Blade"Your Mother"
HP: 643
Offense: 121
Passive: Cold Blooded - All cards played by Blade have a 25% chance to inflict Bleed if they do damage.
Attack Cards:Quick Strike: 60 Damage, +1 Heroism, Quick Effect. If target has Bleed, deals 120 more damage.
Strike: 60 Damage, +1 Heroism, Chain Effect 3.
Relentless: 121 Damage, +1 Heroism. If target has Bleed, deals 181 more damage.
Reaper: 60 Damage, +1 Heroism. Converts remaining Bleed duration stacks to direct damage immediately. On KO, gain Strengthen for 1 Action.
Skill CardsMake 'Em Bleed: +2 Heroism. Draws 2 Blade Cards. The next 3 Blade Cards played all apply 2 Bleed stacks
The Hunger: Free Play. All enemies currently with Bleed become Marked for 2 Actions. Blade recovers 121 HP for every Bleeding enemy.
Heroic CardsDaywalker: 60 Damage, 3 Heroism Cost, Chain Effect 4. For each enemy KO'd, draw a card
Savage: 303 Damage, 2 Heroism Cost. If Target has Block, this attack deals an additional 242 damageStake: 272 Damage, 2 Heorism Cost. Lifesteal
Ultimate Glaive - 242 Damage, 4 Heroism Cost. Applies 2 Bleed stacks. If a target was already Bleeding, deals an additional 242 damage
Ideal Deck - Strike x2
Reaper x2
Make 'Em Bleed x1
Savage x1
Stake x2
Comments:While Blade is pretty awful in-game, his DL translation is actually not terrible. The worst part about Blade in-game is that he's inefficient, requiring multiple card plays to set up his convoluted Bleed damage plays when you can just smash things in the face with Hunter or Iron Man. DL wise, he doesn't have that issue since he's a) alone and b) often facing a lone enemy. This means that he's not going to get ganged up on while setting up and he has less competition to deal with for card plays. His strategy is pretty much pidgeonholed because it is so focused on Bleed as a whole. Basically - play Make 'Em Bleed, then Strike and start piling on Bleed stacks. Once he reaches certain thresholds or KO levels, hit them with Reaper. He has Savage for additional damage and Stake to keep himself healthy as he's stacking up Bleed, so on paper, he's a decent enough fighter. The problem of course, is that just like in-game, because he is so focused on Bleed, anything that blocks it or heals from it gimps him super hard. Probably a
Low Heavy of some sort as a result. While Bleed only triggers once a turn, the stacks can get pretty ridiculous, so Reaper can unleash a ton of damage at once when set up - letting him heal bust if an opponent can't recover from it in some way.
Captain America"I guess you're not used to someone who fights back"
HP: 723
Offense: 113
Passive: All Day - Begin missions with 56 Block. At the start of every round, Cap regenerates 22 Block.
Attack Cards:Quick Punch: 56 Damage, +1 Heroism. Inflicts Taunt, Quick Effect. When played, Draw a Card.
Punch: 113 Damage, +1 Heroism. Inflicts Taunt and has Knockback
Shield Bash: 56 Damage, +1 Heroism. Consumes 33% Block currently on hand and inflicts it as additional damage
Brooklyn Handshake: 113 Damage, +1 Heroism. Knockback. If target was previously damaged this turn, becomes Forceful Knockback. On KO, Draw 2 Cards.
Skill CardsDig In: +2 Heroism. Forces all enemies currently targeting an ally to target Cap instead. Gain 361 Block when played. Cannot be played if there are no allies.
Tactician: +2 Heroism. Gain 216 Block. All other allies also receive Block equal to 15% of Cap's Max HP (108 Block). Draw 2 Cards.
The Best Defense: +2 Heroism. Cap gains Block equal to the damage he deals for the next 2 turns. Draws 2 Captain America Cards
Heroic CardsSPANG!: 169 Damage, 1 Heroism Cost. If target is attacking Cap, then this card deals an additional 113 Damage. On KO, Draws 2 Cards.Shield Bounce: 141 Damage 2 Heroism Cost. Applies Taunt to all enemies in targeting area. Inflicts Weak for 1 Turn.
Ultimate Shield Charge: X Line Target Damage where X is equal to Current Block value. 4 Heroism Cost. Draw a card for each target. Exhaust when played.
Ideal Deck - Punch x1
Shield Bash x2
Tactician x2
The Best Defense x1
SPANG! x2
Comments:True to his in-game form, Captain America is pretty underwhelming. He focuses a lot on Block but his passive is pretty much a write off because it regenerates Block way too slowly. It needed to be based on his Max HP like his cards instead of Offense, which is usually a fraction of the HP value, to really matter. As is, his game plan is to stack on as much Block as he can and try to win via war of attrition. It's too bad there's no fundamental difference here between Block and HP and worse yet, status effects in-game can get around Block. This makes Cap pretty vulnerable to stuff like POIZN in other games because it just doesn't care about this Block mechanic. His overall damage is kind of lacking as a result of his in-game designated role. Still, The Best Defense is good as it is effectively parasitic healing. Play that, and stuff like Shield Bash is a self renewing source of Bounce regen instead of consumption, but sadly that's about all he has. Probably some form of
Middle.
Captain Marvel"Higher, further, faster, baby"
HP: 658
Offense: 108
Passives: Didn't Feel a Thing - When scoring a KO, Captain Marvel has a 20% chance to receive 1 Counter. DL Useless.
Go Binary - When 3 Captain Marvel cards are played, Add Go Binary to your hand (more on this below)
Attack Cards:Quick Jab: 54 Damage, +1 Heroism. Inflicts Taunt, Quick Effect. In Binary mode, also has Knockback.
Knee Strike: 81 Damage, +1 Heroism. Inflicts Taunt. Gain Block equal to damage dealt.
Cosmic Ray: 54 Damage, +1 Heroism. If target is attacking Captain Marvel, this deals 81 additional damage. Gain 1 Counter on KO.
Skill CardsOne Step Ahead: +2 Heroism. Draws 4 additional Captain Marvel cards.
Bring it on: +2 Heroism. Taunts all enemies in an area and gain 1 Counter. In Binary mode, adds 2 Resist (so stops 2 attacks)
Regroup: +2 Heroism. Gains Block equal to 25% of Max HP (164)
Heroic CardsGo Binary: Free. Captain Marvel becomes Binary, and gains 329 Block. While in Binary, Captain Marvel has +100% Offense. Binary mode is canceled if Captain Marvel's Block goes to 0. Note that this card cannot be added to deck normally and can only be received when 3 Captain Marvel cards are played.
Fist of Radiance: 162 Damage, 2 Heroism Cost. Has Knockback. On KO, Draw a Captain Marvel card
Photon Beam: 135 Damage, 3 Heroism Cost. Taunts all enemies who are targeted.
Rain of Blows: Y Damage. X Heroism Cost. Where X is equal to amount of Heroism currently on hand, and Y is equal to current Heroism x 64 Damage. Consumes all remaining Block when played.
Ultimate Supernova: 108 Damage, Very Wide AoE. 2 Heroism Cost.
Ideal Deck - Cosmic Ray x2
Bring it on x2
One Step Ahead x1
Regroup x1
Fist of Radiance x1
Supernova x1
Comments:On the other hand, Captain Marvel gains immensely in the DL translation. The big problem in game is that Binary mode consumed 3 actions, so unless you got free plays, it was often ineffective to set up Binary mode. In the DL, this isn't an issue at all because you can dedicate all 3 Card plays to Captain Marvel, letting you get her to go Binary on Turn 1. And uh...once she does hit Binary mode, you are in big trouble. The thing with Resist as a status is that it can stack. Meaning if Captain Marvel plays Bring it on twice, she effectively gains 4 Resist, meaning you need to hit her *4 times* to even start damaging her. The only ways around this are status effects (like Poison) but if you don't have those, you need to either Quinta-act or Quinta-turn to inflict damage ever again. To make matters worse, she can do this every turn and any stacks you don't eliminate stacks on to her *next turn*. Did I mention that she's hitting you with 100% more offense on her attacks while you're trying to break through this? Yeah. Binary mode is only canceled if Captain Marvel runs out of Block so I gave her Regroup if she really needs to regenerate it but honestly, the 4 Resist Stacks a round is probably enough to wall most opponents. The main way out other than status is to go first and have high 2HKO damage so you can break through her Block gained on Binary to immediately cancel it while still damaging her.
Low Godlike.
Doctor Strange"I find that...uncomprehensible"
HP: 633
Offense: 118
Passives: The Greater Good - At the start of every round, Dr. Strange has a 50% chance to generate 2 Heroism
Attack Cards:Winds of Watoomb: +1 Heroism. Quick Effect and Knockback. If Heroism is at 3 or above, becomes Forceful Knockback
Bolts of Balthakk: 118 Damage, +1 Heroism. When Heroism is at 4 or higher, this gains 88 additional damage. At 6 Heroism or more, gains another 88 additional damage. 294 Damage at max heroism (before other boosts)
Skill CardsAgamotto's Gaze: +2 Heroism. Draws the last 2 Attack Cards. Gain 1 additional Card play the next turn. When played, add 59 damage to all attacks currently held in hand. This damage boost lasts until the attack is played or discarded.
Astral Meditation: +2 Heroism. Restore the last 2 Items used. Gain +2 Redraws when played. Exhaust after play.
Blessings of Vishanti: +2 Heroism. Give all cards currently in hand additional 59 until the end of the mission.
Vapors of Valtorr: +2 Heroism. Target receives Concealed status. Restores 236 HP.
Heroic CardsAxe of Angarruumus: 177 Damage, 2 Heroism cost minimal Consumes additional Heroism equal to damage bonus available. Inflicts 2 Weaken. When Heroism is at 4 or higher, this gains 177 additional damage. At 6 Heroism or more, gain another 177 additional damage. 531 Damage at max heroism (before other boosts)Crimson Bands of Cyttorak: 2 Heroism Cost. Applies Bind and Vulnerable for 1 Turn.
Shield of Seraphim: 3 Heroism Cost. Consumes additional Heroism equal to enhancement bonus if applicable. Applies 1 Resist and restores status conditions to all allies. At 6 Heroism or more, Applies 2 Resist instead.
Ultimate Seven Suns of Cinnibus: 118 Damage Wide AoE. 3 Heroism Cost. Consumes additional Heroism equal to damage bonus available. When Heroism is at 4 or higher, this gains 118 additional damage. At 6 Heroism or more, gain another 118 additional damage. At 8 Heroism, gain another 118 additional damage. 472 Damage at max heroism (before other boosts) Exhaust on use.
Ideal Deck - Bolts of Balthakk x1
Agamotto's Gaze x1
Blessings of Vishanti x1
Vapors of Valtorr x2
Crimson Bands of Cyttorak x1
Shield of Seraphim x2
Comments:Absolutely brutal. Doctor Strange is one of the few characters that has a bunch of options available, but not enough deck slots to fit in everything he wants. He's already great in-game and his DL translation is possibly even better because the Sorcerer Supreme brings with him a bunch of cheese tools that make it very difficult for enemies to hurt him. Let's start off with the Bands of Cyttorak. Applying Bind is pretty great since it works on everything in the game. To get around this, boss enemies in Midnight Suns all have double act and there's often support, so this doesn't create a complete lock down. In the DL though, opponents often don't have those privileges so if you don't have something analogous and block it, it's pretty much instant GG. BUT WAIT, cause his skillset gets even better. Vapors of Valtorr basically turns him into PC Hugo while healing him. Sure, Strange doesn't Hugo's brutal speed, but he's definitely more durable. On top of his ST damage immunity created by Conceal (and that's assuming you allow targeting - if you don't, Strange gets EVEN stronger), Shield of Seraphim adds Resist. Strange's is more inefficient because it requires Heroism, but he's a Heroism generator more or less, so in practice on his own, this is likely going to be +2 Resist each time. This means even if you DO get around him being PC Hugo, you now have to break his Resist stacks, so if you don't have double / triple acting, you are still screwed. Then finally, Damage. Strange only has 1 Attack card, but it is really all he needs because of Vishanti and Agamotto. In the DL, Strange basically shields himself with his plethora of options, then just slowly pumps up his damage to infinity before blasting you in the face for OHKO damage. He's open to status like the other members of this cast, but his tricks are so strong, he's pretty much a
Godlike shoehorn, no question.
Ghost Rider
HP: 707
Offense: 128
Passives: Souls Collector - Whenever Ghost Rider KO's an enemy, he gains 1 Soul. For every 4 Souls collected, increases Ghost Rider's Max HP by 15% (813 MHP), up to a max of 30% (919 MHP).
Attack Cards:Lash: +1 Heroism. Quick effect. Has Forceful Knockback in any direction. Ghost Rider takes 128 damage
Retribution: 192 Damage, +1 Heroism. Knockback. Discard a card from hand and fill up the Soul Meter by 2 points.
Skill CardsHellmouth: +2 Heroism. Creates a Drop (Pitfall) that has an increased chance of Instant killing enemies. Lasts 2 Turns. Ghost Rider gains Strengthened for 1 Turn. Note that Bosses cannot be insta-killed through pitfalls.
Straight to Hell: +2 Heroism. Ghost Rider turns into a Drop until the start of next turn and heals himself for 33% of Max HP. Once played, Ghost Rider cannot be targeted until the next round. Final.
Immolate : +2 Heroism. When Ghost Rider KO's an enemy after this card is played, they explode, doing 96 AoE damage to targets around them. Effect lasts 2 Turns.
Heroic CardsDrain Soul: 64 Damage, 1 Heroism Cost. Chain Effect 2. Lifesteal. For every copy of this card, increase its Chain and Heroism Cost by 1. Note that a Drain Soul cannot be added to the deck normally. It can only be received when Ghost Rider fills the Souls Meter after 4 KOs.
Judgment: X AoE Damage around a target. 1 Heroism Cost. X is equal to 2 x 25% of Ghost Rider's Max HP
Hell's Fury: 256 Damage, 1 Heroism Cost. When in hand, this card gains 64 damage each time Ghost Rider is damaged or when he uses an ability.Hell Ride: 448 Damage, 3 Heroism Cost. Line Fire. Discard your hand after play.
Ultimate Penance Stare: X damage. 4 Heroism Cost. X is equal to 4x 50% of Ghost Rider's Max HP. Ghost Rider takes damage equal to 50% of his Max HP. Exhaust after play.
Ideal Deck - Lash x2
Retribution x1
Straight to Hell x2
Judgment x2
Hell's Fury x1
Comments:Ghost Rider introduces us two concepts previously not mentioned. One is the Assist. Essentially, once you get a certain upgrade in the game, you can then knock enemies into your allies, which instead of damaging yourself now damages them. In addition to doing damage this way, the assisting character also draws a card from their own deck. In the case of Ghost Rider, he can actually self assist because his Knockback can go in any direction. This is very important for him because unlike the other 4 PCs so far, Ghost Rider lacks a way to draw cards. This means that unlike them, his strategy would be less consistent since he can only see 7/8 cards on Turn 1 at best and only 5 of them. However, because he can Self Assist, that gives him a way to get extra draws of his own. This is worthwhile for his strategy, even if it damages him.
The second concept is this idea of a Drop. These are large pitfalls which you can walk over, but if an attack has knockback, you can use that and push them to the great beyond. The caveat to that is that the ID rate is modified based on the target's Current HP. The lower the current HP, the higher the chances of an instant kill. This is largely useless on bosses and PCs in this game cannot suffer insta-kills through pitfalls. I have therefore, largely chosen to ignore it as a part of his core deck because it more or less translates to super chancey ID that doesn't work on 90% of the DL cast (maybe on SRPG generics like the mighty FFT THEIF).
Anyway, where were we? Right, strats. So uh...Ghost Rider has a pretty funny way of basically laming his opponent out, similar to Strange. In some ways, his is more powerful because there is no actual way to interact with it. The game doesn't have any Dispel type abilities, so it is impossible to test if there is a way to actually cancel this from the enemy side. YMMV. Basically, take 2 Actions, then turn into a pitfall with Straight to Hell, end turn. Opponent can no longer damage or target Ghost Rider on their turn and thus has to wait. Ghost Rider gets his turn again, repeat this process until enemy is dead. You can see why now the Self Assist here is really important. If he didn't have that, Ghost Rider would have no way to ensure he sees the other 3 cards in his deck, meaning there's a chance he cannot get this strategy started. There are other weaknesses of course. You can beat this by either going first and doing very high 2HKO damage (like 75%+) so that he can't use Lash. That way, it introduces a chance of failure as he can't Self Assist until he heals himself. Another method or work around is that to use timed damage that goes off after a certain period of time so it doesn't have to be your turn when the damage goes off. Stuff like Xorn's Death Knell or heck, even Mewtwo's FUTURE SIGHT are work arounds that can hit Ghost Rider on his turn. And of course, like most everyone else in Midnight Suns, status that incapacitates on Turn 1 stops him cold. His abilities all self damage but this hiding trick also heals him, so really, in the grand scheme of things, they don't matter when you are playing solo and only have one deck to manage. A
Low Godlike of some sort of I imagine.
HulkHULK SMASH!
HP: 772
Offense: 133
Passives: Rage - For every point of Rage, up to a maximum of 5, Hulk's damage increases by [X]%. Rage increases whenever Hulk takes damage or from card abilities. Rage decreases by 1 whenever Hulk uses an attack or heroic ability.
Attack Cards:Smash: 66 Damage, +1 Heroism, +1 Rage. Stun target. If the target has full HP, this attack deals 133 additional damage. Does not consume any Rage.
Gamma Kick: +1 Heroism. Add Taunt and Weak to target for 1 Turn. Has Forceful Knockback.
Crush: 133 Damage, +1 Heroism. If the target is Stunned, deal an additional 199 Damage. Does not consume Rage on KO.
Skill CardsAlways Angry: +2 Heroism. Consumes all Rage and heals Hulk equal to his current Rage x 33% Max HP. Overhealing increases Hulk's Max HP up to the new value HP Value. Maximum Rage limit increases by 1. Exhaust after use.
Challenging Roar: +2 Heroism. Taunt a target and gain 1 Counter. For each enemy targeting Hulk, gain 1 Rage.
Heroic CardsMighty Blow: 232 Damage, 3 Heroism Cost. If target is Stunned, deal an additional 266 Damage. Has Forceful Knockback
Rampage: 99 Damage, 3 Heroism Cost. Chain Effect 3. Taunts all targets hit by this attack. On Full Combo, restore 1 Heroism.
Seismic Slam: 332 Damage, Wide AoE. 4 Heroism Cost. Taunt all enemies in Area of effect.Thunderclap: 43 Damage, 4 Heroism Cost. Stun all targets in a line. Has Knockback.
Ultimate Worldbreaker: 199 Damage, Very wide AoE. 6 Heroism Cost. Has Forceful Knockback. For every enemy KO'd by this attack, Hulk gains 1 Rage. Exhaust on use.
Ideal Deck - Smash x2
Challenging Roar x1
Mighty Blow x2
Always Angry x2
Worldbreaker x1
Comments:Hulk the strongest there is in the DL? Not quite. Every character covered thus far other than Cap has had some trick that you can tell which division they are likely in even before the damage numbers pop up. Hulk is the first PC that defies this and follows more conventional DL stat topics in that he greatly depends on what the numbers are. Largely because his Rage mechanic modifies the damage he deals, but also because on the whole, he just doesn't have a lot of tricks compared to Captain Marvel, Dr. Strange or Ghost Rider. In the DL, Hulk's primary thing is Stun. Once an enemy is Stunned, they'll lose their next action, so if you don't block Stun, Hulk likely just wins. If you do block it, then you're likely fighting a slugfest except Hulk can full heal twice, and each time he does, he might be healing for more HP than previously. A problem for Hulk though is that not only are his Heroics really expensive, he just doesn't have a lot of cards that generate Heroism. As a result, his deck has to use weaker cards otherwise he runs an actual risk of not being able to take any actions. And of course, if you block Stun, Hulk doesn't have much more of a plan. In a serious upper limit fight, Hulk's unlikely to impress because his Rage simply doesn't go up fast enough since it is dependent on enemies attacking him. A fast 2HKO or 3HKOer isn't going to give him much of a chance to utilize it.
Low Heavy most likely.
Iron ManFail Smydra!
HP: 666
Offense: 114
Passives: I'll Handle This - For every 2 Iron Man Cards played, gain +1 Redraws this round. Can only trigger once per Round.
Attack Cards:Quick Blast: 57 Damage, +1 Heroism. Quick Effect. Redraw to add Knockback. Draw an Iron Man Card when played.
Blast: 114 Damage, +1 Heroism. Knockback. Redraw to add Forceful Knockback.
Skill CardsHeads Up: +2 Heroism, +2 Redraws. Add 228 Block to a target.
Leave it to Me: +2 Heroism, +2 Redraws. Draw 2 Iron Man cards. Adds 2 Fast
Mark Target: +2 Heroism. Inflicts Marked and Vulnerable to a target for 2 Turns. Redraw to make the Mark effect AoE
New Plan: Doubles your current Heroism. Draw a Heroic Card
Heroic CardsSurgical Strike: 142 Damage, 2 Heroism Cost. Chain Effect X, where X is equal to the number of Iron Man cards in hand.Air Superiority: 114 Damage, 4 Heroism Cost. Redraw to add 57 damage. Max 114 additional damage or 228 damage.
Precision: 2 Heroism Cost. The next Iron Man Card played is not discarded. Free Play. Redraw to reduce Heroism cost by 1
Ultimate Hellfire Beam: 114 Damage, Line Fire. 3 Heroism Cost. Redraw to increase the damage by 57. Gain a Redraw for each KO.
Ideal Deck - Quick Blast x1
Mark Target x1
Leave it to Me x2
Precision x1
Surgical Strike x2
Hellfire Beam x1
Comments:When it comes to simplicity, you don't get much better than Iron Man. Hulk may claim he is the strongest there is, but I'm fairly certain that award actually belongs to Iron Man in Midnight Suns. His play line is simple: Mark Target, Leave it to Me, then play Surgical Strike. Then the next turn he plays Precision, followed by double Surgical Strike. Since the only cards you have in your hand are Iron Man cards, Surgical Strike has a ridiculous amount of hits and deals a stupid amount of damage. It's a 1.25x damage per hit, so with Vulnerable increasing that to 1.875, you are getting hit by a cumulative multiplier of x26.25. He can mix it up too. Like say an opponent is immune to status, Iron Man can simply do Leave it to Me, then 2x Surgical Strike for x13.75 damage instead. Either way, it comes out to a lot of damage. Oh yeah, I haven't even gotten to his Redraws, which unlike other characters, he can spend it to power up his attacks. In this case, he can keep feeding them to Hellfire Beam if he doesn't need them - giving him a massive pumpable attack that can eventually OHKO if need be. He very likely is a godlike just due to raw on paper mults, but to err on the side of caution, let's go with
High Heavy for now.
MagikIs Portal
HP: 653
Offense: 116
Passives: Relay - When an enemy is knocked into a Portal, 25% chance to generate a Limbo Portal card for free
Attack Cards:Quick Soulslash: +1 Heroism. +1 Move Action after use. Has Knockback and Quick Effect.
Soulblast: +1 Heroism. Has Forceful Knockback. On KO, gain Counter for 1 turn
Trapdoor: 174 Damage, +1 Heroism. Moves target enemy to new location.
Kick: 174 Damage, +1 Heroism. Knockback. Skill CardsLimbo Portal: +0 Heroism. +1 Move Action after use. Creates a Portal. Free play.
Limbo's Grasp: +2 Heroism. Creates a Portal. Magik gains 174 additional damage the next time she knocks an enemy into a Portal for the rest of the level.
Heroic CardsGather: 116 Damage, 2 Heroism Cost. Wide AoE. Pulls all enemies affects into the center of targeted area.
Banish: 3 Heroism Cost. Turns an enemy or ally into a Drop until the next turn
Reinforcement: 4 Heroism Cost. Summons a Hero currently resting in the Abbey for the next 2 Turns. Draw 2 of their cards. Exhaust after use.
Ultimate Darkchylde: 4 Heroism Cost. Taunts all enemies. Magik gain Counter and Invulnerability for 1 Turn. Exhaust after use
Ideal Deck - Kick x2
Banish x2
Limbo Portal x1
Limbo's Grasp x2
Darkchylde x1
Comments:Magik has a very simple game plan that is not too different than that of Ghost Rider. Stack Limbo's Grasp and play Darkchylde. The effect of Limbo's Grasp is cumulative and doesn't go away until the level is over, so in the DL, this means like Dr. Strange, she can stack her offense to near infinity until a 2HKO or OHKO. After the first turn, she can buy time with Banish. I'm unsure if it can self-target but assuming it cannot for not - this still gives her a near unresistable status effect while continues to snowball her power. Eventually, she then just hits you with DA BOOT for the kill. The main differences here from Ghost Rider is that again, Banish may not be able to self target, in which case, her game weakens a bit since she'll lack the ability to become untargetable like him. However, in return, Magik's strategy is more reliable because it doesn't rely on a possible chancey missed draw or discarding. Easily a
High HeavyNico MinoruKonnichiwa Friendo!
HP: 582
Offense: 131
Passives: And Another One - Whenever a Nico card is played, 33% chance for an additional Draw
Attack Cards:Curse: 65 Damage, +1 Heroism. Applies a randomly chosen status effect for 2 turns: Either Stun, Marked, Vulnerable or Weaken
Blood for Blood: 196 Damage, +1 Heroism. On KO, restores 262 HP to Nico or a random ally
Witchfire: 262 Damage, +1 Heroism. On KO, this attack will bounce towards other targets randomly for an additional 2 times.
Skill CardsBlood Magic +2 Heroism. Applies a random chosen buff for 2 turns: Life Steal, Counter, Fast or Strengthen. Draws 1 card of the target
Double Up: +2 Heroism. Create a copy of each card in hand up to your handsize limit. If the number of starting cards in hand is greater than 5, cards being copied will be randomly selected.
Empower: +2 Heroism. Draw a Heroic Card. Then reduce the Heroism cost of all Heroic card in hand to 0.
Restore: +2 Heroism. Restores all HP. If target is below 50% HP, reshuffle it to the deck. Otherwise, Exhaust on Play.
Heroic CardsSwarm: 1 Heroism Cost. Damage deals fluctuates between 131, 262, 327 or 393. Damage is determined when card is drawn.
Witchstorm: 98 Damage, 2 Heroism Cost. Randomly distributes 4 hits of the listed damage across the targeted area. If there is only one target, this focus fires.
Ultimate Crack the Sky: 225 Damage, X Heroism Cost. Deals stated damage X numbers of times in the targeted area where X is equal to Heroism paid. For every KO, regain 1 Heroism. Exhaust after use
Ideal Deck - Curse x1
Blood Magic x1
Double Up x1
Empower x1
Restore x2
Witchstorm x2
Comments:Possibly the weirdest DL translation of the cast because while everyone is using different cards, no one has the greater differences than Nico thus far. This is a deck that you wouldn't use in-game but it is pretty much built for DL type duels. Nico basically wants to draw the ideal hand of cards, then play Empower into Double Up so she gets a bunch of high damage cards for 0 Heroism cost. Then she proceeds to nuke you to kingdom come with her hand now full of good cards. In game, you'd never do this because more often you'll have a bunch of other people's cards in hand. However, since the DL contrains it such that the character in question will only have their cards, this allows Nico to play with a hand like this. In the optimal scenario, she has both Witchstorms in hand, then play Empower into a 0 Cost Double Up, giving her 4 copies of 0 Heroism cost Witchstorms. Since this move hits 4 times, it will basically bust cheese strats like Captain Marvel's 4x Resist or Craft Guard in the Trails series. Also, you need to chip around her because Nico has Restore. The downfall of this card is that you have to be below 50% HP or it gets removed from the deck. But in the DL, against someone who cannot chip, Nico basically just pulls VP2 Alicia strats and heals forever. This combination of things makes her pretty damn strong! The primary weakness other than the chipping as mentioned is that Nico requries set up. She can't burst huge damage on Turn 1 and unlike Ghost Rider, Strange or Magik, doesn't have a trick to make her invincible during that time. Still, that does leverage nicely into Restore, since if you just go for a 2HKO option, she can easily Heal it and then do other stuff afterwards. A
Heavy of some sort. Might be High Heavy but that will be dependent on averages.
Scarlet Witch
HP: 624
Offense: 122
Passives: Wrong Place, Wrong Time - If an opponent is standing near SWitch at the start of their turn, 25% chance to receive a random debuff.
Attack Cards:Hex Bolt: 61 Damage, +1 Heroism. Chain Effect +2. Give each copy of this card in your hand +1 Chain Effect
Hex Field: 122 Damage, +1 Heroism. AoE.
Quick Toss: 61 Damage, +1. Quick Effect. Knockback in any direction.
Skill CardsHex Mark: +2 Heroism. Applies Mark for 3 Turns to all targets in the selected area.
Unleashed: +2 Heroism. Increases AoE effects played by Scarlet Witch by 33%
Chaos Field: +2 Heroism. For the next 2 turns, allies (including Scarlet Witch) near Scarlet Witch gain +1 Resist and recover 103 HP at the end of their turn.
Heroic CardsHex Charge: 3 Heroism Cost. Target enemy explodes at the start of their next turn for 122 damage. AoE effect. If this attack kills them, then the explosion deals 244 damage instead.
Detonate: 2 Heroism Cost. Targets an explosive and makes it go off with 100% more power and twice the explosion radius. Scarlet Witch and her allies are unaffected by damage caused by this card. On Redraw, +1 Heroism.
Chaos Reigns: 3 Heroism Cost. Enemies in selected target area will attack each other. 50% chance for them to attack twice.
Ultimate No more: 5 Heroism Cost. Deals damage to all surrounding enemies near Scarlet Witch equal to her Max HP. For every KO, draw another card. KOs Scarlet Witch on use. Exhaust on use.
Ideal Deck - Hex Bolt x2
Quick Toss x2
Chaos Field x2
Hex Charge x1
Chaos Reigns x1
Comments:I need to do some more testing with Chaos Reigns because it may be Wanda's saving grace in the DL. In general though, pretty underwhelming since Scarlet Witch's big selling point in game are massive AoE effects whereas in the DL that niche is pretty much worthless. She still does have some tricks because Chaos Field exists and that has Resist on it. But past that, not much to write home about. Chaos Reigns could be golden if it causes Confusion or some sort of status change that takes away an enemy's turn though since that then gives her a way to Confuse lock while Resist stacking. Hex Charge is also supposedly a Pseudo Stun but I'll need to play around with it some more to determine its actual effectiveness. Still as long as she has one tool that can occupy an enemy turn, Wanda is likely in a good place. I suspect she's a
Heavy due to Resist stacking but obviously up for change depending on results of tests.
Spiderman
HP: 627
Offense: 119
Passives: Bringing down the House - The first environmental attack made by Spidey consumes no heroism. 15% chance to refund Heroism spent on Environmental attacks.
Attack Cards:Chain Strike: 119 Damage, +1 Heroism. Allows Spiderman to Chain to another target if the selected target will be KO'd. Maximum up to 4 bounces.
Quick Kick: +1 Heroism. Quick Effect. Knockback. Deals 119 Damage if target was previously damaged this turn.
Special Delivery: +1. Forceful Knockback towards Spiderman. On a KO, gain +1 Move action
Skill CardsSpider Sense: +2 Heroism. Spiderman gains 1 Fast and 1 Resist. Draw 2 Spiderman Cards
Opportunist: +2 Heroism. Increases the damage of Environmental attacks by 59 for 2 turns. Also makes the next 2 Environmental attacks cost 0 Heroism. +2 Move Actions on play.
Webslinger: +2 Heroism. Spiderman gains 1 Strengthened. Free play.
Heroic CardsUp Here!: 238 Damage, 2 Heroism Cost. AoE. Enemies around the main target take 59 damage. Applies Weak for 2 Turns on effected enemies.
Web Throw: 3 Heroism Cost. Forceful Knockback. Enemies near the primary target take 119 damage.
THWIP!: 2 Heroism Cost. Binds target. Target takes 50% more damage from Environmental attacks.
Ultimate Infernal Spider: 3 Heroism Cost. Draw a Spiderman Card. The next 3 Spiderman Card plays are Free. Exhaust on Play.
Ideal Deck - Special Delivery x1
Webslinger x1
Spider Sense x2
THWIP! x2
Up here! x1
Infernal Spider x1
Comments:Every level in the game as some objects which you can interact with. These objects tend to do damage, which the game calls Environmental. Environmental damage does not consume a card play, but rather, costs Heroism to use. They tend to be AoE nature and can often hit multiple targets at once. The downside is that because they don't cost Card plays, their damage also doesn't scale well. They do fixed damage and while it increases over the course of the game, enemy durability tends to eclipse it pretty much towards the end game. To give some figures, most objects at end game deal somewhere around 120 damage to 250 damage. If you average it out, it will be 185 damage per action. There's a limit to the number of objects you can interact with as you eventually run out of objects you can use but levels tend to be finished before that happens. Make of this what you will. Most levels have anywhere between 8 to 10 environmental items and their effectiveness varies.
That entire blurb is necessary because Spidey's skillset largely revolves them. From his passive to his various cards, they all deal with environmental objects. So while all PCs can use these, Spiderman tends to use these the best. As for DL translation? Well, if you factor in like 3-4 objects that Spiderman can interact with dealing around 185 damage each, it gives Spiderman a way to burst out damage pretty quick. Since he can use Opportunist along with his passive to quickly bust out 3 hits while consuming only 1 card play. That makes him better when it comes to damage.
But suppose, you don't allow that. Assume all DL arenas are flat ground with nothing to interact with. Spiderman...is still somehow pretty competent in the DL. The reason? If you guessed stacking Resists, you would be right. Even better THWIP! means he can do similar things like Dr. Strange, so Spiderman can bind you, then stack infinite Resists while slowly whittling you down. Knockback attacks doesn't work if an opponent is bound, but it largely doesn't matter because if you can hit by Bind, you're likely dead anyway. Infernal Spider further gives him a way to burst damage since 3 Free Card plays is huge. Likely a
High Heavy because the combo of Bind PLUS Resists is a good combo. If you add environmental damage to that, he likely becomes a borderliner since it gives him free burst damage to boot.
Wolverine
HP: 675
Offense: 125
Passives: Healing Factor - Whenever a Card is redrawn, Wolverine restores 125 HP.
Attack Cards:Quick Swipe: 62 Damage, +1 Heroism. Quick Effect. Taunts target.
Chain Swipes: 41 Damage, +1 Heroism. Chain Effect 3. Taunts targets hit. On Full Combo, Applies Weak for 1 turn.
Power Slash: 62 Damage, +1 Heroism. Knockback. Applies Vulnerable for 1 Turn
Lethal Pounce: 93 Damage, +1. Chain Effect 2. On Full Combo, Wolverine gains Strengthen for 1 turn.
Skill CardsStink of Fear: +2 Heroism. AoE. Taunts all targets in selected area and applies Weak for 1 turn. Wolverine gains Counter for 1 Turn
Berserker: +2 Heroism. Draw 3 Wolverine cards. Wolverine gains Lifesteal for 1 turn.
Rapid Healing: +2 Heroism. Restores 75% Max HP to Wolverine and Cures him of all status. Can be played even if Wolverine is currently incapacitated.
Heroic CardsRapid Regeneration: 2 Heroism Cost. The first time Wolverine is KO'd, add this card to your hand. Wolverine revives with 50% Max HP. Exhaust on use. This card cannot be added to the deck in any other means.
Piercing Strike: 125 Damage, 2 Heroism Cost. If target has Block, this deals 187 additional damage.
Eviscerate: 62 Damage, 2 Heroism Cost. Chain Effect 4. Taunts targets hit. For each target KO'd by this attack, Wolverine gains Counter for 1 turn.
Ultimate Midnight Special: X Heroism Cost. Attacks random targets X number of times where X is equal to Heroism paid. Each subsequent attack made deals an additional 31 damage. +1 Heroism for each KO. Exhaust after use
Ideal Deck - Chain Swipes x1
Power Slash x1
Lethal Pounce x1
Berserker x1
Rapid Healing x 2
Piercing Slash x1
Midnight Special x1
Comments:He's the best at what he does and what he does is slug it out with the best of them. Wolverine has a very synergistic kit that translates well to the DL. Hit the opponent with Chain Swipes to drop their damage, Lethal Pounce to increase his, then use the third for anything else that makes sense on that turn. Subsequent turns are pretty brutal. Rapid Healing means along with passive, Wolverine is pretty much healing to near full HP every turn. AND unlike the other Suns, its built in status healing and non-conditional requirement means it can be played at any time as long as he still has a card play. This means that status that would normally shut people down don't do so on Wolverine. He's also the only character in the game with a built-in Auto Life function. So you have to kill him twice to put him down for good. Meanwhile, because Wolverine doesn't need a lot of Heroism to function, he can safely store it and put it into his Heroism dump attack and opt for a OHKO late into a fight. His primary weakness is that he can't burst damage well so against fast OHKOers, he's going to have some issues.
High Heavy/Low Godlike borderline.
