Black Widow - Slow But Deadly [Justice]

Unstoppable and unflappable, this Black Widow deck can handle solo expert difficulty without batting an eye!

Not literally. Driving this deck is actually mentally taxing and sometimes I just want to flip a table because half of my deck is in play waiting for something to happen... but at least I'm unkillable. I've never lost a single game with this deck, both in Multiplayer and Solo expert scenarios.

The core of this deck is to utilize anti-threat measures early game while building your more long-term engine cards (Black Widow's Gauntlet, Quincarrier, Safe House #29, and Synth-Suit) for mid-to-late game. We can achieve this with powerful consistency using Counterintelligence, Covert Ops, Under Surveillance and in emergencies, Stealth Strike or Concussive Blow.

Agent Coulson gives some minor preparation recursion with Safe House #29 giving tremendous recursion in the early to mid game. Late game, we usually have everything and are in Hero form to the finale.

Resources

• Natasha Romanoff herself is a solid resource generator, akin to something like Peter Parker. Her hand size is practically 7. If possible, try to always play at least 1 preparation card in this form. If you're super healthy in Hero form and have good preps in play already (Grappling Hook, Attacrobatics, maybe even Spycraft) then don't forcibly go into Alter-Ego to make use of this side.
• Safe House #29; this is probably the best resource generator Black Widow has. While it has the downside of being Alter-Ego only; you can easily adapt to what you need. Often you'll trigger this effect twice, per turn spent as a Hero (and that's in conjunction with Natasha's ability). Great targets for this are Counterintelligence, Grappling Hook, and Attacrobatics as needed. If you already have those in play, pull in Spycraft or Espionage. You can use them as resource-fodder, triggers to Natasha's ability, or just for their natural decent effects. Prioritize playing this card above everything.
• Black Widow's Gauntlet is very solid. Typical resource generator card - and she has two. I would prioritize getting these out ASAP. You should be using them every single turn once played.
• Quincarrier - this card can be swapped out for Helicarrier, per your personal preference. I like Quincarrier for the cool aesthetic and also because it can help with Villain encounter cards - but realistically, it has almost no need to be in this deck. If you use more Concussive Blows, it helps there. The main downside to using Quincarrier over Helicarrier is that you must play Quincarrier in Hero form. It's also less useful in multiplayer games.
• Espionage isn't a high-priority card by any means, but its effect is solid at giving you some BIG turns. It's also nice for easily triggering Natasha's ability or Black Widow's ability and ultimately is a good filler card for when you only have 1 resource at your disposal.

Priorities (Roughly in order)

• Safe House #29 & Synth-Suit are both equally vital to Black Widow's success.
• Winter Soldier should ALWAYS be played if you can play him for free (4 or more preps in play). I would even strongly consider playing him for 1 if I need the damage or thwart right away.
• Black Widow's Gauntlet
• Counterintelligence / Covert Ops / Under Surveillance - All 3 of these cards are fairly important and should be utilized quickly, as needed. I prefer having a Counterintelligence out at all times, if possible.
• Quincarrier
• Grappling Hook / Spycraft - Spycraft is your budget option, if you can't afford to play a Grappling Hook.

General Strategies

Initial playthroughs of Black Widow can be intimidating due to the large number of options available to her. Understanding the priorities of her card play and the best way to utilize what cards she's running are critical here.

• Counterintelligence is the unsung hero for this build or even Justice decks in general. The average Villain has 2 Scheme, which translates to 2 - 5 threat being added to the Main Scheme when the Villain schemes. Counterintelligence is ideally triggered at 3+. If the Villain somehow schemes for 2 (or 1 in some cases), it's best to avoid using Counterintelligence unless either A) You're in the late game, all your stuff is in play, you can afford to waste some of the value of Counterintel. or B) You need/want to trigger Black Widow and/or Synth-Suit (in the event that the encounter card is Advance). Very often is this card my Agent Coulson or my Safe House #29 target, provided I don't already have one in play. It goes great with The Power of Justice and two copies of Black Widow's Gauntlet.
• Target Acquired; this card may end up being resource/Natasha Romanoff fodder in games against Rhino - but it's super useful against Klaw, Ultron or Wrecking Crew (scenarios that have a lot of annoying boost effects). Nearly all scenarios have some boost effects in their decks so this will usually help you eventually. Just don't fret too much about trying to play it if you have better options.
• Espionage; I wanted to specifically call out Espionage and Target Acquired, because on the surface, these cards are meh. But, they ultimately synergize with Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow and Black Widow's Gauntlet. Even at its worst, Espionage lets you bank 2 resources for a later, much larger turn. This card will trigger often in Multiplayer, but in Solo games, it may sit in play for a long time before being triggered - but at least it discounts Winter Soldier. Same philosophy as Target Acquired though; don't worry about playing this card when you have better alternatives.
• Synth-Suit; once this card hits play, you should almost always be defending against attacks with Black Widow herself and not her allies - especially when you have Attacrobatics and Grappling Hook in play. Target Acquired, Espionage and Widow's Bite can fuel this card on occasion, dependent on what the Encounter card is. This is a high priority. If you can't afford to play it, because other high priority cards are in hand, I would save it in hand until you can play it.
• Spycraft; this card effect triggers Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff and Synth-Suit - but its best use is for any encounter card that you just don't want to deal with. Unlike Grappling Hook, this card can be used on Minions, Side-Schemes, and Attachments - some of which, can be really frustrating to have to deal with. Try to save this card for those dangerous drops.
• Grappling Hook; super good against Exhaustion, Under Fire, Shadow of the Past and maybe Advance. And of course, if the Villain has other horrific treacheries.

First Try Clears

• Expert Rhino
• Expert Klaw
• Expert Ultron
• Expert Norman Osborn
• Expert Green Goblin
• Expert Breakout

Scenario Specific Strategies

• Versus Rhino: This is Black Widow's best match up. Counterintelligence and Under Surveillance will prevent threat from ever becoming an issue. Attacrobatics is a huge priority for tanking Rhino attacks. Try to have either Grappling Hook or Spycraft in play while in Hero form to prevent double-attacks from killing you early in the game.
• Versus Klaw: Probably the longest game that Black Widow has to play. Her cards work against Klaw's cards in almost a 1:1 ratio. Klaw plays Tiger Shark, Black Widow plays Dance of Death. Klaw attacks, you use Attacrobatics to negate the worst boost or Target Acquired to negate the boost ability. Klaw schemes, Counterintelligence and Covert Ops. Under Surveillance for Underground Distribution. Your progress may be slow, but you'll get there eventually.
• Versus Ultron: Widow's Bite and Attacrobatics are both very good cards against Ultron. Widow's Bite is great at keeping drones under control (and can take out 2 drones per activation) and Attacrobatics lets you tank Ultron's attacks better. Remember that Black Widow's ability also let's her snipe out drones (which is great with Target Acquired). Under Surveillance is very strong against The Crimson Cowl and Countdown to Oblivion.
• Versus Risky Business: This scenario is tremendously easy for Black Widow. Just keep Criminal Enterprise and Hostile Takeover under control, build your board, and win.
• Versus Mutagen Formula: Slightly similar to Rhino. Widow's Bite is your friend. Ensure you're using Quincarrier to help remove Pumpkin Bombs or Goblin Glider. Make sure you have several preparations in play before advancing Green Goblin to Stage 3; it will make the additional encounter cards much easier to handle (especially Grappling Hook).
• Versus Wrecking Crew: Wrecking Crew is one of the harder scenarios for Widow. It's a scenario that starts off really strong and winds down as the game goes on, which is the opposite of how this deck operates. Remember that Counterintelligence is nearly useless in this scenario since it can only target the Main Scheme. Don't worry too much about the side-schemes; try to focus on bursting down a villain in two turns once you have some decent upgrades out. Target Acquired is great in this scenario. Both Widow's Bite and Dance of Death can also shine. Widow's Bite can insta-kill all minions (preferably the 3 HP Guards) and Dance of Death is a great way to burst down a villain.

Replacement Cards

• Stealth Strike; this card is definitely the under-performer of the deck. When Foiled! or Beat Cop release; I'd consider swapping these in.