VS Player

Today we're going to move along to the next team in the new Marvel Team-up set, the Defenders. The Defenders really only have one true theme, backup. They have a lot of effects that are dependent on how many characters you have exhausted which is a byproduct of using all of their backup abilities during the build phase. There is a lot of power in this team and the longer you can keep your lower drops with the good backup abilities around, the bigger your advantage is going to be later in the game. In addition to a really good curve, the Defenders also have some great plot twist support. The lower part of the Defenders curve is really all about support, while the middle to top of the curve is where the beats will come from. While, I'm not going to do a card by card analysis for this team either, I will talk about possible teamups. The team-up that seems to be the most common topic around the Internet is JSA. This really has more to do with breaking Rock of Eternity than anything else. The problem I see with this team-up is the fact that there really isn't a JSA character I can see that I want to put into a Defenders curve anywhere. In fact, looking around the other teams available in Silver and Modern, I think the Defenders can really stand on their own without any support from another team. There's really not a weak spot in their curve. With Hulk at 7 and Dr. Strange at 8, should the game go that long, they're strong from top to bottom. Not adding a second team adds so much consistency here. You eliminate Team-ups which adds extra available spots for other plot twists. Your Mobilizes will always be online and all your team stamped cards will always be on the ready. I think the Defenders got a lot of great cards in the set and may be the best team in this set (which is saying a lot because of the power of this set). With all that said, here's my early version of a Defenders Modern Age deck.

4 Wong
4 Tania Belinskya
4 Hellcat
1 Hawkeye
4 Samantha Parrington
1 Richard Rider
3 Dr. Strange
2 Silver Surfer
2 Sub-Mariner
1 Hulk
1 Wendell Vaughn

4 Astral Projection
4 Defenders Defend
4 The "B" Team
3 Consulting the Orb
4 The Order
3 Soul Survival
3 Big Leagues
4 Mobilize
4 Against All Odds

This is the basic way this deck wants the game to go.

Take evens
Turn 1 Play Wong
Turn 2 Play Tania, activate Tania on herself to ensure a stunback if they attack.
Turn 3 Play Hellcat. This is a turn where your only objective is to leave your board intact. Activating Tania and Hellcat on Tania isn't a bad play here to make here a 7/6 and try to force a team attack. If it looks safe, you may try getting an attack in with Hellcat here, but it's more important to keep your board than deal a couple point of damage.
Turn 4 Play Samantha Parrington. Active Tania on Hellcat. Swing Hellcat into their 4 and Samantha into their 3. This should again leave you with your board intact going to the next turn.
Turn 5 Play Strange. Put his ability on the chain and target him with either Hellcat or Tania. Which one depends on whether you need the +2 DEF twice to avoid the stunback when you swing into their 4. Then play Astral Projection and move everyone to the hidden area. Use all your backup powers on Strange so he is either +10/+2 or +8/+4 and will ready on the first attack. Take the direct attack, then swing back with Strange on their 4, then Strange on their 5. This should again leave you a full board going to 6, whereas they should only have a 5 drop (maybe a 1 or 2 drop). Turn 6 you play Sub-Mariner. Use all your backup powers on SM, play The Order, backup Strange then set out your attacks. Both characters will be +6/+2 with 2 attacks. SM will also get the exhausted characters bonuses. His first attack should be as a 21/14 (12/11 +6/+2 from Tania and Hellcat, +3 exhausted characters since he will ready himself when he attacks and you will probably have to attack with him before Strange). His second attack will be as a 22/15 (since he will stay exhausted for this attack). Then Strange should get two free shots as a 15/10. If somehow, the game goes to 7, you've got Hulk and you can substitute in Wendell Vaughn since Hulk exhausts everyone when he comes in and you can activate Wendell targeting Hulk while his exhaust effect is on the chain. The biggest problem this deck will face is Spider-Friends exhuasting everything in sight. That's what Richard Rider is for. You should be able to get at least 2 stuns out of him several turn without ever entering combat. Depending on how popular Spider-Friends are, one 8-drop Dr. Strange could be added to the deck to try to kill them before they get to Galactus you. Other than that, DEF pumps won't do much good because the attacks aren't even close to getting bounced. An off-curve deck that can get into the hidden area may be a cause for concern, but you can play Hawkeye, and ready him to destroy off curve decks. It's a very early version but it packs a big punch. For anyone out there who has been wanting more mono-team curve decks, this one is right up your alley. Give it a try.