Marvel Super Hero Squad TCG: Ankylosaurus Tail

1LR continues to bring you great, all-new cards from the Hero's Destiny expansion of the Marvel Super Hero Squad TCG! 

Marvel Super Hero Squad TCG
Hero's Destiny:
Ankylosaurus Tail

Ankylosaurus Tail, besides being hard to spell, introduces an interesting new mechanic into the game. It is a power level 3 green card that can do up to 4 damage. It features the character Reptil. If it does two damage, it becomes a keeper. The unique thing with this card is that it lacks an actual keeper effect. Meaning, as a keeper it doesn't do damage, augment other cards, or increase the power level. The card states, "When you do at least 2 damage with a red or orange attack, return this keeper to your hand." Essentially, this takes the boomerang mechanic from cards such as Spider-Man's "You Can Count On Me" and adds it to a keeper. The ultimate effect is that you get to retain a card that would have otherwise been discarded. For this privilege you lose a single point of damage potential (a level 3 card would normally do five damage). When you look at it that way, it's not terrible. Cards that benefit from having multiple keepers in play would, of course, benefit from this card. I find it unlikely that many opponents would block this innocuous keeper, nor will it provoke your opponent to destroy it. The down side is that it will leave play when you do two red or orange damage. If you're merely looking for a keeper to take up space to boost other cards, you could do worse than this card. After all, it won't misfire on you and go away. It might be worth considering using this card in a deck with no red or orange attacks, thus removing the condition that causes it to leave play. I could see this card being using in a boomerang deck with cards such as the previously mentioned, "You Can Count On Me." As an orange card, "You Can Count On Me" would trigger Ankylosaurus Tail, thus returning two cards to your hand. This discard-pile starvation strategy would leave you plenty of cards in your hand to block with. This new mechanic is an interesting one. At first, it seems almost worthless but it may be worth a second look.