What to do with Shou-Lao the Undying

Mathing out Shou-Lao the Undying

The new Season Pass card can put out some big numbers. But, just how big? And how can we make sure we maximize them? This is everything I'm excited to try with Shou-Lao the Undying.

These are just staggering numbers. You don't even need to commit to doing this every turn – just playing 2+ cards on three turns gives you a 5/8 card and a +9 buff! That is a 5/17 with potential synergy upside. I think it's pretty reasonable to build around doing this four times as well. Honestly, you're not even going to be heartbroken in the games where you only get the effect 2 times to get 14 points out of Shou-Lao. Compare these numbers to release-state Galacta who provided 9 Power for 4 Energy (with Synergy upside) and was a pretty dominant card for a while.

Force Multipliers

I don't even think you need to play Shou-Lao with synergistic pieces that take extra advantage of the buffs – he's that good. But there are still quite a few cards that can leverage that power for even more benefit.

Below is an exhaustive (probably too exhaustive) list of cards that can leverage the buff for something beyond just the raw extra Power.

Now, don't go run out and build your deck around Shou-Lao by shoving as many of these in as possible. Like I said, he doesn't need the extra synergy to be successful. But if a card already happens to fit your general strategy, you can feel pretty good running these alongside Shou-Lao. Maybe you're a Jane/Hammers main and want to make big Bills, Janes, and Hammers. I don't know your business. 

But which of these are we really the most interested in?

These are the cards I might consider shoving into a deck because of how powerful they can become with Shou-Lao. I think Maverick is one of the best cards in the game right now and Shou-Lao’s On Reveal plays really well with Maverick’s Activate. A deck that can play Scarlet Spider plus a Skill or something else on turn 5 can take advantage of this sequencing as well. Superior Spider-Man works from two different sides.

How Can We Actually Meet the Condition?

We need to play two or more cards each turn, so naturally, that means we're playing cheap cards. The cheaper the better.

What's better than cheap? Free! I've long had a little bit of the thing for the 0-Cost cards, Wasp and Yellowjacket, and probably play them more than anyone else (except maybe Lauren!). I'm not sure if they'll rise beyond my meme-y dreams for them, but they are the only way to fulfill the condition on turn 1.

1-Cost Cards

Just use your favorite 1-Cost cards! Kitty Pryde is the unofficial dragon lady, but the plethora of 1-Cost Skills are probably the best route to take with Shou-Lao. Because the text specifies “Character” and not “Card,” we can sneak a skill in between Shou-Lao and our buff target. 

Undying Play Lines

Iron Man > Flight Harness (on Iron Man) + Shou-Lao 

Human Torch > Shou-Lao + Flight Harness (on Torch)

With Flight Harness as an example, we can see how the text gives us some added flexibility and control with where and how our Shou-Lao buffs are applied.

Or we can just embrace chaos:

Jubilee + Polymorph > Shou-Lao to maybe make an huge Iron Man?!

You can play something valuable behind Cosmo, be protected from Cosmic Ghost Rider, and still buff it later.

Cosmo > Captain Carter + a skill > Shou-Lao

End of Turn

Fulfilling Thena’s condition also fulfills Shou-Lao’s easier to satisfy condition. Let's work towards both!

Copy deck code

Powerful and Flexible

One of the reasons I'm so high on Shao-Lao (and anticipate a future nerf) is that he can work so well with so many different strategies. 

Dragon your Cards Around the Board

Copy deck code

Let's Just Play All the Dragons

Copy deck code

I've popped a couple more decks below for our paid supporters. We appreciate the support we get from the community. If you enjoy our content and want to support us, consider subscribing! It helps us produce more content and we are really grateful for any support!