Scarlet Witch, Queen of Chaos: Decks & Tips for the New Card
The new Scarlet Witch is, like, so random. How random? She generates Skills from elsewhere in the game, from stand-alone skills like Web Sling, Skills that other characters like Merlin generate, or even the skills of some Grand Arena champions! EXTREMELY random! Here is everything I'm excited to try with Scarlet Witch, Queen of Chaos.
The Spells
Technically, Skills aren’t spells, but in the hands of SWQoC, they’re all spells. She will generate one Skill from her pool at the beginning of each turn and that one will cost 0, only during that turn. In a typical game, this means she'll give you three skills to play for free, one on each of the last three turns.
Of course, there's also the brand new Inversion, available in Draft mode. Read my full preview of that new stand-alone skill here:
Scosco
Skills Tier List
Lauren and I ranked all of them by how excited you’ll be to hit them off of Scarlet Witch! Come see where you agree or disagree!
Best Synergies
The immediate beneficiaries of SWQoC are Werewolf, who loves free On Reveals, and Nicholas Scratch, who scales with each Skill played. Could it finally be Scratch's time to shine? Joaquin loves cards that Cost 1 and most of these Skills do, though you won't usually have to even pay that much!
Synergistic Packages
Afflict
There are four Skills that Afflict: Flames, Mines, Winds, and Fastball. Four out of a group of 22 means a pretty solid chance you'll get at least one Affliction Skill. Plus, the Ongoing-related Skills, Shield Throw and Tao Mandala have a bunch of Affliction cards among their potential targets from USAgent and Man-Thing to big Scorp himself.
Created Cards
There are multiple skills that interact with card creation to varying degrees. Polymorph, Hunger, and Images of Ikonn can make created bodies on board, while Sandstorm, and Techno-Organic virus will add created cards to your hand, and Subterranean Summons will buff or discount them. Of course, the Skills themselves are created cards, meaning they will count for things like Gambit, Horseman of Death – that they're all free means getting to the 6 total Cost Gambit requires will often be very easy. Adding a bunch of created cards to your hand is also a great way to scale up a big Collector!
"Play Cards" Beneficiaries
There are plenty of cards that are thirsty for cheap, flexible cards. Some even prefer if those cards don't take up any space! Zombies and Shou-Lao centered SWQoC decks are sure to pop up on the first day. As The Grand Design shows, there are upcoming cards that fit this mold as well.
Hand Size
Avoiding clogged hands will be tricky with the Queen of Chaos, especially if you're going to play her with other card generators like Merlin or Kate Bishop. There are a few cards that can turn those big hands to your advantage.
Scosco’s Day One Scarlet Witch, Queen of Chaos Decks
Iron Wolf
When this deck high rolls you'll be able to play out a Demon, a Skill, Iron Man, and Sasquatch on the final turn. This deck truly centers SWQoC as there are almost no dead skills you'll see while playing this deck. If you wanted a little interaction, you could play Deafening Chord.
Venus Thanos
This deck offers plenty of quirky ways to get extra Venus Power and uses our Skills as additional ways to shove power into our lanes. Thanos can copy quite a bit, like a fat Bishop or Nebula – Stardust is good cube-equity tech against Blink and Anti-Polar Magneto, but he interferes with our red Shot, so play carefully with him. Otherwise, feel free to play something else surprising and protective like Spider-Ham, Rogue Scion of Division, Legion, Negasonic, or Luke Cage in that spot.
Is She Worth It?
The only real worry with this card is the Cost. Playing her on 3 means she will need to prove awfully powerful if she's the core engine of your deck. There are a ton of great 3 drops in the game these days and there is a history of 3-Costs falling flat because they were just too slow. Mobius is also a concern. If this card is ever a part of a Tier 1 strategy, Mobius can come in to spoil the fun, though she may still be able to fight through some of those games by paying for 1-Cost Skills. The skills are random and range mostly from mildly useful to solid, with few slam dunk game-winners or unplayable hits. The real reason to be high on this card is its synergy hooks. This is a great card for all of those cards listed above in the "play cards" section. I'm not sure if leaning into one specific sub-archetype, like Afflict or Zombies will be the way to go. She'll shine in decks that just want some free cards and isn't too bothered by what they are.
Paid Subscribers will find many more Queen of Chaos decks below the paywall. There are so many directions to explore with this cards and I plan to fully investigate every avenue! Join today to join me on my Chaos quest!
As always, special thanks to SnapComplete for card and deck art found throughout this article. Once enough data has accumulated, head over there to see where Scarlet Witch, Queen of Chaos is performing the best statistically.
