Best Galactus First Steps Decks and Strategy Guide

Galactus First Steps is the Season Pass card for the August 2025 Season, Heralds of Galactus. It is a 6-Cost, 12 Power card that reads: My Herald is the next character I see you play. End of Turn: +2 Power if you’re winning my Herald’s location. (if in hand or in play)

Season Pass cards can only be obtained through purchasing the Season Pass they are attached to when they release. At the end of their season, Season Pass cards become Series 5, and can be purchased for 6,000 Collector’s Tokens from the Token Shop as part of the daily rotation. They will be also be included in the Seasonal Series 5 Snap Pack during the season following their release.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Red Hulk has managed to remain a solid 6-cost since its release, even being nerfed at some point, so I have to respect Galactus First Steps‘s ability. Plus, compared to Red Hulk, we have more control over its growth.

There is still some randomness attached to it, as we need to draw Galactus First Steps for its power to grow. Plus, the opponent knows which card our Herald is, so they can fight for that location. This could be both good or bad, depending on how much it costs our opponent to fight for that location.

That fight will determine a lot of Galactus First Steps‘s power, so how do we tilt it in our favor?

Second Dinner made it pretty clear in the video : Move cards would make great Heralds as we can take the fight to a new location. Then, if we are going to talk about one card being a fantastic target, or a way to support that location without our points being stuck in one place, Werewolf By Night has to be the pick. Kitty Pryde is a close second, as she also allows picking our location every turn.

Here are other cards worthy of becoming Galactus First Steps‘s Herald, or able to support its location:

First up: Move Cards.

Then, we also have cards able to impact a location:

Last, I feel like Galactus First Steps kind of makes the match a bit of a Sanctum Showdown, with one location becoming the focus our of strategy. Certain cards shined in that mode, so I guess they should work fine as Herald supports as well:

There is a nice diversity amongst cards we can use in order to grow Galactus First Steps‘s power. Plus, there are also a few archetypes which excel at dominating a specific location. The likes of Clog or disruptive decks with Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Juggernaut would be very difficult to contest on a specific location once they are set there.

Overall, I feel like we have enough to grow Galactus First Steps, and use it as a big reward to contest a lane. It would be very similar to how we used Red Hulk in the past, disrupting our opponent so they cannot use all their energy efficiently, and slam that big card on turn six to win a location.

This time, we get a card granting us more control over its growth. A better Red Hulk might not sound Season Pass worthy, but should be a fine card at the very least.

The Verdict: Should You Buy Galactus First Steps?

At first glance, the card doesn’t feel that powerful, to be honest. It can potentially grow to become a [6/24] if we win the Herald’s location all six turns. Yet, except for the fact we can do it in any synergy, Dormammu could arguably represent a better deal amongst high cost cards.

Compared to Mister Fantastic First Steps, Galactus First Steps will feel like an average card at best. Indeed, there is a condition attached to it, our opponent is aware of its presence, and unless we grow it multiple turns in the game, other 6-cost cards might be stronger.

Overall, I would rank the new season pass card in the ballpark of the Esme Cuckoo or Agamotto rather than the Sam Wilson Captain America or Galacta. However, I’m ready for the card to look good early on, simply because it is an End of Turn ability.

Pre-Release Score:

Galactus First Steps Decks

Any card with End of Turn written on it has a chance to look great at the moment, so let’s get those out of the way:

_{Side note about Bruce Banner: Galactus First Steps will still grow its power if Bruce Banner was your Herald and transformed into Hulk.}

Then, we also have disruptive decks doing great lately, relying on their ability to dominate a location, while they pack Cannonball to turn another one around late in the match:

_{Side note about Green Goblin and Viper : Galactus First Steps doesn’t grow its power if you give its Herald away.}

Already, this gives us a nice collection of decks we can use the new Season Pass card in. Yet, I feel like a lot of cards would look powerful in those decks. Then, I am more interested to see Galactus First Steps in niche strategies, to see if the 6-cost could help elevate those:

Last, here is the mandatory Series 3 deck, which capitalizes on Miles Morales and the ability of moving opposing cards to support our Herald and grow Galactus First Steps.

Variants

Conclusion

With Red hulk in the game, it is hard to recommend spending money for Galactus First Steps. I believe the new 6-cost is slightly better than the previous one, but I don’t expect that difference to be worth the price of a season pass.

Overall, I don’t expect Galactus First Steps to have much of an impact on the metagame, although it will join some of the best archetypes due to its “End of Turn” ability.

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!