One of the most satisfying feelings in Marvel Champions is taking down a horde of minions. And luckily, there are many cards and heroes that excel at doing just that. In this guide, we'll take a look at the "Minion Slayer" archetype and how you can build a deck that focuses on killing minions and getting rewarded for doing so.
The Core of the Archetype
The Minion Slayer archetype is all about exploiting Aggression's strength in killing enemies on the table. There are a lot of red cards that are great at killing or rewarding killing minions. The core of the archetype is the same: kill minions and get rewarded for doing so. Cards like Relentless Assault, Into the Fray, Thor Odinson, One by One, and Melee are all critical in laying down strategic damage against minions.
In certain scenarios, like Mutagen Formula, there may not be a ton of space for other cards in your deck. But outside of those extreme matchups, you can start to get rewarded for doing your job.
Get Rewarded For Taking Out Minions
Cards like Chase Them Down, Precision Strike, Battle Fury, and Hall of Heroes are all great includes and can start helping control threat, heal, etc. for taking care of the minions.
Diversion Based on Player Count
MultiPlayer
Multiplayer games can take longer, and that gives you more time to set up and exploit overkill damage. Cards that can lean into overkill are excellent, fun, but can be too slow in a lot of solo matchups.
The core card to the overkill branch is Follow Through, which will increase your excess damage by one. Combo the Follow Through with Hand Cannon / Relentless Assault to deal extra damage, Moment of Triumph to heal, Into the Fray to help with threat, and No Quarter to fuel the card draw engine. Dust is also an interesting clean-up option, as it can hit every minion on the table.
Soloplay
In solo play, you need to do a bit of everything in your build. While the overkill can be good for some longer fights, it can be a bit slow in most matchups. Instead, the solo branch of the Minion Slayer archetype leans into cards that give you a benefit for getting minions so you can reliably hit your core cards. This is where we get to talk about Looking for Trouble and Angela. These are both cards that, if built around, are amazing for this archetype. They can help with threat as well as cheap allies.
Heroes
Thor is the most fun hero for this archetype, and it's not just an opinion – it's a fact. His "Have At Thee" ability allows you to draw two cards when you engage a minion. So, he gets even more benefits running these minion searching strategies. In a multiplayer game, he loves Get Over Here and can get minions with Defender of the Nine Realms. He can play Angela with The Bifrost, and if he gets overrun with the minions, he has the panic button that is Lightning Strike to reset and be okay! So many options here, and Thor has come a long way since release with the current card pool that supports this archetype.
Vision is another hero that is fun to play in this archetype. His ability to sit in Intangible and not take damage from most minions in the game allows him to farm minions easily. Bring It gets very strong with this strategy, allowing you to wait, build up minions, then draw a significant number of cards before taking out the villain. He can be matchup dependent, but it can be a very fun and power strategy in the right situation!
Finally, check out Rocket. Rocket loves overkilling minions because his "Murdered you" ability allows you to draw cards after dealing excess damage. Building into the overkill strategy, you can include the previously mentioned weapons, but Rocket also packs an arsenal and the Particle Cannon helps get some epic overkill damage. Also, he is the poster art for Relentless Assault, so he had to make the list. With Rocket's firepower and card draw potential, he can be a valuable addition to the team with an overkill-focused deck.
Overall, the Minion Slayer archetype offers a unique and rewarding playstyle in Marvel Champions. Whether you're taking down hordes of minions or setting up for overkill damage, this archetype is sure to provide a thrilling experience.