Cap's Star-Lord – Guardians of the Galaxy (Leadership)

"I know we all hate each other... but from now on, we're Guardians."

Overview

A true Guardians team deck. The four basic Guardian allies (Groot, Rocket Raccoon, Drax and Gamora) are some of the most efficient allies in the game, but they can only be played if your identity has the Guardian trait. Star-Lord has it in hero form, and he also gives the Guardian trait to every other ally, so Maria Hill, Nova Prime and the rest benefit from the same cards.

This version adds Laser Blaster to arm the team and Rapid Response to keep the best allies on the board.

The team

• Groot: 6 HP and heals 2 after each defense. Your main blocker.
• Rocket Raccoon: +3 ATK with overkill against minions. Your minion cleaner.
• Drax: 3 ATK for 3 cost, but can't attack minions. Point him at the villain.
• Gamora: after she attacks or thwarts, dig for an event and add it to your hand.
• Yondu: steady ranged attacker who ignores retaliate.
• Cosmo: cheap blocker and chip damage.
• Maria Hill: everyone draws a card when she enters play.
• Nova Prime: defeats a non-elite minion when played from hand. Use Star-Lord's discount to drop him for 2.

Game plan

1. Setup: Peter Quill starts with Element Gun in hand. Play it early for piercing damage and to unlock Sliding Shot.
2. Deploy the team in hero form. The Guardian allies can only be played while Star-Lord is in hero form. Knowhere raises your ally limit to 4 and draws a card each time you play an ally. Helicarrier makes them cheaper.
3. Arm the team. Leader of the Guardians gives every ally +1 THW. Laser Blaster gives an ally +1 ATK and overkill. Best on Drax (4 ATK into the villain), Yondu or Gamora.
4. Keep them coming. Rapid Response puts a defeated ally straight back into play. Make the Call brings back anything else.
5. Big turn: Blaze of Glory and Lead from the Front with a full board. C.I.T.T. readies your best ally for a second hit.

Rapid Response targets

• Groot: block until he drops, then he's back for more blocks.
• Maria Hill: comes back and the whole table draws again.
• Rocket Raccoon / Drax: your damage dealers stay on the board.
• Rapid Response and Make the Call put allies into play rather than playing them, so they work in alter-ego and ignore "play only if." They don't trigger Knowhere's draw or Nova Prime's minion kill.

Blaze of Glory

Every Guardian gets +2 THW and +2 ATK for the phase, then takes 1 damage at the end of it. Max 1 per round. Your core allies are natural Guardians, so they always take the damage. Play it on turns when everyone is activating anyway, and watch Yondu and Cosmo at 2 HP. If an ally does die to it, Rapid Response brings them back.

Keeping Star-Lord alive

Star-Lord has only 10 HP and takes extra encounter cards. Endurance gives him +3 HP, Down Time gives his alter-ego +2 REC, and Bad Boy prevents a big villain attack, flips you to alter-ego and draws 2.

The risk engine

Star-Lord's "What could go wrong?" makes a card cost 3 less for a facedown encounter card. Best targets: Nova Prime, Lead from the Front, Sliding Shot. Facedown cards power up Gutsy Move, Sliding Shot, Jet Boots and Star-Lord's Helmet. Daring Escape adds one while readying Star-Lord and drawing a card.

Mulligan

Keep: Knowhere, Helicarrier, Leader of the Guardians, Rapid Response, Groot or Rocket, Maria Hill. Pitch Blaze of Glory, Lead from the Front and Sliding Shot early, as they need a board first.