This month’s Marvel Snap (Free) deck-building guide is rolling in a little later in the month than usual, but it was necessary to let the meta cool down a bit before giving any advice. This last month has been another tumultuous one, and some cards were introduced and then nerfed almost immediately. Things appear to be stable for the moment, so I’m shooting my February shot. Remember as ever: today’s winning deck could be tomorrow’s moldy chip dip. These guides are one way to keep your finger on the pulse of the scene, but they aren’t the only method you should be using.
Note that most of these decks are the best of the best at this point in time. They assume you have access to a full range of cards. I’ll once again be including the five strongest Marvel Snap decks of the moment, and I’ll throw in a couple more decks that don’t need things that are too hard to get and are just sort of fun to play with. You know, a little variety and all of that.
Planet Hulk had some effect on things as it rolled out over the course of January, but the bigger impacts could be felt from the various nerfs and buffs Second Dinner was applying to an assortment of cards. Blob, for example, went from hero to zero in no time flat. We’re a little ways into the Black Order season now, and it seems to be more stable both on the season’s end and on the end of balance changes made through updates. With all this upheaval, things are going to be looking very different again with this month’s best decks.
Destroy Deadpool
Included Cards: Deadpool, X-23, Forge, Nico Minoru, Carnage, Wolverine, Hulkbuster, Killmonger, Venom, Knull, Death, Alioth
It’s bizarre to see such a basic deck running wild like this, but there’s no denying it: Destroy Deadpool is as hot as it gets right now due to a few smart adjustments and additions. The strategy is in the name of the deck. Use Forge, Hulkbuster, and Nico Minoru to beef up Deadpool, then keep murdering him over and over again using your destroyer cards like Venom, Killmonger, Carnage, and heck, even Nico on some turns. If you play it right, you could potentially end up with an extremely powerful Deadpool, a jacked-up Venom, a wildly boosted Knull, a free Death, and some pesky Wolverines doing their thing. Alioth is there for insurance. A powerful deck, and I can’t imagine Second Dinner is going to let it keep going like this, so enjoy it while you can.
Hela & Lockjaw
Included Cards: Blade, Black Knight, Lockjaw, Lady Sif, Dracula, Jubilee, Black Cat, Hela, Magneto, Giganto, The Infinaut, Death
A spin on the classic Lockjaw deck, with an added Hela punch that will bring back any absurdly powerful cards you happen to have discarded while playing. It’s the usual routine. Get Lockjaw out as soon as you can, and then start playing your cards. They might swap in a very powerful card, and that’s fine. They might swap in a weak one that will potentially discard a very powerful card, and that’s also fine. The optimal play here is to get Hela out at the end to bring in those beefy cards you may have discarded, but there’s plenty of insurance here if you can’t pull that off.
Odin’s Heroes
Included Cards: Spider-Ham, Korg, Zabu, Jeff, Rockslide, Thor, Beta Ray Bill, Darkhawk, Shang-Chi, Ms Marvel, Jane Foster Thor, Odin
There are two things going on with this deck, and they harmonize very well. On the one hand, this is a Darkhawk deck. Use Korg and Rockslide to add cards to your opponent’s deck to beef up our favorite guy in alien armor. Guy who swaps bodies with alien armor? I’m not sure where he’s at these days. We also have Thor, Beta Ray Bill, and Jane Foster Thor, who of course aim to add power-boosting hammers to your deck and draw them out. Odin is here to trigger any and all of those hammers and deck-fillers on the final turn, giving you a last-minute burst of power. Spider-Ham and Shang-Chi are there to pester the opponent, Jeff and Ms Marvel can add some extra power wherever you like, and Zabu helps you get ‘Hawk and Bill out faster if needed.
Lockdown
Included Cards: Nebula, Medusa, Zabu, Jeff, Storm, Shang-Chi, Ms Marvel, Jessica Jones, Iron Lad, Vision, Alioth, Doctor Doom
Nothing too new here. It’s mostly the same Lockdown type we’ve seen for ages, with a few tweaks to adjust for the latest balance changes. Use Storm and Nebula to persuade your opponent to put their cards where you want them to, use your moving cards to capture locked locations, hope Iron Lad copies one of your big-pants cards, and finish up with either Alioth or Doctor Doom as the situation calls for. Outside of the key players, some of the smaller parts of this deck have changed to adapt to the meta a bit. Zabu is here to get 4-Cost cards out at a higher rate, some useful 4-Cost cards have been included, and Shang-Chi and Alioth are here to ruin your opponent’s day if they dare to play something big.
Annihilus Bounce
Included Cards: The Hood, Nico Minoru, Forge, Iceman, Beast, Zabu, Falcon, Shang-Chi, Werewolf By Night, Enchantress, The Sentry, Annihilus
The predictability of the popular Annihilus decks means they’ve cooled off considerably, but this one is still doing fairly well. It’s a bit of a complicated one to use, but the goal is mainly to throw a lot of garbage your opponent’s way, whether that be by using Annihilus to mail The Void and The Hood their way or by lobbing ice shots, Shang-Chi punches, and Enchantress zaps at them. If things go well you can even use Beast to bring back Sentry so you can play him again for Double Voids. All the while, Werewolf will be bouncing around getting stronger.
And now, a couple of fun decks for those still climbing up the collection ladder or who simply want to try something different.
Mister Negative & Mr. Knull
Included Cards: Yondu, Carnage, Ravonna Renslayer, Ironheart, Mystique, Magik, Mister Negative, Shang-Chi, Iron Man, Jane Foster Thor, Arnim Zola, Knull
As effective as they are, destroyer decks can feel a bit one-note. This one mixes things up by bringing in the familiar Mister Negative deck and smashing them together into one cool fusion. The interesting thing about this one is that you only have Carnage and Arnim Zola as destroyers of your own cards. Used effectively, they can certainly add to your Knull total, but Yondu and Shang-Chi are also here to add to that by destroying your opponent’s cards. You can make a massive late-game play here if things roll out in your favor, and Magik gives you a bit more runway to pull it off.
Pick Your Battles
Included Cards: Antman, Nightcrawler, Ebony Maw, Armor, Colossus, Mister Fantastic, Captain America, Cosmo, Namor, Klaw, Onslaught, Spectrum
Here’s our “starting out" deck for this month. One of the important things to remember when playing Marvel Snap is that you only need to win two of three locations. It’s smart to keep that in mind as you play, and this deck can help get you in the habit. Antman and Captain America go great in full locations. Cards like Mister Fantastic and Klaw can go in the location you’ve given up on to boost locations you are aiming at. Namor also isn’t a bad choice for the location you’re passing on, as him sitting there alone might win it for you. Armor and Cosmo can help protect your chosen spots, and Nightcrawler can help fake out the opponent.
And that’s it for this month’s deck guide. We’ll return with another one of these in March to see where things stand after the Black Order event has fully played out and a month’s worth of balance changes have done their thing. There’s certainly a method to the new cards this season, and I’ll be interested to see if they have the desired effect. Happy Snapping!
