Table of Contents
Welcome to our new series of Marvel Snap guides, where we feature a Series 4 or 5 card and analyze how to use it. The goal is to give you a tutorial on how to use the card most effectively in an everchanging meta, as well as help you decide if the card is worth the tokens or if you should pick it up during a Spotlight Cache week!
We will aim to revise this guide each time it becomes featured in a Spotlight Cache. If the card becomes rebalanced or the meta has changed a lot, please let us know in the comments and we will look to update it based on demand!
Decks with Havok
Series 4 cards can be purchased for 3,000 Collector’s Tokens from the Token Shop initially as a Weekly Spotlight card, or opened as one of the featured cards in the Spotlight Caches that are found every 120 Levels on the Collection Level Track after Collection Level 500 (until the next new card releases the following week).
Who is Havok?
Havok (AKA Alex Summers) is the younger brother of Cyclops and a mutant. His ability is to absorb cosmic energy and release it as a heat-focused burst. While his blasts aren’t concussive, they are very hot. He also is immune to heat and radiation, making him immune to Cyclops‘s blasts.
Havok is a lesser know X-Men who is often at odds with his dominant brother Cyclops. His powers are difficult to control, but his suit helps to control and direct his abilities. He is also frequently known as the love interest to Polaris.
Havok made his first animated appearance in X-Men the Animated Series. He would later be introduced in the X-Men series beginning with First Class and ending with Apocalypse. It is unknown if he will appear in the MCU in the future.
How to Use Havok
Havok is a tricky card to use since he effectively caps your Energy growth the turn he is played. He almost always should be played at the end (or near end) of the game to get benefit from his ability while also utilizing your Energy. Due to his restrictions, he requires very specific decks to be useful.
Best Synergies
Since you want to play Havok later in a match, playing him at a discount cam make him a more viable option. As a 1-Cost card, he could effectively be a [1/4] or a [1/8] by the end of the match. Sera and Ravonna Renslayer can both lower his cost and make him a spicy turn 6 play at the end of a game.
Decks with Ravonna Renslayer
Since Havok steals your Energy, you can use Hope Summers to balance out that loss with extra Energy! If you play Havok onto Hope on turn 5, you can effectively cancel out his negative effect and net a high powered card!
Decks with Hope Summers
For a spicy synergy, you can use Viper to lock your opponent out of gaining Energy by giving them your Havok! Since Havok would prevent you from getting 3 Energy if played on turn 2, you would effectively need to use Ravonna to play Havok + Viper on turn 4, or use the combo on turn 5. While the combo isn’t incredibly strong, it’s potential is worth noting.
Decks with Viper
Best Deck
SafetyBlade
Utilizing Ravonna Renslayer and Hope Summers synergies, this deck tries to use Havok as a way to pump power on turn 4 or 5 since you don’t need 6 Energy. By locking a location with Professor X, you can let Nebula and Havok grow to secure the location. You could also use Havok plus Cannonball to secure a location with a surprise 12 Power and remove the highest Power opposing card.
Fun Off-Meta Deck
PulseGlazer
Mister Negative isn’t always the most top tier deck, but he can be fun with a good high roll. With inverted cards, you don’t need extra Energy. That’s where Havok comes in as a early game threat, or even a possible [0/6] to drop at the end of the game.
Weaknesses and Things to Avoid
Since Havok triggers at the end of the turn, playing him behind Invisible Woman or Dark Dimension will actually make him gain zero power! This is because IW and Dark Dimension reveal when the final turn is over, so Havok can’t trigger on the last turn since it is already over.
Decks with Dark Dimension
Decks with Invisible Woman
While not often likely, Shadow King can reset any power gained by Havok (except the Power gained at the end of the turn Shadow King is played. If you play Havok early, you could lose your early game investment.
Decks with Shadow King
Closing Thoughts
Havok is a very passable card that is more of a meme than anything. His restrictions are too high and his payoff too small to make him worth using. While he makes a good candidate for a future buff, in his current state, he is definitely not worth trying to collect.
Is Havok worth using 3K Collector’s Tokens?
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