Wasp (2021)
This is a review of Wasp'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.
Nadia Van Dyne/Wasp
Alter-Ego form: The alter-ego for Wasp, Nadia Van Dyne, is really solid in my opinion. She has average stats with a hand size of 6, health of 11, and recovery of 3 . Her alter-ego ability, G.I.R.L., is great, allowing you to shuffle up to 2 cards with a mental resource from your discard pile back into your deck, limited to once per round. This works fantastically as it allows you to recycle some of Wasp's best cards without going all the way through her deck. That being said, like Ant-Man, Wasp generally plays best in one of her two hero forms so you wont be seeing this ability as often.
Hero form: Wasp has two hero forms, giant and tiny, that I would describe as efficient and precise. In giant form, has a thwart of 2, a attack of 2, and defense of 3, with a hand size of 5, and her ability is that she is able to split her basic attack and thwart amongst multiple enemies and schemes. Also with a hand size of 5, it makes her giant form much easier to manage. In tiny form, Wasp's thwart is1, attack is 1, defense is 2, and hand size is 5. Her tiny form ability, Small but Mighty, is a response where after Wasp (or an event you play) defeats a minion or side scheme, deal 1 damage to the villain. This is another solid ability as Wasp can deal good damage in tiny form, making her good for taking out minions too. Switching between Wasp's two forms is the obvious play style with her, though I found myself more often in giant form since it gave a better option to deal damage. Wasp struggles with resource generation, which made playing her best cards a challenge, so I found it more consistent to be giant more often. However, with just some tiny tweaks, like Helicarrier and Quincarrier, this was much less of a problem and a lot of possibilities opened up.
Hero Cards:
Like all other hero packs, Wasp comes with 15 signature hero cards. What I like most about Wasp is that her hero cards really demonstrate how efficient and precise she is, performing better in one form or another. I won't go in depth into all of her cards here, but these are some of my favorites.
Pinpoint Strike - Pinpoint Strike (which should've been called "Pym"-point Strike) is a 3 cost attack event that deals 7 damage, or 8 plus overkill if in tiny form. I love every heroes big attack, and this one is great. I like that it fits with Wasp's character of being so precise that she is dealing more damage. It is also obviously great for taking out minions and sharing the leftover damage.
Pym Particles - Pym Particles is resource card that lets you heal 2 if in giant form or draw a card in tiny form. I really like this card. I wasn't switching to alter-ego very often with Wasp, so having Pym Particles allows you to stay in hero form longer, getting some free healing.
Red Room Training - Red Room Training is a 2 cost upgrade that gives Wasp retaliate in giant form, and piercing in tiny form. This card is fantastic and really demonstrates Wasp's skill as a character. I really enjoyed switching forms and adapting based on the state of the game and whether I needed to get rid of a tough status, or simply deal an extra damage with retaliate.
Aspect Cards:
Wasp's hero pack comes with 6 Aggression cards.
Thor: Jane Foster - Thor: Jane Foster is a 4 cost ally that has an attack of 2, thwart of 1, and health of 4. She also has a response when she comes into play, deal 2 damage to the villain, or 3 if you paid for her using a strength resource. I like Jane Foster's Thor, I think it is a really solid thwarting ally, but I tend to shy from 4 cost allies, especially with Wasp who struggles with resource generation.
Wasp: Janet Van Dyne - Wasp: Janet Van Dyne is an ally that is a pay what you want ally. She cost 0 and gets 1 hit point per agility resource you "overpay" up to a maximum of 3. The best thing about Wasp in my opinion is how cheap she can be as a block. You can get a free block for 1 resource. Then anything past that, you have an ally that can do some substantial damage for cheap.
Into the Fray - Into the Fray is a 3 cost attack that does 6 damage to a minion, with excess damage removing threat from the main scheme. I really like this card, it is great for taking out a nemesis or really strong minion, but is equally good, when you need to attack and thwart. Into the Fray was fantastic for me against Ultron, as I could let threat build a little, and eliminate most of it with one card while taking out a drone. Really good for minion heavy scenarios.
Surprise Attack - Surprise Attack is a 1 cost attack where after you change form, deal 3 damage to an enemy, or 4 damage if you paid using a strength resource. This is a great card to play for some cheap damage that you can deal right after switching out of alter ego, or between hero forms if you are playing as Ant-Man or Wasp.
Boot Camp - Boot Camp is a 3 cost upgrade that gives each ally +1 attack. I'm not a fan of this being 3 cost and generally wouldn't play it unless I had nothing better. However, if you play ally heavy decks, this is a great add.
Lie in Wait - Lie in Wait is a 3 cost upgrade that discards and deals 3 damage to a minion when they engage you. 3 damage for 1 cost is great, however I often found that there were other cards I would have rather played instead. If Wasp had better resource generation, Lie in Wait would be a no brainer for me.
Tips from a beginner:
Get Wasp's signature upgrades in play. They will make her much stronger, and allow you to focus on her big hitting cards.
Take your time. There is usually a way to benefit from the form bonus of Wasp's cards if you plan your turn correctly.
Feel:
Wasp's hero pack does feel like Wasp, most obviously through her switching between giant and tiny form. She is also a professional. Whereas Ant-Man likes to be giant and smash things, Wasp is efficient and precise, in giant form able to split her attack and thwart with a more consistent hand size, and some of her biggest moves coming through her tiny form.
Final thoughts and recommendation:
Wasp is a really solid hero that brings a lot of fun, though of the hero size gimmick, I would rather play as Ant-Man. Arguably the best part of the Wasp hero pack is the new basic cards, including two great allies and a double resource for basic. If you like aggression decks she includes Into the Fray that will work well with heavy hitters that like to do overkill damage. Wasp is also a great ally in decks with a lot of agility resources. If you just want to switch sizes, I would recommend Ant-Man. If you like to play aggression, the larger card pool will be nice. However, if you pick up Wasp regardless, you will still have a lot of fun with her and get a handful of good cards.
Purchase the Wasp Hero Pack: https://amzn.to/3tTNQeH