Sinister Motives Expert Multiplayer (3/3)

Here is our Ghost-Spider Protection deck that was used to run through the Sinister Motives Campaign in Expert Mode (Core Expert and Standard Encounter Cards). My team mates played Spider-Man Aggression and Spider-Woman Justice/Leadership.

Initially this deck was made to focus on cheap ways of triggering Ghost-Spider's ability in the villain phase and make the most of the current Web-Warrior allies. It became apparent during testing against Green Goblin that Gwen doesn't need assistance in the villain phase and allies are mostly used to push for victory, in addition to being used to defend team mates characters. So when considering deck space the focus is solely on efficiently using Ghost-Spider's ability and the economy required to make that dynamic flow.

Early focus must be to mulligan for George Stacy or Parental Guidance to tutor out George. Getting those Response and Interrupt event cards under George so a fresh hand can be drawn at the end of the player phase is crucial asap. The best targets to get under George early are Defiance and Expert Defense. Counter-Punch, Jump Flip and Side Step was used during testing. However, the drain on economy far out weighed their benefits. Apart from Counter-Punch, which is an excellent option to push for victory. However, as Ghost-spider wants to stay in hero form for as long as possible, the option to stop damage far out weighs the need to deliver deal. Ideally under George Stacy you want What Doesn't Kill Me and any 2 of Defiance and Expert Defense. What Doesn't Kill Me is a hero ready safety net. Specifically for those occasions you have to defend twice in the villain phase or a Encounter Card exhausts Ghost-Spider. In this unfortunate situation she needs to ready up asap in order to get the most out of her ability and guarantee you do not have a stagnated turn. In the unfortunate event that Gwen's obligation clears away George Stacy. Do not panic and just focus on getting him back out. Always whilst in Alter-ego form you should take the opportunity to place more than 1 card under George Stacy using Gwen Stacy's ability and give yourself more options if possible.

Once the event system is set up. Second thoughts should be to build the upgrade suite that will ensure you gain efficiency through the villain phase when you defend. Priority should be given to economy if you have the above zero cost events under George. Specifically Web-Bracelet and then Unflappable. Next Armored Vest, Electrostatic Armor and Flow Like Water should be played to aid blocking damage and firing back at the enemy. Hard to Ignore and Indomitable was tested, but the ready is only required on occasion and threat remove can be found elsewhere that isn't focused specifically on the main scheme only.

Initially we considered adding The Power of Protection to the deck. However, with less than a six cards being 2 cost or greater protection cards, The Power of Protection was dropped. However, additional set up and economy seemed based on how lucky you are to draw into Genius, Strength or Energy early with the opportunity to pull cards that gained set up. This coupled with the realisation that only a limited number of protection cards are needed to enable Ghost-Spider's ability, we looked to The Power in All of Us. But in order to accept the addition we needed some grey targets. Spider-Man, Spider-Man and Across the Spider-Verse as part of the Web-Warrior suite goes some of the way. However, we needed economy options and we found that in Avengers Mansion and any of the "Enhanced" Basic cards. Helicarrier can not be used in the villain phase, therefore we decided to focus on "Enhanced" basic cards and [Avengers Mansion]-(/card/01091) as we need specific energy types for some of Ghost-Spiders events and Spider-Man. Initially we tested Enhanced Awareness for Web Binding. However, this card found limited usage and on those occasions we had a card in hand. As we felt we had limited options for energy, for Spider-Man (if paying for normally) and to counter the Villains Encounter Cards. Therefore we added 2x Enhanced Physique. This should not be stored up and used sparingly for the occasions detailed above. As you have paid for the energy you need to get usage. Us it if required whether in the hero or villain phase, as needed.

After all these additions, our focus returned to the Web-Warrior cards and with limited slots remaining we added all available cards, given Spider-Man is a team mate and with 4 allies and Web of Life and Destiny. That is the deck complete.

As stated previously, allies can be used to block attacks when required. However, in the majority it is for additional attack or thwart we want use allies. Silk removing the worst treachery cards and Spider-UK for team mate defence is the slight exception, given Spider-UK's 2x consequential damage for 2 attack.

We hope you enjoy our take and if you'd prefer to use this deck for solo, we'd suggest you remove What Doesn't Kill Me for Spider-Man as you can use your allies for additional defence.