Infinite Decks of the Week – A New Juggernaut, and A Lot of Innovation!

The Tier List and the competitive pieces are more interesting to cover during the first half of the month when eager players are still trying to accomplish their goals. Infinite Decks of the Week, however, becomes really fun around week three. That’s when most of the good decks are already known, and the part of the community grinding the Ladder with those decks has already reached Infinite. As such, the players still looking to reach rank 100 are either missing cards and need to adapt, playing their own brews, or testing various decks for climbing. No matter which kind of player you look at, you’ll usually find some intriguing and uncommon lists.

This is exactly what happened this week, as none of the four decks we will review were part of the last Tier List. Instead, we have a new competitive juggernaut in Patriot Surfer, a curious meta counter in Cerebro 3, and two out-of-the-box archetypes in Agatha Harkness and Thanos Sera Control.

First, it feels important to mention that we might have a legitimate contender for the next Tier List with Patriot Surfer. When looking for decks for this series, I don’t necessarily look for strong decks because climbing to Infinite with what might be considered a “bad deck” can be even more impressive. But if you have been around social media lately, you have probably heard about this deck from previous tournament results – and it’s starting to transfer to the Ladder. Regarding the other three decks, they each embody the various influential factors for a successful climb: packing the appropriate counter cards, playing good cards in your deck, and not being too predictable.

Let’s dive into the decks!

Patriot Surfer: The Next Dominant Archetype

Infinite patriot surfer

Created by den

, updated 30 days ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

8x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Recruit Season

2.9

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.7

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

After winning a $500 open tournament under the pilot Yasui (who is very likely the deck’s creator), Patriot Surfer also won the Twitch Rivals tournament with Moyen at the helm. Both players have shared quite different lists, and others have since pitched in on the deck, leading to various ideas floating around. However, the community was unanimous on one thing: this is a good deck. It’s so good that some are already calling it the next best archetype around, and some are predicting it will overtake Move Legion.

While it might be a little early to settle the score on which deck is best between Patriot Surfer and Move Legion, the former is definitely putting up great results since exploding onto the scene. Plus, the archetype doesn’t seem too difficult to grasp. It relies on popular strategies, such as Silver Surfer, Patriot, and the newest best curve in the game: Forge → Brood → Absorbing Man.

As it stands, it seems like the deck has nine cards that everyone can agree on. Dazzler, Goose, and America Chavez are being debated in this list. If you look at other builds online, you might find Legion, Luke Cage, Shang-Chi, Armor, and Iron Lad slotted into the deck. In my opinion, Iron Lad is the important card missing from Skylerdama’s deck (but they probably would have included it if they owned the card). Still, the deck can climb to the game’s highest rank with a potentially suboptimal list, and that should speak volumes about its potential in the near future.

Is Cerebro 3 the Ultimate Power Control Deck?

Infinite cerebro 3

Created by den

, updated 30 days ago

0

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

9x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

1x Starter Card

2.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

With Shadow King, Shang-Chi, and Valkyrie in the same deck, you better not count on building a big card to win the game against Cerebro 3. Indeed, although the deck has never lived up to the hype it once built, it remains a decent pick – especially against decks looking to buff their cards aggressively. For example, Move Legion, Silver Surfer, and Destroy all have several targets to use your counter cards against. And in a metagame based on flexibility rather than raw power, 20 power is enough to challenge a location against a lot of decks, meaning a full lane buffed by Cerebro has a decent shot at winning.

In addition to a solid core, the deck can also count on Magik and Crystal, two recently changed cards, to help keep the deck reliable. The board might look a little full once all the support cards are in play, but thanks to Shadow King, Shang-Chi, and Valkyrie you can afford to play more support abilities than other decks. Each of those cards has the potential to turn a lane around almost on its own.

Obviously, there are reasons why Cerebro 3 isn’t considered a top tier deck (although its mechanics seems to align pretty well in the current environment). Enchantress and Rogue are still pretty popular, and Armor, Cosmo, and Luke Cage can be annoying for the trio of counter cards. Nevertheless, the current metagame seems positive for the deck. There are many other three power cards you could use to craft your own build of Cerebro 3.

Agatha Harkness Can Play Good Cards, Too!

Infinite Agatha

Created by den

, updated 30 days ago

3

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

1x Starter Card

3.6

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

As we loom towards the end of the season, the fear of not making it to the promise land can push a lot of players to focus solely on the very best decks. However, I always like doing this series during the second part of the month because that’s when I find the most unique decks in my research. This week, I was very happy to be tagged by narwhallaby and this peculiar Agatha Harkness deck that is filled with some of the strongest cards in the current metagame.

Spider-Ham, Armor, Captain Marvel, Iron Lad, and Shang-Chi have been an integral part of the current metagame, and each sees play in multiple archetypes. Nebula, Iron Man, and America Chavez are all solid cards in their own right, although we are seeing less of them as decks get refined and the standalone cards are cut for more synergistic cards. Finally, we have Wave, Lady Sif, and Ghost Rider making up what could be considered the “Agatha Harkness package”. They serve to get the card out of your hand early and summon 14 power in the process.

Second Dinner has been releasing a lot of synergistic cards. June was the month of Move, and August is dedicated to both Destroy and Discard. However, Marvel Snap already has plenty of solid cards to include in your deck. As such, if you do not fancy the theme of a season, you don’t necessarily have to follow the latest trends to get solid results.

I mean, if Agatha can do it, I’m sure you can, too!

Thanos (Finally) Brings Innovation to Sera Control

Infinite Sera Thanos

Created by den

, updated 30 days ago

0

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Sera Control could be considered an antiquity of Marvel Snap at this point; the deck has been around since the beta days after all. It’s always stayed true to its original idea and never changed its core of reactive cards. Sure, the proactive part of the deck has evolved with time, but that’s dependent on which cards create the most points while keeping enough energy for Shang-Chi or Killmonger. Still, the bread and butter of Sera Control has always been finding Sera and then using the cost discount to disrupt the opponent’s strategy on Turn 6.

With that in mind, this entirely new direction with Thanos and Death might seem odd. Don’t get me wrong, both of those cards are great, but Thanos is known for diluting your deck, which should make finding Sera (and Kitty Pryde) less reliable overall. I’m sure the deck has a higher points ceiling compared to the traditional Sera Control deck. Simply adding 12 power with Death makes that pretty clear. But this new version also gives a completely different perspective to the deck and unlocks plenty of appealing play patterns:

• Sera on Turn 4 thanks to the Time Stone gives us two turns of discounted cards.
• Angela can be buffed with the Infinity Stones, which could then be destroyed by Killmonger to keep growing the 2-Cost anchor.
• With Sera in play, we can keep the Power Stone in hand for Turn 6 with Thanos. This way we hide our upcoming 20 Power Thanos from the opponent.
• Rogue gives us a way to get out of difficult match ups against other destroy decks by stealing Knull‘s Ongoing ability.

It is really hard to make a fair assessment of this deck because it challenges my idea of both a Sera Control deck and a Thanos Control deck at the same time. Still, I see a lot of interesting ideas, so this is probably a deck I will try soon!

Closing Words

The current metagame is regarded by many as one of the best in recent memory. The best decks aren’t strong enough that we feel helpless when paired against them, and a lot of the weaker decks can make up for their lower potential with the appropriate tech cards. In this open environment, it is very hard to feel limited as to what one can and cannot play.

Sure, there are some stronger play patterns, such as playing Forge into Brood and Absorbing Man (a new core that several decks are building around). Destroy is also looking very solid, as X-23 brought some extra energy to a synergy that was already able to develop a lot of points. But these strong, proactive lines still have good counters like Shadow King and Cosmo, for example.

As such, it feels like playing to your strengths and favoring your own play style has never been so important in Marvel Snap. Indeed, we finally might have enough strong cards to support almost any direction you might want to take with your deck. This also means there won’t be any easy matches, so you should keep in mind the popular cards of the current environment.

I know I say this a lot – especially in this series – but the Ladder is all about good Snaps and Retreats. Playing to your strengths will help with your Snaps because you should develop comfort much faster and thereby recognize the situations where raising the stakes is worth it. The popular tendencies, especially when it comes to counter cards, should help with your Retreats since many late-game Snaps are tied to your opponent having the card you wished they weren’t playing.

It will be a grind. After all, a diverse environment often means a competitive one. But I’m confident you can make it! If I can be of any help, don’t hesitate to find me on the Marvel Snap Zone community Discord and on my Twitter page where I share decks and biased opinions about the game.

Good Game Everyone.