Daily Bugle Hot Location Best Cards and Decks

A new Hot Location is the perfect occasion to boost your Cube Average if you’re struggling to climb the ranks. For the next 24 hours, the Hot Location will be Daily Bugle, which gives each player a card from their opponent’s hand upon revealing. For 24 hours, it has a 50% chance of showing up in games.

Variants

Daily Bugle

Get a copy of a card in your opponent’s hand.

released

view card details Start a deck Decks with Daily Bugle

In this piece, we’ll go over three main aspects of how you can incorporate the Hot Location into your strategy:

• Which decks seem poised to be stronger with Daily Bugle appearing in most games?
• Which standalone cards benefit from Daily Bugle that you can run in already solid archetypes to make them even stronger?
• Considering you can expect certain decks to gain popularity for the duration of the Hot Location, is there a potential counter pick?

Are you ready to make the most out of this week’s Hot Location?

A little bonus at the end if, like others in the community, you aren’t much about Featured or Hot Locations and would rather play Conquest during those times. I compiled a few of the current best archetypes in Conquest if you needed some ideas to test over the weekend.

Decks

Loki

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.2

Cost

0-
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3
4
5+

3.6

Power

0-
1
2
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5+

Let’s start with the obvious one: Loki. This deck was reworked a bit to include The Collector because it’s the card to have on the board when Daily Bugle reveals. Otherwise, you naturally play Quinjet and Mockingbird, which are the other two cards that will benefit from this Hot Location the most. Devil Dinosaur is another one to mention.

As for the other cards in the deck, Mobius M. Mobius is probably a good one to pack during the Hot Location period because you should see more of Mockingbird and Quinjet.

Double Up

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

1x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

1x Recruit Season

2.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.3

Power

0-
1
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3
4
5+

Double Up has been playing a new list since Mockingbird released, and it can only benefit from Daily Bugle appearing in half your games. Sure, there are the times when the card you get hurts your ability to leverage Moon Girl, but you have Quinjet to reduce the cost of the card you get. Plus, this deck is not running that many cards to reduce Mockingbird‘s cost, so the extra help is perfect. Indeed, apart from the cards generated with Moon Girl and Shanna‘s 1-costs, you don’t have that many tools to reduce Mockingbird‘s cost.

Compared to Loki, this one will need a better mastery of your Snaps and Retreats. You’re looking to get the most of your great hands, but you will lose to a bad draw more often than you’d like. Still, considering this deck can gain a bonus from both the Avengers (She-Hulk, Mockingbird, Echo, and Ant Man) and the X-Men (Sunspot, Iceman, Dazzler, and Armor) in the deck, this is probably the best Double Up will ever get.

Thanos Zoo Loki

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

4x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2x Recruit Season

3.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Thanos Control with Mockingbird probably benefits from Daily Bugle a bit, and the deck is so strong right now that there is a chance the location won’t change anything about its dominance. Still, if you wanted to benefit more from the Hot Location, there is another Thanos build that stands to gain much more: Thanos Ongoing.

Indeed, that deck never found other 1-Costs to include outside Ant Man since they didn’t have much synergy with the deck outside of being a nice target for Spectrum. While Daily Bugle has a 50% boost to its appearance rate, Quinjet gains a lot of potential, and this shell is flexible enough to throw Loki in just for the potential high roll (or to mitigate a disappointing draw).

Mocking Zoo

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

3x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2x Recruit Season

3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

If you aren’t such a fan of Thanos, you could also play a more traditional build of Zoo. Even if it has little reason to run Quinjet, the deck can often fit an extra card in its curve if it is a good one. Here, the addition would only be for reducing Mockingbird‘s cost, but it could also help with a sub-par draw where you only get your low-cost cards. In that scenario, the copied card could help you use your energy and keep priority with Alioth in mind on the last turn of play.

Also, it’s a decent alternative if you don’t own Thanos.

Standalone Cards

Daily Bugle isn’t a meta warping location like Kamar-Taj or Onslaught's Citadel can be. Apart from Mockingbird and Quinjet, there aren’t many cards that will absolutely crush a match when paired with this location. These two won’t win on their own, either, they’ll just get a bit stronger.

Variants

Mockingbird

Costs 1 less for each of your cards in play that didn’t start in your deck.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Mockingbird

Variants

Quinjet

Ongoing: Cards that didn’t start in your deck cost 1 less. (minimum 1)

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Quinjet

We already discussed a few decks with both cards included, so, naturally, decks able to run either already should get a little boost over the weekend. This includes Thanos Control, Patriot, Loki, and KaZoo.

Let’s discuss some cards you might want to consider in your deck while the Hot Location is up in order to limit how much Quinjet and Mockingbird can hurt you.

Variants

Elektra

On Reveal: Destroy an enemy 1-Cost card here.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Elektra

Variants

Killmonger

On Reveal: Destroy ALL 1-Cost cards.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Killmonger

First, you have some cards that can remove Quinjet from the board: Elektra and Killmonger. These two don’t necessarily have a great deck currently, especially since Destroy is kind of losing momentum. You could throw Elektra in a Bounce deck, or play Silver Surfer for Killmonger if you aren’t much of a Destroy Enjoyer.

Variants

Mobius M. Mobius

Ongoing: Your Costs can’t be increased. Your opponent’s Costs can’t be reduced.

Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Mobius M. Mobius

Variants

Sandman

On Reveal: Players can only play 1 card next turn.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Sandman

Mobius M. Mobius is the big one here, and he’s already started gaining all kinds of momentum since Mockingbird released. Sandman could also be considered for a similar purpose, but it isn’t a standalone inclusion. The 5-Cost would only make sense in a Ramp strategy. This gives me a great occasion to discuss a deck that I think has some big upsides during the Hot Location meta.

Counter Pick: Hela!

Corvus Ramp

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

7.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

This deck has two upsides going into the hot location period:

• The card you give your opponent through Daily Bugle has very little chance to synergize with their deck, and they won’t have time to play a 6-Cost early to discount Mockingbird.
• Hela is good into decks looking to steal cards, and the buffs they will get should not put them ahead of you when it comes to sheer amount of points.

In the current meta, Hela is struggling a bit compared to last season. As such, if you see a lot of Thanos, Hela might struggle to rack up cubes. However, if you see the expected Loki decks, then this should be great to abuse. Plus, Hela doesn’t care about Mobius M. Mobius (in case you see a lot of that as well).

Conquest Decks

Thanos

Created by den

, updated 1 month ago

0

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

7x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

4.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

No surprise as to which deck is the safe pick going into Conquest, as it is the exact same you would pick for ranked play. There is no sugarcoating it, Thanos is dominant right now, as Mockingbird gave it even more explosive firepower than it possessed already.

Toxic Sera

Created by den

, updated 1 month ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

1x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

With Thanos being super dominant right now, and its will to play all the Infinity Stones during the match to discount Mockingbird, there is some merit to a power affliction strategy.

Pure Evolutionary could be a consideration if you are familiar with the archetype, but Toxic Sera was the best performer this week. Be careful as Alioth could be a problem, while Mobius M. Mobius is a pain to deal with too, but we have Enchantress for this one.

Otherwise, we have a ton of resources in order to punish an opponent looking to fill their side of the board proactively.

X-Men Surfer

Created by den

, updated 1 month ago

0

2x Collection Level 1-14

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.6

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

I was very surprised to see this deck post such a good performance when I looked at some data for Conquest. Then I realized the deck capitalizes on the current event, as we are playing 9 X-Men in the deck, meaning we potentially can deck the same as a free 5-cost card when they are all in play.

I personally would like to see Absorbing Man, or maybe Negasonic Teenage Warhead instead of Iceman in the deck. The first one is just a great card in the deck, while NTW fits the X-Men and Silver Surfer theme, while bringing a potential snap opportunity against combo oriented decks.

Closing Words

Daily Bugle isn’t a meta-warping location. It will make Mockingbird stronger, which is often the goal of hot locations: push us to play the new card. There are still a lot of games where another location will have a bigger impact, or the card you get does nothing for your deck.
As such, considering Mockingbird is already a dominant card through Thanos Control, I doubt Daily Bugle will impact the state of the game too much.

I hope this piece helped you get some ideas around the Hot Location, maybe even some extra fun while it is up. If you also have some ideas you would like to share, feel free to join us on Discord. Otherwise, you can reach out to me through my Twitter page.

Good Game Everyone.