Luke Cage - Shure team-up #1: Cage Against the Machine

This is deck #1 of a two-deck pairing, built to be played alongside Shuri - Luke Cage team-up #2: The Royal Upgrade. I built and played these decks together, so I wanted to share them as a pair.

Over the last week, I've built several Protection decks that lean into building up a strong defense and using it to thwart and attack the enemy. For this deck, I wanted to try something different. I also really wanted to play through the Rise of Red Skull campaign on Expert.

So, what's this deck about? The idea is to use the villain phase to get rid of attachments, damage the villain, take out a minion, or stun the villain. This leaves the villain vulnerable and gives Shuri and her signature ally more opportunities to do their thing.

For this deck to shine, it's important to get [Power Man] and Fogwell's Gym into play. Unflappable might look like a priority, but it requires you to defend. The other cards only require you to lose a Tough status card. So, if you have to choose between them, prioritize Luke's signature cards.

After the mulligan, look for Burstein Process. This should be the first card you play. From there, start building your board. See what comes into your hand and adapt your plays to the current game state. There's no need to follow a strict plan; just make the most of the cards you draw.

Play an ally whenever you can afford one. Iron Fist can stun the villain. This isn't so much for Luke's benefit, but to protect Shuri. Jessica Jones helps with threat removal, while Echo can take a small attack from a minion and hold onto your Tough status, or even step in to protect Shuri.

Besides the aspect cards, this deck also runs three copies of First Aid. These are primarily meant to heal T'Challa. Keeping him in play allows Shuri to use the attachments from her hero kit through her signature ally ability every turn. This is an important part of the game plan, so keeping T'Challa around is a top priority!

I played these decks through the Rise of Red Skull campaign on Expert. Crossbones and Zola were a challenge, but the other three scenarios went really well. I had a lot of fun playing these decks together.

If you want to use these decks for a one-shot or in a different campaign, I'd recommend taking a good look at the Protection events and adjusting them to the villain you're facing. There's nothing more frustrating than having a dead card sitting in your hand (looking at you, Disarming Defense!).

Feel free to leave a comment. Tips, suggestions, and experiences with these decks are always much appreciated. I'd love to hear how they worked for you!