There are a million ways to play Marvel SNAP, where comic book heroes and villains square off in electrifying card battles. You might flood the board with high-powered cards, stealthily outscore your opponent or even steal abilities to ensure victory. But everything begins with building the perfect 12-card deck.
Looking to super-boost your seasonal ranking? Try one of these six options for stacking your hand. Excelsior!
1. Reveal Deck
The Reveal Deck is great for beginners but can hold its own in veteran match-ups too. By grouping cards whose abilities activate upon reveal, you can quickly stack powers across all three locations.
Key tactic: Wong, Ironheart and Odin form a mighty trio, turning Ironheart’s point-boosting power into a game-changer. Need to thin your opponent’s forces? A Wong-boosted Gambit blasts two enemy cards off the board. Want to dominate one location in particular? A buffed Black Panther gains enough power on his own to outscore most enemy cards.
Fun variant: Swap in Lockjaw or Beast – heroes that let you reveal the same card(s) multiple times – and watch opponents flinch as you obliterate two cards with Yondu’s arrow and charge Thor twice with Mjölnir. I say thee yay!
Other cards to consider: Arnim Zola, Doctor Doom, Grandmaster, Hazmat, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, Werewolf by Night
2. Discard Deck
The Discard deck offers a tempting trade-off: play certain cards while discarding others. Done in the right order, the discarding process ultimately fills your board with enough power to overwhelm your opponent.
Key tactic: Have Colleen Wing discard Swarm (creating zero-energy duplicates) and Lady Sif discard Apocalypse (making him more powerful). Gambit and Moon Knight can disrupt your opponent’s strategy by destroying their cards, Ghost Rider can bring back a discarded card and Sunspot soaks up unused energy.
Fun variant: Swap in Modok and Wolverine. Because Modok instantly discards your entire hand, one lucky play can duplicate Swarm, empower Apocalypse, feed an already-played Morbius huge points and put Wolverine on the board for free. Snap!
Other cards to consider: Hela, Helicarrier, Invisible Woman, Lockjaw, Miek, Silver Samurai, Stature, Sword Master
3. Destroy Deck
Demolishing your own cards probably sounds even less intuitive than discarding them, but it works wonders in this highly dependable deck. The more you destroy, the more powerful you become!
Key tactic: Always play your to-be-destroyed cards (Deadpool, Bucky Barnes, Nova, Nimrod, Wolverine) before your destroyers (Carnage, Venom, Deathlok, Killmonger). Don’t be shy – every destroyed card lowers Death’s cost and boosts Knull’s power.
Fun variant: Swap in Galactus, whose location-destroying ability synergises particularly well with Knull, Nimrod and Wolverine – potentially leaving you with one very stacked location at game’s end.
Other cards to consider: Arnim Zola, Destroyer, Gladiator, Hood, Sabretooth, Wave, X-23
4. Move Deck
Hate standing still? Move decks are tricky to master but highly effective. The goal: Strategically move certain cards to boost their power and dominate two locations, while getting your opponent to squander resources on the location you aren’t targetting.
Key tactic: Use Iron Fist, Cloak, Doctor Strange and Ghost-Spider to push the other cards around, then make one last big move with Heimdall. Meanwhile, position Miles Morales and Vision on whichever locations need extra points.
Fun variant: Swap in Phoenix Force, which revives a destroyed card and allows it to move each turn. Paired with card-destroyers such as Venom and Carnage, Phoenix Force lets you milk huge points from Human Torch and other cards that gain power as they move.
Other cards to consider: Angela, Captain Marvel, Hulkbuster, Jeff, Nightcrawler, Silk, Wave
5. Patriot Deck
With all its low-power, no-ability cards, the Patriot deck seems pretty meagre – until you boost those humble heroes and villains using special cards, leaving unprepared opponents in a world of hurt. If you love come-from-behind victories, this deck’s for you.
Key tactic: Play Wasp, Misty Knight, Shocker and Brood, then follow up with Patriot and Mystique back-to-back so each of those weaker cards gets a four-point boost. Finish strong by using Ultron to fill empty spots with boostable drones. And protect your plan with power-stealing or power-blocking cards such as Cosmo, Rogue and Super-Skrull.
Fun variant: Swap in High Evolutionary, whose mere presence in a deck unlocks special powers in no-ability cards that weaken enemies and boost your board. Be sure to add Cyclops and Thing!
Other cards to consider: Abomination, Debrii, Ka-Zar, Mister Sinister, Sebastian Shaw, Silver Surfer, Squirrel Girl
6. Disruption Deck
Looking for something off the beaten path? The Disruption deck isn’t about winning; it’s about leveraging a host of sneaky tactics that force your opponent to lose.
Key tactic: Be annoying! For example, play Green Goblin on turn three to fill your opponent’s spot on the Space Throne or Bar Sinister, giving you an early (and unexpected) win at either location. Notice their winning strategy relies on one final card? Leech their power away and watch ’em scramble!
Fun variant: Swap in Magik, Storm and Juggernaut. Unleash Magik early so your opponent plans for a seven-turn game, then play Storm on the same location to unexpectedly return the game to six turns, and use Juggernaut to keep any new enemy cards from being added there.
Other cards to consider: Cosmo, Debrii, Doctor Octopus, Enchantress, Goose, Hobgoblin, Legion, Magneto, Mobius M. Mobius, Shadow King, Spider-Ham, Valkyrie