"AIN'T NO THING LIKE ME, CEPT ME!"

EDIT: Speaking of morons, add me to the list, as Quincarrier is definitely NOT legal in this deck. You should take my suggestion of playing Helicarrier instead, which has the handy side effect of not making you a dirty cheater like me. Happy shooting!

Marvel Champions has blasted off into the final frontier! After months of trash gameplay, with this game barely passing as fun, we at long last have been gifted the ability to beat up bad guys as a tree and a rabbit. We can finally play the game.

While I’ll likely be spending a lot of time as both of the new characters from Galaxy’s Most Wanted, Rocket had the first thematic connection that really stuck out to me. I wanted to use his strengths to come up with a unique take on blue. It turned out to be a ton of fun, and potent to boot, but despite being in Leadership I encourage you not to think of this deck’s version of Rocket as a charisma-laden battlefield commander.

Nah- you’re gonna be everybody’s tech wizard, the team’s mad scientist and quartermaster all in one. Our gameplan is to stick a bunch of tech on our allies, recycle it off of them once they’ve gotten low on health, and then let them go quietly into that good night.

Say, what would you call somebody who let you outfit them with experimental untested equipment right before throwing them haphazardly in between you and the big bad villain?

You guessed it. A moron.

CHOOSING YOUR MORONS

You’re going to want two flavors of moron- morons that are really good at taking the heat off of you while you tinker with your tech, and morons that are really good at being crash test dummies for that tech. We’ve split the difference for this build.

For the crash test dummies, anything with attachment synergy is good, which means…

• Iron Man enters the battlefield as our most duh inclusion, being a great fit for any upgrade in the deck.
• Ronin is right behind him. He particularly loves Inspired, which turns him into a 3 THW/ 4ATK monster. Shame it’s not tech.
• U.S. Agent’s monster health pool makes him a great platform for investment- Inspired and Power Gloves both get big payoffs here.
• Groot also gets a lot of mileage out of any of our upgrades, and benefits in particular from Reinforced Suit, which gives him enough health range to basically defend forever. You could also play an Inspired on him and just let him THW forever. Try not to ask too many questions about the thematic justification of inspiring a sentient plantman.
• Ant-Man splits the difference between investment platform and sacrificial lamb. How many counters go on him is entirely dependent upon the boardstate. Remember that if you see Team Training first it’s going to make Hank even more efficient.

Our more expendable pals- Ironheart, Maria Hill, Squirrel Girl- constantly float in and out of the lineup, taking hits for Rocket and coming back in play with Make the Call. Despite their small health pool, you shouldn’t feel bad about placing upgrades on these ladies if it means playing out your hand efficiently. You’ll likely end up breaking even by reclaiming that tech.

GET THAT ARM

Speaking of that, the timing of recycling tech off your allies is important. This deck is built around Tinkering, an ability you’ll end up using a solid half-dozen times a game at least. Here’s some observations I’ve made about it.

• Usually we want to clear tech in preparation to chump block with a low health ally, but we need to be in alter-ego to Tinker. On paper this is a minor non-bo, but really you’ll just have to plan ahead. In multiplayer, you can avoid this awkwardness by planning to block for other players when you dip down.
• Having two pieces of tech ready to pitch when you flip down is ideal, letting you get that card draw two turns in a row. Usually the correct utilization of those extra 4 resources is getting new allies down. This deck thrives when it’s ally board is full.
• More often than you think, the correct line of play will be to pull upgrades early. Tinkering’s real beauty is that it very reliably smoothes out awkward draws, especially if you have a Salvage in hand and can place the tossed upgrade on to a fresh body. Voltron-Leadership builds can be prone to awkward hands, and Tinkering is a premium solution to that problem. Toss away.
• What to toss? Beyond the obvious “cards that are out of charge counters”, play it by ear but be aggressive. Early tossing is particularly tolerable with Power Gloves and Rocket's Pistol. Believe it or not, I also often toss Thruster Boots during my final pushes, as it usually goes down enough in value towards the end of the game to be worth pitching for cards. The momentum boost is often worth the loss.

The overall takeaway is this- Tinkering has the potential to be one of the most flexible Alter-Ego abilities in the game, and this deck is built around it. Don’t be scared to toss aging tech. Use Tinkering aggressively to keep your tools rotating.

Another upgrade related note, be careful with Inspired. It’s packed with value, but since it’s not tech is less easily manipulated. Try to stick it on a fresh body, and consider holding it for a turn if you don’t have a good target.

SCOTCH TAPE WOULD WORK

Though I was tempted to include some cheekier cards like All for One, the reality is that Make the Call has not stopped being great at any point since the game’s launch, and it’s still crucial here. This deck’s biggest enemy can be timing, considering it’s higher cost curve and dependence on ally upgrades, so having MTC in here to add flexibility is very, very important.

Endurance and Quincarrier make appearances here fulfilling obvious roles. Quincarrier gives tremendous attachment clearing flexibility along with Salvage (EDIT: “yeah, tremendously ILLEGAL!” -impossiblegerman, professional idiot), but you do need it less than other characters in multiplayer and should feel free to swap it for Helicarrier. Not on this list is Flora and Fauna, which I just would run as card 41 if you had a buddy playing as Groot. Ally Groot does tend to stay around a long time, so feel free to experiment with it in solo, but in my games I often pass over playing it even with Ally Groot on the board.

Team Training keeps our buffed up buddies around longer, and does a good enough job of it that The Triskelion is virtually essential. Seriously...you might regret not playing it when you see it. Keep a wide board and manipulate those upgrades smartly, and you’ll be well on your way to maximizing this build!

THE MAD SCIENTIST

Rocket’s Hero deck is stupid fun, and being able to have more cheap tech available to manipulate does a lot for him. Your little mini-game of keeping your weapons charged up is made a lot smoother with extra targets to recycle.

Much like Wasp, your Hero ability “Murdered You!” is not entirely consistent, and is best thought of as a happy bonus rather than a constant trigger to chase. With that in mind, here’s some thoughts on his kit-

• Rocket's Pistol are your bread and butter upgrades. Like, Hand Cannon is bonkers, and this is almost the same thing but cheaper and more flexible. This is a ridiculous card, and frankly they’re so good that in a game where you expect a low minion count, the Restricted keyword justifies skipping your more expensive weapons and instead keeping these babies locked and loaded. You only have two hands, and Rocket’s Pistols are the most cost-efficient way to fill them.
• If the board fills up, though, you gotta show some love to the big guns. Rocket Launcher is very solid AOE tech, but I’m partial to Particle Cannon’s reliable triggering of Murdered You! It’s important for Rocket to think of minions as sources of card draw, and these two chunguses are the best way to do it.
• Battery Pack keeps the above cards charged, and is sneakily crucial to this version of Rocket. With ally upgrades being your main source of Tinkering fuel, most games it’s perfectly reasonable to just keep your favorite guns topped off all game with Battery Pack. Reload can be clutch if the board is crowded, but can often be worth it just to accelerate using your tech to get down more tech.
• Salvage is our most important card, and smart usage of it will win us games. I’m quite fond of it fetching a Reinforced Suit or Power Gloves right before dropping a big ally, but it’s more traditional targets (Pistols and Battery Packs) keep the damage chugging nicely as well. Don’t miss the combo with our girl Ironheart- Salvage pays for her and then she immediately draws you the upgrade you stacked, like a low-rent Space Shuri.
• Our remaining upgrades provide excellent stat increases. Rocket’s native 1 ATK can’t overkill anything, so Cybernetic Skeleton is essential. Thruster Boots are too, since once they’re down I've Got a Plan improves substantially. Given how many sources of damage he has available, Rocket hardly ever has a difficult time justifying exhausting to use his juicy THW...
• Unless of course he’s low on health and has a Shadenfreude in hand, in which case every attack becomes precious. This card is quite unusual, but also bizarrely potent in the right situation, and it’s really fun to pull off a huge heal with it. It’s presence is a great argument for prioritizing the Pistols, and it is also one of a couple reasons (the other being “Murdered You”) that our ally-reliant build hates the “You” ruling more than most.

Rocket’s gameplan is unique, and packed with value if sequenced properly. Let’s talk a little bit about how you want games to go.

12% OF A PLAN

Your mulligan is important, and you actually don’t necessarily want to start loading up a big ally right away. This version of Rocket really benefits from staying in alter-ego for a bit to cook up some tech on the workbench and be prepared for battle, as your Hero form is pretty weak to begin with. Use your allies to put out fires while you do science, and flip when you can make a splash, usually in the form of Pistols or I Have A Plan.

As essential as cards like Thruster Boots and Cybernetic Skeleton are to the long game, don’t be afraid to pitch them early. Salvage will hit your hand eventually, and can rescue these critical upgrades out of the discard pile. Tech is everything- keeping in mind what cards you can go get later and what cards can quickly become Tinkering fuel will help you make good decisions.

Most of our damage comes from our allies, and we should almost always be THWing with Rocket unless we have good opportunities to trigger Murdered You! Things will be rickety to start- once you have some tech down, a big ally loaded up, and a steady stream of blockers coming in with Make the Call, you’ll see your possibility space expand and you’ll quickly start to snowball. It’s quite satisfying.

BLOW UP MOONS

Rocket’s unique upgrade-centered gameplay bodes well for the future of Champions, as in play he really feels quite distinct from other techy-Heroes such as Iron Man and Black Widow. If you like big guns and blowing things up (and honestly who doesn’t?) I’d encourage you taking the time to learn Rocket’s ins and outs.

This build adds considerable piloting overhead to the equation, but I think it’s worth it. The extra complexity really leans into Rocket’s gearhead wrench-monkey side, and I think the character really pops by embracing that side of his kit instead of just trying to overkill everything. Lots of characters in Champions can hit big. Only Rocket can take a pile of scrap and ride it to victory with nothing but a good set of tools.

Well, tools and a few willing morons.