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Welcome to our new series, where we take a step back from the meta and explore some different brews players are cooking up. Criteria to qualify as an Off-Meta deck include:
- Decks can’t be used in the current meta
- This includes decks that only have 1 or 2 cards different from a meta list
- Unique twists on an existing archetype
- Well known decks that fly under the radar or classic lists (like Cerebro)
- Completely fresh idea
These decks are meant to be good enough to compete with, but may still struggle against the top meta performers. If you are looking to mix up the decks you are playing and want to try something new, you’ve come to the right place! Without further ado, let’s get into it!
All Buffs, No Counters
Kicking off this edition is the showcase of a very fun buff deck! With the release of Scarlet Spider, I have seen a resurgence of this deck style that made it’s rounds when Gwenpool was released. After spending some time with it, I found it to be very viable and a great mix-up for the meta.
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The deck has a strait forward plan: Play buff cards, win with Brood, Sebastian Shaw, and Mysterio. The deck can brick hard at times if you fail to draw buff cards in time, or don’t draw your targets in time, so I recommend this deck more for Conquest. It also notably lacks any counter cards. This makes the deck a bit of a glass cannon, meaning your plan goes all in and aims to win with pure aggression.
A few key points with this deck to keep in mind: Wasp serves multiple purposes for you and shouldn’t be played immediately when drawn just to increase buff target odds. She can give Nico Minoru a great target to turn into a Demon or to destroy for draw. She can also provide flexibility with locations that need a sacrifice to destroy, to transform, or offer buffs. So save Wasp until you need to play her to focus Gwenpool targeting.
Another great point is to save a left or right location for Grand Master flexibility. He can retrigger cards like Nakia, Gwenpool, or even Brood! In order to do that effectively though, you need a location without other On Reveal cards so you always trigger as planned.
You may notice Scarlet Spider is missing. In my play testing, I found him to be much less consistent than Brood for a number of reasons. First, you can’t combo with Shaw on turn 6. Second, I frequently missed out on Absorbing Man or Grand Master retriggering Gwenpool on turn 5 because Scarlet Spider loses value if played after turn 5. Finally, Brood gives every buff triple value, while Scarlet Spider only gives double for a higher Cost and lower flexibility.
Surfer + Hazmat?
If you want an alternate, more combo-centered way of playing Brood + Sebastian Shaw decks, this is a great option! It has seen marginal play in recent weeks, with less combo-centered decks leading the usage in Conquest. This version basically is a Silver Surfer combo deck, but uses Hazmat as a secondary win condition! The deck can perform best in Conquest, but is usable in Ranked as well.
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The deck bring the usual suspects in a Silver Surfer deck: Brood and Sebastian Shaw. These are your big Power cards that make Silver Surfer work efficiently. This version aims for a more combo-based style by utilizing Wong and Mystique to retrigger the On Reveals. Sera and Magik allow you to delay your combo pieces as late as possible to help prevent counters. If Silver Surfer isn’t drawn, Iron Heart acts a solid backup plan. You can play Odin after either option for an additional 16 On Reveal triggers!
In case you can’t set up your board with Shaw or Brood, you can aim foe the Hazmat line. You want the same Wong + Mystique setup, and use Hazmat + Odin for a massive board attack. Luke Cage protects your cards from getting reduced in Power.
You can also combine Hazmat and Surfer together (instead of Odin) for a very hard to contest Power swing. The deck’s biggest weakness is to Cosmo and Magneto, which may be a frequent issue if your pocket meta includes lots of Hela or Hela counter decks. Even still, the deck is very fun and can still keep up versus many popular decks.
Wakanda Forever!
You may have come across this deck from time to time, but it hasn’t been a meta contender. It combines the age-old Odin On Reveal deck with Symbiote Spider-Man‘s capabilities. Without your opponent running specific tech cards, this deck can give you a massive Power that is difficult to contest.
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Everyone knows the classic play lines of Wong, White Tiger and Odin. More seasoned players know Wong, Black Panther and Arnim Zola can be a fun mix-up. This deck uses those same ideas, but utilizes Symbiote Spider-Man to add a large amount of flexibility.
Symbiote Spider-Man (SSM for short) gives a much more consistent path to victory with Zola. He also allows a second trigger of Doctor Doom without needing Wong. SSM can take buffs from sources like Iron Heart or location buffs to generate more value than Wong can. In short, SSM adds a solid backup plan for games where Wong forgets to show up in time.
The decks biggest weakness is being too obvious. Players see your setup from a mile away, making for a low cube rate. You can swap in Galactus for a fun mix-up with SSM, but Clog decks can single-handedly stop you. Even with predictability and counters, I found a lot of success with this deck and had a blast playing it.
Decks From You: An Alternate War Machine
We have all had plenty of lockdown experiences in our meta over the last few weeks. This deck puts an interesting spin on War Machine decks that I think is different enough to stand out from typical decks. The list comes from user Isaac444 in the comments of our last edition!
CanadianAlfredo
What this deck does the same as other War Machine decks is lean on Power through The Infinaut and Ebony Maw. What it does differently is drop out lockdown and 10 Power card synergy in favor of Pixie and Magik shenanigans.
Pixie allows you to possibly play your Infinaut, Blob, or Professor X early with a bit of luck. War Machine lets you avoid the need to skip energy for The Infinaut if you do draw him. Magik offers a secondary option of a more classic play line, plus more. You can skip turn 6 for an The Infinaut She-Hulk combo, allowing your Sunspot to grow. Alternatively, you can Skip turn 5 for The Infinaut into Taskmaster, or utilize Blob into Task Master if your big cards are still in your deck.
Professor X can be a surprising mix-up, but effective when move cards aren’t in play. Nebula can help to secure the victory, or War Machine can let you reinforce when needed. Ravonna Renslayer offers a more niche option of playing Blob on turn 5 and Task Master on turn 6 when Magic isn’t an option.
How Can You Submit a Deck?
If you are a fan of the series and want to share your favorite off Meta Deck, share it with us! In the comments below, tell us your favorite deck and a brief description on how to play it. We will pick decks from your comments and feature them in the next edition! Just make sure your deck follows the off-meta criteria listed at the top of this article.
Want To Join Our Off-Meta Alliance?
**Edit: Alliance Now Full!**
If you are a fan of Off-Meta decks like me and many other community members, we have an alliance dedicated to Off-Meta players! We recently got 4 open slots, so we are opening up temporarily for new members! We have an incredible team that works together to get all rewards each week, but we ask members to hit 2k points fairly consistently to help achieve that goal. Simply put, we want players who like to experiment decks and chat about brews in this official Snap Zone alliance.
Entry is granted on a first come, first serve basis, so apply quickly if you’re interested! You can find us by pasting the following into your Alliance Search:
[MSZ] Snap Zone Off Meta
EDIT: Wow! That was fast. We filled up already, but don’t worry if you missed out. Stay tuned to future editions if we have future openings!
Wrap Up
That’s all for this week’s edition! What do you think about this new Series? Do you have suggestions on Do you have an off-meta deck to share? Let us know in the comments!
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