while a RR is "wasted" on him (he's going to be discarded at the end of the round anyway), getting three additional cards going into the hero phase is huge (ESPECIALLY if you're in Giant form), or you might just hit the villain again for 4 damage!
• Squirrel Girl's EPA is best recurred when you have multiple low-health enemies (maybe Hawkeye has pinged a couple down already) or multiple enemies with a Tough status card. Kaluu is another good ally in this slot, but I chose Squirrel Girl because there are only 8 events in the deck. You can swap them out if you want!
• Wasp's EPA can be used very strategically! I like to get her in when I'm in the form that will benefit from her EPA the most: Lot's of threat on the main? Get her in while Tiny. Multiple targets, or one big target? Get her in while Giant! Ant-Man LOVES to flip between hero forms, so you will frequently find yourself in the exact form you want to be in to maximize her EPA!
• Professor X's EPA Confuses the villain and he gets to remove a chunk of threat, which is super powerful. Like with Maria, I'll recur him with Make the Call rather than RR unless I'm dealing with a Steady villain. Although he has 3 HP, he's always a chump block the turn he comes in because Ant-Man shouldn't need to flip down too often. You can let the Confuse status sit there until you're ready to flip down.

Player Side Schemes

Both of the PSS are powerful and come in with 3 threat (in true solo). This allows you to play one, flip to Tiny form and remove one threat with Ant-Man's Response, and then Thwart the other 2 off (although I don't always thwart Call for Backup off right away):

• Superpower Training: A turn 1 Ant-Man's Helmet is HUGE, as it gives you value every time you flip to a different hero form! I'll usually mulligan pretty hard for this or the helmet because I want to play it as early as possible, and before Call for Backup!
• Call for Backup: Unlike in Cyclops where I want to crack this ASAP to fire up the recursion engine, I'm happy to let this sit on the table until a situation calls for a specific ally. Let it sit at 1 or 2 threat and only thwart the last of it off when you need someone to come in. This one has a shorter range of targets though, and can be a strategic decision:
  • Beast if I want a Pym Particles (or a double)
  • Nick Fury to draw cards or as a finisher (enter for 4 damage, attack for 2, and then block and RR so he enters again to deal 4 more).
  • Professor X if I NEED to flip down.
  • Wasp (again) will have a different affect depending on your hero form, making her entry a more involved decision.

Ants and Giant Strength

I'm generally going to prioritize Army of Ants because I can always use them while in Tiny form, although I'm fine only having two of them.

Giant Strength is also good, and can cause some big attacks, but only on the turn you flip up to Giant. I like having one, but I prefer to get both of them into play for some huge "Ready up!" turns (see below).

Ready up!

Ready to Rumble

Ready to Rumble is a huge boon for heroes who change forms while remaining in "hero" form. In Ant-Man, this lets him attack in Giant then flip to Tiny and also thwart (or vice versa). It's also a Response, so you don't have to trigger it. If you flip down to Tiny and there's no threat to remove, then let it sit!

What's really fun is to attack in Giant, use Resize to flip down to Tiny, don't trigger Ready to Rumble, remove 1 threat with Tiny Response, draw a card (with helmet), then use your "once per turn" flip to go back to Giant, deal 1 damage with Giant Response, heal 2 damage (with helmet), ready with Ready to Rumble, get +1 or +2 ATK (Giant Strength) and attack again! You can pull that off a couple times per game!

Also, if you need to DEF in either form, it lets you ready just by flipping to your other hero form!

Tenacity

Tenacity is well-known for its resource inefficiency! I like it here because you can "set it and forget it"! Forget it until you can go to Giant and attack with 1 or 2 Giant Strength in play, then ready and attack again.

If it's not your cup of tea you can trade it for a Go All Out if you want, which is 1 point of damage better with no Giant Strength in play, same damage with 1 in play, and 1 point worse with both in play. Another reason I prefer Tenacity over Go All Out is because it can sit on the board until you're ready to use it:

• Some times you're not in a position to make use of Go All Out, so you spend it and wait until you cycle the deck again.
• Tenacity protects your Helmet from Caught Off Guard and Go All Out doesn't LOL

Resources and HP

Ant-Man uses two resource generators: Quincarrier and Clarity of Purpose.

These allow you to activate Wrist Gauntlets easily regardless of your form, and to pay for Tenacity wihtout a card from hand.

Ant-Man starts with 12 Hit Points, heals 2 damage with a Pym Particles in Giant, heals 2 damage every time you flip to Giant with your Helmet in play, and has 2 or 3 DEF depending on your hero from to soak a hit if you need it. This is great for Ant-Man for two reasons:

• The damage from Clarity of Purpose becomes a non-issue! Use it, take the damage, and heal up!
• Professor X doesn't need to be a constant or even timely play/recursion. That Confuse status can just sit there, and I've had many games in which I never flipped down for healing!

Never forget why you're here!

While playing recursion decks, I frequently get caught up in a "play Make the Call for Maria, which will draw me a card so I can play Rapid Response, so I can thwart the last 4 off of the main and then get Beast back in to grab me a Pym Particles so I can..." or similar mindset. Because that's fun (for me)!

But a lot of the time lethal or near-lethal damage is right in front of you just waiting for you to do it! "Okay, Army of Ants knocks off his tough, then another to deal 1 damage. Make the Call for Nick Fury, who deals 4 and attacks for 2. Hawkeye hits for 1 and Wasp for 2. Flip up to Giant which does 1 damage, then attack for 3 (or 4 or 5)."

And while that totally makes sense, I still often find myself in "recursion mode"!