Infinite Decks of the Week – OTA Patch Puts Good Cards Ahead of the Competition

When I prepare this weekly series, I am usually looking for decks that tell a story about the current metagame. I like to show several archetypes sharing a common trait or have similar good matchups. Sometimes, I even go as far as pairing decks with similar play styles or mindsets behind them.

This week should be a little different in that regard, as I was really close to sharing only one archetype with various builds that all reached Infinite. Why the change of direction? Simple: Good Cards has apparently dominated the ranks leading up to Infinite. It was almost the only deck I could find while doing research.

The good part in this is the deck is quite flexible, so even when extremely dominant, it still leads to different cards being featured alongside the usual Zabu and Darkhawk bundle. As such, I don’t know if the rise of this archetype means the metagame is getting more stale (as we finally found the best thing to do), or actually the opposite: Good Cards is popular because we can’t figure out what is best to do, so we go with the most flexible deck and finish it with the hottest cards of the week. As an added bonus, the deck is also quite simple to play. It has established play patterns that have been around for many months now, meaning it is a comfort pick in addition to its strength for many players.

Overall, everything since Bounce was nerfed was pointing towards flexible archetypes, especially those able to develop points combined with the ability to include devastating tech cards. If other decks have also fit that bill, it seems like the buff to Captain Marvel has ended the discussion. Good Cards is the best deck in Marvel Snap this week, end of story.

Captain Marvel Makes Legion Even Better in Good Cards

Good Cards Infinite 1

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.1

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3.3

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Already in the discussion to become a staple in the deck during the week of its release, Legion gained a precious ally in Captain Marvel now that it’s able to synergize with Zabu. Indeed, with Captain Marvel already on the board, locking the game with Legion is much safer than it was in the past if we get a chance to do so.

Then, another added benefit to Captain Marvel is the safety net we have regarding the spread of our points during the match. Oftentimes, if we had to play Darkhawk early for lack of a better option, the opponent could react to it. They could either counter it with their Shang-Chi or Enchantress, or simply focus on the other locations. When that early play becomes Captain Marvel, though, you have a completely noncommittal play that allows the deck to retain all its flexibility (and banking points for the end of the game).

Overall, it feels like we’re still far from reaching the limit on the amount of 4-Cost cards we can include in the deck. This build features six different cards at that cost, yet it does not feel unbalanced or particularly risky to play.

Is Vision Still Stronger Than Captain Marvel?

Good Cards Infinite 2

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

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

3.7

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When both cards were 5-Costs, Vision saw a lot more play than Captain Marvel. But a buff of one energy is arguably stronger than one power, especially when that energy buff puts you in the “Zabu likes you now” category. Still, some players seem to think Vision remains a better option than Captain Marvel, even in Zabu decks!

Honestly, it doesn’t sound so crazy if Legion or another 5-Cost don’t seem to fit your strategy. I mean, the deck does not even need to run a 5-Cost if you draw Zabu consistently. With the card in play, you could simply build your fifth turn with a discounted four and a two. However, a lot of players like the security of having a solid 5-Cost to play for the unfortunate times when Zabu doesn’t show up.

Recently buffed as well, Vision is definitely a solid candidate for the role. It provides similar flexibility as Captain Marvel with its moving ability, and it helps the deck’s secondary game plan. That second part is particularly important, too, as the games without Zabu are usually much harder to win compared to the ones where you could Snap early as you know you’re about to be the most energy efficient deck in the game.

You Can Still Play the Old Way

Good Cards Infinite 3

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.3

Cost

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5+

3.3

Power

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The OTA did bring impactful buffs to several cards. Alongside Vision and Captain Marvel, Absorbing Man is slowly becoming my favorite card, but it doesn’t seem to have pushed much in the ranks leading to Infinite. Not as much as today’s featured archetype, at least, as even the pre-OTA build of Good Cards was discussed more on discord and social media.

I think seeing so much of the same archetype might get boring, and I’m sure you get the idea by now anyway. Instead, let’s focus on how seeing so much of the same deck might impact the metagame in the near future, especially for those still looking to punch their Infinite ticket before the Season’s end. At this point, if you were in that situation, you would naturally think: “Let’s pick up this Good Cards deck and just climb, I guess”.

Honestly, if you are good at Snapping and Retreating (especially in the mirror match), you might very well get away with it. Still, as the archetype is starting to get extremely popular, there might be a few cards we could use in order to derail it a bit:

• Rogue can steal Zabu or Darkhawk‘s ability, two of the deck’s core cards.
• Turn 6 explosive decks tend to do well against it, although Lockdown strategies can be punishing to run into.
• None of the most popular builds run Cosmo, instead favoring Killmonger as the 3-Cost card. On Reveal based decks could be an answer.
• Invisible Woman was punished by Polaris being popular when Miles Morales was still popular in the deck. The card could come back to protect from Shang-Chi or Enchantress in the current environment.

Good Cards without Darkhawk

Good Cards Shuri Infinite

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

3.3

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3.7

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Let’s conclude our trip through the Good Cards archetype with quite a peculiar way to build it, as the popular core has been dismantled to make room for other cards. In particular, we can see Magik, Nova, and Shuri, all of which did not appear in the previous iterations we took a look at.

In this one, the focus isn’t around a particular synergy that would act as the backbone of the deck. Instead, it really is playing 12 good cards in Marvel Snap, without relying on much synergy in between them apart from Zabu having 4-Cost cards to discount.

I won’t comment on whether one should run the archetype this way or rely on the Darkhawk package. All the decks presented today reached the Infinite rank in the end. Rather, this should show the basic principle of playing good cards can lead to solid results; the archetype can be bent to fit almost any idea or play style.

Closing Words

I would understand if someone reading this article thought Marvel Snap fell into the trap of buffing one archetype too much and messing up the balance. However, Good Cards being at the top only indicates there isn’t a really strong synergy dominating the game. Without the counter cards, Darkhawk wouldn’t be enough to win a lot of games. The last entry on today’s piece is a bit of proof for this, as the deck seems to function even without Darkhawk included.

Instead, I think it’s more fitting to consider the archetype as the police of this metagame. It prevents some gimmick decks from taking over for as long as they crumble against a counter card. I do acknowledge it isn’t much fun to constantly face a deck with Shang-Chi or Enchantress, though, but there are multiple synergies that can dodge these two with a bit of priority manipulation. Plus, apart from Zabu, there is a card that needs to be played on a specific turn to make the deck a little more diverse than other dominant decks in the past (which were really about finding the right card in time or not).

For those reasons, I don’t think the current metagame is specifically on a bad streak, especially for the end of the season. Such a diverse archetype being at the top will reward those able to build properly based on the decks they routinely face and their own play style. It will inevitably end up feeling stale and boring over time, but, just a week into it, it feels too early to call it a problem yet.

On this note, I hope you are having fun with the game. As always, feel free to reach out on the Marvel Snap Zone community Discord, or through my Twitter page where I share decks and biased opinions about the game.

Good Game Everyone.