Best Iron Fist Decks, Builds, and Card Analysis

The Move archetype never really caught fire in Marvel Snap’s meta. At first, the deck was difficult to play because some of the most impactful cards were in Pool 3, like Human Torch or Dagger. Once more players could assemble what was considered the best twelve cards decklists for the archetype, other problems arose that kept the deck from reaching the top of the competitive mountain such as:

• Location disruption cards like Professor X or Storm, or another Location that works against your gameplan
• Heimdall is very predictable and easily played around by your opponent

As a result, the Move archetype is considered more of an useful addition to other decks. We have seen it contribute to the Bounce archetype involving Beast and Falcon, to Sandman decks or being splashed as a way to be flexible on how to attack the various Locations.

In this article, I would like to talk about one of the utility cards of the Move archetype, that has much more to offer than simply be limited to one deck: Iron Fist.

Variants

Iron Fist

On Reveal: After you play your next card, move it one location to the left.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Iron Fist

While Iron Fist isn’t part of the cool club when it comes to 1-Cost cards in Marvel Snap, seeing less play than Ant-Man, Blade, or Sunspot to name a few. Iron Fist is a card I have learned to respect as time passes and as new Locations are being added to the game.

As the community grows, the “best” decks are being solved and becoming popular quite fast, especially when it comes to who can develop the most Power overall. In this regard, Iron Fist doesn’t help much, and you likely won’t see the card in a Mister Negative or a Sera deck.

What Iron Fist brings to the table is flexibility, especially in the way we can manipulate our board to bypass certain locations or card limitations.

Gameplay and Synergies

Obviously, when someone mentions Iron Fist in Marvel Snap, the first idea that comes to our head is to use it in the Move archetype. It is only logical given its ability, and considering the amount of cards Iron Fist can synergize with in the deck. It is the cheapest card to move cards around, so Iron Fist would be difficult to remove from the Move deck.

Variants

Multiple Man

When this moves, add a copy to the old location.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Multiple Man

Variants

Human Torch

When this moves, double its Power.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Human Torch

Variants

Dagger

When this moves to a location, +2 Power for each card your opponent has there.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Dagger

Variants

Vulture

When this card moves, +5 Power.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Vulture

However, this is the easy part about the card, and the primary way Iron Fist has been used since Marvel Snap’s release.

Another way to use Iron Fist is to be able to play onto an otherwise locked location. It could be Kyln after turn four, Sanctum Sanctorum, Lechuguilla or The Vault on turn 6 to name a few. There are other cards which can replicate similar effects, and we can use Iron Fist to play around those:

Variants

Goose

Ongoing: Nobody can play cards that cost 4, 5, or 6 at this location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Goose

Variants

Spider-Man

On Reveal: Your opponent can’t play cards at this location next turn.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Spider-Man

Variants

Storm

On Reveal: Flood this location. Next turn is the last turn cards can be played here.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Storm

Variants

Ebony Maw

You can’t play this after turn 3. Ongoing: You can’t play cards here.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Ebony Maw

Another similar type of restrictive cards are the ones who have a condition as to where you can play them, or are much better played onto specific setups. Thanks to Iron Fist, you can fulfill their condition or maximize their value, but also decide which location they will contribute to:

Variants

Crossbones

You can only play this at locations where you are winning.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Crossbones

Variants

Odin

On Reveal: Activate the On Reveal abilities of your other cards at this location.

Collection Level 1-14

view card details Start a deck Decks with Odin

Variants

Scarlet Witch

On Reveal: Replace this location with a random new one.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Scarlet Witch

Variants

Jubilee

On Reveal: Add a card from your deck to this location.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Jubilee

Lastly, there are cards which benefit from other cards being played on their location, or that requires us to not play into the location next turn. Thanks to Iron Fist‘s ability, we can trigger those cards while being flexible as to where our played card ends up.

Variants

Angela

After you play a card here, +2 Power.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Angela

Variants

Lockjaw

After you play a card here, swap it with a card in your deck.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Lockjaw

Variants

Rescue

On Reveal: If you play a card here next turn, +5 Power.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Rescue

Variants

Jessica Jones

On Reveal: If you don’t play a card here next turn, +4 Power.

Collection Level 1-14

view card details Start a deck Decks with Jessica Jones

With the plethora of synergies available to the card, Iron Fist‘s potential isn’t simply decided by how good the Move archetype is. Of course, it helps to have a deck to measure the potential of a card that is a staple in it. However, Iron Fist can contribute to many other synergies.

Budget Deck

Pool 2 Ongoing Disrupt

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 1-14

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Recruit Season

1x Starter Card

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

This build is a mix of looking to aggressively develop power with the Ongoing and the 1-Cost cards synergies on one end, and trying to disrupt the opponent’s possibilities with Sandman on the other end once we got ahead in points. Mister Fantastic and other Ongoing cards can also fit the list considering we are running both Onslaught and Spectrum.

In this deck, we can see a lot of way to use Iron Fist for its utility to bypass restrictions or help abuse some abilities:

• We can move cards to otherwise unplayable locations that would appear
• We can move a card into Ebony Maw‘s lane
• We can play a card into Angela‘s lane without taking up a spot

Move Deck

Moving pieces

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

7x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

It felt weird writing this guide without including the archetype Iron Fist gains most of its fame from. In this build, we are looking to make best use of Human Torch, Vulture, and Kraven‘s growing abilities, with Iron Fist being their best support card.

Its relatively low cost allows it to be played at any point in the curve, while Doctor Strange, for example, is much more difficult to use optimally. The card will rarely clog your hand as you can play it before Human Torch or Vulture, or even once Kraven is in play. Cloak, on the other end, requires the cards to be played already for its ability to be useful.

Another nice synergy is the ability to move a card already on the board with Iron Fist. The trick is to play Hulkbuster, and the card it gets attached to will move.

A lot of cards can be tested in this build as well. Angela makes a lot of sense in a move deck, as you can move card away from her location to keep on using her ability.

Competitive Deck

Bouncing Castle

Created by den

, updated 7 months ago

1

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

4x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Once again, another deck where Iron Fist serves as a great support, helping Angela and the Move synergy in the form of Human Torch.

I feel this deck encapsulates well what Iron Fist provides as a card: A good, cheap utility which sometimes can help our combos take an extra step.

At the end of the game, you will likely remember Angela, The Collector or Bishop, as they help take over 2 locations. However, every time Human Torch contributes as a fourth win condition, Iron Fist wasn’t far behind it. Similarly, being able to land The Collector or Bishop onto an otherwise unplayable location almost guarantees we should take this one at the end of the game.

Closing Words

I personally am a big fan of these cheap, utility cards in Marvel Snap. As time passes, everyone is learning how good the powerhouses are, and which are the refined decks to build around those.

However, I feel like finding the perfect support, and the best play pattern to exploit said support probably is the future of the game when it comes to winning more games overall.

I hope this piece about Iron Fist was a step in that direction, and may help some of you see the value in those otherwise labelled “one archetype only” kind of cards.

Good game everyone!