High Evolutionary (InSheNaut) Detailed Deck Guide: Using Energy is Overrated

High Evolutionary can be considered one of the staple archetypes in Marvel Snap, being a force in most metagames since joining the game in May 2023. The synergy has led to various decks being experimented around the evolved cards, with Cyclops, Misty Knight and Hulk emerging as the strong trio to build around.

Then, Sunspot and She-Hulk also joined the party, as the duo loves a deck where passing some energy is part of the natural game plan. With these two in the mix, High Evolutionary found a core to build around, and routinely contended to be a tier one or two deck, often adapting its list based on the other popular archetypes.

In this guide, we will go over the most emblematic of these builds, and the strongest one around High Evolutionary, baring any counter card being dominant: InSheNaut.

Over time, the deck has become the go-to archetype around High Evolutionary, combining decent disruption to popular archetypes, while packing enough points to challenge the other contenders at the same time. It did disappear for a while in late September and October, but the problematic card, Mobius M. Mobius was nerfed soon after, allowing InSheNaut to return to its old self.

Then, with Luke Cage changed to only affect one lane, the deck saw another annoying card be nerfed, and became the hottest thing early in December. Right now, it is positioned as a solid deck, easily in Marvel Snap top ten, and able to rise much higher when the environment calls for it.

Whether you like it or not, InSheNaut must be on your radar, one way or another.

Decklist

InSheNaut

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3x Starter Card

3.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Concept and Strategy

Based around a mix of proactive gameplay for points and disruption through non-situational cards, InSheNaut aims to focus on its own agenda, while trying to annoy the opponent in theirs.

Ideally, the deck can compete on all three lanes, but will focus on two in most situation. The first one will be our “proactive” location, where we develop points with Sunspot, Cyclops, Armor, Cosmo and such cards. Cyclops in particular, will discourage the opponent from playing there, which can lead to a big lead, and the guaranty that lane would be a win.

The other lane can be challenged through disruption, with Cosmo or Leech sometimes turning off certain game plans, or sheer amount of points. That second case is the more likely, and will be insured by She-Hulk, Hulk and The Infinaut.

Most of the time, Magik will come help that second line part of our agenda, allowing to pass turn six to create a free She-Hulk in hand, and play it alongside one of the other two big power cards.

Then, with this mix of early proactivity to possibly seize priority, to potentially land a disruptive card, and lots of points to play on the last turn of play. InSheNaut has established its self as a simple, reliable, and feared archetype in the Marvel Snap landscape.

Core Cards

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

Misty Knight

“We’ve got to save this city.”

Starter Card

view card details Start a deck Decks with Misty Knight

Variants

Cyclops

“Let’s move, X-Men.”

Starter Card

view card details Start a deck Decks with Cyclops

Variants

Sunspot

After each turn, gain +1 Power for each unspent Energy.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Sunspot

Variants

She-Hulk

Costs 1 less for each unspent Energy last turn.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with She-Hulk

Variants

Hulk

“HULK SMASH!”

Starter Card

view card details Start a deck Decks with Hulk

These are responsible for our points, and will be what we mold our game plan around. Finding these cards early will go a long way into building a lead, or picturing how many points we can develop through the course of the match.

Support Cards

Variants

Armor

Ongoing: Cards here can’t be destroyed.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Armor

Variants

Cosmo

Ongoing: On Reveal abilities won’t happen here.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Cosmo

Variants

Magik

On Reveal: Replace this location with ‘Limbo’. Doesn’t work after turn 5.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Magik

Variants

Caiera

Ongoing: Your 1 and 6-Cost cards can’t be destroyed.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Caiera

These three represent the ideal support package to the deck, helping to advance our game plan, but also annoying the opponent in the process:

• Armor is a protection against Killmonger or Alioth, but also a way to give the deck a great edge against Destroy, or reach certain locations.
• Cosmo can block some cards able to remove Limbo, such as Reality Stone or Scarlet Witch, but can also block a lot of On Reveal based decks in their tracks.
• Magik serves to create a seventh turn and setup that big She-Hulk plus another 6-cost turn. Yet, it can also change a location the opponent was looking to abuse, or cancel Storm’s ability.
• Caiera has immediately made it into the deck, replacing either Armor or Cosmo as the best protective tool.

Flex Cards

Variants

Leech

On Reveal: Remove the text from cards with On Reveal abilities in your opponent’s hand.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Leech

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

The Infinaut

If you played a card last turn, you can’t play this.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with The Infinaut

Our flexible cards will contribute to all aspects of the deck, and really represent which parts of the deck we want to emphasize on.

Leech will contribute to the disruption aspect, making the game about raw numbers alongside killing any card able to remove Limbo so we can safely pass on turn six.

Jeff the Baby Land Shark is the most flexible slot in the deck, which represents a card you would just put in play whenever your energy allows it.

Lastly, The Infinaut makes sense with Sunspot and the goal of passing on turn six. They has been complaints over time the card was too situational and other high power cards with a strong ability could have more upside, hence why the card is considered flexible.

Card Substitutions

Although there are many cards you could picture making sense in this deck, InSheNaut hasn’t changed in quite some time, with only really Jeff the Baby Land Shark being switched with another cheap, more synergistic card.

Cheap cards to play when possible for proactive purposes:

Variants

Evolved Shocker

On Reveal: Give the leftmost card in your hand -1 Cost.

None

view card details Start a deck Decks with Evolved Shocker

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

Echo

After your opponent plays an Ongoing card here, remove its abilities.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Echo

Variants

Luke Cage

Ongoing: Your cards can’t have their Power reduced.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Luke Cage

Variants

Goose

Ongoing: Nobody can play cards that cost 4, 5, or 6 here.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Goose

Here, we just reinforce our early package with Nebula or Shocker, or have Echo if you see a lot of Ongoing decks, or want to protect a lane from Professor X.

Luke Cage can help the mirror match, cancelling Cyclops for the opponent. Goose can annoy a few decks relying on big cards and able to challenge our points total.

Disruptive cards potentially replacing Leech:

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

Variants

Shang-Chi

On Reveal: Destroy all enemy cards here that have 10 or more Power.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Shang-Chi

Variants

Rogue

On Reveal: Steal the text from an enemy Ongoing card here.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Rogue

Variants

Shadow King

On Reveal: Set all cards here to their base Power.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Shadow King

Legion works similarly to Leech for Limbo, as you can just triple it to make sure there will be a turn seven, except it is four more points and has other disruption potential compared to Leech.

Shang-Chi, Rogue or Shadow King are simply good generic counter cards you can use for specific matchups, and because they are cheaper than Hulk, or don’t have The Infinaut condition to be played. They can pair with She-Hulk on turn six, even if you don’t pass all your energy because of their cost.

High power cards, potentially replacing The Infinaut:

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

Variants

Magneto

On Reveal: Move all enemy 3 and 4-Cost cards to this location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Magneto

Variants

Blob

On Reveal: Merge cards from your deck into this until it gains 15 or more Power. Ongoing: Can’t be moved.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Blob

I have rarely seen The Infinaut not be included in the deck to be honest, but in case you would like to experiment, these three are as close as it gets.

Abomination can be discounted with Cyclops, with allows for a more flexible use of your Energy, while Magneto and Blob can be a lot of points, alongside a potentially disruptive ability for Magneto.

Snap and Retreat

The key with this deck when it comes to both snaps or retreats is your ability to picture what the rest of the match will look like, especially when it comes to disruptive cards in both decks:

• Can my opponents change Limbo or is my go-to plan safe?
• Who has the highest points potential if we just both play to our strengths?
• How will my disruptive cards impact my opponent?

Through these three questions, you should already cover most of the scenarios to figure out whether you should snap or not. As a positive answer to all three question should equal a snap, while the negative ones should raise important issues to maybe explain why your opponent snapped you.

Outside these main concerns, most of your snaps will come from an explosive early start, which guarantees you to quickly get on board and look strong. This will cause several opponents to retreats and just give you a cube for a couple of turns, or raise the stakes in a scenario when you at least know you can rely on a strong points output.

When it comes to retreating, the key is to pick up clues regarding your opponent being able to disrupt your agenda. It can be Alioth destroying your big cards on turn six, a way to change Limbo, a way to derail either Cyclops or She-Hulk cost reduction… Whenever your opponent snaps, just take a moment to consider what their deck could be packing in that regard.

Locations

Locations worth snapping for

• Cloning Vats: This is great with Sunspot or Cyclops as passing your energy will be increasingly stronger.
• Deep Space: She-Hulk or The Infinaut will be safe to play here, no Alioth or Shang-Chi possible.
• Sinister London: You have plenty of good cards to duplicate.
• The Big House: We have some of the highest potential low cost cards, plus She-Hulk can be played there.
• Negative Zone: The Infinaut wins this most of the time, and Shang-Chi would be 0 power here, so it only ties if The Infinaut gets killed.
• Limbo: Pretty self explanatory here.

Locations worth retreating if opponent snapped

• TVA: a short game means less energy to manipulate.
• Mindscape: Considering a large part of our plan is based on turn six and manipulating our hand, this can be difficult to navigate.
• Gamma Lab: This one is difficult for us to quickly fill, and we don’t have Shang-Chi.

Matchups

InSheNaut loves to play against highly synergistic decks which don’t pack anything annoying towards its game plan. In that scenario, you have every condition met to control the outcome of the game, and limit your loses in the worst possible cases.

Through Cosmo and Leech, you can disrupt their agenda, then, considering you know they can’t interact with Limbo, you simply have to count how many points they should be able to develop and see if you are at risk of losing that battle. Really, these are games where you should have an opportunity to snap at some point, or leave with just a one Cube loss.

This deck has two kinds of difficult matchups:

• Archetypes using Professor X, as the card can be very punishing when you pass your turn five, or will barely be able to contest with Leech. If those also use Shadow King, they might be able to contest your Sunspot or Cyclops as well, which makes it even more difficult to navigate. Storm can pose a similar problem, but as you usually drop Cyclops on turn four, you can often challenge that location this way, or have enough time to adapt to contest the other two.
• Archetypes able to change Limbo, through Reality Stone, Scarlet Witch, Snowguard Hawk or Legion will keep you guessing a lot of the time, except if you find Cosmo or Leech to protect your Limbo from those. Even then, it makes it difficult to snap until your found those cards, and they might affect the way you play during the match.

Obviously, there are also a few decks able to challenge you through sheer point output, such as Shuri Sauron or Bounce for example. Against those, you should simply assess the situation, and make decisions based on how the game is progressing and each player is doing. With Cosmo and Armor in the deck, reactive archetypes, or even Alioth, should not be too much of a problem to disrupt.

Turn by Turn Breakdown

Turn 1

If you have Hulk in hand already, you could consider passing to bank the two power. Otherwise, just play a 1-cost card if you have one.

Turn 2

Similar to turn one, with Misty Knight in play, or Hulk in hand, you might be pressed to play Sunspot if the card is available so you skip an energy. If not, developping a 2-cost is absolutely fine so it doesn’t get stuck in hand all game long. When in doubt on where to place Armor, use it to protect your 1-cost cards.

Turn 3

With Priority, Cosmo can be a great disruption if you already guessed what your opponent might be playing and figured a way to annoy them. Otherwise, Cyclops is great if they already invested a couple of cards onto a location as you can start afflicting those with negative power next turn. Magik is the non-commital play, removing the location you have the least use for, or one your opponent could abuse later on.
Caiera is another card you can just throw on a location as well this or the next turn. It could help dodge a Killmonger if you have priority

Same as for the last two turns, Hulk in hand can encourage you to play a 2-cost instead. If you passed energy on all three turns for this reason, you should really start preparing Armor or Cosmo so you can make sure Hulk won’t be destroyed when you play it.

Turn 4

Cyclops will be your go-to here, if you didn’t play it on turn three. If you couldn’t figure where to place Cosmo yet, you could just play it on Limbo to protect it from being changed. Otherwise, as High Evolutionary isn’t in the deck to be played, this is a turn where you should pass some energy most of the time, and start picturing the late game as well.

Consider this the pivotal turn in the match, as you will transfer towards the end game, which will dictate a lot of your decision for this turn. Then, start assembling what your last two turns will look like, and which locations you plan on developing points onto. This will also help in snapping earlier than turn five, where most players have drawn enough of their deck to know precisely whether they should stay or not.

Turn 5

If Limbo is set, this will be a Leech turn in most scenarios. You could consider some other players such as Cosmo plus Misty Knight with Hulk in hand or Cyclops on the board, but these are more situational.

Without Limbo, you could still go for Leech if you are far ahead on a lane, judging Hulk will be enough to win the second one. A pass here means either Hulk will come down behind Armor or Cosmo to be protected from Alioth or Shang-Chi, or you have a “She-Hulk plus another card while keeping energy” kind of play in mind. Sunspot could also push you to pass to win its lane, and then just use turn six to win the other one you need.

Keep in mind, this the turn Professor X can come down if it wasn’t ramped into earlier. Then, not playing proactively might equal losing a lane. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but needs to be considered to make the right decision.

Turn 6

Either a full pass to setup your She-Hulk plus a 6-cost next turn, which should be your go-to with Limbo in play. Even if one of your key pieces is still in the deck, you should only have three cards left to draw from, which is a pretty high chance to find it. If the opponent snaps you this turn, take a step back to figure out what they could be up to. Even with Cosmo on it, Limbo can be remove with cards played on other locations (Legion, Snowguard Hawk).

If Limbo doesn’t exist, then turn six should be the extension of what you planned on turn five, and either be Hulk, or a more complex play where passing energy makes sense in regards to Cyclops, Sunspot or Misty Knight.

Turn 7

If you got to this point, the only thing left to wonder is what can your opponent do to beat you on points, or stop your points from taking over two lanes. Even if it isn’t always an easy win, there should be little reasons to retreat at this point in the game, especially if there are no snaps involved.

Closing Words

InSheNaut had its ups and down through its several months of existence as a great Marvel Snap deck. At this point, the deck could be considered a staple of the game, and a comfort deck for many, who go back to it when the metagame is difficult to figure out, and look for a deck which primarily focuses on itself, but still packs general disruption. Even if the cube rate isn’t stellar anymore, as it is difficult to surprise anyone when playing this deck because of its unique synergy. The win rate for High Evolutionary has remained great, routinely around the 60% mark.

Overall, I think InSheNaut is easily a top ten deck in the game, and kept High Evolutionary afloat after Evolved Lockjaw was nerfed early in the summer of 2023. Since then, She-Hulk and company have been the best way to build around the Big Bad card, providing a simple concept, with both flexibility regarding its spread of points, but a raw power able to go toe-to-toe with the best decks.

At the time of this update, the archetype is far from being the flavor of the month, and it has been a while since a new card was added to it. Instead, InSheNaut tries to prey on balance updates nerfing one of its counter cards, such as Luke Cage recently, or decks weak to Cosmo or Leech. In those scenarios, it can suddenly rise to the top of the rankings, and remind every one why High Evolutionary can make a case for being one of the strongest card to ever join Marvel Snap.

If you had any question about this guide, find me on the Marvel Snap Zone community Discord, or follow my Twitter page where I share decks and biased opinions about the game.

Good Game Everyone.