-13- Just Say No - Spider-Friends(28) + Gotham Knights (21)

- Brian Foley *Second list*


Characters - 35


4x Aunt May, Golden Oldie
2x Alfred Pennyworth, Faithful Friend

4x Black Cat, Master Thief
3x Night Thrasher, Dwayne Michael Taylor

2x Barbara Gordon <> Oracle, Hacker Extraordinaire
2x Batman, Founding Member
2x Batman, Problem Solver

4x Spider-Man, The Sensational Spider-Man
4x Spider-Man, Zombie

1x Spider-Man, Secret Avenger

2x Scarlet Spider, Ben Reilly
1x Two-Face, Heads or Tails

1x Spider-Man, Stark's Protégé
1x Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man

1x The Sentry, Golden Guardian of Good

1x Spider-Man, Cosmic Spider-Man

Plot Twists - 24

4x Bad Press
4x Bat-Signal
4x Bat Got Your Tongue
4x The Hook-Up, Team-Up
4x Enemy of my Enemy
4x Gift Wrapped

Locations - 2

2x Stark Tower, Team-Up


At the beginning of the game, mulligan for two cards you can play on turns 2-4, or a way to get them. For example, Aunt May and a 3 drop gets you your 3 and your 4. Or a 2 drop and an Enemy.

Given a choice, take the initiative you think your opponent wants, or default to odds.

The best play on 1 is usually Aunt May, although Alfred is good if you have a 2 drop and a team-up. Keep in mind that you can recruit Aunt May for free on almost any turn, which is especially good if you know you will be able to use her to reinforce an attack.

The best play on 2 is Black Cat, who makes it harder for your opponent to play plot twists or locations. She has great synergy with Bad Press. Generally you want to evade her rather letting her get stunned and KO'ed, since you want her alive on later turns. Night Thrasher is a decent alternative, especially if you don't have a team-up. If you do, and you can spare a card, get another copy of The Hook-Up.

Turn 3 is a toolbox. Against slower decks, you want Barbara Gordon (who can be sub'ed in later) since she draws you extra cards. The Problem Solver is a good, safe choice, especially against fast decks, since he can be played visible. Use his effect to negate key plot twists, like Reign of Terror, or to negate tutors. Founding Member is good against decks that need certain plot twists or locations in their row in order to function well: Rock of Eternity, New Brotherhood, etc.

Best play on 4 is Sensational Spider-Man. On init, attack their 2, then exhaust their 3 with his effect. Let them swing back with their 4 and reinforce the attack. Off-init, exhaust their 3 with his effect, and hopefully you will have a Gift Wrapped to exhaust some combination of characters that cost 4. Remember that he has substitute, so on some turns you may want to use his effect, then sub in another copy.

You can play Zombie Spidey on 4, but he's more effective as the play on 5. A couple of things to keep in mind here. First, you have to have Scarlet Spider by turn 5 in order to play a second Spider-Man this turn. Second, you need to be careful with him. If they have something like Threat Neutralized in their row, he won't come back during the recovery. The same is true if they can somehow negate his effect. This is less of a concern in a format without Pathetic Attempt, but it's still something to keep in mind. Your other resource point on 5 can go to Aunt May or Alfred.

You can also play the 5 drop Spidey on 5 if you know you are going to be facing a character whose effect needs to be negated. When I tested against Fantastic Four, he prevented me from losing my turn 8 init to Silver Surfer, for example.

Turn 6 can be Two-Face, who can exhaust an opposing 4 drop, or some combination of characters. For example, Zombie Spidey and Black Cat (if you missed or lost her), or Aunt May+Zombie+Alfred. You will not normally want to recruit Scarlet Spider, although you can in a pinch if you have two in hand.

Turn 7 should normally be Stark's Protege. On init, he can attack someone smaller and stun them, then exhaust someone else with his effect. Off init, he's like a bigger version of Sensational Spidey. Amazing Spider-Man is good if your hand is loaded with character cards you don't need.

Turn 8 should be Sentry if you are defending or Cosmic Spidey if you are attacking.

If it goes to 9 or beyond, you can play your other 8 drop, or some combination of characters. For example, a Zombie and the 5 drop Spidey, or Aunt May and two Zombies. As the game goes on, recruit whatever character or character(s) is going to allow you to exhaust or neuter their entire field.

The best team-up is The Hook-Up, which allows you to cycle cards and improve your hand. Sometimes you won't want to discard for the effect, but whenever you have a Gotham character card to spare, do so. Late game you will typically have 2-3 copies in your row. Stark Tower is a decent alternative. It can give someone like the Sensational Spidey flight, and it has terraform, which is good if you buried a character card that you need in your row.

An opening hand with Black Cat and Bad Press is always a welcome sight. That means your opponent is going to have a hard time playing plot twists during the critical middle turns, which can lead to some missed drops if they need to use a tutor to get their preferred character. Speaking of which, the best use of Bat Got Your Tongue is normally to negate tutors like Enemy. Even if they have a second one to use this turn, you may cause them to miss on a later turn.

This deck is flush with tutoring of its own. It has character-based tutoring from Aunt May and Alfred, plus Enemy and Bat-Signal. Once you are teamed-up, the exhaust for Bat-Signal isn't so onerous, as you can use Aunt May, who is worthless as an attacker. She's perfect for Bat-Signal and Bat Got Your Tongue, as are Barbara Gordon and Black Cat.

Gift-Wrapped is the Spider-Man equivalent of Mystical Paralysis. Not quite as powerful against curve, but against rush decks it can be better, since a single Spider-Man+Gift Wrapped can exhaust multiple weenie characters.

With decent draws, this deck should do well against most kinds of decks, although it will have problems against burn decks and super-fast rush decks. I called it Just Say No because it is all about countering your opponent's attacks and effects, and it has multiple ways to do so. The deck is designed to win late, so in the early and middle turns focus mainly on wreaking havoc and maintaining your board. You can start turning up the heat around turn 6 or 7, and look to dominate from then on.