Citizen V, Helmut Zemo

Citizen V is a Villain-focused lifegain engine that turns every point of life you gain into permanent +1/+1 counters on your Villain army. The core gameplan is straightforward: play cheap Villains, gain life through various sources (lifegain cards, drain effects, Plan enchantments triggering), and watch your team grow bigger and bigger. Since Citizen V himself has lifelink, he's a natural source of that growth—every point of damage he deals starts a chain reaction. You win by swinging with an oversized Villain army, potentially backed by evasion or protection effects.

The deck thrives in the new Marvel set, which heavily supports Villain tribal. Cards like Doom Reigns Supreme and Construct a Cosmic Cube create life-gain triggers while filling the board, while Villainous Hideout provides color fixing and connive effects for even more gas. Equipment like Swordsman's Steel and Vibranium Strike Gauntlets amplify your creatures while drawing cards. The beauty of this strategy is that it scales naturally—the longer the game goes, the larger your Villains become, turning mid-sized creatures into threats that demand immediate removal.

Strategy generated by Tapped Decks AI. Not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.