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We are closing in on more balance changes, and while the current meta is dominated by Thanos and Shuri, one relatively accessible card may be able to help with combating these strategies – Debrii. The strategy was highlighted by Speci during a recent tournament and proved effective on my own climb to Infinite this month. Today I wanted to take a moment to highlight the deck and discuss the reason it works – board space.
SafetyBlade
SafetyBlade
Overview
Board space is premium in Marvel Snap. You have 12 slots across the 3 locations ,and for most decks that is all you get to play. Using board space to your advantage is a powerful tool in certain metagames (such as the current one) and an excellent skill to learn.
The true power of this deck is limiting your opponent’s plays and being in “control” of where cards can be played. Debrii, Green Goblin, Polaris, Viper, and even Titania help us to do this. We have several plays we can do on turns 3 and 4 to limit where our opponent gets to play. Once we have done this, we can then be confident on where the power is going and make effective choices on turns 5 and 6 to ensure we push more power than our opponent and/or counter their turn 6 play.
The deck is very flexible, but requires consideration about what your goal is each turn, and the odds that your play can, or will be countered. As the deck as so many lines, we will discuss the board control package and how to consider using each card.
Controlling the Board Spaces
Debrii
Decks with Debrii
Debrii is key in the deck. She does a lot of work as she blocks off two spots for your opponent. We can also then Viper or Polaris these Rocks on 4 to lock out lanes, securing a lane early into the game. If we see the opponent has set up, even temporarily, their lane with 2-3 cards, Debrii can make that 3-4. Against Thanos this is limiting and can also just mean you win the lane.
Killmonger
The number one query – why is Killmonger in this deck. This is simple though. You don’t need to control the locations they can play in the entire game. Against Thanos this can take anywhere from 1 to 12 power from your opponent and even more if they are playing Blue Marvel. Against Shuri the Sunspot can be 5+ power and deleting the card makes a huge difference.
Basically, we use Rocks early game and if we Killmonger on 5 or 6 we are going to take power from the opponent and they will not have time to reuse the locations. We can then follow up post-Killmonger on 6 with cards like the Demon and Titania and still push up to 11 power.
Viper and The Hood
The match made in heaven. Turn 1 The Hood into Turn 2 Viper is 5 power and locks a board slot for the opponent. If we miss this combination however, Viper still synergises with Debrii and can be used on random tokens in the game to lock lanes. This deck loves Savage Land for example because of this.
Polaris
Decks with Polaris
Polaris moves your opponent’s early plays to a lane beneficial to you. Both the top decks play key 1 or 2 drops. For example with Shuri, moving Lizard to a lane your likely to fill or filling is great. You lock up spots and know Lizard will likely be only 2 power on the final turn. Into Lockjaw you can Polaris into the Lockjaw lane, limiting the the number of rolls they get to play.
Green Goblin
One of the best cards in the game. Simple. See it has 3 power and limiting the board space. Great into Lockjaw lanes in particular but also can be used to lock out a location for your opponent. Also played early on, he discourages your opponent playing into it until later on, giving you space to play your other cards to lock the lane.
Aero
Decks with Aero
At this stage most people know how Aero works. In this deck we can also use her on turn 5 though, if we can lock out a location with her. For example, location on left as 3 slots open, we may want to Aero to pull their card over, locking the lane and giving us known power to play into for turn 6.
Finishers
My personal version used Black Bolt and Stature, but Spider-Woman also is very effective. They both use a personal favourite finishing combination of mine – 5 energy play plus Titania.
Decks with Titania
Spider-Woman can be 12 power into a full lane. Titania adds another 5 power. That is 17 power on the last turn which you split. If we have controlled and locked lanes both cards are significantly stronger and lead to swings your opponent isn’t expecting.
Another excellent line, especially against Shuri, is Aero one lane and Titania another. Titania cannot activate if Aero pulls the card away. This combination is absurdly strong and worth getting used too.
Decks with Black Bolt
Black Bolt and Stature is a slightly different play pattern but opens up your turn 6. You always Black Bolt on 5 if you have him. You then can play Stature and Aero on 6, Shang-Chi, Titania and Stature, Killmonger, Shang Chi and Stature. The Turn 6 becomes very flexibles with this package,
Last Turn 6 finisher is Shang-Chi.
Limitations
Be warned however, although good into Thanos and Shuri in particular, these decks can struggle into others. Patriot, Death and Discard style decks for example can feel oppressive due to how they interact with what you’re doing.
Conclusion
Controlling the board space is a powerful tool, which is likely to remain powerful in Marvel Snap, so taking the time to learn these styles of play could hold lasting value. The current environment provides opportunity for these decks to thrive.
