Forget Psionics: Be the Ultimate Explosive Ninja

Forget the psychic therapy sessions and put down the Psimitar. Betsy is done playing mind games—she’s packing explosives for maximal damage.

It's about X-Force Multipliers: punishing enemies with multi-hit mayhem.

Let’s break down the fireworks! This is a powerful Psylocke aggression deck that doesn't care much about her cards being psionic. Rather, this deck is built around maximizing Psylocke's amazing ability to tutor Directed Force and Warrior Skill with Training Regimen to amp up damage dealt by her attacks, particularly those doing multiple instances of damage in a single attack (Firepower and Flurry of Blades). Aggressive Energy is too hit or miss; we want consistent amped up damage.

This deck performed great in both coop and PvP competitive at Con of Heroes 2026. So let's break down how it works:

1. Be an explosive ninja.

Firepower is our main focus as it is a ranged attack, perfect for qualifying for Directed Force. It requires exhausting weapons, which is great for Psylocke -- at setup she has 2 weapon upgrades in Psi-Knife/Psi-Katana, and Weapons Training allows her to ready all her weapons again. Yes, on a luckier turn, 2x Firepower dealing 42-damage has definitely been done.

To ensure we get the most of Firepower, and not over-sacrifice the resource generation of her psi-weapons, we add 2 non-restricted weapons. Yes, Psimitar is out, with its finicky Side Holster restricted weapon management. Instead, 2 of Pulse Grenade are added to the mix. This allows you to keep both Psi-katanas out, keep up resource generation as needed, and deal another instance of damage with Firepower which applies to up to 3 weapons. As a bonus, in a pinch or finishing off the villain, Pulse Grenades don't care that they are exhausted by Firepower; they can still be discarded for extra damage. Martial Prowess helps us pay for Firepower and Flurry of Blades, and it's another nice Skill that can be tutored.

2. Make sure you explode more.

To further amp up damage, and to tutor Firepower (preferably from your discard pile), we have Keep Up the Pressure (attack events do +1 damage). Then, Assault Training is perfect for Psylocke to keep cycling Firepower into her deck. Alter-ego flips with Psylocke are fairly innocuous, given her easy ability to confuse with Psychic Assault, Flurry of Blades, Psionic Redirect, and Psionic Training. Psylocke doesn't just get it easy to flip with confusion; she also wants to flip due to the +2 hand size in alter ego.

I often run this deck with 41 cards, with an extra copy of Assault Training, but I've kept it at 40 cards for those purists out there.

3. Explosive ninjas stab a lot too.

This deck also unlocks how to get the most from Flurry of Blades when Psi-katanas are up. It multi-attacks. Can we enhance what we have built out for Firepower to apply to Flurry of Blades? Yes we can, and yes we will. Naturally, Flurry can get +1 damage to each instance from Warrior Skill and Keep Up the Pressure (9-12 damage isn't shabby), but we want more.

The key is being able to consistently add a keyword to qualify Flurry of Blades for Directed Force. That is where Marked and Air Cover come in. Marked adds overkill to attacks on a minion that enters play, such that you can play Directed Force on attacks against that enemy. You only need 1 copy of Marked in your deck, because Air Cover will tutor it from your discard pile or deck. Here's the combo:

• *A minion enters play.* Discard a token from Air Cover to grab Marked from your deck or discard pile, and apply it to the minion. Air Cover is wonderfully flexible here, as you can be in alter-ego, and it applies even if the minion engages with another player.
  
• *Prime a copy of Directed Force.* If you have a copy in your hand, great; otherwise, grab one from your deck with Training Regimen.
  
• *Play Flurry of Blades against the minion, play Directed Force, and discard a token from Warrior Skill.*
  

Suddenly, Psylocke is dealing 6 damage 3 times to that minion with overkill, allowing you annihilate the minion and deal a lot of damage to the Villain. Even when you don't happen to have Flurry of Blades in your hand, Air Cover can be helpful to draw Marked into your hand to use as a resource. Applying Marked for Firepower also isn't sad, so it gains overkill.

Don't Forget: While not as awesome as Firepower, Flurry of Blades has the added bonus of being able to be reshuffled into Psylocke's deck when Psylocke is in alter-ego form, as it is a psionic card. It also doesn't require you to exhaust your weapons to use it. You'll find that Flurry and Firepower complement each other quite nicely, so you can play them both in 1 turn.

4. Backing up our ninja.

While this deck can set up quick, you will have to deal with enemy hits. How do you handle that?

• This deck is fairly good at minion killing, so you don't have too much to worry about there. Pesky toughs can be removed by your basic, when 1 Psi-Katana is up. Multiple instances of damage can also remove the first tough on the single attack.
  
• Villain hits are more challenging. Psylocke can defend, and does a decent job with [Martial Arts Training](/card/41009). The strategy of this deck does not rely on Psylocke being readied. For heavy hits, don't forget the benefit of [Psionic Redirect](/card/41006) to limit damage. That said, what will be most consistent is the rhythm of taking some damage, getting the villain confused, and flipping to alter ego to heal and increase card draw. Early on, you'll use Flurry of Blades with 1 Psi-Knife to get a confuse in.
  
• **S.H.I.E.L.D. allies** are your friend. [Grant Ward](/card/50022) is a great versatile 0-cost ally, which you can nearly always avoid his discard betrayal on Treacheries with your mental-rich resource cards and Psi-Knife. You'll find he's quite helpful at thwarting. Psylocke's resource rich, hand size poor Hero form makes her get the most out of **[Nick Fury](/card/01084)** and **[Nick Fury, Sr.](/card/50054)**, who I use exclusively for card draw. They can then do their attack/thwart and chump block.
  
• Speaking of card draw, and being resource rich, hand size poor, **[Avengers Mansion](/card/01091)** becomes more affordable and attractive to increase her Hero form card draw.

Extended Considerations:

Q: What is the ideal mulligan strategy?

I'd prioritize in this order: Training Regimen, Avengers Mansion, Pulse Grenade, Martial Prowess, and Nick Fury. I struggle to discard Directed Force as I can apply it with Psylocke's basic, and once they're in your discard pile you have to wait for a reshuffle, but you can discard 1 copy. There are 2 copies of Air Cover and Warrior Skill, so dumping 1 of those is fine. Marked you'll tutor with Air Cover, so dumping it is fine too. An early Firepower can also be dumped.

If all else fails, prioritize a card you can confuse with so you can flip quickly back to alter ego.

Q: How can we make the most of Directed Force when it happens to enter our hands, or when it can't be applied to Firepower?

We have a few options:

a. Psylocke's basic has piercing when a Psi-Katana is up. You can do a basic attack, and add directed force to that. It doesn't do more than 2 damage, but 1 resource cost for 2 damage is never considered bad (5 damage with her basic attack + Piercing).

b. Through the Flurry of Blades combo (see above).

Q: How can we stop a minion with guard from soaking up Firepower or Flurry of Blades?

We have a few options:

a. Marked and Air Cover can apply overkill to that minion with guard, making a lot of damage still hit the villain.

b. Psionic Training allows you to ignore Guard.

c. You can always split up the damage once the minion with guard is cleared.

Q; Why don't you have Honed Technique in your deck?

While Honed Technique can be tutored by Training Regimen for this deck, it's only +1 damage for Firepower (as it costs 1), and Flurry of Blades isn't an aggression event. I don't consider that a great payoff. It's better aligned for decks with expensive aggression events.

Q: What about Aggressive Stance? It could tutor Firepower or Flurry of Blades into your hand.

I really wish this worked better. I've found that Aggressive Stance has challenges with triggering when you'll engage a minion versus one of the other players, or when you're in alter-ego. Alter-ego flips with Psylocke are fairly common, and Aggressive Stance requires you be in Hero form. There are options to help Aggressive Stance, many which don't require milling the encounter deck, but I've found it just adds too much bloat to the deck. Here's what I've looked at there:

• **Low-cost, No Mill.** We've got **[Angela](/card/18011)**, who helps us do a 1-cost minion hunt to trip. However, Angela can strike out. **[Face the Past](/card/49022)** is a 0-cost means of a guaranteed pulling out **[Chimera](/card/41026)** and drawing 3 cards. Chimera lacks tough and has no When Revealed/Defended effect, making her a good choice. The downside to Face the Past is the inability to attack the villain this phase, making the value of grabbing Firepower delayed. Well, that's unless we can tutor **[Marked](/card/33032)** via **[Air Cover](/card/56012)** to apply overkill to Chimera.
  
  *Downside:* Given Psylocke's 4-card hand size, you can't practically store these cards for the right moment, but they'll help you trigger Aggressive Stance once they arrive. You might keep a **[Target Spotter](/card/51038)** handy, but that doesn't help you if the minion arrives in alter-ego.
  
• **Low-cost, Milling.** While I don't have this in the deck, you could include **[Looking for Trouble](/card/46017)** as a low-cost hunt to remove 3 threat and grab a minion.
  
  *Downside:* This requires the encounter deck to be fairly full and minion rich to not mill excessively and add acceleration tokens.
  
• **High-cost, No Mill, Repeatable Trigger.** While expensive, **[Shatterstar](/card/43015)** may be the most compelling for Aggressive Stance because once he is played, you can keep him at the ready to engage other players' minions and trigger Aggressive Stance. Attack any minion on the board and have them engage you (and clear a pesky tough if needed), to trigger Aggressive Stance for tutoring Firepower or Flurry of Blows. That Shatterstar shares the *X-Force* trait with Psylocke may open up other possibilities.

Q: What about Team-Building Exercise and Helicarrier?

I like that card for synergies it has with Psionic and X-Force cards, but I find the problem with Betsy is less generated resources, and more to do with getting cards. I'd rather use her resource rich capacities to pay for Avengers Mansion to further my card draw. IPAC is a cheaper option, but yuck on drawing encounter cards.

Q: What about Locked and Loaded?

It would help get Pulse Grenades into play. I've played around with it in some scenarios, but haven't fallen in love with including it just yet. But if you like it, by all means include it.

Q: What are some great Heroes or cards that would support Psylocke?

Just like in the 90's, Psylocke has the hots for Cyclops. If he invites you to dinner, you say yes, and you steal his heart away from Jean. If he plays Exploit Weakness then you follow his lead with Flurry of Blades or Firepower to get an extra +1 damage per instance of damage. If a leadership aspect player is playing with you, then you pray he cycles Cyclops multiple times in a turn with Rapid Response, Command Team, and "Avenge Me!".

If a justice player is out there, beg them to include an instance of Float Like a Butterfly to play in your area, so Firepower and Flurry of Blades get an extra +1 boost against the enemies you can easily confuse.