Discard Me, Baby, One More Time | Adam Warlock

Premise

Adam Warlock's deckbuilding requirements make it tempting to try to play some of the best support and upgrade cards from each aspect or to try to build Super-Leadership using expensive allies. If you can stay alive long enough to pull it off, the result would certainly be impressive, but it's an unpredictable and uneven playstyle since you'd usually need to cycle through the deck 3+ times before having everything you need on the field.

This deck focuses on making the most of the Battle Mage ability for more reliable results. The keys are minimizing basic cards, a low cost curve, and prioritizing essential setup cards from Adam Warlock's hero cards.

How-To

Until you get at least one copy of Mystic Senses on the field, use Battle Mage tactically. After that, it's a free card cycle every round, and having both copies in play turns Adam Warlock into a card draw machine. Once you have at least one of Karmic Staff and The Sorcerer Supreme on the field, you should have the resources to play 2-3 cards each round. Warlock's Cape is nice, but Soul World is usually a higher priority.

You should mulligan to try to get at least one of the above cards in the first round. Never discard a Mystic Senses unless you know you have a Quantum Magic to recover it. Discard Quantum Magic only if you're close to resetting your deck and need the resource.

Keep track of whether you've discarded your two copies of Quantum Magic each time you run through your deck. If they're still available and you're looking for specific cards, make a point of using Karmic Blast, Cosmic Awareness, Magic Attack, Zone of Silence, Summoning Spell, and Shield Spell in order to search for key cards. (If both copies of Quantum Magic end up discarded while you need key cards from the discard pile, speed up your cycle through your deck.)

Once you have your essential setup cards in play, you can use Quantum Magic in combination with the speed at which you burn through your deck to recur specific event cards to respond to the situation. Combined with the Mystic Senses card draw off Battle Mage, this is the key to Adam Warlock's power.

Most of this deck's damage comes from Karmic Blast and the combination of Bug with Energy Spear. Cosmic Awareness is your big thwart event, but it's so big you often don't need it. Allies, aspect events, and Justice-aspect Battle Mage help you keep threat under control. Wiccan is my preferred choice to target with healing from Protection-aspect Battle Mage and Innovation, but either Ant-Man or Maria Hill provide more total threat removal if that's your priority.

Adam Warlock should be defending himself most of the time and only using allies to block in order to stay out of the danger zone. The importance of getting Armored Vest on the field will vary depending on the villain's Attack and your luck with boost cards. In some scenarios, it's solely fuel for Battle Mage.

Cosmic Ward is a fun card, but it doesn't get you any closer to winning. Typically, you should play anything else if you have the option.

Customization and Notes

• Aggression: Skilled Strike and Chase Them Down can be replaced based on your needs. Lie in Wait and Looking for Trouble are alternatives for minion-heavy scenarios. Hulk could replace Spider-Girl as a blocker in scenarios with extreme enemy damage output, but this deck isn't built to use him as an attacker. Counterattack is only worthwhile against villains that regularly hit insane Attack numbers.
• Basic: You can add a few basic cards without breaking this deck, though I don't suggest pushing it all the way to 50. Both Booster Boots and Endurance add durability, with the former synergizing with Quantum Magic. Martinex is a solid ally if you want more of those. (Basic is the opposite of aspects, in that it's better to add support or upgrade cards that stay on the field rather than events or temporary upgrades.)
• Justice: Making an Entrance and One Way or Another are your flex cards. Justice-aspect Battle Mage is usually the second best use of the ability (after Protection-aspect), so upgrade and support cards that sit on the field have an additional cost in Justice, which is why Heroic Intuition and Skilled Investigator are not included. Clear the Area, Multitasking, and Eros are all viable options.
• Leadership: Major Victory and Make the Call are your flex cards. Inspired is a tempting swap for the latter. Squirrel Girl is valuable in scenarios with lots of low-Health minions. Regroup is a niche option for scenarios where you're likely to get swarmed by hard-hitting minions and need to sacrifice allies. In solo, you'll be burning Leadership cards as resources more often than using them for Battle Mage. In multiplayer games, the value of Leadership-aspect Battle Mage is based on what your partners can do with the boost.
• Protection: The choice between Clea and Starhawk is between flexibility and short-term gain. Returning Starhawk to your hand will often let you play an additional card that round, but Clea requires less careful management. First Hit is your flex card, so if you want both allies, cut it. As with Justice, you want Protection cards you can discard for Battle Mage, so try to avoid adding more support or upgrade cards. Expert Defense and Preservation may be your best alternatives.