Omega Protocol: Berserker Initiative

When the world is in danger Maria has many heroes and allies to call upon to save the day. When the worst threat show their faces, she knows it's time to pull out all the stops by juicing up the heaviest hitters to maximize their effectiveness.

This deck's plan is to cheat out expensive allies or allies you couldn't otherwise play without Maria being in the game. Then once we get out some powerful allies we're going to amp up their damage with some upgrades while keeping them on the field with our supports. In Multiplayer this deck works even better since you are much more likely to have targets for The Circe.

Mulligan Priorities:

1st - The Circe is what the deck hinges on to function so if you get it in your opening hand don't throw it away.

2nd - Resources: Any resource cards you can get in your first hand will help kickstart your gameplan.

3rd - Support Staff since it provides you with an ongoing source of income.

I recommend some aggressive mulligans for this deck. Since Maria can go fishing for supports with her alter-ego action she can pull The Circe whenever you need to. But you need to be able to pay for it, so if you can get atleast one resource in your hand it makes it that much easier to get your deck's engine going. If you pull Support Staff during your mulligan phase, hold onto it since it can help you pay for stuff in the future.

First Turn and Early Game:

Your first turn is very dependent on what you have in your hand. If you have a resource or two, go ahead and use your alter-ego action to pull The Circe from your deck to prepare for playing allies on your coming turns. If you didn't draw into any resources or The Circe, use her alter-ego action to pull Support Staff so you can pay for The Circe more easily on your future turns. Otherwise you should use what you have to start building up a board state. Until we get The Circe in play we don't really care about holding onto allies unless there's nothing else to be done on your turn.

After the first turn you are working to try and establish a stable board will allow you to reliably churn out your allies and keep them around for the entire game. As soon as you draw a resource card, if you do not have The Circe out flip to alter-ego so you can tutor for it and play it. Other than that, just keep getting your roster of support cards out.

Mid Game or Post-Circe:

Once The Circe is in play, it's time to start pushing damage. Until you have a full roster of allies on the field just play whatever you happen to draw into. There is some level of tactical analysis that needs to be done with the allies you prioritize on keeping out, but at first it's more important just to establish your front line. Maria's job is to manage the threat that is out there by thwarting or using Looking for Trouble and All-Points Bulletin for threat removal. Since you aren't having to pay for your allies, use all your resources to play out supports and upgrades.

Bombshell: The first of the allies you normally couldn't play. Along with being a high attack ally that can deal great damage to the villain, she has the interesting ability to attack them indirectly. Since you have to spread the damage out, this lets you avoid Retaliate or Guard effects. You want her for villains with a high minion presence or the battlefield control to keep you from hurting them.

Drax: He is single-minded in his goal of chewing through the villain's hp. It's very easy to get him in a state where he is swinging for 6 or 8 each turn. Use him for high health villains or villains without many tools for mitigating damage.

Nick Fury: While not one of the ones I would choose to stack upgrades on, he has a solid purpose in keeping your supports in play. Use him early game or if threat is a concern so you can have someone else in play to assist.

Rocket Raccoon: Rocket is capable of dealing crazy damage to minions and his natural overkill means none of that goes to waste against the villain. He is a top priority in scenarios with a lot of minions or where minions are the bigger threat on the table.

Sentry: He has similar power as Drax, but is a little more versatile in being able to focus on minion or the villain depending on what you need. While not ideal, he can also assist with threat removal. His high health also means he can step in to defend you if necessary. Keep him out if the situation requires you to play flexibly.

She-Hulk: She-Hulk gets more dangerous for your enemies the longer she sticks around. She is the most finicky one to play if you are trying to get the most out of her. If your Field Agents can keep her in play she's able to swing for immense amounts of damage. She can also benefit the most from a leadership player that doesn't mind running a couple upgrades for her. Use her in slightly more niche scenarios where you are able to play into her gimmick or buff her up more.

Ending the Game:

With your allies in play swinging into the villain, it shouldn't take too long to bring them down. It's unlikely for any enemy to hold up long when they have three beefcakes hitting them for six to eight damage each turn. Just keep your counters up on your supports to let you APB effectively. If you need it, use The Iliad for extra threat management.

--- Munkey