Infinaut Discard ft. Thanos

Hey everyone! 🙋 You may recognize me or my deck from this post a few days ago: https://marvelsnap.io/deck/the-infinaut-discard-132 . I was considering just editing that post as the idea is very similar. However, after constant test hands and theory crafting, the core cards of the deck have changed so drastically that I figured it warranted an entirely new guide. I believe this iteration with Thanos will probably be the optimal way to play this kind of "combo" deck, as it combines a good mix of value, control, and tempo. Last disclaimer I have yet to play the beta so this is all speculation. Please comment any improvements or ideas you think would make this deck better 👍

This deck has been through many changes since its inception. With only 12 cards per deck it is very difficult to identify which are absolutely necessary, and which are holding the deck back. Especially a deck that requires very specific pieces to work together. So I will go through each and explain why I chose them over others. The discard package is large and many things didn't make the cut.

This deck revolves around the combo of discarding The 20 power Infinaut with Lady Sif on turn 2, to then summon him on 3 with Ghost Rider. If not then he and Apocalypse are still good summons off of Hela. We run a very specific discard package that makes sure we get the most value/disruption possible, while leaving out the less impactful discard cards. With this specific package we are left with a pretty awkward mana curve. No 1 drops makes our early and mid game turns clunky, having times where we'd be consistently floating an energy or two, and just not tempoing out optimally.

This is where Thanos comes into play. He shuffles 5 1/1 stones into your deck at the start of the game, all of which draw a card in addition to their other effects. These stones are the perfect curve fillers at every point in the game, allowing you to cycle through your deck, as well as play alongside your 2 and 3 cost units. Since we are looking to discard specific cards in our deck, we don't always want to play our Hellcow and Sif right away.

The stones let us sit back and wait for the right hand to start our combo. Playing all 6 stones to buff Thanos is not even necessary. Even if you do manage to do so and Thanos gets discarded, the Power Stone that gives him 10 power is an ongoing effect. So if they are brought back with Hela the buff will still activate and you will have a nice 18 power Thanos to add to your board.

As for the rest of the package, we only run discard cards that help towards our game plan, or are high enough tempo to consider running. We do not run Morbius, Gambit, Wolverine, Colleen, Dracula, Black Cat, or Blade. Some of these aren't used because they do not offer enough to the decks overall game plan. That is of dropping big game-winning minions. Some for more specific reasons.

Morbius is a great card in tempo based discard decks, because you can drop him early and then dump your hand to win a location. In our deck however, he just takes up hand space and a 2 mana 6 or 8 is not very impressive when we are putting 30 power on the board in a single turn. Also since we're not running a full discard package he may go games where he's only 4 or 6 power.

Gambit is a very powerful card in a vacuum. However in reality, if he is used too early he will only be sniping a 1 - 3 cost card. That can range anywhere from 1 power to possibly 6, or more realistically 5. Which is alright, but we can't really risk whiffing an entire turn for the hope that we snipe their 4 drop and win the game on the spot. And we don't want to use him late in the game because we will hopefully be playing our really big threats by that time. Probably don't have the mana to spare. And don't get me started on his 1 power body. Having him in the discard pool is not ideal. Even if his ability does activate on resummon.

Wolverine I would honestly love to run in this deck, but we just don't have enough room if we want to play all our other tech options. Swarm alone should be good enough.

And lastly Dracula. I honestly think this card is very powerful, and I think it may find its way into the deck eventually. However, at the moment it seems like too big of a risk if we don't have Apocalypse or The Infinaut in hand when needed. Then it will be at most an 8 power with Thanos. Not ideal. And in a deck where every card is crucial we simply can't afford to risk it with Dracula and Sword Master is solid enough. Will need testing though.

As for the cards we do run. Hellcow and Sif are obvious as they provide the most consistent way to target cards in hand. Most of the time our hand size will be small so Hellcow will give us decent odds on what we toss. Moonknight is a fantastic card that can snipe an enemy's win condition and win the game on the spot. Much more consistent than Gambit. Sword Master is just really good stats for 4 and also a big body we don't mind discarding. Swarm is a must have as he makes discarding actually a benefit for us and make it so we don't always have to wait for Apocalypse or Infinaut to get the ball rolling.

As for the final filler cards of the deck, they are the glue for this strategy and really let the deck take off when they land. Moon Girl is just a fantastic "draw" card for this deck, as it gives us plenty of discard fodder, as well as, doubling our combo pieces. Getting a second copy of Apocalypse, or Infinaut turns our combo from 20+ power to 40+. Even just keeping our Hela safer from discards is worth the effect. Not to mention her synergy with Swarms and the infinity stones. Just gives you massive swing turns where you drop a ton of units.

Which brings us to our next card Sera. Pretty straight forward, her 1 energy discount let's you play infinity stones back to back if you're lucky to draw them. But not only that,if you discard her early and are able to bring her back with Ghost Rider, you will get a pretty early mana-cheat. Letting you play two 6 cost cards that game. Just a great card to have in this kind of deck.

This deck has the potential to make some seriously nutty plays with the right draws, as well as just having decently statted minions to contest the board. If you play patiently and allow the right hand to come to you, you can pop off in the mid and late game and steal games from out of no where. Again this is all speculation, but this list of 12 seems very powerful and synergistic. I think with some fine tuning it could become one of the premier combo decks. And hey it seems pretty fun to boot 😊

Thanks for reading my ramble. If you've made it this far please let me know what you think or what suggestions you have for the deck. I'm sure there are some cards out there I missed that would be perfect. Would love to discuss with ya'll ❤