Draxpool

Deck concept

Drax has a bit of a reputation as a hero you can only play in one way, especially if you are a true solo player like me. The Pool aspect does allow at least a bit of a change, though, so it seemed like an avenue worth exploring.

Card choices If Drax isn't going to defend, he's going to take a lot of damage but the Pool aspect has tools to help heal that damage rapidly. Healing Factor is a great card and Tic-Tac-Toe is even more powerful when used to heal Mantis. Once we've got those three cards set up we should be good to go, so we need cards to get there quickly given Drax's small hand size, which can otherwise slow down his set-up time.

Pool has a great tool for that, too, in Mulligan. Not only does Mulligan accelerate your setup by exchanging a hand whenever you haven't drawn one of your key pieces, it continues to offer value once Drax is set up, because spending resources on Blackout, Tic-Tac-Toe, or Stick-To-Itiveness doesn't count as playing a card.

The other thing Drax needs is a way to thwart, and Pool has a few of those. Headpool and Lady Deadpool are pretty good, and Deadpool Corps Ship helps to get them out. Blackout isn't so fantastic but helps to thin the deck.

Some basic cards can help too. Rocket Raccoon is a great ally, Combat Specialist is fantastic for Drax, and First Aid gives a few extra options if Tic-Tac-Toe isn't out. Knowhere may look like an odd choice, but as Mantis shouldn't leave play and you probably want a couple of the Pool allies in play permanently, it is really essential to have a slot to keep cycling the other allies through.

Playing the deck

Fully set up, this deck is pretty much unstoppable. You start every turn by healing at least 5 damage, then your allies thwart for 4 or so, then you make a basic attack and draw a couple of cards, then you ready and attack again, then you ready and attack again. As your basic attack by this stage is 6, that's a pretty strong turn considering you still have half a dozen cards in hand.

So playing this deck is all about getting to that point without being defeated either by thwart getting out of hand, or too much damage piling up on Drax. Mulligan ruthlessly for those three key healing cards, and then Mulligan ruthlessly again until you have all three in play. Be willing to sacrifice any ally you need to to keep Drax alive and avoid going into Alter Ego, because you haven't got the tools to clear a lot of threat off main.

If you can survive those early turns then you'll start to get DWI Theet Mastery and Combat Specialist down, and draw a card from your hero response. Everything is easier when your hand size is effectively seven. You'll see more of your deck so that you find those key pieces quicker, and then you'll have the resources to pay for them, so once you've started to build up it is far easier to recover from a setback than it was to set up in the first place. With upgrades, supports and allies out the deck also starts to get thinner, so you see Knife Leap and Parry more often. A turn where you used Parry against the villain's attack will help you a lot because you'll be able to heal some of the damage that you took setting up.

Conclusion

The idea of this deck is to be a bit of a change from the regular Drax protection build, and I guess it isn't fantastically successful at that because the basic drill of taking villain hits, attacking, readying, and attacking some more doesn't seem hugely different. The set-up speed you get from Mulligan does maybe add something to the consistency in solo though, so I still think this is a viable way to play Drax.