Quicksilver- Always Be Jarnbjorning 2.0

This is a revisiting of a deck I made nearly two years ago (back in 2021)

I wanted to see if there were any new cards that could improve it, since it has been a staple in my two-handed solo games in the past two years, and I wondered if it might be outdated.

Turns out...not a ton of Aggression cards have been released that would alter the deck's purpose. But my own perspective has definitely changed, and so we now have Never Stop Jarnbjorning 2.0.

Here's the original description, updated to reflect the changes made for 2023:

Quicksilver by himself is a pretty formidable hero, becoming a 2-2-2 once his aspect upgrades hit the table. Using basic actions twice per turn can quickly add up, and that’s without even incorporating his many incredible Superpower cards.

Which is what makes this so interesting to play, because it feeds the Hero deck’s goal of boosting Pietro’s stats, and pairs it with a solitary, mind-boggling combo-Jarbjorning.

To get the absolute most out of Jarnbjorning, you obviously need to get it on to the table. The other card that brings this smorgasbord of slaughter to life is Quicksilver’s own Friction Resistance, which provides a ‘might’ resource to feed Jarnbjorn. This prevents you from sacrificing cards to the fearsome Jarnbjorn, but the real peanut butter in the chocolate is that Friction Resistance readies every time Quicksilver does. Honestly, I feel like someone on the design team at FFG did this on purpose, because it is an unbelievable synergy. With Fric Res, you will have a ‘might’ to feed Jarn literally every time you attack. I just stack it under Jarbjorn and treat it as the ‘upkeep’.

You can also Mean Swing with Jarnbjorn for an additional 3 damage...and STILL USE Jarnbjorn. Because exhausting in Champions isn't like MtG; it's just a cost, not a condition. Since Jarnbjorn doesn't require exhausting to use its ability, you can keep using it while it's sideways. Brutal.

But the stupendous Jarnbjorn doesn’t end it’s gifts there. The extra 2 damage you generate from Jarn can be dealt to any enemy on the board, allowing you to pick off minions with abandon.

This is the central conceit of the deck, and the faster you get to it, the greater the compounded damage you will be doing. To that end, I recommend you mulligan every card in your opening hand that isn’t Jarnbjorn or Friction Resistance. And absolutely do not get precious about any other cards…play everything, every turn. Burn through your hands as fast as possible until the primo duo are on the table.

That said, you will still need to prioritize the cards that aren’t Jarn or Fric Res. The second most important card to get on the table is Deft Focus. This allows you to pay 1 less for any Superpower card, and Quicksilver may be broken in this regard because thirteen of his fifteen aspect cards are Superpowers. Including his Upgrades! That’s one third of the deck that you can affect with Deft Focus.

The next lower priority will be the Attack and Thwart upgrades. Basic actions are Quicksilver’s bread and butter, so you need to get him juiced up. The defense upgrade is nice, but pumping the ATK and THW for repeated uses each turn yields more benefit.

The limited number of allies means Quicksilver can seem fragile, making the Down Time and Endurance upgrades go a very long way toward his survivability. Down Time might be the better of the two, since it allows you to get back in the fray after a single switch to Alter-Ego. Also, if your health is low enough, losing the Endurance upgrade can literally kill you, so it’s not quite as important.

As for the support cards, I recommend prioritizing the Avengers Mansion over the others. The Quincarrier is great, but technically the Mansion accomplishes the same task (an extra card is an extra resource) while also digging deeper into your deck for the cards you need. Plus, it can give other heroes a card in a pinch. Also, it 'technically' takes four turns of using it to earn back the cost of Avengers Mansion, so the earlier it hits the table the sooner it will be a 'net benefit' (if you care about that sort of card counting thing).

Serval Industries isn’t nearly as helpful as I would like it to be because Quicksilver wants to be in Alter Ego mode as little as possible. With his Alter-Ego ability and Down Time, a single turn gets Quicksilver a ton of mileage, so you’re probably not going to be using Serval Industries often enough to make it a higher priority.

Deck Weaknesses

First of all, it has little to deal with threat beyond Quicksilver’s basic Thwart and Smash the Problem. Which is really nothing to sneeze at, particularly with Maximum Velocity available. And Double Time can get some things handled in a pinch (seriously, how awesome is Quicksilver’s aspect deck?). But having a second hero with a Justice deck would really seal the deal.

There also aren’t any minion-specific cards in this deck. I think Pietro handles that just fine with his inherent ability (repeated smaller attacks) coupled with Jarnbjorn (2 to any enemy) but he doesn’t have cards that capitalize on defeating minions (Battle Fury, "Bring It!", Chase Them Down) or giving you free hits (Lie in Wait).

However, Adrenaline Rush can easily be swapped out for cards that would handle specific circumstances. Likewise, you could shave off a Mean Swing and a Skilled Strike in favor of something geared specifically for the villain you are facing.

This deck relies heavily on upgrades, so Villains that punish you for having them or regularly remove upgrades are the bane of Quicksilver’s existence. For example, The Wrecking Crew have a load of cards that force you to either give up an upgrade or add threat for each upgrade you control. As a result, you could easily add six, seven or even eight threat to side schemes in order to keep your kit. That is rough.

Final Thoughts

I love playing this deck. It isn’t as much of a puzzle every turn like playing Ant-Man (my favorite Hero) but there are plenty of difficult decisions to handle as you get Pietro into fighting shape. Just know that you want to play your entire hand every single turn to ensure you get to the Jarnbjorn combo, and then keep burning until you have ATK and THW bonuses.

And playing your entire hand shouldn't be hard, since 29 of the cards cost 2 or less, and 18 of the cards are 1 cost or less. You will thin the deck out heavily on your first pass by playing upgrades, and your second pass through will regularly churn out 15-20 damage a turn.