Napoleon Complex

Intro

Think that Groot protection was 'solved'? Saving those growth counters turn after turn to hit a full 10 attack with "I. AM. GROOT!"?

What if I told you that there was a way to get up to 10 damage on the villain with only a single growth counter?

Art Credit: Damian Couceiro - Groot (2023)

Perceived Shortcomings

Who has the best defense in the game?

Shadowcat? Vision?

If you want to avoid all damage from an attack, sure. But what if you want the highest DEF value?

• Wasp? Rapid Growth is a bit hard to pull off turn after turn
• Gambit with Natural Agility? Even better, but you need to build quite a bit and have Natural Agility in hand for the highest ceiling

What about an upgrade that gives a buff instead?

• Nightcrawler with Kurt's Cutlasses? We're getting there, 4 base DEF is pretty solid
• Domino with a Probability Field? Best so far. Can get up to 6 DEF with a Jackpot! but otherwise typically getting 5 DEF

Can any heroes do better, getting a base of 6 DEF turn after turn, before relying on a single aspect card?

Just one.

Little Man Syndrome (Deck Strategy)

Who says a little guy can't hit hard?

In this deck, Groot is here to prove that he's the best at getting the villain to hit themselves over and over. With every DEF stat buff we can get and a single growth counter from Vine Shield, you'll use your basic defense during the villain phase to get the maximum possible value out of "Stop Hitting Yourself" without needing to rely on any defense events in hand.

You can reach a ceiling of 8 base DEF with on-board upgrades, letting you deal strong damage during the villain phase while also maintaining all those growth counters for big events during the player phase. While this won't be the highest possible value you'll see out of "Stop Hitting Yourself", it's reliable turn after turn.

Defensive Behavior

The more defensive we get, the stronger we get.

In order to make "Stop Hitting Yourself" playable at all times, there are three upgrades to get on board to get up to an 8 DEF stat.

• Vine Shield allows us to get Groot's basic defense to 6
• Armored Vest crosses us over to 7
• Defense Specialist gets us to 8 and gives us a card draw when we use our basic defense

Once we've got Vine Shield on board, we're getting 6 damage out of a two cost card, and we're doing what Groot already wants to do in protection - defend and save those growth counters.

Some lucky timing makes sure that our hits aren't wasted.

• Trigger the card draw from Unflappable and Defense Specialist first for 2 extra cards
• Let Electrostatic Armor ping the tough off of the villain before using a strong "Stop Hitting Yourself"

Because we only need one growth counter for this to work, Ready for a Fight lets us get a quick Growth Spurt and then benefit from perfect defense. Hard Knocks helps survive all those extra minion attacks.

Support System

The gang here is all basic, but they've got plenty of street smarts () and they're a strong bunch (). Their combined power help shore out weaknesses that Groot might have on his own.

• Grant Ward won't defend for you, but you'll want him to thwart anyways. He's also glad to take the damage from Blazing Inferno before drawing treacheries
• Hope Summers might want to grab Fruition but also helps you grab your Vine Shield to set up the most important card in this strategy
• Ironheart is small but mighty, helping to ping those tough cards so big attacks aren't blocked
• Machine Man can line up a Root Stomp or some Hard Knocks and can clear side schemes too
• Professor X might end up not defending, but he's happy to let you go to your Fertile Ground or soak up a minion hit
• Rocket Raccoon can set you up for a Root Stomp or take care of a minion himself, but he's happy to thwart as needed. He'll stay out long enough that you'll get to use Flora and Fauna

Other Card Considerations

Not everyone makes the cut.

Feel free to swap Not Today! with Never Back Down for multiplayer. Remove 1 copy of the defense event if you'd like to be at a tight 40.

I wouldn't recommend focusing on defense events other than a single event to help with Groot's weaknesses. While the combo of defense events and "Stop Hitting Yourself" can be fun to pull off, it comes at the expense of doing anything else in the player phase and a risk of dead hands.

• Brother Voodoo isn't a bad ally to grab and could be easily subbed in for Ironheart or Machine Man
• C.I.T.T. is a card I typically like in Groot, but I found it hard to justify playing most of the time. There's already so much here you want on the board already, and focusing on Lashing Vines is the better option
• Desperate Defense, Never Back Down and Riposte aren't bad defense cards, but they focus on solving problems that don't exist in this deck. Not Today! helps to solve Groot's biggest weakness, a lack of real thwarting power
• Helicarrier was a card that was here for a while, but ended up getting cut. Not being able to utilize this during the villain phase was the biggest downside, and the cost curve here is already pretty low!
• Taunt was fun to help in aiding setup, but was harder to justify against more difficult scenarios. Ready for a Fight already lets us take advantage of some alter-ego benefits while also taking advantage of the perfect defense suite

Results

I've been playing this deck since "Stop Hitting Yourself" was announced, and it's been a fun time trying to get this to work. While I initially focused on defense events in hand with "Stop Hitting Yourself", it ended up feeling like a bit of a trap to reach that perfect combo.

While a "Stop Hitting Yourself" for 8 damage might not be the most flashy, it's about on par with Ghost Kick! Similar to Change of Fortune being more reliable with on-board upgrades than events, "Stop Hitting Yourself" feels great here. It feels like there's finally enough tools for Groot protection to be viable solo as well as multiplayer!