Infinite Decks of the Week – January 29, 2023: Is Zabu a Problem in Marvel Snap?

For the longest season of Marvel Snap’s history, many were hoping it would mean more time to grind to the Infinite rank, and finally cross that milestone off their to-do list. Also, with an extra week of play, a lot of players had their sight on grinding the ladder a little slower, using funnier builds to do so, and express their creative side this way.

Unfortunately, the last two Season Pass cards, Silver Surfer and Zabu have decided otherwise, and are taking the last ranks of the ladder a bit hostage currently. We already talked about Silver Surfer a lot in December, and all the decks that have been built around the card are well documented, with Sera Surfer, Patriot Surfer and Negative Surfer all being great decks currently.

As for Zabu, the card already managed to push several archetypes, and slowly became the most played card in the game. However, it never really had this frenzy of decks where we would see the card being paired with basically any other win condition in the game, like Silver Surfer did a few weeks ago. This week, we are going to fix this omission, and maybe close the debate of which of the two Season Pass card is the most oppressive in the end. Long story short, it’s really close, and today’s decklists will show just why.

Why pick between Zabu or Silver Surfer?

ZABU PLUS SURFER

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

2

2x Collection Level 1-14

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Sean messaged me on Twitter to share their Infinite deck, alongside this message: “I find surfer’s turns 4 and 5 kind of clunky and don’t like running away if no Zabu turn 3 so they kind of cover for each other and confuse people a little bit”. Is this clever deckbuilding or the start of the end for every other kind of archetype? I don’t know yet, but it is a scary sight for sure, and a nice deckbuilding take on how to use another win condition to cover our main one’s flaws.

Up until this point, the reason there was a battle in between Zabu and Silver Surfer is because both cards were pushing a different agenda, with their only connection being Zabu able to be buffed by Silver Surfer. I had seen mixes in the past, but decks always felt more like Silver Surfer builds with Zabu slotted in, not something balanced like we have here. In this list, Silver Surfer finds four potential targets, while Zabu has five cards to reduce.

I am still not sold on the idea to be honest, as America Chavez, one of Zabu‘s best ally, doesn’t feel so great alongside Silver Surfer, as we don’t mind drawing the card on turn 6. Also, without Dracula in the deck, I can’t imagine America Chavez being ever used past her ability to thin the deck.

Overall, this deck has me extremely curious, and I will be looking for more players with similar decks, to see how strong the association of the current two best cards in Marvel Snap can be. Until then, I will try to reassure myself thinking the two haven’t found their perfect list together, and some details, like America Chavez, still make it a bit awkward.

It does, right? Please tell me it does…

Devil Dinosaur can complement any deck

Devil Zabu

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

9

1x Collection Level 1-14

5x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Moving on to another flexible package of cards, the one around Devil Dinosaur, the true complement all kind of strategies kind currently in Marvel Snap. This deck was shared by Tian Ding, Principal Data Scientist & Game Designer at Second Dinner, and used by Stephen to reach Infinite.

There are two reasons I wanted to highlight this deck here, as I believe those are important points of grinding to Infinite. First, it is how Devil Dinosaur is a great complement to Zabu, outside simply being a very strong card in Marvel Snap, and having Moon Girl already making sense in the deck.

Because Zabu reduces our 4-Costs to 2-Cost cards, Zabu really wants to work with even numbers, making turn four and six the key turns, where one could play two, and three 4-Cost cards. In that regard, Devil Dinosaur is a great complement to this strategy, opening a strong turn five, which will net you a lot of points as long as you play Moon Girl during turn four or six.

The second reason I like this deck a lot, and felt like it was a good inclusion in the Infinite decks series, is Doctor Doom. A card which, at first sight, doesn’t make much sense in the deck. Indeed, as good as Doctor Doom is, the card will never match the power of three 4-Cost cards being played on turn six. However, the card brings two strong arguments with it:

• It offers a one card play to keep our hand big if we played Devil Dinosaur on turn five, and can’t play Moon Girl as a refill on turn six.
• It allows playing on otherwise unreachable locations, something Zabu struggles a bit with, as only Omega Red in the 4-Cost cards could help in the regard.

I don’t think this will take over the current juggernaut decks that are Zabu Darkhawk or Zabu Dracula. Nevertheless, the card is so strong that the card can afford to not have all its decks built around the simple equation of “draw Zabu and snap or retreat”. Four to six cards benefitting from Zabu is more than enough in order for the deck to perform, which leaves about half the deck to take care of bringing flexibility to the deck.

In a metagame where you will likely play a ton of matches against other Zabu decks, being able to not enter a Zabu showdown every single match could be a difference maker when looking at grinding the ladder.

Your vision matters

Stuff ?

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

6

5x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Recruit Season

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Last on our list, we have the Cinderella story I like to feature so much in this series, this one from Vindecare first claim at the Infinite rank. And they used a deck that I don’t really know how to classify to be honest, apart from looking like a turn seven combo deck maybe?

I believe the goal here is to use Magik to buy an extra turn, and passing on turn six. This way, we have She-Hulk reduced to a 0-Cost card, and able to be played alongside The Infinaut for a big gain on several lanes. Psylocke on turn four can also enable the combo, as you will be able to pass for six energy on turn five and go for She-Hulk plus The Infinaut on turn six.

The rest of the build seems very tempo-oriented, with cheap and annoying cards such as Iceman, Korg, Armor, or Cosmo in order to derail the opponent’s plan. It is rounded up by Ant Man, I’m guessing for points, and America Chavez for reliability of drawing Magik or Psylocke in time.

Let’s answer the big question most people might be wondering right now: Can this really compete with Zabu or Silver Surfer and grind its way to Infinite if I’m facing mostly these two cards? Well, first, someone did, apparently. Then, I believe the key component is being able to surprise your opponent with a very niche combo, while you will know almost exactly what to expect from your opponent. I wouldn’t be surprised if this deck drew several completely misinformed snaps from their opponents, and heavily punished them for it.

So even if Zabu is taking over the Marvel Snap ladder, I am very happy to still find gems like this one every week to feature in this article.

Closing Words

To the question in the title of this article, I think it’s safe to say no one would blink if Zabu was slightly nerfed alongside Silver Surfer. I don’t necessarily think it will happen just yet, but we are already in the territory of an abusive card, both in terms of popularity or results. Alongside Silver Surfer, both cards represent more than 50% of the field of play around the Infinite Rank, both below and above it.

We know a big patch is coming on January 31st, as the Battle Mode will release and some cards will drop from Series 4 and 5 to the one below. There are no confirmation of whether there will be some balance changes alongside this new feature, but most of the community would welcome it with open arms. Indeed, even if there are still some players who manage to find a way to surprise their opponent, just like Vindecare did this week. The numbers around both Season Pass cards are starting to be a bit alarming to say the least.

We will make sure to keep you posted on everything that might happen! Until then, find the whole Marvel Snap team on Discord, and myself directly on Twitter.

Good Game Everyone.