Symbiotic Slingshot

Agent Venom makes his return to S.H.I.E.L.D with some new toys and some new faces.

He's been tasked with training the new recruits to see if they have what it takes.

He is going to have all the resources at his disposal to ensure his team gets the job done.

This deck is centered around the new ally Slingshot who can be put into play from your hand by spending an resource. She has 2/2 stats, 3 health and returns to your hand at the end of the phase if still in play. So how are we going to center a deck around an ally that doesn't want to chump and returns to your hand each phase?

The answer lies in Venom's symbiotic bond hero ability which allows him to generate a resource once per phase by taking a damage. He can guarantee playing her every single turn by making this an resource. This still doesn't answer the question of how we are building around her as 2 threat removal or 2 damage isn't groundbreaking, but what if we could get multiple activations as well as increased damage WITHOUT upgrades attached to her?

The Setup:

This deck is going to draw quite a bit of cards without relying on thing like Strength In Numbers.

Spider-Sense we want in play as every time the villain initiates an attack against him, he draws a card. With Slingshot bouncing back to the hand and Spider Sense, we are going to have 7 card hands most hero phases with several resource generators.

As always, Venom wants his weapons in play especially the Multi-Gun which can either deal 2 damage to an enemy, remove 2 threat from a scheme or deal 1 damage to each minion and villain in play.

Venom's Pistol gives him +1 when he uses a basic power which is really crucial to pile up damage or for defending when you need to.

Helicarrier reduces the cost of the next card you play this phase by 1. This combos with Behind Enemy Lines or Savage Attack as you can use it to reduce the cost by 1 and then use the appropriate resource to hit the kickers.

Government Liaison reduces the next SHIELD card you play by 1. This is also a really good target for Dum Dum Dugan to hit when he activates.

Mission Leader can be played for a reduced cost in AE as Venom has the soldier trait. When we defeat a side scheme, we get to draw a card.

Clarity of Purpose is the same thing as his hero ability and gives us another resource each turn. This can help hit kickers for his events.

Project Rebirth 2.0 can heal us for 3 in AE or let us draw a card. With all of the self-damage we inflict, I really like this to flip down heal up and then also draw the next turn to have a larger hand size.

Front Organization keeps our upgrades or supports from being picked off by encounter cards.

Agent 13:

Agent 13 has a really cool ability that lets you ready a SHIELD support when she uses an activation. I really like using this after we have played Slingshot and used Sky-Destroyer, play another SHIELD card and deal 2 more damage. If you don't have another SHIELD card to play, she can ready up the Helicarrier allows you to play another card at reduced cost like Run and Gun.

Slingshot:

To really take advantage of playing Slingshot every turn, we want a couple of cards in play.

First being Sky-Destroyer which deals 2 damage when we play a SHIELD card, so this jumps her up to 4 damage per turn or 2 damage/2 threat removal.

Next is Command Team which allows us to ready an ally by removing a token. Now we can get 2 activations out of her per turn.

Leadership Skill lets you remove a token when an ally activates giving them +1 to either their thwart or attack.

Lead from the Front gives each character in play +1 to both attack and thwart for the phase.

All in all, Slingshot can account for up to 8 damage or threat removal with lead from the front, leadership skill and a second activation from command team in one turn with another 2 from the sky destroyer. Then she goes back to your hand to do it again the next turn. The best part is that she doesn't go back to your hand until AFTER you draw to your hand size meaning that you will have 6 cards in hand.

Couple that with Venom who can attack for 4 (5 with lead from the front) with both Pistol's as well as another 2 damage from his Multi-Gun. If you have both Run and Gun as well as Lead From the Front, we can push that damage up to 24 in a turn from Slingshot and Venom.

This doesn't even take into consideration having other allies out, Agent 13 could thwart for 3 with lead from the front and if it clears a side scheme you're going to be drawing another card.

As stated earlier we are going to start most turns after slingshot and Spider-Sense are out with 7 cards in our hand as well as his hero ability. With the helicarrier and clarity out, you have even more resources available.

Other sample turns can look like:

Play Slingshot with your ability and deal 2 damage with Sky destroyer leaving 6 cards in hand.

Use Helicarrier to play Leadership Skill leaving 5 cards in hand.

Have her attack/thwart for 3, then command team to get another activation.

Use clarity and another resource to play Behind Enemy Lines removing 3 threat and confusing the villain. This would leave 2 cards in hand.

Use Agent 13 to attack/thwart and ready helicarrier again.

Use helicarrier and your remaining card to play Rapid Response.

Flip to AE and heal 3 damage with Project Rebirth then draw up to 6 cards, Slingshot would then give you 7 in hand.

Villain would be confused so threat would not pile up even if they had a "second" activation.

Start of next turn, use Project to draw and have 8 cards in hand.

Once built up a little bit this deck really gets moving and you are able to do a ton during your turn. With the card draw and resource generators, even playing Grasping Tendrils during the villain phase will leave you with plenty to do on your turn.

The Defenses:

We've talked about what this deck can do offensively but it's hard to win if you can't put a stop to the villain in some way. Venom has Grasping Tendrils which allow him to cancel a villain attack and as a bonus, if you pay with only resources, you will also stun them. His symbiotic bond ability factors in here and can really make it easy to trigger this.

War Machine provides a tough when he enters play allowing you to avoid defending or having to take a hit for a turn.

Nick Fury everyone's favorite guest star who is now the star of his own deck makes an appearance. He can provide a chump block for you after he provides his services during your turn.

Behind Enemy Lines isn't a defense card but it does provide a confuse if you pay for it using only resources which can be easily done using Clarity of Purpose or his symbiotic bond ability. You can also use helicarrier to reduce the cost to one and then use Clarity, his symbiotic bond or just a resource in hand to pay for it and still get the confuse since you hit the requirement.

Venom himself is really solid at defending with both pistols out bumping him to 4 defense. Against scenarios like Project Wideawake that discourage chumping or any villains with overkill, this can be a main source of defense for you. It may seem like a waste but with Spider-Sense out we will draw a card and can ready in hero phase with Run and Gun.

Other Secret Weapons:

Rapid Response can bring an ally back after they are defeated which is great for characters like Dum Dum Dugan or Agent 13. Note this can work even if it was consequential damage.

Build Support allows you to put a support into play once it's cleared. My order of priorities is usually Sky-Destroyer, Helicarrier then Project Rebirth.

Call for Backup lets you put an ally into play when you clear it. This is great for Nick Fury early to get the card draw and set up faster. Mid game Agent 13 or Dum Dum Dugan are great targets.

Victoria Hand allows you to ready a SHIELD support when she enters play. This can allow for another use of helicarrier or sky-destroyer. With Agent 13 already in play you can conceivably get 3 uses of helicarrier or sky destroyer in one turn!

Maria Hill is a cheap ally who draws you a card when she enters play and has a solid 2 thwart.

"Welcome Aboard" is a fantastic card that allows you to cut the cost of an ally by 2. This makes even Dum Dum easy to play from hand.

Overall this deck has been a blast to play as it makes a new ally very viable and feels a little different than the normal ally recursion decks.

I'd love to hear any feedback or experiences with the decks!