Great Leaders Inspire Greatness In Others (Voltron)

I've had this deck for a while and didn't see anything else like it on the database, so I decided to finally post it for public consumption.

Ever since the Iron Man ally was released, I had visions of creating a voltron-style deck focused squarely on his ability to tech up for free. After a few unsuccessful attempts in a Spider-Woman Aggression-Leadership deck utilizing Inspired and Enraged, I decided to retire the idea. Then Ant-Man came along and once I saw Ronin, Giant-Man, and the upgrades, I knew the day had finally come. This deck cuts out the chaff and includes only what's necessary to keep your friends healthy and strong. This deck follows a very structured game plan, yet is flexible enough to handle almost anything the villain throws at you, thanks to absurd utility of allies. With a fully powered up trio of heavy hitters on your side, there's pretty much no villain or scheme that can stand in your way of victory.

Strategy Outline

Your end game is simple: have the trio of Iron Man, Ronin, and Giant-Man in play, fully upgraded, and then swing away like Barry Bonds at the All-Star Game. Three allies may seem a little slim for a Leadership deck, but with so much draw power at your disposal (Commander, Alpha Flight Station, and, to a lesser extent, Photonic Blast) you shouldn't have a lot of trouble finding them. And, in the event that your allies are absent for too long, Captain Marvel has a respectable 12 HP and can more than hold her own in a fight until the cavalry finally arrives. Once your team is fully assembled, keep them fighting fit with healing abilities and the enemy will fall in no time flat.

Early Game

Your immediate priority is to play at least two allies. Iron Man and Ronin are the obvious choices but Giant-Man is also worth considering due to his sheer mass. Energy Absorption and the basic resource package will make things easier on your economy, but don't be afraid of tossing away upgrades to help foot the bill; the deck has plenty to go around. Spider-Woman is good too but I wouldn't tech into her too much, unless you desperately need the extra thwart or damage; she's good in the early game for buying you a turn in AE mode, but she doesn't take advantage of those delicious upgrades like the Big Three do. Speaking of upgrades...

Mid Game

By now, you should have at least two, if not all three, of your primary allies out, so now is the time to start building them up to peak fighting strength. You should prioritize Inspired and Reinforced Suit for those sweet damage, thwart, and HP boosts, but if you're facing a critical mass of minions and threat, then switch to Power Gloves and Sky Cycle for quantity over quality. Team Training should eventually come out too; one extra HP might not seem like a big deal but your allies require a significant investment to reach their maximum potential, so you want to squeeze every last ounce of utility out of them.

Late Game

With two or three fully powered up allies in play, the time has come to give the villain their just desserts! Your friends have probably taken a significant self-inflicted beating by this point too, so give them a pick-me-up with First Aid and be an Inspiring Presence to give them the strength they need to bravely head into the fray once more. If they're near death and you have no way to heal them, take the fight to the villain yourself with Photonic Blast and blow them to Kingdom Come with a well-timed Energy Channel to seal the victory. BOOM!

Final Thoughts

I've had a lot of success with this deck in both solo and multiplayer on standard and expert (I don't do heroic, fwiw). It does start slowly and it is vulnerable to minion-heavy scenarios, but it can deliver landslide victories once it's online. There aren't many things I would change about it, but this obviously depends on player preference. Not everyone might be okay with Giant-Man's steep up front investment. In that case, I could see Ant-Man, Black Knight, Vision, and maybe even Wonder Man filling his shoes (though keep in mind that the latter two will cost you more total resources in the long run). I could see Team Training also not making the cut for some; if you can get more out of your allies with less HP, well then hey, good for you! So get out there and be an inspiration to all the Champions of the world!