All Cats Are Beautiful

Cats are rad.

I'm going to open with a bit of a life update which involves mental health struggles. There is a point to all this, but feel free to skip to the main write up.

Real talk, this past winter was rough for me. I was going through a lot, both mentally and physically. I tried reaching out to friends for help, but overall felt like no one could help me with what I was going through. This only made the trust issues that I was developing even worse. I started to withdraw from any community I was involved in, including Marvel Champions, which I took a break from. I needed time to process, and put myself back together. Luckily I had someone always by my side to help me in my healing process: My furry friend, Arya.

We've been together for 13 years, and she is always by my side. Wherever I go, she will follow. We even eat breakfast together because she is a social eater, and if I leave her food in the kitchen she will just follow me into the other room and forget the food was ever there! She's full of personality, and will always tell you exactly how she feels. She is such a diva, and of course, very spoiled. Our most special bonding activity is when she will lick my hand so that I use it to clean her fur when I pet her. Awww!!!

Some people falsely think that cats are not loyal, and they just don't care about people. This can't be further from the truth. Respect their boundaries and gain their trust, and a cat can be the most loving companion ever.

This deck is an ode to felines. Every time you play it, you should proclaim:

All Cats Are Beautiful!

These days, there's always something terrible happening in the world. Every time you go online there is a new breaking story to ruin the day. Remember that time before doom scrolling? When the internet was 95% cat videos? Can we just go back to that...at least for a moment? If the only things that you could post on the internet were cats and Marvel Champions content, the world would be a much better place.

Alright, alright. Enough rambling. I have a deck to discuss.

"Oh thank god, they're finally going to stop talking about ca-"

I'm breaking this deck into 5 parts, thematically tied to the 5 ways to support your cat's mental well-being: Play time, Problem-Solving, Scratching, Affection, and a Well-Balanced Diet.

1) Encourage Daily Movement and Play

"Just like humans feel refreshed after exercise, cats also experience mental and physical benefits from regular activity. Playtime helps maintain a healthy weight, stimulates the brain, and releases pent-up energy that might otherwise lead to stress or unwanted behaviors. Set aside time each day for interactive play using toys your cat enjoys, such as feather wands or laser pointers."

Tigra decks usually try to stay in hero form as much as possible to maintain her 8 hand size. Only to reluctantly flip down when there's too many un-stunned minions, or you want to grab another Hunted. Not with this deck. Cats need play time- Tigra should get some time off from all this hero work! The plan here is to flip between hero and alter ego every single turn.

I can hear your objections now. "But you will only have a 6 hand size in alter ego!"

First off, since when was that a bad thing? Second, its not as big of a difference as you might think. When you flip down, you get to use her undercover work ability to draw a copy of Hunted. You get to do this on the turn you flip down, and again on the following turn before you flip up. When you flip down, its just an extra card on top of the 8 you had in hero form. When you start in alter ego, you can essentially consider this your 7th card. In terms of pure cards in hand, regardless of if you stay in hero form or flip back and forth; you even out in terms of the number of cards in hand. (8 + 8 vs 9 + 7)

Alright, maybe I convinced you that you aren't losing that much by flipping. But what is there to gain from flipping every turn? Access to your alter ego cards (and this is the key part) every turn.

I've already talked about using her undercover work ability when you are in alter ego. On top of that, you have access to Jarvis, Precinct HQ, and Crew Quarters. Jarvis triggers when you flip down, while the other two trigger after flipping down as well as before you flip back up.

I'll go over Jarvis and Crew Quarters in part 4, but for now let's talk about Precinct HQ. Perhaps I buried the lead here a little bit, but this card is central to this entire deck. When used effectively, we can get a lot of threat removal out of this one card. The key factor is how much you get out of it vs how much threat gets placed by the villain and minions when you flip down. This takes us to part 2:

2) Incorporate Problem-Solving and Enrichment Activities

"Cats are intelligent creatures that thrive when their minds are engaged. Interactive toys, puzzle feeders, and food mazes offer mental stimulation while rewarding your cat with treats or kibble. For an extra challenge, consider teaching simple commands or tricks using positive reinforcement. These activities help prevent boredom and strengthen the bond between you and your cat."

Precinct HQ will remove an average of 4-6 threat per turn, depending on how many minions you are engaged with. This is not a thwart action, so it can be used when you are confused to get around the patrol keyword.

In most decks, this provides you a nice buffer of threat removal that makes it safer to flip down whenever you need to, but that work gets undone once the villain and all the minions get to scheme. So you end up just removing what they added from scheming and wind up back where you started.

So our goal here is to remove more than what gets added when you flip down. If a minion has 2 SCH, it's a wash. That's because you get to activate your support twice for every time they scheme- once when you flip down, and again the next turn before you flip up. With 0 or 1 SCH minions, you will see net positive removal.

In order to make better use of Precinct HQ for threat removal, we want to confuse the minions with the highest SCH, and the villain. This deck is packed with confuse cards, 12 cards in total! Let's take a look at some of our options:

• Battlefield Benevolence is a new card that makes confusing easier than ever. Its cheap, and all you need is to target a damaged target. This is best used on the villain, who is usually damaged anyway.

• Prism Dust is a great backup method to confuse minions. It also does 2 damage to them, which sets you up for another confuse the following turn with Battlefield Benevolence. If you need more Dust, Agent Coulson is the plug ;)

• Don't forget about Cat-Like Reflexes, which not only can confuse a minion, but helps keep Tigra alive too. Try to play these whenever you can.

• Sonic Rifle is a fantastic card for Tigra. It costs 3, which is the perfect cost to pay for with Cat's Head Amulet. There are no other restricted cards in this deck, so you can have both of them out at once. Use these counters when you most need them, usually on the villain.

• Two of the allies can confuse minions: Moon Knight and Eros. You should be familiar with Marc by now- one of the best allies in the game, play him whenever you draw him. This deck isn't exactly optimized to get the kicker on Eros, but he's still fantastic here. You might luck out and draw him alongside a Genius, or you should at least have 1 in your hand, which is good enough. Confusing even just 1 minion with him is great. Heck, even without triggering his ability, a 2 THW ally for 2 cost is worth playing.

So now that we have slowed the enemy's scheming with confusion, we can get a better payoff from Precinct HQ. But this alone isn't going to be enough thwarting, especially in multiplayer. Infiltration takes out a huge chunk of threat for 1 cost. You should always choose 5 (or as much as it takes to clear the scheme.) Chances are that you won't ever even get a minion off of this because you are already pulling the minions out of the deck with Hunted, but if you do pull one, we don't mind.

Your allies will also be putting in work on the schemes. Agent Coulson, Eros, Marvel Girl, and Moon Knight all have 2 THW. Rachel's ability is really good for threat removal if she hits minions with 2 SCH or more. Find a minion with 3 SCH and leave them in play constantly confused and watch the the threat melt away.

3) Provide Appropriate Scratching Outlets

"Scratching is a natural and necessary behavior for cats. It helps them stretch, remove old claw layers, and relieve stress. Rather than discouraging scratching altogether, provide suitable options like scratching posts or pads. Placing them in areas your cat frequents encourages regular use and protects your furniture at the same time."

If you got this far, thank you. Come closer, I want to tell you a secret. This isn't really a justice deck, it's actually aggression in disguise! All those confuses that you are dishing out? Think of them as damage amplifiers. I'm referring of course to Float Like a Butterfly. There's 3 copies in the deck because it's that important here, and they are good to pass out to teammates in multiplayer. Float increases the damage of all attacks delt to confused enemies by 1. How do we really capitalize on this?

First, and most simply, by confusing the villain directly. Battlefield Benevolence and Sonic Rifle are good ways to do this. Tigra's basic attack and your allies' attacks to the villain will get boosted while they are confused. This also combos well with Tooth and Claw, which gets both hits increased, going from 8 damage to 10 if you only target the villain.

The second benefit here is that it is now much easier to take down large minions. 6-8 HP brutes are now much less scary. Hit them with Prism Dust for 2 damage and a confuse when they enter play, then Cypher boops them for 2 dmg and draws you a card, and finish them off with a basic attack + Sharp Claws.

And there's a third, sneaky way to deal extra floating damage, even to steady and stalwart villains! You can do this by overkilling minions with Sharp Claws. Get a minion down to low HP, confuse them and use Sharp Claws for the overkill. You'll get +1 Atk from the claws and then another +1 damage, which all transfers over to the villain. If you have Hunted on a minion, you can ready and do it a second time with another minion and your other Sharp Claw.

4) Feed a Nutritious, Well-Balanced Diet

"A healthy diet supports both physical and mental well-being. Poor nutrition can lead to low energy, digestive problems, and behavioral changes. Feeding your cat a complete and balanced diet rich in essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants is crucial for long-term health. While occasional enrichment treats like catnip (the most fascinating herb) can be enjoyable for many cats, they should never replace proper nutrition. If you’re unsure about the best diet for your cat, your veterinarian can provide personalized guidance."

Minion collecting is dangerous work. Chip damage from minions really adds up, and some minions have nasty when defeated abilities that you have to deal with. You don't want to take big hits (3+ damage) from minions ever. Stun them with Feline Senses, or prioritize defeating them after their stuns wear off. You will be putting out new minions every turn with Hunted, so cycle out the ones that don't have stun/confuse on them.

When it comes to villain damage, we can take the hits. You want to play Cat-Like Reflexes anyway for the confuse, and it can soak up some big villain swings. You can basic defend if necessary, though I prefer to just take the hit to the face and save my activation for later if possible. Every time you flip down, you will get 2 health back from Crew Quarters. If you save your activation, you can increase your recover up to 5 with Jarvis. This is situationally useful, and can be better to do this than basic defending, depending on how hard the villain hits.

The other, more valuable use for Jarvis is to remove status effects from Tigra. She is a magnet for getting stunned and confused because a lot of minions apply statuses when defeated. I usually prioritize getting rid of stuns, because you still can use Precinct HQ while confused, but it depends on the situation.

5) Give as Much Love as You Receive

"Affection is a powerful stress reliever for both humans and cats. Studies show that interacting with cats can reduce human stress levels—and cats benefit just as much from gentle, positive attention. When your cat seeks affection, offer calm petting, chin scratches, or cuddles in their favorite spots. Never force interaction, but consistent, loving contact reassures your cat that they are safe, valued, and loved."

I've been playing a version of this deck since October, before my hiatus from the game. Since my return, I've been playing it even more as it has evolved with the new cards. So to actually finally finish this write up and post the deck has some extra meaning to me :)

ACAB is a fun, rewarding deck that has a lot of intricacies and moving parts. There is often important decisions to be made, like "when do I use Hunted?" You might want to grab that minion when you are still flipped down, to then squeeze out 1 extra removal from Precinct HQ. But if you are in alter ego, you can't trigger Prism Dust, since it's a hero response. Other big decisions involve how to sequence minion and villain attacks and where and when to place confuses to maximize that damage. It's these kinds of puzzley choices that make me want to keep revisiting this deck.

I've tested this against Steady villains, and it still does pretty well. A lot of your confuse goes on minions anyway, and between Sonic Rifle and Battlefield Benevolence, dropping 2 confuse on the villain is not hard. When it comes to Stalwart villains, their threat threshold tends to be more lenient, and you can still get a lot of confuse and Float value, as I described in part 3.

In multiplayer, you want to pass out Floats to the teammates that will make the most use of it. Heroes with multi hit attack events, a lot of allies, or if they plan to ready and attack repeatedly take the top priority! You want to try to confuse the villain before their turn starts, but there isn't a way to do this if you start in alter ego. Plan the big damage turns for when you are in hero form and prime the villain with a Sonic Rifle or Battlefield Benevolence at the start of the hero phase!

This version is a compromise between solo and multiplayer. You can optionally cut Under Surveillance at 3-4 players, you can cut down to 2 Float Like a Butterfly in solo. Otherwise, everything here works well at any player count. This deck handles threat well at solo and at 2. In my experience at 4 players, it struggles to single handedly deal with thwarting, but you'll do fine if other players can chip in too.

See you all again real soon,

Arya and Skelly