The G.I.R.L. In Cerebro

"Put Into Play" Deck Series

The release of the Player Side Schemes has been the biggest change to Marvel Champions in some while. With the ability to put cards into play, rather than playing the cards directly, this has opened up some card combinations that were not previously possible.

(For those who would like the reference, according to RR1.5 in the “Play, Put Into Play” section: “Some abilities cause cards to be put into play. This bypasses the need to pay the card’s cost as well as any restrictions or prohibitions regarding playing that card”)

In this deck series released over the next few days or so, I would like to share five decks that highlight cards that can now be played without restriction through the use of Player Side Schemes:

You Get One Shot… featuring Call for Backup --> Gamora

The G.I.R.L. In Cerebro featuring Build Support --> Cerebro

Adamantium Upgrades featuring Build Support--> Weapon X

The Magnificent Multiple Men featuring Build Support--> Knowhere

Aamir and Angela featuring Build Support --> Open the Bifrost

The G.I.R.L. In Cerebro

I love decks that allow you to play more in Alter-Ego, and I've always had a soft spot for Wasp being able to camp out in her computer chair.

I think that Nadia's G.I.R.L. ability is severely underrated because it allows her to keep playing the best mental resource cards over and over again. This is one of those times where having over 40 cards really isn't an issue, because you'll be really be playing a 55 card deck when you keep shuffling the same cards back in over and over again.

The Combo

Although Psylocke can also pull this type of combo off, I think Wasp can to it better. The goal is to cheat Cerebro into play using Build Support, and then play Professor X over and over again. Since he has a mental resource, the Professor can be put back into your deck. And as long as you keep a Psionic ally on the table, Cerebro allows you to pull Xavier right back into your hand. So you in theory can just keep playing him each and every turn.

In 2+ player mode, this is just so worth it, because he can confuse the villain for one player to be flipped down, and he can block for another player so they can face a villain attack. Because this can be done infinitely, once you have Cerebro and a Psionic out, you're basically going to ignore the villain phase for 2 players a turn. That's incredible!

Psionic Allies

So in addition to Professor X who is Psionic, we've included the most Psionic allies that we can in an aspect, which is Caliban, Fantomex and Mirage from Leadership. You'll want to play one of these three as soon as possible and try and leave them on the table. Fantomex in particular is an awesome choice as he can live infinitely due to E.V.A..

Mirage is also an ally worth noting for solo play because here if you flip every turn, you won't need to use Cerebro to pull the Professor every round. On those turns, you can throw Mirage back into your deck and draw her as either a card to play, or as a free resource.

Resources

Because of the intent to play Xavier every turn, this deck includes as many double resources as possible to pay for him. This will be your standard doubles, but also The Power in All of Us and The Power of the Mind. I really want to have a double resource in my hand every turn, but there is the possibility that you'll get some hands with too many resources. Personally, I consider this an acceptable loss for the value of this infinite combo.

What Else?

So once Leadership is chosen as the best aspect to run this combo in, the question became what other cards to add. Because you can very reasonably camp in Alter-Ego indefinitely, one interesting option is the Go All Out (or Push Ahead) combo after loading up on Moxie cards.

Since you're planning to throw the Professor (or Mirage) back into your deck every round due to your G.I.R.L. ability, you can then throw a copy of Moxie back in again regularly and wait for a big wombo-combo where you drop 3x Moxie, turn to Giant form, and then do 16 ATK (or 17 if you have her Wasp's Helmet on).

Black Panther is also a great addition because he can grab a copy of Moxie or Go All Out and keep it for when you need it. He's also another mental so you can also recycle him too. (Sadly, this means this deck can't quite be played alongside my the Black Panther deck that I just posted... just take out T'Challa though)

Clarity of Purpose

Go All Out does have a lightning resource kicker, so Clarity of Purpose (or Quincarrier) becomes an important card to guarantee that you can trigger it. Fortunately, it comes with a mental resource, so if you can't play it earlier, just throw it back in your deck again.

Rounding Out The Deck

Ingenuity is probably an auto include for Wasp, being a genius. She doesn't really need any more resource generation, but it always helps.

Psimitar will only get triggered every other turn, as you can only play it on the turns you start in Alter-Ego form and then use Cerebro to find the Professor. Don't forget, you don't need to play him in AE, so put him in your hand and then play him once you flip to trigger Psimitar.

Strategy and Tips

This really depends on the player count. In solo, I find that I flip every turn and try and get the villain's HP down to 1 on the first stage. Then I build up Moxies in my hand and try to knock out Stage II (or III on expert) in one go. I'll use Fantomex to ping off the last health and then flip from AE to Giant for the big ol' stomp.

In 2P, I think she is most powerful as you'll be negating all initial villain activations for both players. You'll still need to play the Professor every turn, but the other player will be able to flip with abandon and just build their board. If you stomp once or twice for the 17 ATK, you'll help close out quickly, but you can almost be a support player.

In 3 and 4P, this deck will take longer to set up, as you'll need to do 9 or 12 THW from the team to get Build Support out, but then the table all gets freebies. In this case, sometimes I trade out Go All Out for Push Ahead depending on what everyone else is playing. You can get 17 THW in a chunk if you're hoping to be the team's threat remover. Sadly though, Push Ahead doesn't allow you to split up Wasp's thwart between schemes as it isn't a basic THW despite needing to exhaust.

Ending

This is one of the most powerful decks I've ever built. It does take clearing Build Support and keeping a Psionic ally out, but once that is taken care of, winning the game is pretty much guaranteed. Take this with you to your next multiplayer game as a support player, and the table will love you for all the confuse and blocks you can provide.

As always, thanks for reading through this walkthrough and checking out my deck. Likes and comments are always appreciated!

Until next time Champions...