“And My Thorax!” - Ant-Man/Aggression v1.0

Believe the hype. Ant-Man is an S-tier powerhouse. He’s as versatile and reliable as Cap. His toolkit can dominate almost any situation. At the same time, Ant-Man’s path to victory isn’t a rote auto-win process (like some would say about Dr. Strange). Playing a good Ant-Man requires many small decisions, and focusing on the Villain’s weakness. More than most heroes, Ant-Man rewards players who prepare for the Villain’s turn. Ant-Man’s deck is satisfying to play because, with so much flexibility, every option seems cool, but not every option is optimal.

The trick in designing a good Ant-Man deck is to lean into that flexibility -- to complement and amplify his toolkit -- so even a tiny ant can have the power of a GIANT.

One Deck, Three Styles

Depending on the Villain (and draw luck), this deck has the flexibility to play three ways: Face Smash, Ally Spam, and Board Control. The primary variables to consider when playing are the Villain’s HP, and their general strategy. This deck offers three different ramps to suit those needs. Usually the game ends with a Giant Stomp or two. Determining when to fly off the ramp and start Stomping is a key tipping point decision.

FACE SMASH

If the villain has low HP overall (e.g., most of RoRS), and you draw Ant-Man's Helmet early, consider Stomping post haste. Endurance keeps you going. Let your allies take chump hits so you can deal basic attacks. Giant Strength is not important to this strategy. You should expect to win before your deck shuffles. End your turn Tiny whenever possible to benefit from the extra card, Helmet heal, and the extra Giant damage against a Tough enemy. Plus, changing to Tiny and removing 1 scheme often provides all the thwarting you will need in a game this fast. This effect and Ant-Man’s healing powers put him a notch above the other 4-card-hand face smashers in solo.

ALLY SPAM

Throw down 2-3 copies of Team-Building Exercise, and let the good times roll. The cost reduction means you’ll be playing a new ally almost every turn. This especially helps against bruiser villains, or Mutagen Green Goblin’s scheme kicker. Ant-Man’s healing is good, but not good enough to survive multiple hits from Kang. If you’re in for a longer fight against a high HP villain, hold on to "You'll Pay for That!".

BOARD CONTROL

Kang, Kang, Kang. The time-traveling villain is Ant-Man’s toughest solo matchup. (Disclaimer: I play a hard variant in which the player must defeat Stage 2 Kang to proceed.) Playing against Kang forced the most changes in this deck. The obligations put a serious damper on Ant-Man's flow. Kang will steal your helmet and lock down other essential elements of your ramp. The solution? Play conservative. Build the whole ramp. Or, as much as you can. Of course, to get rid of the obligations, you will have to change into Scott Lang. In 10+ plays with this deck, I changed to Alter-Ego maybe twice -- and then I met Kang. With the board control approach, you’ll be doing a higher portion of damage with Army of Ants, while relying on allies for chump hits. Fortunately, the finale is satisfying -- your full complement of flexible options and powerful allies, ready to stomp.

TINY DETAILS

This deck is full of win, but there are a couple less obvious points brewing beneath the surface.

1) You probably won’t need Hive Mind or Wrist Gauntlets, and possibly not Giant Strength (see above). These cards’ strengths seem obvious, but in this deck they are situational pinch-hitters. The resources these cards require are better spent elsewhere, primarily on allies and attacking. Other Aggro deck designs may lean into Wrist Gauntlets or Giant Strength. This ain’t it.

2) Don’t let the ramp distract you from winning quickly. It’s a good ramp. But you’re probably only going to shuffle your deck once, if even. The deck is designed so you’re almost guaranteed to draw enough essential ramp cards along the way, before the Stomp-man cometh. Build the ramp you need, no more.

3) What’s missing?

Genius and The Power of Aggression never made the cut -- the deck has plenty of resource generation, and I wanted Hulk to stay on the table. You could probably try War Machine. I tried Moment of Triumph -- it’s unnecessary; Ant-Man heals plenty on his own. Swarm Tactics and Earth's Mightiest Heroes require draw luck and can lead to dead hands; against most villains, Wasp/another ally is taking a chump hit, so the chances of meeting the synergy requirements are even lower. Long story short -- relying on combos weakens flexibility. Combat Training, Battle Fury, Hall of Heroes, Hercules, Get Over Here! were all tested and dropped for reasons.

4) What’s coming?

Once Wasp's pack comes out, Surprise Attack should be an easy addition, likely replacing Skilled Strike. Then, I’ll test with Martial Prowess, probably instead of Counterattack.

5) What about multiplayer?

He ramps and stomps. Probably pair him with Justice, maybe Protection. I don’t know. Multiplayer isn’t happening in my house. We’re living in a pandemic, and we have a 3-month-old baby. Some Tiny things take priority over others. If you do try multi, let me know in the comments.

SMALL AND CRAFTY

I’ve won with this deck on Expert against every Villain who dared face me. Ant-Man loves solving all kinds of problems and being a cool nerd in the process. You get to flip a big-*ss card A LOT and hang with totally sweet Avenger buddies. So pop some Pym particles, grab your gear, and STOMP.