Updates!

Since I published this, two important cards were released in Nova's pack: Honed Technique and No Quarter. These cards offer a very nice complement to the existing Follow Through, Cutthroat Ambition shell. Landing a 9 damage Into the Fray that has Piercing, Overkill and its excess damage boosted by 2-3 is ... extremely satisfying. It's also a nice reminder that Honed Technique has play outside of the (absolutely insane) Dive Bomb context.

The cuts were Hand Cannons and Skilled Strikes, so we're less reliant on our Basic Attack, which also slightly increases the deck's thwart capacity.

Original write-up

This is a multiplayer Nebula Aggression deck that aims to flip almost every turn to generate substantial value, effective board control, and a constant stream of damage to the villain. The core conceit of the deck is Cutthroat Ambition, which provides every attack Piercing and Overkill, making Nebula an unstoppable force for minion control with villain damage to boot. As such, it is a control deck especially well-tuned to beefier minions, and is not appropriate for rush strategies. It probably can hang solo due to Into the Fray and Cutthroat Ambition, but that is not where it was designed, tested, or optimized. I played it through Mad Titan’s Shadow alongside a Vision Justice deck (to be published).

Hat tip to Earth Dragon - he was the first to spot the value of Cutthroat Ambition in a Nebula Aggression deck and has been a consistent advocate for Follow Through as an under-explored card.

In a nod to Nebula's traumatic upbringing, let's review the deck using Maslow's hierarchy.

Self-actualization: Cutthroat Ambition

Nebula has one aim: Victory. Cutthroat Ambition is the core card in the deck. Piercing and Overkill are powerful effects given the increasing frequency of minions with Toughness. Together in one package, there’s almost no minion that Nebula can’t find a way to eliminate.

Esteem: The Attack suite

It’s Nebula’s capacity to attack and destroy any minion on the table that will earn her the esteem of the group. The most powerful card in the set is Into the Fray, which really sings with Piercing and Overkill applied (not to mention Follow Through buffs). But Weapons Master, as a 4-damage attack for 2 effective resources, is a very efficient attack. If you flip frequently and time flips carefully, you can line up Lethal Intent to trigger Weapons Master before your turn, which really creates a lot of burst damage. It can soften a target for Into the Fray, overkill a weakened or low-health minion, or hit the villain directly. Skilled Strike is a sweetener for your Basic Attacks, also with Overkill when Cutthroat Ambition is on the table! It can combo with Hand Cannon, too. When previewed card No Quarter drops, I will experiment with swapping it in for Skilled Strike.

Love/belonging: Hand Cannons and Follow Through

Nebula loves her upgrades. Hand Cannon and Follow Through synergize well together and with the rest of her kit. Hand Cannons offer alternate access to Overkill when Cutthroat Ambition is unavailable. When Cutthroat Ambition is on the table, its Piercing allows Hand Cannons to punch through almost anything when you don’t have or want to spend the money on Into the Fray. Follow Through sweetens all your Overkill attacks and increases the threat removal of Into the Fray. But it is a sweetener. I would prioritize one Hand Cannon, then 1-2 Follow Throughs, then another Hand Cannon. At that point, you can add a third Follow Through if you have strong board control to help close the game, and cycle Hand Cannons as necessary.

Safety: Cheap allies and the rest of the Techniques

Control is not limited to minions; Nebula can also help protect the table and herself with her suite of cheap Aggression allies and her other techniques. Spider-Girl, Hulk, and Throg are inexpensive, high-control allies. Spider-Girl can neutralize a minion for two rounds that you don’t want to hit yet. Hulk can tank a couple of Villain attacks, as can Throg. And her techniques create other control opportunities. Evasive Maneuvering and Unyielding Persistence, given their status generation, are most valuable, but Wide Stance’s soft control on the encounter deck is helpful, too. One Moment of Triumph helps Nebula heal in hero mode, saving her a recovery activation in AE so she can swing. It, of course, benefits from Follow Through.

Physiological: Resources, flipping for draw, and stacking your deck

Nebula stays well-fed from her AE draw ability and resources in the deck. The deck has 3 doubles and both Powers of Aggression, and most everything else is priced so that those will be sufficient to get things on the table. Helicarrier is generally affordable and a nice supplemental resource generator (note it can play a 1-cost Lethal Intent for free), and Hall of Heroes provides late-game draw to help close. As I said at the top, you want to flip almost every turn, and you want to play a technique at the top of every round you begin in AE. Saving a technique from the end of one round to the start of another so you get the draw to start your turn is often a valuable play, especially if your deck is big and not stacked with techniques. If your friends complain about your flipping, remind them that you’re going to be providing substantial threat control with Cutthroat Ambition and Into the Fray. Finally, Combat Ready is extremely valuable. I almost always use it to shuffle 1-2 Cutthroat Ambitions and a Weapons Master back into the deck. If I draw a Combat Ready and know I have very high value techniques left, I might use it to pull one, but this is much less common since it doesn’t proc Nebula’s AE ability.

Closing words

Galaxy’s Most Wanted really rewarded rush strategies. Mad Titan’s Shadow has some scenarios that are extremely difficult if not impossible to rush. This aggression deck helps provide quality control while pushing consistent damage to the villain to secure wins. I hope you enjoy it!