Every arena match begins long before the first card hits the table. It begins with the deck you assemble. A scattered collection of powerful cards loses to a focused deck built with intention. This checklist walks you through the decisions that separate a pile of cards from a weapon.
The checklist
1. Choose a strategy before you choose cards
Decide what your deck does in one sentence. “Recruit heavy hitters early and overwhelm the Mastermind before the Scheme escalates.” That sentence becomes your filter. Every card you consider either serves that sentence or stays out.
2. Map your resource curve
A deck that loads all its power into expensive cards stalls in the early turns. A deck that leans too cheap runs out of reach in the late game. Distribute your costs across three bands:
- Low (0–2 cost): the foundation. These cards fuel your first few turns and thin your deck of dead weight.
- Mid (3–5 cost): the engine. Most of your recruits and attacks land here.
- High (6+ cost): the finishers. One or two devastating plays that close out a Scenario.
A balanced curve means you draw playable hands consistently, not occasionally.
3. Assign card roles
Every card in your deck should fill a role. The core roles:
- Recruiters — generate recruit points to acquire stronger cards
- Attackers — deal damage to Villains and the Mastermind
- Utility — draw extra cards, thin your deck, or manipulate the board
A deck heavy on attackers but light on recruiters never grows. A deck full of recruiters but short on attackers never finishes the fight. Balance the roles to match your strategy sentence from step one.
4. Build in redundancy
Do not rely on a single card to carry your strategy. If your plan depends on drawing one specific Hero, your plan fails most games. Build redundancy: multiple cards that serve the same role so your deck performs consistently regardless of draw order.
5. Scout the Scenario first
Before you lock in your deck, read the Scenario. The Mastermind’s abilities, the Villain group’s mechanics, and the Scheme twists all shape which cards earn their slot. A deck built blind is a deck built wrong.
6. Cut the dead weight
After your first draft, review every card and ask: does this serve my strategy sentence? Cards that “might be useful sometimes” dilute your draws. A lean deck of 30 focused cards outperforms a bloated deck of 40 mediocre ones.
7. Test, then revise
Build the deck. Play one session. Note which cards sat dead in your hand and which cards you wished you had drawn. Revise. The first version of any deck is a hypothesis. The second version is where mastery begins.
What comes next
This checklist gives you the framework. But one item on it — the resource curve — deserves deeper attention than a single bullet point can deliver. Next week: reading the resource curve in depth, and learning to shape it so your deck performs from turn one through the final fight.