Cube Rate or Win Rate? Learning About Deck Performance

One ongoing and raging debate is whether win rate matters in Marvel Snap, when looking at the stats from popular decks. Often when you mention the win rate of any deck, people will ask for the Cube rate instead. Well, is this the correct approach? Should we not worry about the win rate and only focus on the cube rate?

Today I want to go through some high performing lists in both of these fields and try to answer the question – does your win rate matter in Marvel Snap?

Do I Need a Good Cube Rate or Win Rate?

Poker is often compared to when looking at how to manage cubes in Marvel Snap. Although that system of determining odds when deciding whether to stay or leave a Marvel Snap game (especially on the climb) is definitely a good habit, the way cubes are interacted with in the game is more comparable to Backgammon.

I say this because we are not playing with limited outcomes and a limited stack of money (especially in Infinite and beyond, but I would argue these habits are throughout the ladder). Therefore, how people value a Snap is not the same as when you double a bet in Poker, and what it indicates is not the same (this is a much bigger topic I could discuss at length, so ask me about on stream).

So let’s compare the strategy to Backgammon.

In Backgammon, the game starts at one. At any time, one player can raise the stakes by offering a double before rolling the dice, doubling the value of the game you are in. If you don’t accept the offer to double, you concede one. If you do accept, you have the opportunity to double again. Sound familiar? Each time you double, you increase the game value by 100%.

In Backgammon, if a player’s primary goal is to maximize their winnings, then raising the stakes can be an effective strategy. By increasing the value of the game, players can potentially win more money or points and can also potentially force their opponents to make riskier moves, which can result in mistakes and give the player an advantage. In short, if you raise the stakes often you can win big more often, and that changes the landscape of the match. Sound familiar? If you Snap, you’re changing the stakes of the game, but this can have advantages as you may force different play habits.

In Backgammon, if a player’s primary goal is to maintain a high win rate, then playing with lower stakes may be preferable. This can allow players to focus on their skills and strategies without the pressure of potentially losing a significant amount of money or points. Consider how this impacts you in Marvel Snap; if you’re in a two cube game, you are often making different decisions to when you’re in a one cube game, and you see out fewer games – resulting in a lower win rate.

So Does Cube Rate Even Matter?

In order to maintain a high cube rate, you still need to have a high enough win rate and have good Snapping habits. Every loss, even at one cube, takes cubes away from your average. To make up for this, you have to be able to win big often. As discussed, though, Snapping effectively is not a deck factor, it’s a game play attribute; therefore, if you play a high win rate deck and Snap well, you’re likely to have more success than pursuing high cube rate decks with low win rates.

Ultimately, the decision to Snap increases the risk, but if your win rate is high enough then you gain more. Win rate trumps cube rate when evaluating a deck, but cube rate indicates the player is better at determining and managing when to Snap and win games.

There is one thing to note in these last few paragraphs – at no stage was the deck mentioned. Snapping itself is a tool outside of the deck, but can a Snap be considered core to some decks? Could the problem that some players are having be not Snapping early enough?

Snapping Is a Part of the Deck?

Win rate is important; hopefully we have established this. Snapping, however, influences win rate. If you’re not Snapping, you are often winning fewer games as players are staying in against you and finding their outs. If you win fewer games, you win fewer cubes. This circular argument leads to the debates about cube rate and win rate. If we step outside this debate, there is a clear link: If you Snap, you can win more games.

Sera Dark Ctrl – 57.38% Win Rate, 0.53 Cube Rate

Created by Marvel Snap Zone

, updated 12 months ago

1

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Take this Sera Control list from MarvelSnap.pro as an example. The win rate is high, therefore the cube rate is high. If we know we are playing a high win rate deck (or even just a deck we are confident in), there is an argument for Snapping early often as you’re likely to find outs and win the game. Then you’re in for more cubes, and if your win rate remains the same your cube rate will naturally go up. Your win rate also goes up as you Snap and players leave.

This is why you can see stats posted by players with absurd cube rates while the global rates on our meta stats data are much lower. Using the Marvel Snap Tracker helps here; you can monitor your own habits and try to identify what to adjust. If your win rate is high but you feel like you’re getting nowhere, maybe you need to Snap more. If your win rate is low and you’re spiking cubes, be wary and try to work out if there is anyway you can improve your win rate to support more consistent climbing.

Conclusion

Look at Snapping as part of your game plan for a deck. Don’t be too on the rails and Snap when you see X card; instead, Snap when you can see a way to win the game. This will lead to more high cube gains.

But remember, no matter how high the potential cube rate, you have to actually win games. Win rate is still an important metric for a deck’s success, so picking a deck that wins more is always better than a deck with higher cubes when evaluating your deck choices.

Use sites like Marvel Snap Zone or MarvelSnap.pro to track your own performance, and try to learn to use the cube as part of your strategy to increase your win rate!