Despite having a hero hand size of only 4 there is a lot to like about Psylocke:

1) From turn 1 she has 2 resource generators on the table.

So even with a small hero hand size she has more resources available to her at the start of the game than the typical hero.

Resources:

Psylocke- 8 in Alter / 6 in Hero

Typical Hero- 6 in Alter / 5 in Hero

With all of the supports in this deck in play we can get those numbers to:

14 in Alter & 11 in Hero

(this is assuming you flip to alter-ego every other turn)

2)She can thwart or attack(w/ piercing) for 3 using her basic powers.

These stats can be achieved on turn 1, & without the help of additional upgrades. This allows her to more easily control the board state early in the game.

3)She can confuse lock villains.

With (3) Flurry of Blades , (2) Psionic Redirect, & (1) Psionic Training she has 6 hero cards that can confuse. And since those cards are psionic we can use her alter-ego ability to shuffle them back into our deck, dramatically increasing the odds that we will draw them again as our deck thins.

4)She is extremely versatile.

Flurry of Blades

-Can be used for damage or to prevent threat(confuse).

Mental Detection

-Can be used to thwart, or to draw cards if threat is under control.

Psionic Redirect

-Can either prevent additional damage or confuse.

Telepathic Suggestion

-Can either remove threat or deal damage.

Her basic thwart/attack stats are both equally high.

Training Regimen & her alter-ego action can tutor specific cards depending on what you may need at that moment.

All of these things create a very flexible hero that can handle whatever problem is put in front of her.

5)She is psionic & a mutant

This opens the door to some very powerful deck building options.

Deck Build

This deck gives you so much flexibility & so many options to tackle whatever is put in front of you. It does not rely on multi card combos that are inconsistent & can take most of the game to set up. I have had many games against strong villains in expert that felt like I was playing on stage 1 in Standard. And It is worth mentioning that this deck is 2 for 2 against Expert Venom Goblin(a steady/stalwart villain), & that was with Advanced Glider & Symbiotic Monstrosity coming into play in both games.

Supports

Cerebro

Is at the top of the list of cards you want to get out early in the game. Being able to search your entire deck for an X-men ally is very powerful. And because we are able to confuse lock the villain & flip down at will, we can do this every turn, tutoring an ally based on what’s needed on that specific turn. This also increases the likelihood that we have something to dump all of our resources into, which allows us to run 5 double resource cards in this deck. And having so many X-Men Allies in the deck means Cerebro can reliably be used as a resource generator when an ally is not needed.

X-Mansion

Can be used to heal 2 damage from Psylocke every turn, but in my experience she stays healthy enough to use its ability on an ally, which in most games will keep an ally in play that can thwart or attack for at least 2 every turn. If it is used for Storm, Bishop, or Banshee the stats/benefits get even better.

X-Bunker

A great new card that combos well with Build Support in this deck. Once Build Support is in the victory display, X-Bunker basically becomes a 2 cost Avenger’s Mansion.

Crew Quarters

Keeps Psylocke healthy by allowing her to heal for 2 every turn we flip to alter without having to use her valuable basic activation.

Avengers Mansion / Helicarrier / Moira MacTaggert/ Training Regimen

These supports are all used for resource generators & for card draw.

Training Regimen

Can be used to tutor “skill” cards like Heroic Intuition, Float Like a Butterfly, Skilled Investigator, Target Acquired, & Directed Force, but most often i find it to be more useful as a resource generator.

Build Support

Psylocke is able to clear build Support with only one basic activation, which gives us another way to tutor one of our many valuable supports, & allows us to use X-Bunker for card draw.

Allies

We have 8 X-Men allies to choose from with many different abilities & strengths but Professor X will no doubt be the powerhouse of the Cerebro combo.

Professor X

He can thwart for 3, confuse the villain, block an attack, & (because he is Psionic) we can shuffle him back into the deck with Psylocke’s alter-ego ability & do it all over again the very next turn. If you are playing solo you will most likely want to play Professor every time you flip up so you can use him to block the villain’s attack and have him confused for your next flip down to alter-ego. Having Cerebro in play, with Professor in the deck (or even the discard pile) guarantees that we always have a block & a confused villain.

Dazzler

She is a good alternative to Professor when you need a confuse but:

-are flipping to alter-ego.

-need damage instead of thwart.

-don’t need a blocker.

Forge

A great ally to increase our odds of getting Cerebro & X-Mansion early in the game.

Storm

Can be very powerful in multiplayer where I would recommend adding Mission training to effectively boost her thwart to 5, & keep her in play with X-Mansion. You can also add another player side scheme to ensure she has something to move threat to.

Blindfold

Great for times when the board is under control & you want to keep it that way. She can also be shuffled back into the deck since she is Psionic

Colossus

Good for defending, especially against overkill. Also good for burst damage.

Bishop

If you choose to heal him with X-Mansion, he can be used to thwart for 2 every turn & build up & store a burst of damage until it is needed.

Banshee

Confusing a minion each time he thwarts can be a good way to put off killing it until the next turn, but with Float Like a Butterfly in play it also becomes a way to get more damage on that minion.

Upgrades

Psimitar

With all of the psionic cards in Psylocke’s kit & as frequently as you’ll be playing Professor, Psimitar is almost a guaranteed 2 damage every turn. It is a great upgrade to get out early, but it is restricted so you will need to have Side Holster in play if you want to flip both Psi upgrades to Katanas(also restricted). If Psylocke’s obligation is drawn without Side Holster in play Psimitar will have to be discarded.

Float Like a Butterfly

This is a great mid to late game play that should help you finish off the villain much more quickly. It boosts every instance of damage from an attack by 1 as long as the enemy you attack is confused. So Flurry of Blades with Psimatar in play would do 12 damage!!

Telekinesis

This card was added to provide more damage potential & to give Psylocke another option to dump excess resources into.

Gameplay

Early Game

1st priority - Get Cerebro in play early

With 3 different ways of doing that: Forge, Build Support, & drawing Cerebro, you will rarely have a problem finding it early. Once Cerebro is in play you can tutor & play Professor, shuffle him back into the deck from the discard using Psylocke’s alter ego ability, and pull him back into hand using Cerebro again. This is our main source of board control, and it is so good that some games may seem stress free because of the lack of pressure from the villain. You always have a blocker, the villain is always confused, and Professor’s 3 thwart is usually enough to keep the main under control. The only thing Psylocke is left to deal with on her own are encounter cards.

Card draw & resources

Get the rest of your supports into play as soon as possible. The extra cards & resources will allow you to do so much more every turn.

Voltron Ally

Once X-Mansion is in play you need to get a second ally on the board to give yourself an extra 2 attack/thwart every turn.

Side Holster & Psimitar

Since we are playing a psionic card almost every turn & Psimitar does not require additional resources to activate, it really helps deal with minions & can whittle down the villain’s health while you build out.

Late Game

Float Like a Butterfly

Should not be prioritized early since our focus will be on controlling minions & threat but mid to late game it should not be passed up since it will help us finish off the villain much more quickly.

-With the villain being confuse locked for most of the game you should be flipping down every other turn to take advantage of Psylocke’s alter-ego hand size of 6, to shuffle psionic cards back into the deck, to use our powerful alter-ego supports, and to increase her survivability.

As you can see this is a control and build deck, but once you have all of your supports & upgrades on the table you can finish the villain off very quickly. You will have 11-14 resources at your disposal every turn. Your deck will be thinned so you will be drawing Psylocke’s powerful event cards more often. Flurry of Blades with Float Like a Butterfly & Psimitar out will be doing 12 damage. If you shuffle Flurry of Blades back into a thin deck using Psylocke’s alter-ego action you should be able to draw two Flurry of Blades in one hand, giving you at least 21 points of damage. I have done around 35 points of damage in many of my final turns, flipping the villain to its 3rd stage & finishing it off in the same turn. This is almost a must have ability against villains like Venom Goblin or Green Goblin that drown you in encounter cards when their 3rd stage is revealed.

Cards that could be removed:

(2) The Power of the Mind & Telekinesis

Cards that could be added:

Utopia - Would be very valuable if you are playing multiplayer & have an X-Men teammate that can give you Honorary X-Men. Being able to ready multiple times per turn would also increase the value of Heroic Intuition, which has the skill trait. If you are playing multiplayer and you want to lean into Storm’s thwarting ability you could add Mission Training to boost her thwart & Superpower Training for something to move the 2 extra threat to. Danger Room Training & Game Time could even be added, but in solo this would be a little overkill on thwarting. Target Acquired is good against villains with nasty boost abilities and is also a skill.