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When it comes to getting cubes super early in a season, it is rare to see new and creative builds pop up; they usually need time to be refined and are more popular later in the season. Instead, decks that have already gained the trust of the player base tend to be overly present and, logically, represent most of what made it to the Infinite rank. I saw A LOT of Thanos Lockjaw and Shuri Zero while preparing this piece, alongside a decent amount of Sera Control – arguably the third-best deck in the game right now.
So you have opened this article, read this first paragraph and are now thinking den, I already know these decks are good, everyone plays them, that’s not what I am here for. And you’re completely right. Don’t worry, although the dominating decks represent a large majority of the current Infinite rank population, I was able to find a few decks worthy of taking a look at. On the list this week we have:
- Shuri Zero welcomes Nimrod, Electro, and Destroyer!
- The Bounce archetype is back on the ladder?
- The Series 3 Good Cards archetype has still got it!
Let’s dive into the decks.
Nimrod finds a home in the Shuri Zero archetype
den
Yes, I know the tweet mentions Thanos Lockjaw was used as well, so we can’t really assess how good this particular list is; however, Nimrod has been extremely disappointing so far. The card has only really found a home in Galactus decks which are suffering from too much Aero, Cosmo, and Leech in the meta. As a result, seeing several players praise this list as something potentially worth exploring felt good enough to include it here.
In this variation, originally designed by DeraJN, the point is to offer another line of play than the traditional Shuri, Red Skull, and Taskmaster, at the cost of reducing our early potential. Indeed, you can see the omission of Zero, Titania, and other cheap cards which are usually used to gain priority (or as a complement to Taskmaster on turn six). For that sacrifice, the deck finds a completely new play pattern in Electro, Nimrod, Destroyer, and Arnim Zola, creating a lot of Nimrods all over our locations.
The reason this deck makes sense is Shuri working as the bridge to both lines, as she can be used to buff Nimrod before multiplying the card or to buff Red Skull in the more traditional lines.
It is a bit early to know if this has a shot at overtaking the much more popular Shuri Zero decks, but it gives players a different way of building around Shuri, a card which became extremely predictable as of late and is often punished for it.
The Bounce archetype is legit?
den
It has been a very long time since I saw a Bounce deck be shared, let alone for an early season Infinite climb. Obviously, it is hard to assess how good the deck really is considering bots and the new 50 cubes per league system have made the climb easier for many people. But even if we are taking these into account, the simple fact Bounce is in this article should mean something. I mean, it has been at least four months – before the Silver Surfer era started at least – since we saw the archetype being discussed.
For those of you not familiar with the concept, a Bounce deck relies on Beast and Falcon to throw our cards back to our hand and allow us to replay them during the game. Doing so, we gain flexibility on where to position our cards and also have a shot at growing Angela and Bishop to obscene amounts of power.
The only weird inclusion in this strategy is Killmonger, which actively works against our 1-cost cards. In reality, Killmonger can be played after we have bounced our 1-cost cards to our hand, or it can simply open up more space to play behind Angela. All of this in addition to destroying the Infinity Stones, Quinjet, and Sunspot in Thanos decks, of course.
Pool 3 still has some good decks
den
Already in the discussions last season when Wwlos shared it, this list quickly became regarded as one of the best decks made entirely of Series 3 cards. It seems like DoomWave is still a valid choice in this new season. This deck will obviously not be packing the high roll of Thanos Lockjaw or the sheer amount of points of Shuri Zero, but it certainly packs enough power plays to reward players with a sound snap and retreat strategy.
In this list, the goal is to seize priority by Turn 4, then play Wave on Turn 5 and have She-Hulk plus any other card ready for a power play on Turn 6. Most of the time you will be looking to pair She-Hulk with Aero to control the opponent’s turn, although Doctor Doom is a good choice to counter an opposing Aero.
This deck isn’t worthy of being in the S Tier like the more dominant ones, but it represents a great option for players without the current top cards, or even those looking for a nice change of pace. The list is also quite flexible. It’s able to include various counter cards if you fancy, such as Polaris, Cosmo, Magneto… A great blank canvas for anyone struggling to compete with their limited collection.
Closing Words
Let’s be honest: the fact that Lockjaw Thanos and Shuri Zero are still taking the metagame hostage has created a difficult experience for many players. There are some exotic builds, and the fact you are bound to face some bots on the way guarantees anyone can climb with the right strategy.
Otherwise, it really feels like it is time for a balance patch in Marvel Snap. Not necessarily to restore balance, which seems to be a difficult feat right now, but simply to shake things up. A sizeable part of the community is annoyed at the strangle hold Thanos Lockjaw has on the game and wants to see the deck nuked.
Still, during talks on social media, some players have expressed the fact they have never even tried Thanos Lockjaw because they are missing some core cards. They don’t want to see the deck demolished to the point it becomes unplayable, like many are asking, because they want the chance to play it themselves. So I guess the reasonable thing to ask for is just a different take, a shake-up, a twist. One we expected to have with Nimrod and the new season, but that unfortunately fell flat.
It is difficult to know precisely what to do in order to get the metagame back on track without destroying either Quinjet, Lockjaw, or Thanos in the process. I guess we can wait and see for now, and hopefully the wait won’t be too long.
Have a unique deck to share, or simply want to hang out with the Marvel Snap Zone community? Join us on Discord! As for myself, find me at @den_CCG on Twitter for a direct contact.
Good Game Everyone.
