Pedroq · 145
Deck Summary
This is a solo and co-op deck that deals consistent damage during the Villain phase. It only needs The X-Jet, X-Gene, and Deft Focus to operate. 99% of the time you will attach Touched to the Villain. During the Player phase you build up your upgrades to hit higher damage output or play your identity cards for utility.
*The deck is over the 40 card minimum cause I don't mind going over. 3x Powerful Punch and 1x Judoka Skill can be cut if you want to be a lean 40 and still have the same effect.
**Went looking for others that did this type of build and found Amarethus' deck build that uses Multiple-Man. They go over the 40 card minimum too so you lean-40-card-players need to join us on plus size side of deck building. Check out their build here: https://marvelcdb.com/decklist/view/26319/multiple-rogue-1.0
Deck Piloting Strategy
Solo
In solo play, play as many defense cards during the Villain's attack. The defense cards are all 1 cost so you can play multiple. On the low end, you will deal 1 point of damage with the Retaliate gained from Touched. On the high end, you will deal minimum 4 points of damage to the villain from Touched retaliate + Dauntless retaliate + Electrostatic Armor pseudo retaliate + Flow Like Water. You will likely be readied so you can attack/thwart during the player phase.
Co-op
In co-op play, you can defend for your teammates several times while avoiding all damage by using Bulletproof Belle or combining Preemptive Strike and Judoka Skill. Defending 3 times is relatively easy, so on the low end, you deal a total of 3 damage to the Villain with retaliate. If you have the protection upgrades attached, then you're consistently dealing over 8 damage to the Villain every phase. And you're teammates do not have to worry about taking damage.
*3x First Aid and the 2x Energy Transfer gives plenty of healing incase you overdo it on defending.
Primary Resource Generation:
Prioritize The X-Jet, X-Gene, and Deft Focus. Mulligan hard for these cards. These three cards are all the resource generation you need for the deck to function well. Forge's primary purpose is to find The X-Jet. If you are playing co-op with another X-Men/Mutant character, attach Touched to the Mutant trait character to avoid flipping down to attach X-Gene.
The Protection Upgrades:
Attach the rest of your upgrades as is convenient. These upgrades enhance the synergy and output of the deck, but aren't necessary to the core strategy of the deck. Unflappable and Nerves of Steel help with resource generation for the defense events. Judoka Skill synergizes with your protection defense events to prevent the incoming damage and ensure Unflappable triggers even against the stronger Villains. Generally you will be doing Retaliate 1 thanks to Touched. But with Dauntless you deal Retaliate 2, Electrostatic Armor adds another point of damage when you defend, and Flow Like Water adds another point of damage per defense event played; you deal 4 damage minimum to the Villain every time you play a defense card.
Duke It Out In The Villain Phase:
Look to defend as much as possible for yourself, and teammates in co-op. Always prioritize attaching Touched to the Villain with Rogue's Skin Contact ability. You gain Retaliate; return damage is the main damage output.
Bulletproof Belle and Preemptive Strike are interrupts that make Rogue the defender without having to exhaust. Use them to redirect the Villain's attacks away from your teammates in co-op. Trigger Judoka Skill to reduce the Villain's damage output. Bulletproof Belle is best used on the Villain's attack against the player ahead of you in player order. You will prevent all the damage they take, then gain tough. When the Villain attacks you, you let the attack go undefended so the tough status absorbs the damage. Desperate Defense allows you to defend then ready for multiple basic power defends in a turn. Never Back Down is a pseudo Desperate Defense - use it to stun the Villain to avoid an attack activation all together. Ensure the secondary effects of Desperate Defense and Never Back Down with Judoka Skill.
The Player Phase:
You will generally be left with your identity cards to play during the Player phase. Play your identity cards using the resources on the board like The X-Jet, X-Gene, and Deft Focus.
First Aid and Energy Transfer will restore you to full health to activate Dauntless's constant effect if you happen to take damage. It was rare that my health dropped down from full even in 3 player co-op because the deck is very defensive. If you have a rough start, then the heals help to bring you up to full and unlock the full potential of the deck.
Thwarting is the weakest part of the deck, but even that it does well. Goin' Rogue is great. In solo play, it will remove 3 threat and confuse the Villain. The confuse will stay on the entire game because you rarely need to flip to alter-ego. Flip to alter-ego to attach X-Gene or if an alter-ego action is needed to remove an attachment. Otherwise, use the confuse as a counter to Advance encounter card. In co-op, Goin' Rogue has more versatility to combo with the others for major threat removal, or confuse the Villain so a teammate can safely flip down to alter-ego. Basic Thwart Power is useful too. Rogue will likely be ready in the player phase thanks to the different defensive cards she has. Gambit is also a thwart tool. Keep him around longer with First Aid.
Southern Cross helps you deal more damage to the Villain and stun them to limit their attacks, but I've found that it's best used to knock out the minions on the board. Your damage output is mainly through the return damage from retaliate and defense cards in the Villain phase, so you want the Villain to attack.