Hire, Fire, Then Retire (to a Secluded Location)

Hire, Fire, Then Retire (to a Secluded Location)

Since I had recently built some weapon-centered Aggression decks focused around Firepower, I wanted to switch things up with Nick Fury with a more event-focused deck supported by mostly inexpensive allies to protect him, while Nick Fury would moslty remain in Assault Suit form. Honed Technique is included because Fury's Watch can make playing it relatively easy, but I didn't want it to be counted on to defeat the villains, though it's benefits are obvious.

The theme of the deck is captured in its title. Nick has hired numerous allies as he builds up threat on his Suit Form upgrade, fire's off his events regularly, and then retires to the shadows as the allies cover his escape (to, of course, a secluded location as any spy would). This is not an ally swarm deck; it's an ally protection deck, though each ally brings with it certain extra benefits.

If you'd like to see a discussion of this deck, see the following video: Nick Fury Aggression Deck Discussion | Hire Fire Then Retire

• "Demo" video(s) that shows off some turns with the deck (thanks to instructional videos by Solo Marvel Champions for using DragnCards):
  • (Releasing on Tuesday, 10/28/25) Nick Fury Aggression Demo Play vs. Expert Hela

VILLAINS TESTED AGAINST to refine the deck and/or game play strategies (in both standard and expert): Klaw (with an expert house rule(1)); Ebony Maw; Hela; and Magneto.

• Revision notes: The deck had some major revisions to attain the "vision" of what I had in mind. I decreased the number of supports and upgrades, removed some expensive allies and added cheaper allies with the main goal of protecting Fury from attacks since the goal is to keep him in Assault suit form for much of the game, allowing him to use his basic thwarting to fuel his many attack events.

• Results of Interest:

  • Expert Klaw: 24 points of damage on final turn with 2 events (Full-Body Charge and Concentrated Fire, triggered by Keep Up the Pressure and with Full-Body Charge enhanced by Honed Technique.
  • Standard Hela: Having not played against Hela in years, I had no idea how I was supposed to defeat her in the first game since one initially cannot do so. I lost the first game just figuring that out, then won the next one.
  • Expert Hela: I thought I had the first game under control, but in one turn, I "defeated" her first side too early, and she turned everything around, coming at me with her massive attacks and scheming. I learned my lesson for the second game, waiting till I had control then brought on the attacks.
  • Expert Magneto: I maintained control pretty much the entire game, then hit him with two big attacks the last two turns to finish the game.

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NOTABLE ELEMENTS:

Allies: The 2-cost allies are in the deck to provide minor benefits and then defend Fury. The purposes of the other allies are listed below:

• Grant Ward: Cheap thwarts or attacks; easy to play mental resources to keep him in play.
• Gambit: Still relatively cheap while helping to control the villain's upcoming turn.
• Mockingbird: Prevents two villain attacks with her Stun ability.
• Professor X: Adds some insurance against a villain scheme and also allows Fury to go to Alter-Ego once or twice a game.
• Spider-Man: Provides a nice spike of threat removal or damage and a future defense against a villain attack.
• Captain America: Readies Fury another time and can provide a free defense afterward with his tough status.

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Attack Events: Nick Fury already has 4 attack events of his own. Also included are the following Aggression attack events:

• 3 copies of One by One: These do most of the work throughout the game because Nick Fury's Assault Suit form makes them so flexible, allowing them to take out a minion with 2 to 5 damage (or up to 6 if Honed Technique is in play), and then deal more damage to the villain or another minion. Then can do precisely what is needed.
• Full-Body Charge: This is the reliable big finisher, even more so if plalyed with Honed Technique in play, and the Player Side Scheme, Keep Up the Pressure can guarantee its availability. When combined with up to 3 threat counters on the Assault suit, it can do anywhere from 11 points of damage to 16 points if grabbed by Keep Up the Pressure with Honed Technique in play.
• Dive Bomb: This can only be played once Fury's Flying Car is in play due to the Aerial trait requirement. I mostly chose Full-Body Charge over it, but it has excellent board-wipe potential.

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Conclusion:

The "Hire, Fire, Then Retire (to a Secluded Location)" deck successfully executes a highly tactical, event-focused Aggression strategy centered on maintaining Nick Fury in his Assault Suit form. The deck's theme is realized through the constant rotation of inexpensive allies, which are hired for defense and utility, allowing Fury to remain a consistent threat engine who fires off powerful attack events, before he eventually retires behind the allies' cover. This core strategy is what enabled the deck to maintain control and deliver decisive finishes against a challenging lineup of villains, including Expert Hela and Magneto. The synergy between Nick Fury's basic Thwart action fueling his event-rich hand and the explosive burst damage potential—exemplified by the Full-Body Charge combo that delivered a high-damage finish against Expert Klaw—proves this is a resilient and precise deck that fully leverages the hero's unique strengths for mission success.

(1) Note on expert house rule for Klaw: This modification assures that expert Klaw makes for a consistently challenging villain during playtesting. After discarding cards at the beginning of the game and putting into play the first minion that is discarded from the encounter deck, if that minion is NOT a Masters of Evil minion, I search the encounter deck for a Masters of Evil minion and replace the original discarded minion with it. I then shuffle that original minion back into the deck.