Quicksilver (2021)
This is a review of Quicksilver's pre-constructed deck, mostly through the lens of solo play. It is in no way an exhaustive review or commentary on the meta game. Rather, it is my thoughts and experience of the pack as a relatively new player.
Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver:
Alter-Ego form - Pietro Maximoff has a hand size of 6, 9 hit points, and a recovery of 3. Pretty average, though the hit points are low, which turns out to not be so bad as Quicksilver is able to mitigate a lot of damage with his protection deck. Pietro's ability Superpowered Siblings allows him to discard two cards to draw two new ones (or three if Wanda is in play). This isn't my favorite alter-ego ability, but it is good since it allows you to cycle your deck a bit to get a better hand. This ability gets better when the Wanda ally is in play, or in a multiplayer game with Scarlet Witch.
Hero form - Quicksilver has base stats of 1's across the board, which is low. However, he has hero cards to boost his stats, and in my plays it was common to end the game with 2/2/3 for stats. Even without buffed stats, Quicksilver's ability also alleviates the low numbers. His hero ability, Super Speed, is one of my favorites. After taking a basic action, ready Quicksilver (once per phase). Being able to ready a hero is very valuable on it's own but, being able to do so once per phase is better. It means that you can attack/thwart twice, or a combination of attack/thwart/heal. It also means that ending your turn in hero form gives you a free defense action, as he doesn't stay exhausted. Couple Quicksilver's ability with Friction Resistance and Always be Running, and his turns become huge!
Hero Cards:
Like all other hero packs, Quicksilver comes with 15 signature hero cards. What makes Quicksilver so fun for me is that I want to play all of his cards. He has cards to both temporarily and permanently boost his low stats, generate resources, attack, thwart, stun and ready. I won't go in depth into all of them, but here are some of my favorites.
Always Be Running - Probably my favorite card and most thematic of his cards. This is a one cost card that readies Quicksilver and there are four of them in the deck. There was one game where I had two Always Be Running cards in my hand with Maximum Velocity and +1 attack in play, for a basic attack total of 4, which allowed me to do four basic attacks for 16 damage, though on the right turn, I think its possible that this could make it over 20!
Friction Resistance - This is a 3 cost upgrade that produces a single strength resource. That is pretty steep. However, Friction Resistance has a response, that you ready it every time Quicksilver is readied. That means that most turns you get 2 free resources. More importantly though, Friction Resistance can be coupled Always Be Running which is how I pulled of SIX basic attacks in one turn. By activating Friction Resistance, you can play Always Be Running for "free." This readies Quicksilver which in turn readies Friction Resistance. After a basic action, you can activate Friction Resistance again to bring in another Always Be Running, and do the whole thing over again.
Serval Industries - Serval Industries was an underrated card for me at first glance that I have used every game since. It is only costs 1 resource to play and gives an alter-ego action. The thing about Quicksilver however, is that with his free defend and protection cards, he really thrives staying in hero form for multiple turns, meaning you won't use it too often. But that is also the key. The times I've used Serval Industries it was when my deck was getting low. During my turn I would thwart as much as possible in prep for an villain scheming turn, ending my turn in alter-ego form allowing me to activate Serval Industries. This card lets you shuffle two Quicksilver cards from the discard back into the deck (Always Be Running is an excellent choice). On my next turn I would start by activating Serval Industries, shuffling two more back into my deck, setting myself up for a super powerful series of turns.
Aspect Cards:
Quicksilver's hero pack comes with 5 new Protection cards, which I really found a use for.
Never Back Down - Never Back Down is probably my favorite protection card in the pack. It is a 1 cost defense event that gives +2 defense. If you take no damage, the attacker becomes stunned. Mid to late game, this card is phenomenal. Once my defense was at a base 3, this card almost always guaranteed no damage and a stun.
Multiple Man - Multiple Man is my most fun protection card in the pack. This is a 4 cost ally that allows you to bring a copy of him from your hand or deck into play. If you can get him into play before discarding any copies, you can bring in 3 allies immediately for a cost of 4. Multiple Man only has 2 health, so he likely won't be with you all game, but having three in play allows for a critical thwart when you need it, or better yet, and attack to ping off a tough status. After their first use, you then have 3 chump blockers to use.
Nerves of Steel - Nerves of Steel is a 2 cost card that generates an agility resource for a defense event. There's not much else to it other than that it lets you play the many defense events Quicksilver has for free, and also activates the retaliation damage of Step Aside.
Step Aside - Step Aside is a 1 cost defense event that gives +3 defense. If you pay for it with agility (which you should with Nerves of Steel), the attacker takes 1 damage. Similarly, mid to late game, this card is great. Once my defense was at a base 3, this card basically guaranteed no damage to me and 1 to the villain.
Warlock - In my opinion, Warlock is the worst protection card in the pack, though I think they are fairly all good. As a 3 cost ally, Warlock has 1 for attack and thwart with 3 for health. He also has an action that you can spend a mental resource and heal him of 2 damage, which makes him kind of gimmicky. That means every two turns you can spend a mental resource to get a fresh ally. He really came in handy for me against Ultron, as he could take out minions each turn with longevity.
Tips from a beginner:
Invest in his stats, especially defense. Quicksilver's ability basically allows him a "free" defend action every turn. With a low health of 9, but defend of 3, you can avoid most damage. You also get two attacks or thwarts making those stats essentially a 4.
Get Friction Resistance in play as soon as possible. This will produce resources for his defense cards and allow combos while on offense.
Get Serval Industries in play. This allows you to stack your deck, especially when the deck is running low, because you can stack your deck for some big plays.
With a protection deck Quicksilver is good all around, but could also be fun as a heavy hitter. I haven't built a deck for Quicksilver, but when I do, I want to try aggression. It would be so fun to give Quicksilver Combat Training and Maximum Velocity for an attack of 5 with multiple hits. This would require a lot of allies to defend, or to simply play him on a team so that someone can buff his defense or defend for him as he does have low health.
Feel:
This deck FEELS like Quicksilver. With his hero ability to ready, you are always doing something, always on the go. It makes turns incredibly fun because it feels as if time has slowed down for you. You have the same number of cards as everyone else, but have the potential to take several actions each turn.
Final thoughts and recommendation:
I REALLY like playing as Quicksilver. I didn't have much interest in protection decks, having only played Black Panther with his starter protection deck, but this deck is "quickly" changing my mind. It is so satisfying to be at 4 health for most of the game, but to not be worried thanks to your set up. On top of that, the combo between Always be Running and Friction Resistance is just so good. Definitely one of my favorite heroes so far. If you like big turns with a lot of actions, Quicksilver is the hero for you.
Purchase the Quicksilver hero pack: https://amzn.to/3qcyfV3