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Cosmic Ghost Rider is the last Series 5 cards joining Marvel Snap for the August 2025 Season, Heralds of Galactus. It is a 5-Cost, 7-Power card that reads: On Reveal: Remove the text from front-row enemy cards here.
Decks with Cosmic Ghost Rider
Today, let’s explore the new card strengths and, of course, the best decks to try it out in.
Series 5 cards can be purchased for 6,000 Collector’s Tokens from the Token Shop as the latest Seasonal Spotlight card. They will be also be included in the Seasonal Series 5 Snap Pack for 5,000 Collector’s Tokens during their season and the following one.
Strengths and Weaknesses
So far, this season has failed to make much of an impact on the Marvel Snap metagame. Every card is playable, but none managed to push a new archetype, or become a staple in one of the greats. Cosmic Ghost Rider might be able to change that, as the new 5-cost is reminiscent of Red Guardian, one of the strongest 3-cost cards in Marvel Snap for a long time, nerfed not so long ago.
Synergy wise, there isn’t that much to discuss about Cosmic Ghost Rider, except if one wanted to move opposing cards to get one from the back row to the front one.
Considering the new card is a 5-cost, it would require moving opposing cards the turn before, but in case anyone wants to give it a shot :
Decks with Spider-Man
Decks with Polaris
Decks with Juggernaut
Decks with Stegron
Decks with Aero
Decks with Cannonball
If I had to connect the new 5-cost to a card in particular, it probably would be Luna Snow. Indeed, the 3-cost not only allows to play Cosmic Ghost Rider the following turn, she also provides a target with her Ice Cube, effectively removing a spot on a location for our opponent.
Yet, I’m more interested in all these synergies Cosmic Ghost Rider will turn off, forcing many decks to adapt the way they play :
- Ongoing : Captain Carter, Ka-Zar Moonstone, Onslaught, Wong… Almost any card we typically use in an Ongoing deck will now have to account for Cosmic Ghost Rider being a possibility.
- End of Turn : Whether it is Fantasticar, Invisible Woman First Steps or their targets, the new 5-cost will reduce the amount of points this synergy manages to develop.
- Discard : Dracula, Morbius, Bullseye and such cards representing the bulk of points for a discard deck are not a flight risk when in the front-row.
- Activate : Fenris Wolf, Kid Omega, Symbiote Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider… We might be in a rush to activate those cards now, as waiting for the perfect time might mean they have lost their ability.
- Arnim Zola : Typically, we want to isolate our target on a location to make sure we will duplicate it with Arnim Zola. Now, that play pattern will require priority, or we risk duplicating a blank card.
- Disruption : Mobius. M. Mobius, Stardust, Gorgon… There are plenty of cards, most of them Ongoing, we use to limit our opponent’s ability to develop. We could use Cosmic Ghost Rider to turn them off and restore our ability to play as we intend.
- Energy Cheats : Hope Summers, Quinjet, Surge, Mister Fantastic First Steps… These cards we use to set up explosive turns late in a match might not be as effective from now on.
You probably got the idea by now, I expect the new Cosmic Ghost Rider to impact a lot of synergies in Marvel Snap. Fortunately, there are a few ways we can limit the damage the new 5-cost can cause to our deck :
Decks with Sersi
Decks with Ghost-Spider
Decks with Juggernaut
Decks with Supergiant
Cosmo and Supergiant should be the most reliable ways to stop Cosmic Ghost Rider, as they both prevent it from triggering. Juggernaut fits that same idea, but requires more timing while also telling our opponent we don’t have it to disrupt them on turn six.
Ghost-Spider was quite popular in the early Alioth days, in order to move an important card such as Nimrod and perform our shenanigans on another location. Moving requires energy and makes our play-patterns more intricate, but could be a great way to bait our opponent into thinking they can counter us.
Last, I really like Sersi as a soft-counter to Cosmic Ghost Rider. The card doesn’t directly interact, but would turn our now useless cards into better ones, at least allowing us to compete on points.
There are two more things we can do against Cosmic Ghost Rider, which I believe are the real solution to the 5-cost not being a constant sword of Damocles above our head :
Marvel Snap typically wants to keep our opponent in the dark about our true potential, hiding it for as long as possible, in hope to keep them in the game when we snap. Unfortunately, this way to play the game will now put our early pieces at risk. The likes of Quinjet or Galacta will be obvious targets for our opponent’s Cosmic Ghost Rider, more than happy to ruin our setup.
Then, in order to benefit from their ability, holding priority might be a key component of playing Marvel Snap once more. At times, we might even mean we will have to go off on turn five in order to keep most of our points total intact.
The other way to mitigate Cosmic Ghost Rider‘s impact is simply to play cards, we reap the rewards of immediately. This way, there is nothing to remove for the new 5-cost. This is much easier said than done, as every great archetype typically mixes On Reveal, Ongoing or Activate cards.
The Verdict: Should You Get Cosmic Ghost Rider?
The cost will play a huge role in Cosmic Ghost Rider‘s impact on Marvel Snap. Indeed, while I want to compare it to Red Guardian, a lot can happen in two turns that would make the card not represent as much of a threat.
Especially in the snap department, Red Guardian allowed to snap early whenever it turned off a key card for the opponent. On turn five, even if Cosmic Ghost Rider turns off two important cards, it might be too late to snap, or too late to hope the opponent will stay in the game.
I still expect the new 5-cost to be a great disruptive card, and possibly become a staple in a few decks focused on disrupting their opponent. Then, I’m sure to grab it as soon as it becomes available. Yet, I’m ready to be slightly disappointed, as turn five gives my opponent enough time to prepare against it.
Pre-Release Score:
Cosmic ghost Rider Decks
Here, I will highlight synergies making the most sense in my opinion. Yet, just like Red Guardian, Cosmic Ghost Rider could become a generic strong disruptive card, so feel free to include it in decks with room for a 5-cost.
den
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Variants
Conclusion
The fact it comes a little later in a match should give the opponent more agency to prepare for Cosmic Ghost Rider. Still, even if it shouldn’t as oppressive as Red Guardian, I expect the new 5-cost to be worth a few snaps, especially against Ongoing or other synergies forced to play some important pieces early in a match.
I hope this review of the new card was helpful. You can find everyone on the Marvel Snap Zone team in our community discord to have a chat or ask any questions.
Good Game Everyone!
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