marvel snapThe February 2023 season meta is dominated by MODOK.
many snap Decks fall into one of three archetypes: Ramp up to big combos or cards on turn 5 or 6, or early to control the pace of the game and lock down some places. to establish tempo, or counter your opponent’s big combos or cards. Discard decks tend to fall into the first deck — the cards you’re playing usually lead to massive plays on turn six. However, there are several different variations of discard decks to be aware of.
I think the two easiest ways to categorize discard decks today are “hera decks” and “apocalypse decks”.lots of snap Players are familiar with Apocalypse decks — Apocalypse is a strong card in Pool 1 and can be the basis for early decks.Apocalypse is back with the addition of MODOK to the game snap, because the two cards together have a natural synergy. MODOK discards and Apocalypse wants to be discarded, so it’s perfect for a strong turn 6.
Hela is new to many players as this card is gated behind Pool 3. The Hela deck has a higher ceiling than the Apocalypse deck, but a lower floor due to the inherent randomness of the effects. Hela revives all discarded cards in this game. at random locations. There is some degree of randomness in which cards can be discarded in each game, and then there is the question of where they are played next. But if you can discard a lot of powerful cards before playing Hela, you’re much more likely to like the end result.
Before we get into Apocalypse vs. Hela, let’s start with an overview of some of the best cards you should know about in your discard rotation.
A good card for discard decks in general
- Lady Sif: A 3-cost, 4-power card, Lady Sif is very valuable due to its ability to discard the highest cost card from your hand when revealed. It gives you more control over the endgame by removing a lot of the randomness inherent in discard decks. Basically, you can guarantee that Lady Sif discards Apocalypse or any high-value card you want to resurrect in Hela.
- Morbius: A 2-cost, zero-power card, Morbius gains 2 power for every card discarded. If you’re building a deck that discards as many cards as possible, Morbius can be a rare 2-cost card that can get you a lane. But fair warning: Morbius’ effects are a work in progress. This means it can be disabled by an Enchantress or stolen by a Rogue.
- Dracula: A 4-cost, zero-power card, Dracula receives its power by discarding a card from your hand at the end of the game.one of the best cards in snap, with the right deck, Dracula can easily gain a place — discard Apocalypse at the end to gain its power, or discard a card like Infi Note to “can’t play a card last turn” situation. It also has an advantage over Dracula: it’s also shanti-proof, as the effect isn’t continuous (so it’s not affected by Enchantress) and it happens at the end of the game.
- Swordmaster and Hellkau: These two aren’t necessarily combo packages, but they’re good for the same reasons. Powerful for its cost. Sword Master is a 3 cost 6 power card that randomly discards 1 card from your hand, and Hellcow is a 4 cost 6 power card that discards 2 random cards from your hand. Generally speaking, I think these cards are better in Hera decks that try to discard a lot of cards (whereas Apocalypse decks try to discard one card repeatedly). It will help you gain lanes while pursuing the ultimate victory condition.
Recommended cards for Apocalypse decks
- Colleen Wing and Swarm: It’s a combo package. If you include these two, we recommend that you use them together. Colleen Wing’s effect is the opposite of Lady Sif’s, discarding the lowest cost card from your hand when revealed. A 2-cost, 3-power card, Swarm creates two 0-cost duplicates of itself when discarded. So if you play his Colleen Wing with Swarm in hand (no other 2-cost or 1-cost), you’re guaranteed to get 2 free cards. It may not sound like much, but being able to play a 6 cost and 2 more cards on turn 6 can make all the difference. These cards are not good for Hera decks as we want Hera to bring back more powerful cards.
- tetanus: A card played in the same place as Lockjaw is replaced by another card in the deck. This happens after “when revealed” effects, so play lower power cards like Blades, Gambits, Lady Sif, and take advantage of their discard effects to (hopefully) remove higher power cards on the board. can be replaced with This works especially well with Colleen Wing and Swarm, as Lockjaw’s location also allows him to use his Swarm, which has zero cost.
Recommended cards for spatula deck
- Jubilee: There are too many powerful cards in the Hela deck to play, so we need other ways to place them on the board. Playing extra cards from your deck, Jubilee is a great way to bring in some surprise powerful cards and help you stay competitive even if you don’t draw a spatula.
- Ghost Rider: Ghost Rider plays cards you’ve already discarded—think mini spatula. A great combo would be to play Lady Sif on turn 3 (a big card he discards 1) and Ghost his Rider (playing the exact same discard) on turn 4.
- Heavy hitter: The most important part of any Hela deck is all the big cards you want to bring back. Always a suspect. Infinite, Giganto, Magneto, Death, and Hulk all fit the bill. But if you’re looking for something a little more interesting, Captain Marvel is also fun to include.
- Invisible Woman: Hela decks are easy to read, and a well-placed Cosmo or Shang-Chi can ruin your day once you start discarding a few major cards. Invisible Woman helps hide that information until it’s too late, and MODOK’s effect doesn’t happen until the end of the game if played behind Invisible Woman, leaving room for Hela to play her MODOK . Even without Modok, Invisible Woman can be used for other destroy effects (such as Hell Cow) to avoid accidentally destroying her Hela.
Best Marvel Snap Discard Decks…
…if you have MODOK:
deck: Morbius, Swarm, Colleen Wing, Lockjaw, Moon Knight, Lady Sif, Sword Master, Dracula, Hell Cow, MODOK, Apocalypse, America Chavez
the goal: Dracula gains one lane by discarding Apocalypse after the game, and another through combinations of Morbius, MODOK, and other powerful cards. The third lane is for Lockjaw to play as many discard effects as possible. America Chavez is here as a safety valve, especially if you don’t draw the apocalypse.
Alternatives worth considering: Gambit, Wolverine
…without MODOK:
deck: Zab, Lady Sif, Sword Master, Jubilee, Ghost Rider, Hell Cow, Captain Marvel, Magneto, Hela, Giganto, Infinite, Death
the goal: Place as many giant cards on the board as possible. Lady Sif and Ghost Rider are important combos and Jubilee can help too. But the key is to discard the big cards of Lady Sif, Sword Her Master, and Hell Her Cow. That way, Hera can finally revive them all. One important caveat: Remember to play Jubilee before playing Lady Sif or another discard card unless you already have Ghost Rider in hand. Drawing Ghost Rider in Jubilee is a surefire way to go wrong with this deck.
Alternatives worth considering: Morbius, Dracula, Hulk, Invisible Woman
Finally, here are some beginner discard decks for players who haven’t made it to Pool 3 yet.
Best Marvel Snap Pool 2 Discard Decks
deck: Blade, Iceman, Antman, Nightcrawler, Swarm, Morbius, Wolverine, Swordmaster, Bishop, Lady Sif, America Chavez, Apocalypse
the goal: Discard Apocalypse as much as possible, or if you can’t, discard Wolverine and Swarm. Bishop or Morbius can gain other lanes besides Apocalypse depending on whether they are drawing a discard card or a good 1 cost card.
Alternatives worth considering: Sunspot, Yondu and Angela. If you’re in Pool 1, it’s better to wait for more pieces before playing your discard deck.try playing one of these newbies marvel snap Deck instead.
Happy to throw it away!