Wave Lockout Deck Guide: Aero Finds Her New Home

Aero has always been one of my favorite cards. In beta, she was a card that many slept on, but over time she ended up as a core piece of many different strategies and arguably become one of the most, if not the most, important cards in the game for some time. Then she was nerfed/adjusted, and her play dropped drastically. The current effect (On Reveal: Move the last enemy card played this turn to this location) still had the potential to be game winning, but it could fall flat into many different archetypes. But her moment to return may have arrived, and her hunt for a new home may have finally come to an end!

Silk is finally being acknowledge as the powerhouse she is, and the Spider-Man change finally made the early game Movement package strong enough to be the basis of many different decks. Shoutout to OwlGod here for bringing it back in a big way. We have seen many experiments with the top-end, but, in practice, I was finding the old guard of unplayed decks like Bounce, She-Hulk Double Up, and Sera Control were having success into these decks. So I thought, what do these decks not like? Wave. What makes Darkhawk cry? Magneto. What does any combo deck fear at night? Aero. So, here we are after an over three month hiatus. I have a deck guide that can help you build your own Wave / Aero / Magneto deck, or just help you pilot this one better.

House Hunters

Created by SafetyBlade

, updated 8 months ago

7

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

2.9

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Overview

The basic premise of this deck is simple, and when you fully understand it you will see just how simple the strategy is to build. You want to be ahead early with cards that cannot be easily countered, play Wave on Turn 5, and then counter or overpower the opponent’s sole play on Turn 6. After Wave, Aero and Magneto are arguably better Turn 6 plays than almost any other card in the game. If you’re ahead when you Wave, then your chances of winning are even higher. If you’re ahead and all the cards on board have less than nine power and/or cannot be hit by Killmonger, your odds of winning skyrocket.

The game plan for the deck is split into three key points: the set up turns, the lockout turn, and the finisher.

The Set Up Turns

Variants

Jeff the Baby Land Shark

You can move this once. Nothing can stop you from moving or playing this to any location.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Jeff the Baby Land Shark

Variants

Kraven

When a card moves here, this gains +2 Power.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Kraven

Variants

Silk

After ANY card is played here, this moves to another location.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Silk

Variants

Spider-Man

On Reveal: Move to another location and pull an enemy card from here to there.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Spider-Man

The first package to discuss is the Set Up package. This package is the largest part of the deck, and it’s where you can vary your build the most. In this version, the Set Up package is:

• Kraven
• Silk
• Spider-Man
• Jeff the Baby Land Shark

This package provides a very consistent way of competing for all 3 lanes, which is an important point. The deck wants to be strong across all three lanes when it can to allow for Magneto and Aero to do their thing. This is the real power of Silk here, and its boosted by Spider-Man providing a further strong Move effect that can be played before Turn 5. Kraven scales on each Silk movement, so you want to play on her lane often. You don’t really mind where she goes into Turns 5 and 6, as she challenges the lane she is on AND the lane she could move too. The cards in the Set Up package take priority every turn you can play them because they are what allow you to contest.

Replacements for Silk and Spider-Man are easier if you want to do this set up. You can use Cloak and Polaris to put enough power down, but it is weaker. The alternative is to scrap the package and go with something else that can compete across lanes. Remember, though, you want it playable prior to Turn 5.

Some example replacements

• Angela, Nightcrawler, Kraven, Polaris
• Angela, Medusa, Lizard, Maximus
• Cloak, Lizard, Medusa, Maximus
• Colleen Wing, Daken, Lizard, Wolverine
• Mister Fantastic, Crossbones, Medusa, Lizard

Note how very few additional 1-drops are in any of the replacement sets. The plan is the same: over statted cards you can compete on multiple lanes with.

Support

Variants

Miles Morales

If a card moved last turn, this costs 1.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Miles Morales

Variants

Armor

Ongoing: Cards here can’t be destroyed.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Armor

Variants

Spider-Ham

On Reveal: Transform the leftmost card in your opponent’s hand into a Pig, keeping its Power and Cost.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Spider-Ham

Variants

Nebula

Each turn your opponent doesn’t play a card here, +2 Power. (except the turn you play this)

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Nebula

The Support package should complement the Set Up package and also come down before Turn 5. You should also have cards you can play alongside Wave on Turn 5. Thus, your support cards should all be 1- or 2-Cost cards. Anything else is competes with Wave. My plan was to just play good cards, and this led to the following Support package:

• Armor
• Spider-Ham
• Nebula
• Miles Morales

Nebula serves a double purpose, as she can be a threat that can win games and also drives play to the location to make Silk move (or maybe allow you to fill some spots with Guardians). Sunspot is another excellent card in this deck because it can threaten lanes for minimal energy investment. Spider-Ham is just the best card in the game, and it can be played on Turn 5 with Wave. Armor protects your 1-drops and is a hard counter to Destroy. Miles Morales is usually a 1-Cost every turn, and it’s excellent with Wave. These cards should be played at a lower priority than the Set Up cards since power on the board is usually more important. Remember that you’re playing towards a game-winning Wave on Turn 5 (the exception is Armor vs obvious destroy targets).

Outside of Armor, some cards you can consider for these spots are:

• Sunspot
• The Guardians of The Galaxy
• Mirage
• Quake
• Luke Cage
• Invisible Woman
• Captain Marvel
• Anything considered for the Set Up package above

You may see some strange choices in the list above, but remember the game plan is to work towards a very determined end game. These cards provide information, control, or just raw power. All are great when you want to Wave on Turn 5.

The Lockout Turn

Variants

Wave

On Reveal: All cards cost a maximum of 4 until the end of next turn.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Wave

This is the easiest and the hardest turn in the deck. Playing Wave, if you have it, is usually the answer. If you have played the early turns correctly, you should be ahead and have priority. You do need to think about what option your Turn 6 is going to be and play Wave where it aids that turn the most. Wave on one of the lanes you’re challenging and play one of your 2-drops if its an Aero Turn 6. If you’re up against Darkhawk, you play Wave on a lane with 4-drops so it can help you win if its a Magneto Turn 6. If you’re up against something going tall, you need to consider if you need priority, then play Wave to accomplish that goal for Shang-Chi (keep priority if you can see your target, lose priority if you cannot see your target).

If you don’t have Wave, the second key advantage of this sort of build shines. You have plenty of card sets that can put power down across the board. Aero on Turn 5 is also strong, as most Turn 5 plays in the meta game right now are one card. This can be used to lock out lanes, move Nimrod into Armor, or set up for a Turn 6 Shang-Chi.

The Finisher

Variants

Aero

On Reveal: Move the last enemy card played anywhere to this location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Aero

Variants

Magneto

On Reveal: Move all enemy 3 and 4-Cost cards to this location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Magneto

Variants

Shang-Chi

On Reveal: Destroy all enemy cards here that have 10 or more Power.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Shang-Chi

If you played Wave, your next move is simple. Play Aero into the lane they are winning, or play Magneto on the emptiest lane to move all the 3- and 4-Cost cards away from the lanes they are winning. Shang-Chi sits in this section because the one card that can be a major problem for this deck without Aero is a big card from Shuri. Shang-Chi often allows you to blank a lane versus these decks, or potentially combat a Turn 7 if you mess up and Wave too early.

One final addition I consider part of this section is Legion. They can be played on 5 like Aero but can also be the turn 6 “finisher” as they do something unique to potentially end the game.

Conclusion

The current meta has allowed for the resurgence of Wave, and combining her with her Agents of Atlas teammate Aero can be devastating. However, the key concept here is the that deck creates predictable, controllable outcomes, which helps it compete with everything from meta decks to the more obscure.

The concepts in this deck are more important than the deck itself. Go give it a try and let me know how it goes!

As a final bonus for the true fans who got this far, here is the Thanos version of the deck I have also been running.

House Hunters International

Created by SafetyBlade

, updated 8 months ago

2

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Good luck, Have Fun, and Stay Safe!