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The Tinkerer's Vs. System Workshop
T.K.O Syndicate
03-24-05

This week I was asked for help with a Marvel Knights deck by a really nice guy I’ve been playing with on Magic Workstation. This is what Jason had to write:

Tom,

Here's the deck that you've been trashing on MWS. :)

I initially tried to do more of an equipment based deck, which focuses more on Blade early and then Punisher at mid-game. This just doesn't seem to be working as well as it could. I'm thinking that I should just change it to a more basic deck that doesn't focus on equips as much. Not sure which way to go with it. I was actually considering a team-up with Crime Lords, but I haven't looked at it too deeply yet. Let me know what recommendations you have. I really appreciate it!!!

Jason

4
Blade, Eric Brooks
2
Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu
4
Daredevil, Protector of Hell's Kitchen
2
Stick, Leader of the Chaste
2
Luke Cage, Street Enforcer
4
Moon Knight, Marc Spector
1
Daredevil, Matt Murdock
4
Punisher, Executioner
2
Luke Cage, Power Man
2
Spiderman, The Spectacular Spiderman
2
Dr. Strange, Stephen Strange
1
Daredevil, Guardian Devil
2
Ghost Rider, Danny Ketch


4
Head Shot
4
Wild Ride
4
Crime and Punishment
4
Pleasant Distraction
3
Bring the Pain
2
Swan dive



4
Jetpack
3
War Wagon

The thing is, this deck at first glance doesn’t have too many problems. I see that with the exception of some “tech” cards like Pleasant Distraction you are mainly going for shear power only. I know that the Knights are great for that, but they are also really strong in other departments, namely board advantage and control. The War Wagons and Swan Dives are a great start and I’m going to continue along those lines.

As always we’ll start with your characters.
You choose not to have and 1 drop characters in your deck and I agree completely with this decision. Sure Micro-Chip might let you use your Wild Rides again and Mikado and Mosha can take care of some other teams annoying 1 drop characters, but in the long run these spaces can be better filled elsewhere. Oh, and I’m not even going to say anything about the Punisher at this level except that 1 drop characters with loyalty are garbage.

In the 2 spot you currently have:
4 Blade
2 Shang Chi
The Blades are the perfect fit, (as they are in almost any MK deck) as they work so well with the War Wagons for an early boost, then he can hang out and KO guys later in the game.
Shang Chi on the other hand is getting the axe so hard it’s gonna make my hands sting. His effect is just so unreliable I can’t ever see him as someone I would want to play.
So if Shang Chi is going where does that leave us? Hannibal King. If you do end up missing your curve or have an opportunity to recruit 2 characters and can get him into your concealed area, Hannibal should give you a good 15 points of burn damage off your opponent.
That leaves us with:
4 Blade
2 Hannibal King

For turn 3 Jason gives us another 2 characters:
4 Daredevil
2 Stick
I know Daredevil can be something of a house on this turn stunning most other 3 drops with ease and sometimes an opposing 4. Thing is Daredevil on this turn is going to screw up what I want to do for turn 5 so something has got to give.
Stick on the other hand has a useless effect for us, but at just 1 attack point shy of a pumped Daredevil he makes a very good beater, and that is the reason he’s becoming the main man on this turn. Not changing any characters here, just the count on them.
4 Stick
2 Daredevil

Turn 4 brings us the standard MK line-up again:
4 Moon Knight
2 Luke Cage
I’m about to do the sacrilegious. Moon Knight didn’t make the cut for team this year. Maybe he can try again next time try-outs come up. Yes, I know how big he can be and yes I know he can potentially attack up the curve but he does not fit into the overall theme I’m going at.
Luke Cage on the other hand has an effect that we absolutely love. Since we’re going to be KOing guy left and right why not draw some cards for our effort? RE: Card drawing = Winning games.
So if we’re chopping off 4 characters we need to fill those spots with some Punishers. Yes I know he’s of barely average stats and we’re only going to drop an equipment onto him outside of the build phase if we’re trying to be sneaky, but it’s really his second effect I’m after for this build. Everyone following along? Very good. Punisher KO’s characters too.
4 Punisher
2 Luke Cage

Turn 5 is something of a pivotal turn for MK because all of the good characters start repeating here and we are at risk for losing board advantage if we recruit a character with a name of one already on our side of the field. Oh, and since Electra and Iron Fist are both so bad we are only left with Daredevil and Punisher again.
So since we went easy on the early Daredevil he’s carrying the torch for us this turn. Punisher is simply amazing here, I’ll be the first to admit that, but Daredevil is just so much more reliable. I’m still not sure if his moving to the hidden area is a good thing or not but that constant 10 defense sells him for me in this deck. Punisher won’t be cut all together; he’ll still be there as a back-up character and a possible power-up but only at a count of 2.
3 Daredevil
2 Punisher

Turn 6 is a much easier turn to deal with. This is because the 6 drop Luke Cage stands out as being the best MK character (and character for every team that doesn’t have a good 6-drop) to fill this spot. Spider-Man is decent and has a somewhat decent effect, but I would only use him if a.) I had nothing else to play, or b.) I was at a disadvantage and needed some time to play catch-up.
3 Luke Cage
1 Spider-Man

Can someone please explain what makes the 7 Daredevil any good at all? Dr. Strange is an amazing guy every which way. And the fact that he makes a great 8 drop too is reason enough to dedicate this spot to him alone. Daredevil has got to go.
2 Dr. Strange

You currently have 2 Ghost Riders rounding out your character curve. I’ve never been a big fan of playing 2 level 8 characters in a deck especially when your 7 drop can be played here for an even better effect. However Ghost Rider does play along well with our theme so let us keep one copy kicking around.
1 Ghost Rider


Plot Twists for Marvel Knights are all pretty dang good so what we need to do is weed out the best from the rest. Let’s start with the obvious….
4 Wild Ride’s are definitely a given. While they may be costly later in the game paying the price is always better than missing a character.
Head Shot and Crime and Punishment are both great choices as they provide great power boosts. Pleasant Distraction on the other hand isn’t really needed. In theory you should always be at least one character ahead of your opponent at all times so defensive cards may not be the way to go (especially since it can only be activated during your attack step.)
Swan Dive on the other hand is a card that should do exceptionally well for us. Therefore I am going to add an additional Swan Dive to your deck.
Bring the Pain is a card I thought long and hard about. While the card gives a great attack boost it is also very costly to your endurance. In the end I decided the temptation to misuse this card was too great so I cut it figuring in the end it will be better to save the endurance for Wild Ride and your characters abilities.
I did come up with a few good Plot Twists to fill in where we drilled holes. Quick Kill is a is a handy card that will allow you to net some early board advantage. And following along those same lines is Judge, Jury, and Executioner. Now I know this probably will not be used much, but there may be a time when you don’t have a War Wagon and really want one….well, this is just about the next best thing as far as Modern Age format goes.

Also since you never know what kind of deck you’re going to be going against in this new format we’re going to add in 2 Psychovilles. These are handy for not only moving your opponents’ characters around, but for also pulling out Luke Cage if you get in a pinch.

And the final section to this fix is the equipment.
You currently have:
4 Jet Packs
3 War Wagons
Both are about the best choices you could have picked, but after the previous cuts we have 2 new spaces open for more. We are going to add another War Wagon which is the meat and potatoes of your deck. The final spot is going to a single copy of Titanium Sword. Believe me that extra 3 burn damage adds up over time.


So this is the final result:
Characters: 30
4 Blade (2 drop)
2 Hannibal King
4 Stick
2 Daredevil (3 drop)
4 Punisher (4 drop)
2 Luke Cage (4 drop)
3 Daredevil (5 drop)
2 Punisher (5 drop)
3 Luke Cage (6 drop)
1 Spider-Man
2 Dr. Strange
1 Ghost Rider (8 drop)

Plot Twists: 19
4 Wild Ride
4 Crime and Punishment
4 Head Shot
3 Swan Dive
2 Judge, Jury, and Executioner
2 Quick Kill

Locations: 2
2 Psychoville

Equipment: 9
4 War Wagon
4 Jetpack
1 Titanium Sword

We now have a deck that is now only powerful, but also has a very strong control element built into it. The key to this deck is to gain board advantage early and not lose control of it. Remember to try to play your turns as follows:

Turn 2 – Blade + War Wagon
Turn 3 – Stick
Turn 4 – Punisher + Jetpack
Turn 5 – Daredevil
Turn 6 – Luke Cage
Turn 7 – Dr. Strange
Turn 8 – Ghost Rider
And onto victory.
I think you will enjoy this version Jason, let me know how it does.
And for the rest of you,
Ciao Babe.