Taskmaster

>    *"I can counter anything you throw at me. I can mimic and adapt to any move you make. I can anticipate any blow."*
>
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**Taskmaster** is one of five playable Villains in the Marvel Villainous base game, *Infinite Power*. He is from American comic books published by Marvel comics. The character was created by writer David Michelinie, and artist George Pérez, and made his first appearance in The Avengers #195 (cover dated May 1980).

## Objective

Taskmaster must have four Allies, each with 5 or more Strength and each at a different location.

In order to achieve this objective, you must utilize cards that add Strength tokens to your Allies in play. This may include cards that add Strength from an activated ability (Training Dummy), cards that give you added Strength after relocating an Ally (Shadow Initiative), or cards that provide added Strength after a vanquish actions (Training Academy).

Any Ally in play at a location will contribute to Taskmaster's Objective. This includes your Allies in your Domain, any of your Allies in any other player's Domain, and any of your Allies at Events.

## Domain

Taskmaster's Domain consists of the following locations, from left to right:

* Solomon Institute
	+ Play a Card | Gain 2 Power
	+ Activate | Relocate
* Training Room
	+ Discard Cards | Play a Card
	+ Play a Card | Gain 3 Power
* Armory
	+ Gain 1 Power | Fate
	+ Play a Card | Vanquish
* Camp Hammond
	+ Play a Card | Activate
	+ Discard Cards | Fate

## Villain Deck

The following cards are in Taskmaster's Villain deck:

* Conduct Exercise (x4)
* Trainees (x3)
* Training Academy (x3)
* Redeploy (x2)
* Shadow Initiative (x2)
* Trainer for Hire (x2)
* Training Dummy (x2)
* Anaconda
* Black Ant
* Blood Spider
* Crossbones
* Death Shield
* Diamondback
* Jagged Bow
* Lesson Plan
* Photographic Reflexes
* Taskmaster's Bow
* Taskmaster's Shield
* Taskmaster's Sword

These include 10 total Allies (Trainees; Jagged Bow; Black Ant; Anaconda; Blood Spider; Diamondback; Crossbones; Death Shield), 10 total Effects (Conduct Exercise; Shadow Initiative; Trainer for Hire; Redeploy), 8 total Items (Taskmaster's Bow; Taskmaster's Shield; Taskmaster's Sword; Training Dummy; Training Academy), and 2 Specialties (Photographic Reflexes; Lesson Plan).

## Unique Fate Cards

The following cards contain Taskmaster's Targeted Villain symbol, and are generally the most effective against Taskmaster:

* Found by the Avengers (x4)
* Scarlet Spider Clone (x3)
* Butterball
* Scott Lang
* Solo
* Government Work

These include 6 total Heroes (Scarlet Spider Clone; Butterball; Scott Lang; Solo), 4 total Effects (Found by the Avengers), and 1 Targeted Event (Government Work).

## Strategy

Taskmaster thrives on opposing characters as he can use them for his own benefit. Take advantage of Heroes, opposing Allies, and Variants in your Realm, and plan accordingly on how vanquishing them can give Strength to your Allies. This in turn can avoid him being a target for Fate actions, and Taskmaster has no way of bringing Heroes to his Domain. He has two playstyles to achieve his Objective.

One playstyle relies on being adaptive on what happens in your Domain: spreading out Allies and Training Dummies and buffing each of them by activating and relocating a lot, all the while being reactive when an opposing character enters your Domain. This method protects all locations in your Domain as a whole, making you an avoidable target for Heroes. Use Anaconda, Taskmaster's Sword, and Training Academy to buff your Allies. If one location is stacked by more than one Hero, use Death Shield to gain a benefit from them. Use Anaconda, Black Ant, and Blood Spider on vanquish actions a lot to maximize their on-play ability, though they themselves can be buffed for the benefit of your objective. However, this method leaves your Allies vulnerable from Found by the Avengers and similar Fate abilities. Use Taskmaster's Shield and Trainees to protect your Allies from being discarded. This method is very dynamic and has no solid lineup, so act and plan accordingly before and during each turn.

The other playstyle has all your Allies in a single location. This method uses a single Training Dummy and multiple copies of Training Academy in the same location as your Allies. It is best to find and play Death's Shield on your Allies' location to protect all of them from being discarded. However, if your opponents are smart, this will make your other three locations vulnerable from Heroes, so use Blood Spider to move any Hero to your 'killing ground'. It is possible to have your Allies reach 5 or more Strength by defeating a single opposing character by using two or more Allies in combination with two or more Training Academy1. When you are ready, you then play Redeploy to spread out your Allies as a requirement for your objective. This method also needs Lesson Plan in play to recycle your Taskmaster's Shield and find Redeploy. Keep in mind, you are forced to resolve Government Work if you use this method (see Government Work for solutions on resolving it2)

In general, Shadow Initiative is a great card for buffing and relocating Allies all the while slowing down other Villains, though be cautious to their offensive capabilities against your Ally. You can go to Solomon Institute, play Shadow Initiative on an Ally, relocate them back to your Domain, then activate Training Dummy to give them two Strength in one turn. If you are in dire need of Power, play Trainer For Hire to gain some. Though in turn will give other Villains an Ally for free, so use this card wisely.

 **Villain deck**
*4 Copies:* Conduct Exercise
*3 Copies:* Trainees • Training Academy
 *2 Copies:* Redeploy • Shadow Initiative • Trainer for Hire • Training Dummy
 **Fate deck**
*4 Copies:* Found by the Avengers
*3 Copies:* Scarlet Spider Clone
*1 Copy:* Butterball • Scott Lang • Solo • Government Work

 **Mischief & Malice**
 **We Are Venom**
 **Twisted Ambitions**
Doctor Octopus • Kang the Conqueror • Titania