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Your favorite mind-bending, location dominating, limited time game mode is back February 26 to March 4 at the daily reset.
Play and progress on the reward track to unlock the new S4 Card, Starhawk, as well as other fantastic rewards! The Sanctum shop will remain open for two full days at the conclusion of the event.
Decks with Starhawk
The Premium Event Pass is available for purchase with 800 Gold and includes an instant boost of XP and a bunch of bonus value and an exclusive Eric Canete Starhawk Variant when completed.
As you earn Charms playing Sanctum, you’ll unlock the rewards on the Event Pass. You can also spend those earned Charms in the Shop for extra Rewards! Reminder that the Event Shop will remain open for 48 hours after the event ends.
Gameplay is the same as it was in its previous iteration. Each time you enter the Sanctum Showdown, it will cost you one Scroll. The winner of each game gets rewarded with a Scroll. You’ll start off with 6 Scrolls, and receive 4 more free Scrolls every 8 hours, but entrance can also be obtained for 20 Gold if you run out.
Whether you win or lose, the points you earn in each game are yours to keep! Those points can be spent in the Sanctum Shop as Charms.
Players that purchase the Premium Pass will be granted 650 XP upon purchase which will skip them to Milestone 10 if purchased while at zero XP. The Premium Pass also grants two additional Scrolls and an extra Fire Purple Border.
What is Sanctum Showdown?
Sanctum Showdown is a limited-time game mode where the first player to reach 16 points wins—no need to wait until Turn 6! Unlike regular SNAP, points are earned every turn, with a special Sanctum location awarding the most points. Plus, Snapping works differently. Starting on Turn 3, you can Snap once per turn to increase the Sanctum’s value by 1 point, adding strategy to each turn!
Each time you enter the Sanctum Showdown, it will cost you one Scroll. This is where winning pays off! The winner of each game gets rewarded with another Scroll to keep playing. You’ll start off with 12 Scrolls, and receive 2 more free Scrolls every 8 hours, but entrance can also be obtained for 40 Gold if you run out.
Whether you win or lose, the points you earn in each game are yours to keep. Those points can be spent in the Sanctum Shop as Charms which can be used on new cosmetics, up to four random Series 4/5 cards, or one of the three new cards in the Portal Pull!
Event Period
- Start: February 26, 2026 at 11:00 AM PST
- End: March 4, 2026 at 10:59 AM PST
Scrolls and Charms
- Each game costs a Scroll to play, similar to a Conquest Ticket.
- You’ll earn 2 more Scrolls every 8 hours (and more in other ways).
- You’ll also get your ticket back whenever you win a game.
- Win or lose, you’ll walk away from every game with points (Charms) to spend in the Sanctum Shop.
How Do You Play?
- You earn points each turn from the locations you’re winning.
- Each location is worth one point, except for the one marked as the Sanctum, which gets bonus points.
- Every turn the Sanctum moves, so you have to decide which locations to prioritize.
- Starting on Turn 3, you can Snap to add an additional bonus point to the Sanctum location.
- The first player to reach 16 points wins.
- There can be a maximum of 15 turns.
On both Turn 1 and Turn 2, one of the locations will randomly become the Sanctum for that turn, and it’ll be worth just 1 point to whoever is winning it as the turn ends. Tread lightly—the Sanctum could be an unrevealed location. You also won’t be able to Snap—not yet.
Starting on Turn 3, the Sanctum will be worth 4 points per turn, while the other locations are worth 1 point each. You’ll also now be able to Snap by pressing the green spell symbol where the cube used to be. But Snaps in Sanctum Showdown don’t work like the Ladder—the Snap adds 1 point to the Sanctum location for the turn. Why only 1 point? Well, that’s another way that Sanctum Showdown is different: you can Snap once on every turn, not just once per game. You also don’t need to worry about Retreating—remember, you’ll get your points win or lose, so each one counts toward your Charms and Sorcerer Rank!
After each turn, if a player has 16 or more points, they win the game! If two players have 16 or more points, the player with the highest point total wins. But if the score is tied above 16, it’s a tie—and no one gets their Scroll, just their points.
For details on strategy and best decks to play for the event, check out our strategy guide:
Banned Cards
Added
Decks with Annihilus
Decks with Cannonball
Decks with Captain Marvel
Decks with Cull Obsidian
Decks with Dracula
Decks with Galactus
Decks with Galactus First Steps
Decks with Invisible Woman
Decks with Magik
Decks with Makkari
Decks with Malekith
Decks with Man-Spider
Decks with Martyr
Decks with M’Baku
Decks with Mysterio
Decks with Negasonic Teenage Warhead
Decks with Rocket and Groot
Decks with Rocket Raccoon
Decks with Scream
Decks with Storm
Decks with Supergiant
Decks with Surtur
Decks with Viper
Decks with Werewolf By Night
Banned Locations
Decks with Altar of Death
Rewards
Gameplay is the same as it was in its previous iteration. Each time you enter the Sanctum Showdown, it will cost you one Scroll. The winner of each game gets rewarded with a Scroll. You’ll start off with 6 Scrolls, and receive 4 more free Scrolls every 8 hours, but entrance can also be obtained for 20 Gold if you run out.
Whether you win or lose, the points you earn in each game are yours to keep! Those points can be spent in the Sanctum Shop as Charms.
Players that purchase the Premium Pass will be granted 650 XP upon purchase which will skip them to Milestone 10 if purchased while at zero XP. The Premium Pass also grants two additional Scrolls and an extra Fire Purple Border.
The XP requirements have been reduced by 15%, down to 1,700 XP from 2,000. The Free Event Pass has also had an increased amount of available Charms, Scrolls, Credits, Tokens, and Borders than the previous Sanctum Event that ran in November, 2025. A Mystery Variant has also been added as a reward in the Free Track.
Event Pass Details
Sanctum Shop
The Sanctum Shop allows players to purchase rewards from the Charms they obtain after games.
Portal Pulls – 800 Charms
Daily Shop (refreshes every 8 hours)
- 7 Scrolls – 100 Gold (1)
- Avatar – 150 Charms or Emote – 1,500 Charms (1)
- Rare Variant – 500 Charms or Super Rare Variant – 800 Charms (1)
All Offers
- Series 4 Collector’s Pack – 1,700 Charms (1)
- Series 3 Card Pack – 600 Charms (3)
- Premium Mystery Variant – 500 Charms (2)
- New Emote – Mystique ‘Shh’ – 1,500 Charms (1)
- Border – Purple Fire – 600 Charms (12)
- Border – Distressed Green – 600 Charms (12)
- Border – Green Fire – 600 Charms (12)
- Border – Cosmic Purple – 600 Charms (12)
- Border – Cosmic Black – 600 Charms (12)
- Border – Cosmic Green – 600 Charms (12)
- Border – Green Glyphs – 300 Charms (6)
- Premium Mystery Border – 600 Charms (1)
- Common Mystery Border 300 Charms (1)
- Avatar: Silver Surfer – 150 Charms (1)
- Avatar: Magik – 150 Charms (1)
- Avatar: Makkari – 150 Charms (1)
- Avatar: X-23 – 150 Charms (1)
- Credits: 100 – 60 Charms (3)
- Credits: 50 – 30 Charms (3)
FAQ
What do I use Charms for?
The Sanctum Shop has exclusive Variants, Avatars, Emotes, and lots of Borders.
How do I get more Scrolls?
Well, if you keep winning, you’ll never run out! But in addition to the free Scrolls you receive on the first day and from Sorcerer Ranks, you’ll get four more Scrolls every 8 hours. You can also spend 20 Gold to buy a Scroll, if you don’t want to wait.
How many rewards should I expect to earn?
We expect the average free-to-play player to be able to unlock The Hunger, meaning one should reach around 2,500 Charms over the course of Sanctum Showdown.
Can I use Gold to purchase more items?
Yes, you can buy all the Sanctum Shop items for Gold, Charms, or a mix of the two.
Are any of the items in the Sanctum Shop exclusive to the event?
The Hunger will be available to collect with Collector’s Tokens next season. Variants will be available in repeat runs of Showdown and then added to the Vault 1 year after their first appearance.
What should I play?
Other than the banned cards, you can play many of your existing decks in Sanctum Showdown. However, you may want to experiment with a few more lower-cost cards, cards that move, or cards that add Power to multiple locations.
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