Infinite Decks Of The Week – December 30, 2022: Final Season Push!

For the last week of the Infinite decks of the week for The Power Cosmic Season, I wanted to find decks with two important traits (in my opinion). First, I wanted decks that could surprise your opponent, as being unpredictable is still one of the strongest things you can do in Marvel Snap. Then, I also wanted a concept easy enough to grasp, to avoid the 10 or 15 first games where you lose because you are still learning why each card is in the deck. It wasn’t easy, but we got there, and once again thanks to the highlighted players for sharing their decks and being part of the active community.

So what is on the menu today? Good, established archetypes of meta decks, with a little twist included in them to fit the pilot’s current collection and comfort of play. In the end, reaching Infinite is mostly about being able to combine both of these aspects of Marvel Snap. One has to be wary of the current metagame, both for what should be performing for himself, but also, to know what to expect from future opponents. On the other end, a player also has to take into account its own limitations and strengths, so to maximize what they can do with what they were given.

Let’s jump into the decks that seem to fit this description, and celebrate those who achieved the Infinite rank this week before the season ends on January 2, 2023!

Is Galactus all-in on reliability?

Aaron Markowitz Infinite

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

3

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Galactus is one of the few cards in Series 5 that managed to push its own, labelled “Galactus” archetype. However, it’s not because the card quickly created its home that we are done experimenting with it. Every week, it seems like a new take on how to build the deck emerges. Recently, the big emphasis around the archetype was how to make the deck as reliable as possible, landing the signature card game after game.

The first inclusion in that regard was America Chavez, the go-to card when looking to make each draw have a higher chance to find a specific card. Aaron Markowitz took it one step further with their deck, also throwing Adam Warlock in there, with the support of Yellowjacket, and Cloak in some scenarios. Obviously, including these options has to come with some sacrifices, such as not running any 5-Cost cards, which might make it weird for Electro. We’re not playing Wave either, a common inclusion in the Galactus deck since the card became available.

The rest of the deck is tailored to win a single lane combat, with Cosmo and Shang-Chi arguably being amongst the most annoying cards for the opponent in that regard. This is especially true against Leader, as Cosmo disables the card if you have priority, while Shang-Chi kills the Death your opponent tried to steal from you.

Sera and Silver Surfer mix things up!

Moops Infinite

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

5

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

4x Starter Card

2.9

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Sera and Silver Surfer are already a known pair, and a very solid pick to climb the ladder. However, it is also a very popular deck, one that many people know when to retreat against, or when to bet some more Cubes. In the end, it makes the deck have an incredible win rate, but the Cube rate doesn’t represent how strong the deck can be.

So in order to add some more surprise element to the build, and catch a few opponents off guard, Moops spiced things up with including a Patriot package in the deck: Patriot, Squirrel Girl, Misty Knight, Shocker and Cyclops. Then we can immediately see how this makes sense, as both Patriot and Cyclops can benefit from the Silver Surfer buff as well, while Brood benefits from Patriot‘s ability too. This creates a hybrid deck where you can show two different strategies to the opponent, while still having seven 3-Cost cards in your deck, enough to still pull very strong late game synergies.

It is still tricky for a lot of players to anticipate precisely how much card power a Sera Surfer deck will be able to develop by the end of the game. Still, we are starting to be able to guess quite reliably what will happen on an empty lane if Brood hasn’t seen play yet, or where the opponent will try to contest based on where Maximus, Iron Man or Sera were played previously.

With Patriot entering the mix, the maths become much more difficult to execute, and that is if we recognized the fact that Patriot is in the deck at all. Or on the contrary, if you recognized the Patriot package early on, how can you tell a Silver Surfer is in the cards for the last turn?

This is a great way of adding some twist to a very popular deck, and get away with more Snaps than the deck would usually be able to.

Finding other patterns in Leader decks

Tmage Infinite

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

8

1x Collection Level 1-14

7x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Starter Card

3.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Yes I know, another Leader deck, what a shame! But this one is a bit special, and has a story behind it, which I think can be valuable to a lot of people looking to reach Infinite before any further balance changes.

Tmage is someone I coached in the 90s rank this past week, and we tried various decks together (Baero, Good Cards, Bounce…) but never really managed to find a breakthrough where he was able to be comfortable and climb steadily. The main reason for this is that the last ranks before Infinite are the most competitive of the whole Marvel Snap ladder. Everyone is playing a solid deck, are very careful about their Snaps and Retreats, and only betting on their good hands while leaving only 1 Cube on the table on their bad ones. Furthermore, if you just join the pack with another solid deck, you end up relying a lot on the luck of the locations and draws to climb. Indeed, when you play what everyone else plays, you have to be incredibly strong at reading the flow of a game in order to make a difference, as the cards will be of equal value most of the time.

After many struggles, Tmage tells me he found a deck he feels comfortable with, mostly in the sense that visualizing the game is much easier with this list, compared to the ones we used up until this point. Then suddenly, without my help at all, Tmage started climbing the ladder like a madman, and went from 93 to 100 across two sittings in the same day. This is simply because he had found a deck that allowed him to be more comfortable reading when to Snap and when to retreat, and was able to take the next step in that regard. The deck’s power wasn’t higher than anything we played until this point, but the play patterns made more sense to him, making it easier to make a difference in a very stacked environment.

I know Aero and Leader decks are annoying, but these two have a simple reason why they dominate the current meta: They take away the last two turns of the game, usually the most intricate ones. When you have Aero and Leader in hand, you can get away with only finding a play pattern for your first four turns, rather than needing to anticipate the whole game. This results in making your Snap and Retreat strategies much easier to visualize, and it makes you a stronger player in the process.

In the end, the only difference in this deck compared to a lot of Devil Dinosaur decks is the Daredevil – Professor X duo, which offers yet another possibility on turn five. Otherwise, the only thing you should take from this last inclusion in this week’s series is that comfort prevails over most game mechanics. Indeed, it is through finding what you are good at that you will be able to maximize the other elements of your gameplay.

Closing Words

This second to last article of the year (we take a deep dive into the possibilities of Zabu, the next Season Pass card) definitely had a cheesy side to it, and as the season comes to a close, players seem to be defaulting back to the more common archetypes rather than trying to rely on their creativity. As a result, even if these decks have some originality to them, it is undeniable they wouldn’t have been here if it wasn’t for the popular archetypes they stem from.

However, this still represents an important skill in order to be successful, and not everyone is able to create brand new decks, or even enjoy deckbuilding in the first place. Then, being able to understand what we like in an archetype, and what we think is replaceable in order to open some wiggle room for our own ideas, isn’t so bad either.

Furthermore, even if the current meta environment has a lot of players a little on the edge about the same decks suffocating the metagame, seeing popular archetypes being adapted and twisted to be more surprising is a deckbuilding skill on its own. So let’s celebrate those who managed to punch their ticket to the Infinite rank before season’s end, and wish the best to those still fighting to reach their goal before the new season starts.

As usual, feel free to join us on Discord, to talk with the community or share your recent achievements, and find myself directly on Twitter (@den_CCG) if you have any questions or to share a deck of yours!

Good Game Everyone.