The best Marvel Snap decks and how to play them (MODOK or not)

Marvel SnapFebruary 2023 The seasonal meta has been dominated by MODOK, which means that discard decks have never been more stylish.

Much take a shot Decks fall into one of three archetypes: speeding up into a large combo or card on turn five or six, early tempo setting to control the tempo of the game, and locking in some positions or against your opponent’s combination or large card. Discard decks tend to fall into the first deck — the cards you’re playing often lead to a big turn on the sixth turn. But there are a few different variations of the discard deck to be aware of.

I think the easiest way today is to split the discard decks into two categories: the “Hela Deck” and the “Apocalypse Deck”. so many take a shot players are familiar with Apocalypse decks — Apocalypse is a strong card in Group 1 and may have been the basis for early decks. With the addition of MODOK to the game, Apocalypse has seen a resurgence in take a shot, as the two cards have a natural synergy with each other. MODOK removes your hand and Apocalypse wants to be removed, so it’s great for a strong sixth turn.

Hela is newer to many players, as the card is behind Group 3. The Hela Deck has a higher ceiling than the Doomsday deck, but a lower deck, due to the inherent randomness of the effect: Hela revives every card. The cards you have discarded in this game are in a random position. There is a certain degree of randomness that you can discard the cards in each game, and then it is a matter of where they are played. But if you manage to get rid of many strong cards before playing Hela, chances are high that you will like the end result.

Let’s start with a list of some of the best cards to watch out for during the discard round, before heading into the Doomsday match against Hela.

Good cards for discarding decks in general

• Lady Sif: A three-price, four-strength card, Lady Sif is extremely valuable because of her effects, removing the highest price tag from your hand on reveal. By removing a large amount of the inherent randomness of discarded decks, you have more control over your end game — you can essentially guarantee a Doomsday elimination. position or a high value card that you want to revive with Hela and Lady Sif.
• Plague: A two cost card, no power, Morbius gets two powerups every time you discard a card. If you have a deck built around discarding as many times as possible, Morbius could be the rare double-price card that helps you win a lane on your own. A fair warning, though: Morbius’s effect is ongoing, meaning it can be nullified by the Enchantress or stolen by a Rogue.
• Vampire: A four-price, powerless card, Dracula discards a card from your hand at the end of the game and takes its power. One of the best cards in take a shot, Dracula can easily win a slot on its own if you have the right deck for it — either discard Apocalypse one last time and take on its power, or discard a card like The Infinaut and get 20 power without having to worry about “you can’t play on the turn before the condition”. Also in favor of Dracula: the effect doesn’t continue (so it’s immune to Enchantress), and since it happens late in the game, it’s also Shang-Chi’s proof.
• Master Swordsman and the Bull of Hell: The two aren’t necessarily a combined package, but they’re good for the same reason – they’re high-powered for the cost. Sword Master is a three-price, six-strength power card that discards one random card from your hand, while Hell Cow is a four-price, six-strength card that discards two random cards from your hand. In general, I think these cards are better in the Hela deck, where you are trying to discard a lot of cards (while in the Apocalypse deck you are trying to discard a card multiple times), but they are solid in both decks and can help you win lanes while also pursuing your ultimate win condition.

Image: Monday dinner/Nuverse

A good card for the Apocalypse deck

• Colleen Wing and Swarm: A combo package, you definitely want to combine both of these together if you decide to include them. The effect of Colleen Wing is the opposite of Lady Sif, removing the lowest priced card from your hand upon reveal. Swarm, a three-strength, two-cost card, creates two zero-cost copies of itself when discarded. So if you play Colleen Wing with Swarm in your hand (when you don’t have two costs or another cost), you are guaranteed to get two free cards. It doesn’t sound like much, but it can make all the difference on the sixth turn, when you can play a six-card and two more. These cards are less effective with the Hela deck, because you want Hela to revive stronger cards.
• function key: Cards played in the same position as Lockjaw will be replaced with another card in your deck. This happens after their “reveal” effect, so you can play lower power discarded cards like Blade, Gambit and Lady Sif, use their discard effect and then also replace them with (hopefully) a higher power card on your board. This works especially well with Colleen Wing and Swarm, as you can also use your Swarm at no cost on the Lockjaw slot.

Good card for the Hela deck

• Holy Year: Your Hela deck will include too many strong cards to play, so you’ll want to introduce other ways to get them on the board. Jubilee, who plays an extra card from your deck, is a great way to bring home an unexpectedly strong card and can help you stay competitive if you don’t draw a Hela.
• Ghost Knight: Ghost Rider plays a card you’ve discarded – think of it as a little Hela. A great combination is to play Lady Sif on the third turn (discard one of your big cards) and then Ghost Rider on turn four (play the discard card itself).
• Heavy players: The most important part of the Hela deck is all the big cards you want to revive. That’s the usual suspect; any card with high power will do the trick: Infinaut, Giganto, Magneto, Death and Hulk fit the bill. But if you’re looking for something a little more exciting, Captain Marvel is another fun thing to include.
• Invisible woman: A Hela deck can be easy to read, and once you start discarding some of the main cards, a properly placed Cosmo or Shang-Chi can mess up your day. The Invisible Woman can help you hide that information until it’s too late and leaves room for you to play MODOK against Hela, as the MODOK effect won’t happen until after the game if played after the Woman Invisible. Even without Modok, you can use Invisible Woman for some of your other removal effects (like Hell Cow) to make sure you don’t accidentally remove Hela.

The best Marvel Snap discarding decks…

…if you have MODOK:

Image: Monday/Nuverse dinner via Polygon

Deck of cards: Morbius, Swarm, Colleen Wing, Lockjaw, Moon Knight, Lady Sif, Sword Master, Dracula, Hell Cow, MODOK, Apocalypse, America Chavez

Purpose: Dracula wins one lane by eliminating Apocalypse after the game is over, and you win another through a combination of your Morbius, MODOK, and other powerful cards. Your third lane is for Lockjaw to play as many knock-out effects as possible. America Chavez is here as a safety valve, especially if you’re not drawing Apocalypse.

Alternatives worth considering: Gambit, Werewolf

…if you don’t have MODOK:

Image: Monday/Nuverse dinner via Polygon

Deck of cards: Zabu, Lady Sif, Sword Master, Jubilee, Ghost Rider, Hell Cow, Captain Marvel, Magneto, Hela, Giganto, The Infinaut, Death

Purpose: Get as many of your giant cards on the board as possible. Lady Sif and Ghost Rider are an important combination, and Jubilee helps too. But the most important thing is to get rid of your big cards with Lady Sif, Sword Master and Hell Cow, so that Hela can resurrect them all in the end. An important word of caution: Use caution when playing Jubilee before playing Lady Sif or another discard, unless you already have Ghost Rider in your hand. Drawing Ghost Rider with Jubilee is a surefire way to have a bad time with this deck.

Alternatives worth considering: Morbius, Dracula, Hulk, Invisible Woman

Finally, here are some beginner discard decks for players who aren’t in Group 3 yet.

The best Marvel Snap Pool 2 discarding decks

Image: Monday/Nuverse dinner via Polygon

Deck of cards: Blade, Iceman, Ant-Man, Nightcrawler, Swarm, Morbius, Wolverine, Sword Master, Bishop, Lady Sif, America Chavez, Apocalypse

Purpose: Remove Apocalypse as many times as you can, or Wolverine and Swarm if you can’t. Bishop or Morbius can help you win another lane that doesn’t have Doomsday, depending on whether you’re drawing discards or your good singles.

Alternatives worth considering: Sunspot, Yondu, Angela. If you’re in Group 1, you’re better off waiting to get more pieces before playing the discard deck. Try playing one of these beginner Marvel Snap deck of cards instead of.

Fun removal!