Mine early or late?
Vibranium Mines returns as today’s featured location and in an awkward turn of events there may be LESS support for this location than when it initially released, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try.
Vibranium plays a little differently than Rocks from Lechuguilla. Firstly, they have 4 power, meaning they actually can be fine to draw. They also have Ongoing: Can’t be destroyed, which has a few gameplay implications that we’ll discuss throughout!
Some general tips for this location
- Avoid playing there early game if you are still looking for key cards for your strategy.
- If Mines hasn’t flipped yet, you can sneak into unrevealed locations to not mine while still putting some power at the location. Similarly, move cards can be used to contribute power without triggering it!
- Start playing to the Mines if some Vibranium can help smooth out your draws. More on this below in “The New Chavez”
- Many players will tend to avoid the Mines before dumping there on the final turn.
- Any time you mine Vibranium, you give opposing Darkhawk's +6 Power.
Darkhawk
Dawkhawk is route 1 in this location. It’s already one of the best payoff cards in the game, and this Location will make it even bigger. If players avoid the Mines entirely, that’s an easy location win for the opponent. Playing Darkhawk in any location that isn’t Vibranium Mines allows you to therefore battle for two locations at once.
Junk Bounce
Rogue
Rogue is a top card today in many player’s minds because Darkhawk is the best card today, and Rogue can steal an opposing Hawk’s ability and flip a lot location on the final turn. However, it’s important to realize that this can be played around very easily, not only by playing Zabu at the Darkhawk location, but also by dropping some of the Vibranium you’ve picked up. Enchantress is probably a safer bet since Rogue is so much easier to play around today!
Good Cards Darkhawk
Hawk and Lock
There are a number of ways that can encourage your opponent to give you even more Vibranium! Jean Gray is my favorite among this list, likely guaranteeing you 4 triggers. Storming or Goosing a location that is NOT the Mines might also force your opponent to play there. Nebula into Mines is another nice way to encourage them to play there. Lastly, using Legion to turn all locations into Vibranium Mines is something I’ll definitely be trying to pull off for a fun YouTube highlight! Adding in Psylocke to Legion Turn 4 will mean Darkhark can get even bigger!
Here’s a list that incorporates all of that plus a few additional ways to copy Darkhawk’s power!
Hawk and Lock Negative
Spectrum Destroyer
This deck differs greatly from those above in that it has build-around cards that it always wants to be playing on turn 6 in its two namesakes. However, it shouldn’t be ignored that Vibranium’s text directly synergizes with both of these cards. The curve for this deck can be tight, but squeezing in a Vibranium or two could work!
Spectrum Destroyer
Cerebro 4
When Vibranium Mines released last year, I took the opportunity to play Cerebro 4 and had a lot of fun with it! Unfortunately since then, many of the cards in that list no longer have 4 power and, the big kicker, Quinjet no longer works with Vibranium, which was a huge incentive to play the deck. If you’re reading this in 2024 and can play Caiera, this could be a fun option again!
Cerebro 4
*Full disclosure: I don't think this deck is good, but it’s probably not getting better than with Vibranium Mines, so feel free to try it out if you want to mix it up today!*