Osborn let this one out of the Raft?
We got a little bit of a surprise when the 4th High Voltage opened. We were expecting to see Dum Dum Duggan as the reward card, but Toxie Doxie was there in his place. Dugan was an interesting card in some ways, but Toxie Doxie is a lot more powerful and fits into more decks than Dugan would have. Selfishly, she fits into the style of decks I most like to play! I'll run through why I like her and give you a few decks to try her out in.
Why are we getting Toxie Doxie?
There's been no word on why we're not getting Dum Dum Dugan, who fits into the What If…? theme and was clearly created alongside the others this season.
Toxie Doxie is one of the cards that was designed for a past season, but wasn't released—in this case, Dark Avengers from January. Just as Norman Osborne used Daken as a dark counterpart for Wolverine, Moonstone as Ms Marvel, and Bullseye as Hawkeye, Toxie Doxie is also known as the Dark Scarlet Witch. Osborne recruited her for his second go at creating the Dark Avengers, and she's a total psychopath.
Toxie Doxie Synergies
Cards that love being buffed
Toxie Doxie says you can't play the card she hits on the following turn, but there are plenty of cards that are thirsty for buffs that tend to hit the board on turns 5 or 6. Surfer will happily just play a different 3-Cost out after Toxie, hand buff decks try to have splashy finals turns, and Iron Man is best at the end of the game with how much Ongoing hate is currently running around. There are plenty of times you won't even notice her downside, especially when you manage to play her on turn 2 or 3.
Cards that get work around her restriction
Of course, we can also actively avoid her downside. War Machine voids it and just allows you to play whatever she hits anyway, meaning she's still fine on turn 5. Jeff is happy to pal around with Toxie anytime and having a buffed mover is always extra powerful. Makkari doesn't need to be played and will occasionally be a free 6 power on board. She-Hulk decks take turns off, occasionally naturally negating Toxie’s downside.
Additional Friends
Ravonna making Toxie cheaper also makes her easier to weave into your curve. She can act as redundancy in Agent Venom decks and still works together with Bast or Agent Venom if she's played after them.
Anti-Synergy
Cards that want to be played with specific timing
Playing Toxie Doxie in an Iron Patriot or Wiccan deck is risky. It means you might not be able to play the ideal card to activate your Iron Patriot or Wiccan. Other cards like Kitty Pryde and Deadpool really need to be played out as needed. Toxie Doxie’s downside can be worked around, but she certainly doesn't work with everything.
Scosco's Toxie Doxie Decks
Powerbuff Girls
Buff Surfer
Green Mists
Bio Warfare
Agent Doxie
AgaDoxx
Doxie Hand
Final Thoughts
Toxie Doxie is a card with a positive effect and a tricky downside. Her downside can be worked around pretty easily, but it does mean she loses a lot of value on later turns and it restricts the decks she can go into. In the right decks, she will feel great on turn 2, but you're not always going to draw her then.
At the end of the day, she's an effective 2/5 that plays stronger than that when combined with certain strategies, and she can be earned for free by playing High Voltage. In my mind, that makes Toxie Doxie a clear win for the game generally.
