Yo! Jocasta is coming!
Born from Ultron’s twisted idea of the perfect partner, Jocasta was created to be both his wife and his partner-in-crime. For a while, the plan worked, but there’s one thing villains always seem to forget about artificial intelligence: it tends to get rebellious. In a fitting twist of irony, Jocasta broke free from her programming, chose her own path, and rose as a true hero, even earning a place as an honorary Avenger.
And honestly, she’s a much better character after her so-called “cyber-divorce.” Comics can be ridiculous sometimes, but that’s part of the fun.
Mighty Avengers #36
She initially struggled to adjust to life as a hero and to connect with humanity, but she managed to persevere. Along the way, she even found a far kinder AI companion in Machine Man, who treats her much better than Ultron ever did. Still, the harsh reality of being a robot in the Marvel Universe is that the writers can destroy, rebuild, and repurpose you whenever they feel like it. And believe me, that happens a lot. Jocasta has been sent to “machine heaven” (not a real place) and brought back so many times it’s practically a running joke.
Avengers Academy #21
The funny thing is that Jocasta is actually supposed to be pretty hard to destroy. She might not be as powerful as Vision, but she can definitely hold her own with the standard package of superhuman speed, strength, and durability that comes with having a body made of top-grade titanium steel. On top of that, she’s got energy-based abilities like eye lasers and force fields, which make her an even tougher opponent than most villains bargain for.
If you’re curious to know more about her. I suggest looking way back into the past as her first appearance was on Avengers #162 a comic from 1977.
The Activating Queen! Ultron really went all out with this one, and she’s shaping up to be an amazing card. When you play her, she activates every Activate card at her location — and the best part is that she doesn’t consume their triggers. Honestly, she might be a little too strong. Pair her with a nasty Activate card and she can all but guarantee control of a location. And if that card has a board-wide effect, she can easily swing the entire match in your favor. All you need is the right partner card, maybe one of these–
Amazing Activate Allies
The triple A here is going to be the key to getting the most out of Jocasta power. Let me list you which cards I believe will work best with her and then we can go case by case.
My favorite goodest boy ever, Lockjaw, has been making a triumphant return ever since his rework. His effect is a big gamble most of the time even with decks tailormade for his effect. Now, the gamble can get way more reliable by getting Jocasta a dog walker permit. Splice in some other powerful Activate cards like the new Danger to make sure that always have at least one target for Jocasta.
Usually Lockjaw’s decks are paired with cards with bad bodies and powerful effects, like Jubilee and Electro, you’ll also need some huge payoff for the teleporting dog. Dog in any of your favorite 6-Drops and be a menace to your opponent.
Invisible Woman First Steps single-handedly turned End of Turn decks into a real archetype. The only issue with the card is that her name is such a mouthful that I just call her Invisible Kirby to save my keyboard some grief. We already know how strong duplicating her effect can be thanks to Prodigy, our resident lab-coated copycat. But now, Jocasta takes that same trick and does it even better without any awkward positioning shenanigans required.
Add in Fantasticar and suddenly your deck is soaring with the potential double dip with Invisible Kirby and Jocasta. Just make sure to load up on as many End of Turn cards as possible to really maximize the payoff.
Discard’s most powerful new toy is Bullseye, there is no question about it. Well, now you can easily duplicate his effect with Jocasta and now you can discard while getting to discard while you discard, to trigger even more discards while… well, discarding. The only issue is that the other card Activate that would suit this strategy would be Hellcow, which would make you discard twice more for 4 Energy. I don’t really know if it is good enough but I’m sure I’m going to try it. Don’t forget to slot in cards that are actually discarded by Bullseye’s effect like Swarn, Scorn and Daken’s Muramasa.
I have to admit, being colorblind makes Scarlet one of those shades that always tricks me. Every time I go up against a Scarlet Spider deck, I end up losing because I forget he’s even on the field, then he drops a huge clone somewhere else and pulls the rug out from under me on the final turn. Now picture that happening twice with Jocasta’s help. Terrifying.
The only downside is that this play pattern locks out Namora, the usual buffer of choice for Scarlet Spider. That means we’ll have to rely on alternatives like Agony, Forge, Gwenpool, and Galacta. It’d be even better if we had more Activate cards to slot in, like Awesome Andy for additional buffs and Lasher to turn that extra boost into some nasty afflicting potential.
Omega Sentinel is a weird card. There is no doubt that she is good, she is on paper a 4-10 that can spread 7 of her power to another location. Pair her up with Jocasta and that 7 Power influence becomes 14. Affliction decks are a thing but they are suffering from a critical mass of 4-Drops with Lauffey,Man-Thing and Malekith. I’ll be trying out Omega Sentinel on the list and check for myself if the list improves with the appropriate modifications. It will need to do some testing but it might just work.
One last thing, before moving on there are some–
Disastrous Detractor’s Deactivation
It’s been a while now that the only real way to kinda reliably deter an Activate card was through Red Guardian’s Knee of the Motherland. But, spoiler alert, real soon players will be able to get their hands on Super-Adaptoid, this guy will be nasty against any decks that rely on Activate cards. So be careful if your strategy relies on an Activate card to do his thing for you to win.
Now, with all that out of the way, let me set you up with some decks to impress.
Dualgloves's Day One Jocasta Decks
AndroiDog
Chrome End of Turn
Cyber Discard
Bots, Droids and Drones
Robofever
Variants
I’m loving that the new cards are arriving with a ton of options! I’ll be trying to get that wonderful Dan Hip Cyberpunk rendition of our beautiful Chrome Queen. But what about you? What’s your favorite? Surely you won’t play her with her base variant.
Final Thoughts
INVEST IN CYBER WOMAN NOW. Jocasta is sure to be a fantastic addition to any collection. She might be a little limited on partners at the moment, but with each new powerful Activate card released, her potential only grows. On day one, she’s already a strong card to play, and she has plenty of room to improve over time. I wouldn’t skip her, and I suggest you don’t either.
The only reason to hold back would be if you simply don’t enjoy playing with Activate cards. If that’s the case, no worries — there will always be other cards that better suit your playstyle. But for everyone else: go get the card!