Wild Diversity

The Quest

I've been looking for the perfect Magik deck ever since she came out. Every time I tried to build a deck for her it didn't feel quite right. If I leaned in to her ability to use both X-Men and Mystic cards my deck felt clogged, clunky, and samey. I wanted it to feel like I was playing Magik! Not like I was playing a vessel for trait locked cards.

So what do I want out of a Magik deck?

1. Make use of the Mystic and X-Men traits leaning primarily into Mystic.

   • I want to use primarily Mystic because the X-Men trait is less unique. I want her to feel like a sorcerer that works with the X-Men, not an X-Men that can cast a spell.

2. I want to make use of her upgrades Magik's Crown, Mystical Armor, and Soulsword.

   • To make use of all 3, I need to have a lot of wild resources in the deck.

3. I don't want it to feel like every other X-Men deck that utilizes the powerful tribal support.

   • That kind of deck is good, but any X-Men can do it. I want to build a deck that Magik uses better than any other character.

4. I want the deck to be strong enough to defeat any scenario in solo expert mode.

   • Magik is a powerful character, so I want to give her a powerful deck.

5. I want to have a few quirky cards that you wouldn't expect to see, but are still optimal.

   • I don't need to avoid every staple card, but making use of niche cards in a way that doesn't compromise power is a cool deck building challenge that makes the game more fun to play. And if I do include staples (spoilers, I did) I want to make use of them in a unique way.

Every time I tried to build a deck for her I fell short of at least one of these goals. It felt impossible to build effectively around Mystic, X-Men, and her upgrades in a way that felt powerful and fun... Until Now!

I was just scrolling through cards looking for wild resources when I saw Strength in Diversity. Suddenly, in burst of inspiration, I realized this card is the solution I've been looking for. Let me explain why. It's a wild resource which enables the kicker on each of Magik's upgrades, it makes use of both her Mystic and X-Men trait meaning that it's at minimum a 2 output, it opens the door to a wider array of allies, and on top of all that, it's compact enough to still allow Mystic and X-Men specific cards!

Let Me Explain

Magik is one of the most complex characters in the game. I won't give an exhaustive tutorial of how to use every card in her kit, but some general tips and my thoughts on the unique cards in this deck list should certainly smooth things out for anyone trying this out themselves. Here we go.

Strength in Diversity is the star of the deck. It is baseline 2 output due to your hero traits, but it quickly ramps up. Vivian has 3 unique traits Aerial, Android, and Champion. With her on the field, Strength in Diversity is already up to 5 output. Throw in another ally with 2 unique traits like Deadpool, Nick Fury, or Domino and that's 7 output from just a 2 cost card that you can split between multiple targets and choose between damage and threat removal. Insane value! Domino is a really cool ally for Magik. In addition to being a wild resource, she functions as a second Limbo which is your most important card. Children of the Atom grants your identity and your mutant allies X-Factor, X-Men, and X-Force. Even with no allies out, Magik now has 4 active traits for Strength in Diversity. It's a nice cherry on top for the deck. It's not as important as setting up your economy, but if you get time on the first deck pass to play it, it's a welcome addition. And if not, it's always good on the second deck pass too.

Now for some tips:

• Make sure to sequence properly. If Strength in Diversity is on top of your deck, make sure to make use of your basic activations first to get the kicker while the wild is on top of the deck.
• Use Limbo to get Colossus or Magic Barrier on top of your deck for the villain phase.
• Avengers Mansion is useful for getting the right card on top of your deck. If Spiritual Meditation is on top of your deck, draw it so you can increase the odds of having a good target for your hero ability.
• Scrying is a very useful card. It let's you draw a card and set up the top of your deck to be a good card. Don't underestimate how useful it is.

Because the concept is very diverse.... get it, there are a lot of cards you can swap in or out. Any ally with unique traits and a useful effect is a good candidate. Here are some allies to consider:]

• Blade he's a vampire. That's awesome. And he is great at throwing in front of the villain for free when he's on top of the deck.
• Adam Warlock he just barely didn't make the cut for me. But he's on theme and goes well with the wild resources.
• War Machine he has 2 unique traits and can block 2 attacks.
• Any ally you want. If it's fun, then play it!

I tested this deck against expert Apocalypse 1. Gene Pool is tough to deal with when you're using allies, but Strength in Diversity was able to keep Gene Pool in check despite using allies to block when I didn't have Magic Barrier or Colossus ready to go. This deck is a blast to play and I hope you have fun with it.

Here's a gameplay video of me playing the deck on stream against Ebony Maw on the Daring difficulty: https://www.youtube.com/live/fISaGiOPDWI?si=AgiVdBYQgPv6ooa4&t=1214

-Stay Zesty