Spotlight Cache Week of June 4, 2024: Are Thena, MODOK, and Grand Master Worth It?

Welcome back to our new weekly series Cache-ing In! Each week, we break down what cards will be available in the new Spotlight Caches, as well as the Spotlight Variants! The goal is to help you determine if you should “Cache in” for the content, or hoard for a better week.

We also now feature the other two existing cards in more detail in a separate guide, not just the new one! The goal is to give you a tutorial on how to use the card most effectively in an everchanging meta, as well as help you decide if the card is worth the tokens or if you should pick it up during a Spotlight Cache week! Check them out below:

• Thena Guide
• MODOK Guide
• Grand Master Guide

Spotlight Cache Week of June 4, 2024

This week, the featured cards will be the new Series 5 card Thena, as well as the return of Series 4 card MODOK and Series 5 card Grand Master!

Please note: Gladiator on June 4th has been swapped with MODOK on June 18th. The database will be updated after the June 4th patch.

Thena

Kicking off this celestial season is Thena! She is a 2-Cost, 1-Power card with the ability “After each turn, +3 Power if you played (exactly) 2 cards.” This means she even triggers if you play her plus 1 other card. If she is played on turn 2 (or turn 3 with another card), she has the potential to grow to a massive [2/13] by turn 6! On a more average game, she will likely land as a 2/4 or 2/7 which is solid stats for a 2-Cost.

I think Thena will often be less of a “how can I play 2 cards each turn” and more likely a ominous threat to your opponent that will sometimes trigger when you draw well. Her best combo will probably be with Kitty Pryde and Hope Summers. This let’s you play Thena + Kitty on 3, Kitty + Hope on 4, and then Kitty is your free 2nd card each turn. The combo has high potential, but Thena relies pretty heavily on being drawn early. Draw her too late and you may be hindering yourself by trying to ensure she gets value.

Possible Meta Deck for Thena

This deck utilizes that Kitty Hope synergy to empower Thena. Combine this with several “Good Cards” to play late game. Angela and Thena can simultaneously grow 2 locations, and your Kitty and move cards can relocate to the location that is needed the most. While many supporting cards could change, I think the core Angela, Hope, and Kitty, will be the main cards Thena is paired with.

Low Collection Level Deck

Early collection level lacks lots of cards that can help empower Thena. This deck card generation to make sure you have plenty of cards available to play in order to get Thena to trigger each turn. If you can play lots of cards, Blue Marvel can be your finisher. If you couldn’t play as many cards, use Moon Girl + Devil Dinosaur for an alternate win condition.

Fun Thena Deck

While the deck runs the same core as the meta deck, this version aims to pump Kitty to as high of a Power as possible. As an alternate play line, you can use the classic Shuri + Red Skull + Taskmaster to win the match. If your opponent frequently plays off curve, you can ramp out Red Hulk on turn 5, and copy his high Power on turn 6 with a buffed Kitty Pryde.

Thena looks like a lot of fun, but I wouldn’t expect to see her reach high stats every game. Through adapting to locations, managing draw order, and interactions with your opponent, it will likely be harder to boost her Power on a consistent level. I think overall she is a decent card, but I don’t see her being an auto include in most meta decks.

Check out our strategy guide and more decklists on this new card!

Best Thena Decks to Try on Day 1 and Strategy Guide

MODOK

Joining Thena for this week’s cache is the return of MODOK! While he was once the king of all discard decks, he has recently been replaced by Corvus Glaive and Blink in Hela decks. With consistent early game options, MODOK just isn’t as needed as he once was. Even still, he has plenty of space to operate effectively in the current meta.

This old fashioned Tribunal list throws Blink in for extra consistency. MODOK exists purely as a win condition with Hela. Using Blink, Jubilee, Iron Lad, and Magik, you can very easily reach for Hela to ensure the discarded cards still trigger. MODOK allows this deck to succeed with a Hela play while being the only discarder in your deck. You can even play him behind Invisible Woman to protect your Hela from being discarded.

While not as prominent as he once was, MODOK still retains meta relevance. In decks like Apocalypse, he remains as a solid option to boost consistency and enable combos. If you are a discard fan and don’t have MODOK yet, this might be the perfect week to pick him up.

For a detailed guide on how to use MODOK, his synergies, meta decks, and more, check out our new MODOK guide!

MODOK Guide and Best Decks: Everything You Need to Know

Grand Master

Last but not least this week is the return of Grand Master! After his recent buff to 2/2, his playability has significantly increased. With that said, he still hasn’t found a long term home in any decks outside of some experimentation.

One deck that utilizes him well is Cerebro 2! This deck leans heavily on Brood and Mister Sinister to fill locations with cards by turn 4. This let’s you set up for Blue Marvel on 5, then Cerebro and Mystique on 6! Grand Master allows you to double your Broodlings or Sinister Clones. He also allows you to lock down 2 locations with Storm to force your opponent to play into the one location you likely will not care about (with Cerebro and Mystique. The deck also has other substitute options with 2 Power like White Widow that can also work with GM.

Perhaps with a new chance for players to get their hands on Grand Master, he may finally find a deck where he can shine. He is definitely a card with high potential, but a low necessity for collections.

For a detailed guide on how to use Grand Master, his synergies, meta decks, and more, check out our new Grand Master guide!

Grand Master Guide and Best Decks: Everything You Need to Know

Spotlight Variants

If you already own the cards the Spotlight Cache offers, one of these variants will take it’s place! If you own none of the cards, the variants will appear after you open all four caches. Spotlight variants are time exclusive to their release week, and will only be available after 1 full year of time has passed.

After the year, they will be available for purchase, though no mention of cost yet. So if any of these Spotlight variants feel like a must have for you, make sure to Cache In if you have enough caches saved to guarantee the pull.

Francesco Tomaselli is our Spotlight artist of the season, and this week we get his Thena variant!

The widely recognized artist Luca Claretti makes his debut for MODOK this week!

Thus Grand Master variant comes from artist Ryan Benjamin, who brings us many of the games default arts!

Should I Cache In?

This week resumes the standard value of two Series 5 cards and 1 Series 4 card. Thena looks fun, but too difficult to trigger for most decks and a tricky card to make a slot for. MODOK is a great discard option, though his necessity has been dropping over recent weeks. Grand Master is a fun card without a solid home.

My recommendation this week is to Hoard Your Caches. This season has a great set of new cards, and Thena just doesn’t look strong enough or diverse enough to recommend caches on. While MODOK is a great card to have, he is only Series 4 which makes him easier to use tokens for. Grand Master is hard to recommend without data to prove he is worth collecting. Since Thena isn’t worth a cache herself, this makes for an easier week to save keys for.

Wrap Up

Do you think Thena will be a good card? Will you be Cache-ing In this week? Let us know in the comments! For the full schedule, check out our guide below:

Marvel Snap New Card Release, Spotlight Cache, and Series Drop Schedule