Evolved Lockdown Detailed Deck Guide: High Evolutionary Is Still in the Competition

If you thought Thanos was going to have an easy time, let me tell you, dear readers: that’s not the case. High Evolutionary, another of the four Big Bads in the game, is still in the competition as potentially the most powerful of all.

And I’m not just talking about being the Big Bad with the strongest archetype for competitive play. The archetype we’ll be reviewing in this guide is the only other deck with the stats that support it as Tier 1, competing side by side with Thanos Control.

The High Evolutionary archetypes have gone through a few transitions since the card released. Evolved Lockjaw was the most powerful and popular of them, but after the last OTA changes to Evolved Wasp and Evolved Hulk, Evolved Lockdown was established as the quintessential High Evolutionary deck.

The main reason for this is that Evolved Cyclops remains unchanged. This card in combination with Storm is often enough to easily win a location. If we add more ways to lock lanes, we end up with an oppressive game state for our opponents which, in the current state of the meta, makes this deck one of the best options to tackle it properly.

Evolved Lockdown

Created by Bohe

, updated 9 months ago

2

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

4x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3x Starter Card

3.6

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Concept and Strategy

The general idea of this archetype is to have a lane under control before Turn 6. If we succeed, it’s usually easy to win a second location with Evolved Hulk.

This does not mean that we need to have Evolved Hulk 100% of the time. Our cards generate very effective combinations that make playing comfortably something very difficult for our opponents.

• Storm makes a great pair with Evolved Cyclops and/or Nebula.
• Daredevil improves Professor X and Spider-Man, making both much better than other archetypes where we have to play them blindly.
• Iron Lad, who has certainly gained a lot of popularity lately, pairs amazingly well with just about any of our cards.
• If we add to all this the fact that Jeff the Baby Land Shark and Doctor Doom allow us to impact the lanes closed by Professor X and Spider-Man respectively, the result is an incredibly solid list.

Without a doubt, this archetype will continue to be in the top part of the table in our Tier List during the upcoming weeks.

Core Cards

High Evolutionary Core

Variants

Evolved Cyclops

When you end a turn with unspent Energy, afflict 2 enemy cards here with -1 Power.

None

view card details Start a deck Decks with Evolved Cyclops

Variants

High Evolutionary

At the start of the game, unlock the potential of your cards with no abilities.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with High Evolutionary

Variants

Evolved The Thing

On Reveal: Afflict 3 enemy cards here with -1 Power.

None

view card details Start a deck Decks with Evolved The Thing

Variants

Evolved Hulk

When you end a turn with unspent Energy, +2 Power. (if in hand or in play)

None

view card details Start a deck Decks with Evolved Hulk

Here I have to make an important point. Evolved Hulk is usually present in all iterations of High Evolutionary. Evolved Cyclops is always an essential part of Lockdown. What stood out to me was seeing den, my teammate here in Marvel Snap Zone, adding Evolved The Thing instead of Evolved Wasp in his iteration of this deck in our last Conquest Tier List.

I find this to be quite an interesting move, one that makes the deck a bit more powerful during the mid game. Thinking about removing Iron Lad for Evolved The Thing doesn’t seem right to me. Losing the great advantages that Iron Lad can give us is not an option, and playing both cards together makes Iron Lad even better. Having an additional powerful effect to copy with Iron Lad works amazingly well.

While Evolved Wasp is technically a free 0/2 in this deck, I think post-nerf it’s much better in Evolved Lockjaw. This change overall seems like a very solid move to me, and it’s one that I think enhances our deck significantly by giving us a much better mid game.

Lockdown Core

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

Professor X

Ongoing: Lock down this location. (Cards can’t be added, removed, etc.)

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Professor X

Variants

Spider-Man

On Reveal: Move to another location and pull an enemy card from here to there.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Spider-Man

These are the cards that allow us to make the opponent’s game plan stumble.

The key difference we have with Thanos Control is that although that archetype can play Professor X on Turn 4, we can play Storm on Turn 3. I don’t see much of a difference between these two powerful plays. It seems to me that Storm on Turn 3 has advantages against certain archetypes, and Professor X on Turn 4 has advantages against others.

In our case, the play with Storm on Turn 3 tends to put pressure on our opponents much earlier. Having a secure lane on Turn 4 is also something easy for us. Many of our cards help us accomplish this.

We can play Storm in the same lane where we already have Nebula (which is sometimes more than enough). We can play Evolved Cyclops, Iron Lad, or Evolved The Thing on Turn 4. Also, unlike Thanos Control, we have one more Lockdown tool, which makes Doctor Doom even stronger thanks to how he can impact all three lanes — even with two of them locked.

Agency Core

Variants

Nebula

Each turn your opponent doesn’t play a card here, +2 Power. (except the turn you play this)

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Nebula

Variants

Jeff the Baby Land Shark

You can move this once. Nothing can stop you from moving or playing this to any location.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Jeff the Baby Land Shark

Variants

Doctor Doom

On Reveal: Add a 5-Power DoomBot to each other location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Doctor Doom

These cards allow us to have the ability to decide how we distribute our power between lanes, regardless of whether they are locked or not.

It might seem counterintuitive to think that Nebula gives us agency when it’s the opponent who can choose to play cards to stop her from gaining power, but, by combining it with Storm, we are the ones who can have the decision of whether the opponent will be able to continue playing in Nebula‘s lane or not.

Jeff the Baby Land Shark and Doctor Doom are both solid cards. Jeff is also considered the “Baby Big Bad”, and it has reason to be named like that. I spent 6,000 Collector’s Tokens not that long ago for it, and I don’t regret it. If this is the only card you are missing for this deck and you have the tokens to acquire it, do not doubt it. Few cards are worth that investment, but Jeff the Baby Land Shark is one of them.

As for Doctor Doom, as I said before, he is still very strong despite being nerfed not that long ago — especially in decks like this where we can still get the most out of it. Imagine a scenario where you played Storm on Turn 3 and Spider-Man on Turn 5.

This makes Doctor Doom a card that can impact all three lanes when our opponents can’t play in two of them. Although it may seem illogical to want to put points in locations that we seem to have already won, this gives us the necessary confidence to be able to stay in difficult games where our opponents can have some answers and win despite any possible shenanigans.

Consistency and Redundancy Core

Variants

Daredevil

On turn 5, you get to see your opponent’s plays before you make your own.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Daredevil

Variants

Iron Lad

On Reveal: Copy the text of your deck’s top card.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Iron Lad

Many of the current versions of Thanos Control are choosing not to play Daredevil anymore. I mention this because it is important to help us understand the impact of this card for Evolved Lockdown.

Thanos Control can play Professor X on Turn 4 thanks to Psylocke and the Time Stone. Having Daredevil as a tool for locking a lane effectively may not be strictly necessary.

In our case, we are a much more mid game focused archetype, and two of our three lockdown tools are cards that we will play on Turn 5. This makes Daredevil very important to give us consistency with our game plan.

I’ve talked before about how amazing Iron Lad is when he has a large number of useful targets. In this archetype, it’s a card that shines. It doesn’t matter what card we have on top when we play Iron Lad, all possible outcomes are very good (except for High Evolutionary). This leaves us with a card that gives us redundancy, which solidifies our game plan.

Cards Substitutions

Variants

Evolved Wasp

On Reveal: Afflict an enemy card here with -1 Power.

None

view card details Start a deck Decks with Evolved Wasp

Variants

Evolved Misty Knight

When you end a turn with unspent Energy, give one of your other cards +1 Power.

None

view card details Start a deck Decks with Evolved Misty Knight

Variants

Evolved Abomination

Costs 1 less for each enemy card in play that’s afflicted with negative Power.

None

view card details Start a deck Decks with Evolved Abomination

An archetype that has been losing popularity little by little is Pure Evolutionary; it’s a build more focused on playing all the cards High Evolutionary gives effects to.

Nevertheless, any of these three cards can be a good addition to our archetype. The more mainstream version of the deck in our Marvel Snap Zone Tracker plays all three.

Variants

Legion

On Reveal: Replace each other location with this one.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Legion

Apart from specific tech cards to gain an edge against specific match ups, the deck doesn’t have many iterations. However, playing Legion, the newest card in the game, in this archetype is quite tempting.

It’s still too early to tell if this card will become a staple whenever a deck wants to play Storm. Until we come to that conclusion, testing Legion in this type of deck is the best option.

Other Ways to Build the Archetype

Standard Evolved Lockdown

Created by Bohe

, updated 9 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

5x Starter Card

3.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

This could be considered the standard version of the archetype. Playing Evolved Wasp and Evolved Misty Knight gives us more ways of distributing power among our lanes without having to spend too much energy.

Evolved Abomination is a good option thanks to how well it pairs with Evolved Cyclops. I prefer iterations with Daredevil and Iron Lad, but, if you don’t have the Lad, this list is a good place to start.

KMBest Legion Lockdown

Created by Bohe

, updated 9 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

3x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2x Starter Card

2.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

This is one of the best Legion deck lists out there. The card swaps are understandable. If you are going for the Legion combo, adding Sunspot is a must. In the same way, playing Armor to protect all our one drops is fundamental.

America Chavez gives us an extra 2% chance of drawing each one of our cards, making the Storm + Legion combo something that will happen more often. I would just probably try to sneak Professor X in the deck, but it seems like it is not needed (this deck has an outstanding 66.09 WR% and .75 AVG Cubes in 115 tracked games).

Infinity Ticket – Kang Lockdown

Created by Bohe

, updated 9 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2x Starter Card

3.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

This is an interesting one. The list appeared on our tracker, and it has very good stats. With 75% WR and 1.10 AVG Cubes in 20 games, it looks like the idea of having Shang-Chi is still relevant nowadays. Even if many would say that the meta is going in a direction where Shang-Chi is not going to be needed.

Playing Kang is something that a deck with many good Turn 5 plays could do without a problem. Archetypes where this is possible give us many routes to outmaneuver the play from our opponents that Kang allows us to foresee.

Snap and Retreat

Our cards have combinations that mark clear moments to Snap.

• Snapping on Turn 1 can be pretentious, but it’s a risk I’d take if I can play Nebula and have Storm + Cyclops (or any other way of impacting Storm‘s lane) in hand. This is because playing all three cards in the same location is quite strong.

• The aforementioned idea is also valid for Turn 2. It will be much safer if we have drawn Evolved Hulk during the first two turns. We can add to the equation having Daredevil + Professor X, which virtually ensures another location on Turn 5.

• If you haven’t Snapped yet and you will be playing Storm, think about Snapping only if you’ve drawn Evolved Cyclops or you played Nebula on Turn 2. If you have Iron Lad to play after Storm, this is also a good time to Snap. However, this requires a lot of attention on your part to be aware of the cards that are still in your deck.

• Turn 4 may be the best time to Snap with this deck. We already have enough information about what our opponent is playing. We will also have security on the total power that Nebula will reach. We also know if we have a solid enough play to follow up Storm, and on many occasions, we could already have Daredevil on the field and Professor X or Spider-Man in our hand. Try to keep all of this in mind, but don’t despair if it’s not all present; if Evolved The Thing has a good target to hit or Iron Lad still has good targets in our deck, it can be a Snap opportunity if we have Professor X or Spider-Man in our hand.

• Turn 5 is when Snapping would normally make our opponents Retreat, especially if we have Daredevil. Think that Snapping after they make their play. On many occasions, this lets them know that we are going to be able to effectively close one lane and that we have a way to win the other one without much complication (whether this is true or not). Evaluate if you want this to happen or if you prefer your opponent to stay in the game.

Consider Retreating if your opponent Snaps at any point and you don’t have any of the aforementioned card combinations on the field or in your hand. You can safely counter Snap if you’re in any of the positions I mentioned (depending on which turn your opponent Snaps).

Locations

It’s important to remember that almost any bad location can be changed with Storm. In the same way, Professor X can win many bad locations thanks to how he prevents destruction or movement.

Unlike other archetypes, Lockdown is a deck that has no real negative moments due to locations. We can enter inaccessible locations in many ways, as well as play cards in unorthodox ways thanks to the fact that we know that changing a location is not a problem. This gives us a lot of tempo during the game.

Good Locations

• Altar of Death, Death's Domain, Vormir, Luke's Bar: Professor X can win these locations with ease.
• Elysium, The Superflow: Any deck with 4+ cards that cost five to six energy will benefit more from these locations than archetypes with low curves.
• Kamar-Taj: Good for Evolved The Thing and Doctor Doom.
• Sinister London: Amazing with Spider-Man.
• The Space Throne: Fighting for this kind of location is not a problem for Evolved Hulk.

Bad Locations

• Dream Dimension: Play Storm here ASAP. This location will make Professor X and Spider-Man unplayable.
• Knowhere: This location makes Professor X our only card capable of locking it. Storm and Spider-Man are not good here. Try to fight this location with Evolved Hulk.
• Mojoworld, The Raft, White Hot Room: We are not good at filling lanes fast (but we can change these locations with Storm).

As we can see, a great advantage of this archetype is that, when playing location control, it’s not affected by the effects that can complicate the games because of them.

Matchups

Thanos Control

Thanos Control

0

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

1x Recruit Season

4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.7

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Thanos is adapting quickly and tweaking for the mirror match is now the name of their game. This makes this list somewhat more popular these days, which gives us a significant advantage.

To prepare for their mirror, they are now omitting Armor and Luke Cage. While Armor is irrelevant in this match up, opting out of Luke Cage allows us to hit them hard with Evolved Cyclops and Evolved The Thing.

We have to pay attention to their additions. Cosmo can be annoying since we have five important On Reveal effects. Play thinking that there is always a chance that Cosmo will be around. This will help you play Storm with effectiveness. (Ex: Cosmo will likely be played where Nebula is, so you can use this as bait and use Storm elsewhere).

As for Super-Skrull, they incorporate it to fight against Devil Dinosaur, Klaw, and Blue Marvel in the mirror match. It does not affect us in the same way. What we should always keep in mind is that if they play Super-Skrull on Turn 4, when we play Professor X there will be two completely blocked lanes (if we play him in a different lane). They play Klaw and Blue Marvel, though, so accessing Professor X‘s locations with power is easier for them. Keep this in mind and you can use it to your advantage.

Also, remember that Super-Skrull would gain whatever power Evolved Hulk‘s Ongoing effect could give him. This is pretty important to keep in mind as well.

Nebula and Daredevil are also very important. If you play Nebula on Turn 1, you know that they will probably play an Infinity Stone in the same location almost every turn. That could make it so that lane doesn’t have enough power for the late game. Daredevil is key for gaining tempo on Turn 5. Don’t hesitate if you have him as an option for your Turn 2.

With all this on the table, playing a match centering our efforts on Nebula, Evolved Cyclops, Evolved The Thing, and Daredevil will give us the upper hand.

Evolved Lockdown / Mirror Match

Evolved Lockdown

Created by Bohe

, updated 9 months ago

2

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

4x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3x Starter Card

3.6

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Due to the nature of this match up, having Daredevil on the field is a priority. If one of the two players has it and the other does not, it makes a noticeable difference. Think about playing it on Turn 3 or 4 if you drew it late, it gives you a chance to sneak him onto the board.

Evolved Cyclops counters Nebula, which makes it important to always play on the location where the opposing Nebula is. On Turn 4, I would bet my play on Iron Lad. Most of the time he can gain some significant advantage making him usually better than Evolved The Thing

It’s important to keep track of how many turns both players have not used all their energy. The confrontation of two Evolved Hulks at the end of the game is decided exclusively by this factor.

Likewise, on the last turn, it’s very important to think about whether the opponent might play Doctor Doom or Evolved Hulk. Having a clear idea of what is going to be the choice will allow us to play accordingly and know if we should fight for more than one lane at a time or not.

Turn by Turn Breakdown

• Turn 1: Something important to know is that playing Nebula is something that we must always want to do in the location to the right, despite it not being revealed. This is something important when Nebula and Storm are in the same deck as it allows us to gain tempo (the opponent is unlikely to play there), and changing the location in case it is unfavorable is easy if we have Storm.

• Turn 2: In the current state of the meta, I’d rather play Daredevil over Jeff the Baby Land Shark pretty much all the time. Saving Jeff to add unexpected points in a Professor X location (ours or opponent’s) is much more useful.

• Turn 3: Storm will always be preferred, but, if we don’t have her, I would think about playing Evolved Cyclops in a lane where we already have some power despite sacrificing some space a bit.

• Turn 4: If you played Storm last turn, judging the correct play isn’t easy. Deciding between Evolved Cyclops, Iron Lad, and Evolved The Thing is of great importance. Normally, Evolved Cyclops + Storm will be enough to gain a lane; however, depending on the opponent’s deck, it might not be enough. When this could be the case, it’s preferable to play Iron Lad. Doing it in the same location as Storm is not mandatory either. This depends on which cards are still in your deck. Take a good look at the possibilities since Professor X or Spider-Man (or even Storm) could still be in your deck and allow Iron Lad to close a lane. Evolved The Thing is usually my last option, but it’s not bad. Play it thinking it will work like a [4|9] most of the time.

• Turn 5: If you have Daredevil, it shouldn’t be a problem to close a location effectively with Professor X or Spider-Man. Not having Daredevil makes us have to carefully evaluate what is preferable. If you have Jeff the Baby Land Shark available, you might think that Professor X is a better option. When we have Doctor Doom, Spider-Man is usually more effective. In the same way, think about which option will be more annoying and make lanes less accessible for the opponent.

• Turn 6: The last decision of the game. If everything happened in order, ideally we only have to decide between Doctor Doom and Evolved Hulk. As I already indicated above, it’s a question of the state of the field. If you already have a lane secured thanks to any of our lockdown tools, chances are Evolved Hulk will be enough to gain the second required location. If you think that the opponent could place points in one of the closed lanes, the ideal play would be Doctor Doom. Now, even when the opponent has this chance, keep in mind that Nebula and Evolved Cyclops can alter the power in a location passively, and sometimes that’s enough to win the closed lanes (which would again make Evolved Hulk the right choice).

Closing Words

Thank you, dear readers, for having come this far. I think the metagame has had a 180° turn in recent days, and it will be very interesting to see how it has evolved at the beginning of the week when the new Tier List is published.

Evolved Lockdown is certainly a less flexible deck than Thanos Control. This makes it somewhat more difficult to play properly, but with enough discipline and guidance you can get a lot out of it thanks to the fact that the general strategy of the deck is quite problematic for many decks to handle.

Also, Evolved Lockdown doesn’t have the same weaknesses that Thanos Control has, which makes it a bit more complicated for our opponents to come up with suitable cards to combat this archetype. First, because there aren’t many options available, and second, they are more busy trying not to lose to Thanos.

I hope this article has been to your liking and that the work that all the members of the Marvel Snap Zone team do shows that we do our best to provide you with the best possible content about your favorite game.

Don’t forget that our premium membership now includes weekly coaching sessions. Let us know your thoughts on this article and any other topic in the Marvel Snap Community Discord, on my Twitter, and in the comments section of this article (I promise that although sometimes I take some time to answer I always read them and take them into account!)

See you in the next guide (or Variants and Lore article), and you know what I always say: do not forget to smile. I assure you that it makes a difference.