Infinite Decks of the Week – Marvel Snap Outside Elsa Bloodstone

Looking for a sweet decklist to climb the Ladder? Every week, we scour the community for decks and highlight the interesting ones that reach the Infinite rank on the Marvel Snap ranked Ladder. We also provide commentary on each list, which allows us to discuss how the overall Marvel Snap metagame is developing and how these players took advantage of it.

Overview of the Week

It is no secret at this point: Elsa Bloodstone has taken over the game since the last OTA Balance Updates. While Alioth was helping other synergies perform by giving them a way to limit what explosive decks could do, its nerf has clearly tilted the balance in favor of the current Season Pass card. We have the Meta Tier List to cover the best decks, most of which are built around a very similar set of core cards. However, I try to make this Infinite Decks of the Week series about the rest of the game and how other synergies might make sense to pick for someone looking to climb the Ladder.

Particularly in a metagame with a lot of the same concepts going around, players will develop habits as they play. Over time, these habits might even become reflexes, which leads to decks being played the same way, no matter the situation. Eventually, as we repeat or see the same patterns repeated over and over, we tend to default to those patterns without a second thought.

In this context, playing a deck with a unique synergy can throw the opponent off their game since your deck doesn’t fit the scheme they have grown accustomed to. Of course, they can always default to playing the typical pattern of their deck. But, if it is one of the popular ones that we see a lot of, then it should be pretty easy for you to know when to Snap and when to Retreat.

Basically, we have created an uneven situation when it comes to the information available to both players. Sure, it means building a strategy around a deck that is arguably weaker than other options available, but we now have the upper hand when it comes to Snaps and Retreats.

In the ranks where most players are scared to lose Cubes and will either play very cautiously or play greedily as they close in on their goal, it might be worth more to play the same deck as everybody else, even if that deck packs a lot of points.

High Evolutionary and Alioth Remain Very Strong on the Road to Infinite

Infinite High Evo

Created by den

, updated 6 months ago

0

1x None

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

1x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

4x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2x Starter Card

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

The recent weeks have been very difficult for Evolved DoomWave, at least when it comes to the high end of the Ladder where Mobius M. Mobius is basically everywhere. The archetype appears to have kept a decent success rate on the road to Infinite where the metagame is more diverse and the opponents more likely to fall prey to its strategies.

Plus, Loki is the most popular archetype using Elsa Bloodstone, and High Evolutionary remains a good synergy to explore in order to mitigate the impact of Loki since the stolen cards will not be Evolved.

In this list, there is a bit of a big lockdown component with Storm and Professor X, but the backbone of the deck remains intact with the typical trio of 1-Cost cards and Wave as the support to the High Evolutionary synergy. Doctor Doom is the surprise omission from the build; it is replaced by the recently nerfed Alioth, which is likely more in sync with the space limitation strategy.

I was very curious to see how big of an impact the nerf to Alioth would have on the card’s play rate. Most of the time, nerfs tend to have a much bigger impact on those with limited time to test and see for themselves if they still like a card after a nerf or not. Recently weakened cards will tend to lose much more popularity in the lower ranks, as the feeling of playing a diminished version of what the card was leads to a lot of players considering it bad.

Regarding Alioth, it seems like the card still retained the trust of many in the community; it was featured across several archetypes. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it remain a key component of why Storm and Professor X are included in this one.

The Phoenix Force Keeps Building Momentum

Infinite Phoenix Force

Created by den

, updated 6 months ago

0

5x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

On the rise since last season (and finally appearing as a popular deck in our weekly Meta Tier Lists), The Phoenix Force appears to do well at all levels of Marvel Snap. On the road to the top ranks, the deck might even be at its best because it can beat its opponents multiple ways.

Indeed, outside the deck’s natural (but peculiar) game plan, it often catches opponents off guard due to the difficulty of figuring out exactly how it will spread its points. Nimrod allows for a second way of spreading points across all locations, and it keeps the opponent in the dark as to the locations they will have to fight for.

As such, with a deck that is able to reposition its points as it wishes and a Snap strategy mostly based on visible information (your hand, the opponent’s early game, and the locations), The Phoenix Force definitely feels worth investing a bit of time into currently. It should pay it back with lots of Cubes once you get the hang of it.

Black Knight Pushes For Infinite

Infinite Black Knight

Created by den

, updated 6 months ago

1

4x 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)

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

3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Black Knight didn’t get much praise since its release, with most reviews about the card being mixed at best. Nevertheless, that didn’t seem to stop Gravitas from using it to climb to the Infinite rank on the back of its synergy with Zabu (the Ebony Blade is a 4-Cost card), and the Lady Sif + Ghost Rider duo.

In this deck, we only have The Infinaut to leverage Black Knight, which might feel a little clunky in order to pull it off reliably. Maybe the deck could cut Shadow King, Shang-Chi, or Professor X in order to pack an extra high power card to have a second target available.

Still, I really like to see new cards being used in the ranks leading up to Infinite. Indeed, most players will default to proven, reliable decks in order to get the last few ranks done. Picking a deck recognized as strong over a large sample size is reassuring; it provides a sense of security for someone who is not one hundred percent sure they will eventually make it.

However, being able to go off the book and create a deck that will throw opponents off their game is a great way to stay in games where you don’t really have a shot at winning. It’s also a great way to draw out ill-advised Snaps because they thought we were playing something else and had a read on your strategy.

It is a scary avenue to explore, as the risk of simply playing a bad deck can paralyze a lot of people. But the doubt you will cast on your opponent isn’t something to underestimate.

Closing Words

There are a few other decks one can explore with similar ideas. Hela has proven to be pretty good as of late, and C3r3bro is almost posting decent numbers among the decks without Elsa Bloodstone at the core of their game plan.

No matter which deck you decide to pick in that bunch, know that controlling information will be the key to a successful climb. Indeed, most of your opponents will have a pretty straightforward game plan that you should already know most of the important steps of.

Keep calm, use the information at your disposal to cut your losses and maximize your gains, and you should be well on your way to the Infinite rank. It will be scary at first, and it will probably take a bit of time to get used to this different approach. Still, in a metagame with a lot of the same deck, abusing this kind of trend can net big dividends.

Have an idea, but not sure if it’s good enough to reach your goal? Feel free to reach out, I’ll be happy to help. Find me on the Marvel Snap Zone community Discord, or follow my Twitter page where I share decks and biased opinions about the game.

Good Game Everyone.