Captain America & Retaliate 3

Hey so here is a super fun protection deck where you're building Cap up to Retaliate 3. This is possible through Captain America's Shield, Dauntless, & Electrostatic Armor. For Dauntless to trigger, your hp has to be at or above your starting HP so I've included 1 Med Team and a copy of Endurance so staying above 11 shouldn't be a problem. Once you have Captain America's Shield and Armored Vest in play, Cap will be defending for a base 4 with the help of Desperate Defense & Never Back Down so you should almost never take damage. When they don't do the job, Cap also has 3 copies of Side Step for some damage mitigation. I've also included 2 copies of Hard to Ignore which puts me over 40 cards but I think it's worth it to get those out on the board to help manage threat. It can free other players up to deal damage rather than worry about threat. With the help of Fearless Determination and his "I Can Do This All Day" ability, Cap himself can thwart 6 in one turn, pretty solid in protection. I know Indomitable is hated on but in this build I think it can serve it's purpose. Indomitable helps ready Cap to be able to defend again in multiplayer because you want him defending w/ the retaliate 3. If all that defending goodness isn't enough for you, this deck has a pretty reliable access to stun through Mockingbird & Iron Fist allies. As well as Never Back Down and everyone's favorite, Heroic Strike. Lastly, we have Black Widow to help us cancel Encounter cards because that is one thing that Cap cannot do. There isn't a ton of resources to help trigger that but in dire need, Quincarrier will do the job.

Overall, this deck performs well against most villains with a select few you might run into problems with. It is also a really fun deck to pilot because once Cap is setup your playmat/player area will be full of cards, most of which trigger during the villain phase which can be really fun. IMO this deck works better in Multiplayer because you can handle the villain phase for almost every player if things go as planned so they can focus on building/combos. Solo, it does exactly what you think, grinds. Cap's kit allows you to dish out some damage but there are only 5 attack events total. Basically, Heroic Strike will be your best friend.

Customization:

1) If being at 42 cards is just driving you crazy, drop 1 Side Step & Preservation. I personally like having them in there. Preservation is another resource to pay for Black Widow's interrupt and heals you when played. Sometimes, you're sitting at 10 hp so you don't want to waste a Med Team activation or flip down to use Steve's Apartment and can be helpful. I know people don't really like these resource cards that give you a little boost but I love them.

2) So you can always switch out the 3 Side Step for another damage mitigation event like Preemptive Strike. Subdue is alright against villains that hit really hard but you have to play it before the boost is revealed. So Side Step & Preemptive Strike give you the upper hand of knowing the boost before you have to play them.

3) Another option is to swap the 3 Side Step for 3 Momentum Shift. If you're playing true solo you might want to do this. It gives you some more attack events in your deck while also doing it's job of keeping you healed up and healthy!

4) The last customization suggestion would be to cut Black Widow for Clea. I made my case for Black Widow but now I will make my case for Clea. In alter ego, she only costs 1. And when she chumps for you she will get shuffled back into your deck as your recurring "Oh Crap" button. Either one is fine I've just found myself going to use Black Widow's ability and not having a resource in hand. It's really nitpicky, I know!

If you end up trying this deck, or a variation of it, I would love to hear how you liked it and what you did/would change with it. I think I'm getting better at deckbuilding, but feedback is always wanted and greatly appreciated!