Rocket's Guide To Ultron-ate Destruction

"I live for the simple things… like how much this is gonna hurt."

Embarrass the A.I.

Let's be honest. We all hate Ultron. We all died to Ultron when we first starting playing. Each round making that choice between placing 2 threat on the main scheme or getting another Drone Minion felt like a slow death.

He beat us down, but we came back and eventually won. Hell, we even beat him on Expert. But did we ever get revenge? Comeuppance for those beatdowns he gave us? No? Well, with this Rocket deck, you can.

The secret is with Murdered You and having a million ways to do excess damage. Let's go through most of those ways.

Deck Priority

1. Hand Cannon: This is essential to not only damage Ultron with overkill, but to trigger Murdered You and Moment of Triumph. In multiplayer games, I'd put in 3. It's that needed.

2. Combat Training and Cybernetic Skeleton: These will raise Rocket's base damage to 3. Which will mean any attack he does to a Drone Minion will give excess damage. If Ultron's Drone Minions are somehow at 3 health and 3 attack, fix that situation.

3. Rocket's Weapons: Prioritize them this way: Particle Cannon, Rocket Launcher then Rocket's Pistol. Get out Side Holster as soon as you can. You're only going to be able to have 2 Restricted Rocket Weapons out at once since you'll always have Hand Cannon working. Once you run out of counters on a weapon, replace it with the next one in your hand.

4. Battery Pack: Get these out as soon as your weapons are out. You want to feed Hand Cannon first. Then use the priority from #3. When you switch to Alter-Ego, these are the targets for Tinkering. They need to be cycled back into your deck as much as possible.

5. Pulse Grenade: This will be used as a non-restricted weapon upgrade to trigger Fusillade and Mean Swing without having to exhaust Hand Cannon.

6. Follow Through: Even though this is #6 on your list, it's pivotal to winning. It makes Moment of Triumph and Hand Cannon so much better.

7. Allies: While they're all great, I rank them in this order of usefulness: Tigra, Bug, Groot, Gamora, Martinex and Angela. A fully-buffed Tigra with Boot Camp, Honorary Guardian and Energy Spear will mean she can defeat any minion in the game, and heal herself afterward. If you switch out Under Attack for something like Hydra Patrol, Angela's usefulness skyrockets because of the added minions.

8. Support: Priority in this order: Hall of Heroes (My God will you have so many glory counters!), C.I.T.T., Boot Camp, Knowhere. If you put an Honorary Guardian on Rocket, he can use both C.I.T.T. and Knowhere in Alter-Ego. That's key for healing and attacking in the same round, and more card draw.

Deck Use

Here are some pointers:

• You want as many minions as you can handle. As long as you can destroy them before Ultron's turn. Use Angela and Looking for Trouble to bring them out. When you have a choice between adding threat and a minion, choose the minion. Maximize "Bring It!". It can sometimes get you 5 cards in a round. Don't use it unless you get 2 cards or more. Remember that Rocket Launcher can clear all your minions at once, and if they're stage 1 or 2 minions, it will trigger Murdered You for as many minions as you kill. So much card draw!

• Deal as much excess damage as you can as many times as you can. Plan out your rounds, and take into account that you'll be getting extra cards. If a weapon can't be played at the beginning of the round, it might be able to at the end. When using Moment of Triumph, always use the lowest health minion with Hand Cannon. You can usually heal yourself 6 or 7 health.

• Don't forget about I've Got a Plan. In a round, you could thwart for 3 if you have Thruster Boots, ready with I've Got a Plan, thwart for 4, then ready again with C.I.T.T., then do your overkill Hand Cannon craziness.

• Because of the many ways you can do damage, you should be able to heal yourself to full every time Schadenfreude is played.

• Don't sleep on Lie in Wait. It's amazing. Not only will it kill a new Drone Minion, but it will make Ultron's attack one less. It's also excess damage, and an attack, so Murdered You is triggered. If you have Moment of Triumph on the board, it could heal you for 3 in the villain phase. Which on an unlucky turn could be the difference between life and death.

• Flip to Alter-Ego two or three times at most. Time it with the end of one of Ultron's schemes. Since it's gonna to the next scheme, might as well get all the cards! You will get 3 cards from Hall of Heroes. You will get 2 cards from Tinkering your Battery Pack. At that point, "Bring It!" will probably be out, and you should have at least 3 more cards. Flip to your hero side, do all the excess damage, and get more cards.

Conclusion

You'll have so much fun with this deck. There are so many choices each round, and all of them are good. You'll eventually get to the point where you know you'll win.

At that point, humiliate Ultron. Maybe exhaust Pulse Grenade and hit him with "Fusillade" AKA A racoon on a motorcycle holding a hand grenade that punches Ultron in the face. Or maybe you let him die by Bug bite? You choose!