Rogue Champions – Ironheart

Riri Williams (Alter-Ego)

• Genius
• Recover: 3. Health: 10. Hand Size: 6
• Begin the game with this card. Set your other identities aside. (See insert.)
• Child Prodigy — Action: Spend a Mental resource ? place 1 progress counter on Riri Williams. (Limit once per round.)
• Comments:
  • You can not rely on her AE ability to charge up her upgrades. It will take twelve rounds and you’ll likely be toast before that.
  • Fortunately, it is not the only way to get Progress counters so it is an excellent supplement to her other cards.
  • Ingenuity is almost a required card for her deck. If you can get it out early, it will make using her ability worth flipping down regularly for.

Hero Deck

Ally

• Brawn
  • Cost: 4. Resource: 1 Physical.
  • Champion. Gamma.
  • Attack: 3*. Thwart: 2*. Health: 3
  • While Brawn is exhausted, he gains: “Resource: Generate a Mental resource. (Limit once per phase.)”
  • Comments:
    • Brawn is one of the pricier allies at 4 BUT he refunds at least two of those resources with his ability.
    • If you’re going Leadership, Strength in Numbers/Teamwork pairs very well with him.
    • Ally heals are worth pursuing as well.
    • He also serves as a great counter to any villain abilities that make you exhaust something.

Upgrade

• Photon Blasters (1)
  • Cost: 2. Resource: 1 Mental.
  • Tech. Weapon.
  • You get +2 hit points.
  • Hero Action: Exhaust Photon Blasters ? deal damage to an enemy equal to Ironheart’s Version number.
  • Comments:
    • Like many of Ironheart’s cards, this one gets better as she upgrades.
    • Bonus hitpoints make it worth getting out early so she can stay alive.
• Propulsion Jets (1)
  • Cost: 2. Resource: 1 Physical.
  • Tech.
  • You get +2 hit points.
  • Hero Action: Exhaust Propulsion Jets ? remove threat from a scheme equal to Ironheart’s Version number.
  • Comments:
    • This is the upgrade that makes Ironheart an amazing all arounder. Many heroes have upgrades that deal damage or provide resources. Regular threat removal is not nearly as common.

Supports

• Ronnie Williams (1)
  • Cost: 1. Resource: 1 Wildcard.
  • Persona.
  • Alter-Ego Action: Exhaust Ronnie Williams ? choose:
    • Heal 2 damage from Riri Williams.
    • Place 1 progress counter on Riri Williams.
  • Comments:
    • If you can get her out early, she can significantly help increase how fast you upgrade Ironheart.
    • With her and Riri’s own AE ability, everytime you flip down to AE you can generate four Progress counters over two rounds.
    • The heal is nothing to ignore either. Regular small heals can allow you to take damage without needing to stay down for multiple turns to recover.
• Tony Stark A.I. (1)
  • Cost: 2. Resource: 1 Mental.
  • Persona.
  • Action: Exhaust Tony Stark A.I. ? look at the top 2 cards of your deck. Add 1 to your hand and discard the other.
  • Comments:
    • Wow. This is half the cost of Avenger’s Mansion and gives you a better ability. You can only use it on yourself but that’s kind of a good thing. Reduces the stress of deciding who needs it most.
    • Choosing which card you want in your hand is very handy (pun intended) but does have the downside if you draw two cards you need and don’t want to discard.

Events

• Fly Over (2)
  • Cost: 2. Resource: 1 Mental.
  • Thwart.
  • Hero Action (thwart): Remove 3 threat from a scheme and place 1 progress counter on Ironheart (2 progress counters instead if this thwart removes the last threat from that scheme).
  • Comment:
    • Three thwart for two resources is about average for thwart removal, so not particularly exciting.
    • The main benefit is that it also adds Progress counters. That helps you reach Version 3, or if you already are, essentially adds two or four damage to this card.
• New and Improved (2)
  • Cost: 3. Resource: 1 Mental.
  • Hero Action: Choose X different options, where X is equal to Ironheart’s version number:
    • Search your deck for an Ironheart card and add it to your hand. (Shuffle.)
    • Give Ironheart a tough status card.
    • Ready Ironheart.
  • Comments:
    • This card probably isn’t worth playing until you reach Version 3, but once you have, that’s a lot of good value.
    • It is a mental resource so early game useful for building progress tokens.
• Photon Beam (3)
  • Cost: 2. Resource: 1 Energy.
  • Attack.
  • Hero Action (attack): Deal 4 damage to an enemy and place 1 progress counter on Ironheart (2 progress counters instead if this attack defeats that enemy).
  • Comments:
    • Four damage for two resources is good value.
    • If you defeat your target, and are only Version 3, that effectively becomes eight damage for two resources with Maximum Efficiency.
• Sector Scan (1)
  • Cost: 3. Resource: 1 Energy.
  • Reduce the cost to play Sector Scan by X, where X is equal to Ironheart’s version number.
  • Hero Action: Until the end of the round, you may look at the top card of the encounter deck at any time.
  • Comment:
    • This seems meh at first. Looking at encounter cards? Oh, wait, any time I want? So, I can see effectively see every Encounter and Boost card before it’s drawn?
    • This has a lot of implications. First, you always know how much damage you’re going to take from a villain attack. That helps Protection decide what they need to do to mitigate it and everyone else if they can tank it.
    • You’ll also know what encounter cards everyone has and can plan counters as needed.
    • Finally, there’s the fact that once you get to V3, it’s free to play.

Resource

• Stroke of Genius (2)
  • Resource: 1 Mental.
  • Response: After you spend this card, place 1 progress counter on your identity and draw 1 card.
  • Comment:
    • This card is the perfect resource card. It replaces itself.
    • Additionally, you get another Progress counter. Have one of these while AE, you can get two for one and still have a card to use.

Nemesis Set

• Obligation: A Minor Setback
  • Boost Icons: 2
  • Give to the Riri Williams player.
  • Remove 1 progress counter from your identity, then discard this card. If no progress counter was removed this way, deal yourself 1 facedown encounter card, then shuffle this card into the encounter deck.
  • Comments:
    • Like Hulk, this is Obligation cannot be removed from play. Unlike Hulk, this isn’t that bad.
    • You don’t have to flip between AE and Hero. You don’t need to exhaust.
    • If you keep one progress counter on her at all times, the card’s effect is fairly minor.
    • Overall, one of the weakest obligations.
• Nemesis: Lucia von Bardas
  • Criminal. Cyborg. Elite.
  • Attack: 1. Scheme: 2. Health: 4.
  • Boost Icons: 3
  • While Lucia von Bardas has a tough status card, she gets +1 SCH and +1 ATK.
  • Forced Interrupt: After the villain phase ends, give Lucia von Bardas a tough status card.
  • Comment:
    • She’s not one of the more annoying Nemesis minions.
    • She is not tough when she comes into play, so if she ends up attacking due to an encounter card, it will be minor.
    • I think it would be more of a threat if she started Tough and gained Tough at the start of the villain phase. Then she’d do more damage/scheme more on her activation, even if you could pop Tough off with a retaliate.
• Side Scheme: Rule by Force
  • Threat 4
  • Boost Icons: 2
  • While Lucia von Bardas is in play, this card gains a Hazard icon.
  • While Lucia von Bardas is not in play, this card gains an Acceleration icon.
  • Comments:
    • I like the mechanic here, of it doing different things depending on if the nemesis minion is in play.
    • At only four threat, it is a fairly minor side scheme to defeat.
    • However, all of Riri’s abilities (Fly Over, Propulsion Jets, V3 Thwart) max out at 3 thwart removal. So she’s going to need to use two things to clear it, even if 4 is fairly low on the threat levels some schemes can reach.
• Cyborg Tech (1)
  • Attachment
  • Boost Icons: *
    • Boost: Deal this card to yourself as a facedown encounter card.
  • Attach to the minion with the most Traits. If you cannot, this card gains surge.
  • Attached minion gets +3 hit points and gains retaliate 1.
  • Comments:
    • This upgrade is the difference between Lucia being meh and annoying.
    • With this, you’re going to have to deal with multiple retaliates as with Tough and 7 health, she won’t die easily.
    • This card will come into play anytime it comes up in the deck so expect to see it often.
• Political Retribution (2)
  • Treachery.
  • Boost Icons: 1.
  • When Revealed: If Lucia von Bardas is in play, she schemes. If Rule by Force is in play, place 3 threat on it. If neither is in play, this card gains surge.
  • Comments:
    • This card hits harder if you’re struggling against the rest of the nemesis set and is quite inconsequential if you’re not.