What to do with Storm, Horseman of Famine
With the release of Storm, the Horseman of Famine comes out, we have yet another reward for floating Energy. Can she stand on her own or does she need help?
The final card in the months-long cavalcade of Horsemen is a good one. If you can get your board set up properly and play out the cards she buffs she could be worth 9-13 points or more depending on synergistic abilities. We already have a dominant powerhouse that wants you to skip Energy in the form of Star-Lord, so there are plenty of decks for whom leaving Energy unspent doesn't feel like a punishment. My biggest worry about Storm is that her entire identity will be subsumed by Star-Lord, Master of the Sun, and she won't be able to find a place apart from the current meta tyrant. If Star-Lord gets knocked down a peg in an OTA or otherwise falls from the top, will Storm be good enough? I'll answer that question and share everything I'm excited to try with Storm, Horseman of Famine.
How Does She Work
We've had enough Objective cards to get used to their timing now. As long as you have skipped any two turns in a row (and they must be consecutive turns!) her Objective will be fulfilled. This means, regardless of where Storm is, you could skip the first two turns and play her on Turn 3 or float Energy on a couple of middle turns and play her on Turn 6 and still get her effect. The timing of Objective can be awkward, but it works in Storm's favor.
When To Skip
If you're playing a Star-Lord deck, it is easy to skip Turn 1, float at least one Energy on Turn 2 and 3, and play Storm on Turn 4 to boost your hand and, hopefully, at least one card on board. It's a little awkward to skip Energy early while still getting cards on board for Storm to buff. The true power of Storm comes from her buffs to hand, but the most successful Storm decks are going to hit a card or two on board as well for maximum effect.
But different decks will have different preferences on which Turns to float Energy.
Silver Surfer could happily float Energy on Turns 1 and 2 or 4 and 5. High Evo decks often like to float on Turns 3 and 4. A She-Hulk deck could skip Turn 5 and float an Energy on Turn 6. A Shou-Lao deck can often float an Energy on Turns 4 and 5. Cards that provide discounts, like Black Swan, Pixie, and Zabu, can help a variety of decks float Energy on the later Turns, while still playing a lot of cards. When coming up with strategies for Storm, don't tunnel vision on having unspent Energy only on the early turns.
Cards to Buff on Board
It's easy to think of with cards that you want to buff in hand. It's the same list of cards that synergize with all of the recent boosting cards we've gotten recently like Maverick and Shou-Lao. What's harder is finding cards that help us get cards out to be buffed on board, while still being able to have unspent Energy. I really like Makkari as free value with Storm and I'm always interested in finding creative ways to leverage our two 0-Cost cards. Clea is another one of my favorite ideas for Storm. She can still benefit from being hit in hand, but as a 1-Cost it's easy to get her out early while still having unspent Energy. She's one of the only cheap cards that has direct buff synergy, but we can also play inexpensive cards like Nico, Nightcrawler, and Hydra Bob that have some softer buff synergy. Rhino and Sam are 2-Cost cards that put additional bodies on board fast.
Cards to Buff Anywhere
These cards are great hits whether they're in your hand or on board. Mister Sinister and Brood stand out. They're great to boost in hand, but they can also provide bodies on board.
Other Synergy
Between Power buffs, unspent Energy, and discounts, Storm has a lot of synergy hooks!
Storm/Star-Lord Decks
These two have such strong synergy, it is the first place many will look. The decks below aim to leverage the new card as much as possible and not just have her as a minor role player in a Star-Lord deck.
One of the main issues the new Star-Lord decks have had (since he moved to 5-Cost) is they have trouble getting priority going into the last turn, leaving them vulnerable to opposing tech. Storm can help the deck get priority by buffing small cards before your Star-Lord comes down.
Evo Storm
High Evo often loves to stack multiple cards into one lane early, putting opponents in an impossible position of trying to compete with that large lane and the giants coming down later. Notably, Storm can still give her buffs behind Cosmo for unexpected Power. Placing Storm in a lane with Sunspot, Cyclops, and Cosmo can be a very formidable lane without investing any of your biggest cards.
Iron Boost Negative
Is a 1-3 that can buff our Iron Man after the game worth a spot in Negative? It's possible. Negative is a deck that can pretty happily float Energy at multiple points in the game.
Storm Decks Without Star-Lord
I want to figure out how good Storm can be without Star-Lord. It's critical for a number of reasons. Not everyone owns Star-Lord, cards get nerfed, buffed and reworked, and new counters and synergies get released. If Storm is only good with Star-Lord that can dramatically change the value of acquiring her for certain players. Storm is one of the most powerful cards of the season. But does this still hold true without Star-Lord, Master of the Sun?
Affliction Evo
Storm fits right into High Evo whether you're using Star-Lord or not. I want to try to use Misty and Storm as ways to get a couple of copies of Flames of the Faltine for a free Abomination and a Polaris pull.
Hope Boost
Storm can buff our hand or our board fruitfully in a deck like this. You can skip early or get extra Energy with Hope to float mid-game. Even if you don't hit Hope you can play Sinister and Brood on the last turn to get your last unspent Energy and a boost at the end of the game.
Superior Boost
This deck can hand out big buffs to Clea, Captain Carter, Maverick, or War Wolverine.
Makkari Surfer
Skip Turn 1, play Chavez on Turn 2 and save your Forge for Turn 5. Play Viv wherever Makkari lands to have a solid chance at some free buffs.
What I Don't Want to Do With Her
I don't usually include a section like this, but there are a few key places that I don't think Storm will fit. Deadpool Destroy seems like it would love an extra +2 on Deadpool, but the deck is too tight to accommodate a card that demands you float Energy. Hammers decks can leverage a boost on a Beta Ray Bill, but that deck always wants to play Jane on 5 and doesn't have many chances to skip outside of perhaps the first two Turns. Daken Discard is in a similar spot and you'd be far better off just trying to copy the Daken more times than giving him a Power boost. Human Torch move doesn't get enough out of a +2 to make it worth squeezing in a 3-Cost, which is an expensive card for that deck.
The Future
I do believe Star-Lord will get nerfed eventually, but the future does have more cards that synergize with Power gain and it looks like "Boost" will become the new term for that and we'll always get more cards that benefit from being boosted. Stick is exactly the kind of card that Storm works well with.
Is She Worth It?
The effect is powerful, but I still worry if she'll be good enough outside of Star-Lord decks. Still, I don't think she'll be a flop if Star-Lord eats a nerf, just less of a slam dunk. Storm is definitely a powerful card, the only question is if she's the kind you can live without or she'll feel like an obligatory purchase. I'm leaning towards the former. Grab her if she looks fun, but don't stress it too much if you can't.
Below the paywall I've tucked two of the Storm decks I think will be the most fun for me personally. If you love what we do, consider supporting us today! We really appreciate all of the support we get!
