Marvel Snap Conquest Meta Tier List: July 5, 2023 – Rise of the Phoenix Week 1

The start of a new season makes it extremely difficult to gather meaningful data. Indeed, with a large majority of the competitive player base abusing Lockjaw and Bounce, the only decks left in order to have a reasonable shot are those with solid matchups into these two. Immediately, this limits the field of possible decks, alongside blurring the results of innovative brews. I would have loved to include a deck with The Phoenix Force included, however, it would really be me just guessing at this point.

As such, this week’s Tier List will be rather small for now, although I don’t exclude updating it later in the week, when the environment cleared up a bit. Obviously, we will focus on the two dominant decks, Bounce and Lockjaw, which are probably the decks you are most likely to face, if you aren’t using them yourself.

Outside these two, we have a few decks able to mess with these archetypes synergies, giving those decks a shot in the head to head. Most of the time, these are decks able to run a way to annoy both Lockjaw and Bounce, as one loss is enough to end your Conquest run. In the fringe case of Shuri Sauron, the deck appears to be able to put enough points to reliably compete on that front.

Outside these limited picks, there are a flurry of ladder decks which probably are completely fine to take into Conquest, especially if you have some experience playing those. However, if we are looking at deck results from a similarly seasoned pilot, it is undeniable two decks are ruling the game right now.

Happy Conquest run, everyone!

Marvel Snap Meta Tier List

Tier Explanation

Tier 1

Evolved Lockjaw

Conquest Lockjaw

Created by den

, updated 3 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

1x Starter Card

4.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
The builds more focused on generating as many points as possible are getting heavily targeted by Shang-Chi currently. However, the more On Reveal based list is doing great, both to dodge Shang-Chi, but also to annoy Bounce with the Wave into Odin pattern.

The limit with this build is the mirror match, which you tend to be slightly unfavored in. However, you can still leverage your Snaps at the right time in order to mitigate that weakness.

How to Play:
Based on its signature card, the deck aims to use cheap, weak cards behind Lockjaw in order to summon much stronger ones without paying the required energy. In that sense, Lockjaw’s lane is often very strong, and it is important to keep in mind how to win another one and not get caught up in abusing Lockjaw only.

Without Lockjaw, Jubilee and Thor will serve a similar purpose and try to cheat points for less than the usual amount of energy. Also, we can use Wave to be able to play our expensive cards ahead of time if needed, in addition to being a disruptive tool in several matchups.

The first two turns of the game can be very quiet for a Lockjaw deck, as we aren’t looking to do much (which now feeds Evolved Hulk). On Turn 3, we will either look to have Lockjaw paired with Wasp, or Thor to shuffle Mjölnir into the deck. Turn 4 will typically be Jubilee, Wave or Thor. Jubilee is just our on curve play, digging some points from our deck. Thor is a good play, especially if we anticipate playing Evolved Hulk later on and have Jane Foster Mighty Thor in hand. Last, Wave can either make our turn five easier to manage with a big card, or serve as a lockdown pattern. Indeed, if we trigger the card again with Odin on the next turn, we limit the rest of the match to one card per turn.

Once in the final two turns of the match, the goal is to think about our best outcomes and how we can high roll enough to win the game. If ahead, a simple Doctor Doom or Evolved Hulk could be enough to secure the win. If behind, it is important to know the chances of winning Lockjaw‘s lane based on what is left in our deck, while counting how big we can get Thor, or send support to challenge the second lane.

Potential Additions:
The more points focused list does better in the mirror match, while including The Infinaut for opposing Spider-Ham.

Evolved Lockjaw

Created by den

, updated 3 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

1x Starter Card

4.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

6.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Bounce

Conquest Bounce

Created by den

, updated 3 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

1x Starter Card

2.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

1.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
Once more, the metagame seems to be aimed at defeating Bounce first and foremost. It didn’t stop a lot of players from already grinding back to infinite or collecting a few Gold Tickets, though. Indeed, while Bounce might not be at its best in a very hostile environment, the deck’s flexibility makes it impossible for the archetype to go away with some nerfs.

The big challenge with the deck is to keep its very explosive nature, while having a few ways to play around an opposing Wave. Right now, Iron Man seems to be the default card in that regard, with America Chavez occasionally seeing play too. In Conquest, you will have the information your opponent is playing Wave after its first use. As such, Bounce because much better, as you plan your future turns with that information in mind, changing your pop-off turns, and not playing as greedy as you would otherwise.

How to Play:
Bounce relies on replaying cheap cards several times through the use of Beast, Kitty Pryde, and Falcon, leading to several benefits:

• Their abilities can be great, such as Iceman or Spider-Ham.
• They serve to buff cards like Angela or Bishop as they grow when you play more cards.
• It gives you an easy way to plan ahead of time because you don’t necessarily depend on your draw to use your energy. You can reuse cards already in play.
• You are much more flexible with your available space because you can remove cards and play others instead.
• Bounced cards are usually quite cheap, leading to very flexible turns down the line.

With Hit Monkey in the deck, Bounce also looks to keep those cheap cards in hand to have an explosive Turn 6 play. Through the Bounce mechanic, we are able to both play cards to buff Angela and Bishop during the game and also have them available to play alongside Hit Monkey.

Strategy wise, the deck wants to be as flexible as possible and only commit to lanes on Turns 5 and 6 in order to withhold as much information as possible from the opponent. Until this last turn, the deck will use Beast and Falcon to manage its hand and locations. The idea should be to abuse the abilities of our cards to disrupt the opponent while building the best hand possible going into the final turns.

Against an opponent you expect to play Wave, it is completely fine to go off on Turn 5. Kitty Pryde, Mysterio, and Hit Monkey will provide enough points on Turn 5, and we can keep a strong standalone card to play on six.

Potential Additions:
Shang-Chi sees plays instead of America Chavez or The Hood in a lot of builds.

Sera Control

Conquest Sera

Created by den

, updated 3 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2.6

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
With Killmonger and Shang-Chi naturally included in the deck, and now Invisible Woman being considered a staple. Sera Control probably is the most equipped deck in order to take the two Marvel Snap titans head on.

The deck does suffer from Wave being a popular inclusion because of Bounce, which made Magik an interesting option. Also, Bast seems to have slowly replaced Nova, in order to guarantee a boost to our hand without the need to synergize the card with Killmonger. Without Enchantress in the deck, only Sera would lose power from Bast, making it a very reliable buff overall.

How to Play:
This archetype relies on giving up priority going into the last turn, so it can punish the opponent with reactive cards like Shang-Chi and Killmonger. Ever since Hit Monkey joined the deck, it also unlocked a proactive pattern on Turn 6 with the monkey assassin able to challenge a lane with points rather than looking to counter what the opponent did.

Sera is at the core of this strategy as she allows reducing the cost of cards in your hand, strengthening your Turn 6 potential and making it worth to purposefully give the lead to your opponent. Note that losing priority doesn’t mean losing the game – we can be in the lead on a location and close on the other two. Since Sera only has four power, your opponent will typically have a stronger Turn 5 than you do and take back priority. This way, we don’t need to have an incredible Turn 6 or perfectly guess our opponent’s plays to win every game. Most of this deck’s strength relies on its ability to be able to stay as close as possible while not having priority, so our reactive cards are at their best.

Against an opponent you expect to play Wave, it is completely fine to skip Sera and go off on Turn 5. Kitty Pryde, Mysterio, and Hit Monkey will provide enough points, and then we can simply play Enchantress or Shang-Chi on the following turn. With Magik in the deck, you can also just delay the game by a turn, negating Wave’s impact at the cost of another turn. Simply play Sera on six then.

Invisible Woman is gaining traction in the deck, allowing you to play reactive cards on curve and opening more energy for Turn 6. The deck can hide Killmonger, Shang-Chi, and/or Hit Monkey behind her for their ability to trigger on Turn 6. Also, it can serve as a way to not get Kitty Pryde back in hand on Turn 5.

Potential Additions:
Scarlet Witch and Magik are the two commonly swapped out cards. Enchantress, Rogue will replace Magik for some Ongoing counter cards. As for Scarlet Witch, she battles with Jeff the Baby Land Shard, Lizard or Sentinel most of the time.

Tier 2

Evolved Lockdown

Evolved Lockdown

Created by den

, updated 3 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3x Starter Card

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
One of the few decks naturally able to annoy Lockjaw and Bounce, Evolved Lockdown seems to be a better Conquest than Ladder deck. Particularly, the deck’s ability to create a tense situation for the opponent, who has to hope one cannot lock a specific location or play-pattern from them, tends to be one of the deck’s biggest strengths. In addition, this is one of the few decks you can take from ladder to Conquest without the need to adapt the deck at all.
Most archetypes are able to do so, but could lose to an unfortunate match-ups you didn’t anticipate, or have the right card to counter. Lockdown being already solid against the popular opponents, you don’t have to worry too much about it.

However, Lockdown isn’t perfect either, the deck’s being almost unable to run tech cards for specific match-ups as it wishes to be able to play more cards already. Nevertheless, it has slowly become the comfort pick for those who don’t want to play Lockjaw or Bounce anymore.

How to Play:
The whole point of the deck is to get a lane under control before Turn 6; then, Evolved Hulk can come in and take the necessary second lane. In that regard, Storm, Spider-Man, and Professor X work the same way they did in the previous Lockdown builds by reducing the space our opponent has available to play.

The new High Evolutionary package does push the deck towards a different play pattern, though, as several cards need some unspent energy. Indeed, in order to grow Evolved Hulk and Sunspot, as well as abuse Evolved Cyclops, the deck is looking to delay certain cards to end up with one energy left at the end of each turn.

Depending on your hand, whether you lean towards the more traditional Lockdown plan, or if you try to abuse Evolved Cyclops and Evolved Hulk, your play patterns should adapt.

Potential Additions:
Spider-Ham, Jeff the Baby Land Shark and Daredevil seem to be battling to fit into only two spots in the deck. In conquest, Daredevil feels so good it is hard to imagine not running it. However, the other two are more flexible, leading to being stronger in more situations. It is an impossible call to settle completely.

Good Cards Wave

Good Cards Conquest

Created by den

, updated 3 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
Ever since it started including Odin, the deck managed to become a much stronger deck in Conquest. Indeed, with the Rock synergy and Shang-Chi helping for Lockjaw, finding a way to shut down Bounce as well, made Good Cards Wave a great sleeper pick.

In addition, the Darkhawk synergy still is one of the strongest in the game, able to disrupt the opponent’s deck while putting up a solid amount of points. This gives a simple, yet effective base game plan to follow in most match-ups.

How to Play:
Good Cards Wave looks to follow a simple play pattern, where every energy is used if possible. As such, the go-to plan will be to play Korg, Zabu and then two 4-cost cards in the following turns.
Turn five is the key with this deck, where one needs to decide to go for Wave, limiting the last turn to one card only. Or keeping the ability to play two 4-cost cards with Zabu, typically Shang-chi and Darkhawk to challenge two lanes at once.

In this game plan, Jeff the Baby Land Shark and Iron Lad serve as the good cards, which can be played at any time you wouldn’t have the perfect card to play. Otherwise, the card you should very rarely play is America Chavez, included for stability more than anything else.

Against Bounce in particular, the deck might completely change its plan, instead playing Wave on turn four into Odin on five, locking the last turns to one card per turn, shutting down Bounce in the process.

Potential Additions:
Iceman and Spider-Ham are battling to be the second 1-cost alongside Korg. Right now, slowing down the opponent appears to be more beneficial, as it leads to them developing less power before we can use Wave to lock the match. However, the choice to go for one or the other is very match-up based.

Shuri Sauron

Conquest Shuri

Created by den

, updated 3 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
Probably the only deck with enough points to not run Shang-Chi or Wave and still have a shot currently, Shuri Sauron remains much more volatile than Bounce or Lockjaw. As it stands, it feels like the deck gets away with being unpopular, and therefor not respected as much as it should. Still, with Shuri in hand, and dedicating all our resources to winning two lanes only, this deck is capable of putting up a ton of points. Enough to beat any deck who spread theirs amongst the three locations.

Nevertheless, one needs to have an aggressive mindset when playing this deck, as snapping in the second part of the game will typically only grant you a cube. Particularly with Invisible Woman, you can get away with some pretty nasty combos, some the opponent would have never accepted to go against if the cards were not hidden until game’s end.

How to Play:
Shuri Sauron is looking to beat its opponents in the simplest way possible in Marvel Snap: points. Indeed, even with Red Skull giving some to the opponent, there aren’t many decks able to rival the infamous Shuri → Red Skull → Taskmaster pattern that creates 30 points on two separate lanes. When this happens, the opponent’s only way to victory is to find a way to disrupt the pattern with a counter card.

If you want to dodge a Shang-Chi on your Red Skull, the deck can also skip Turn 5 and go for She-Hulk plus Taskmaster on Turn 6. With Shuri, this only develops 36 points (24 points fewer than Red Skull), but it prevents the opponent from having a turn to mess with your big card.

Outside this very straight forward way of playing Marvel Snap, Shuri Sauron also packs a bit of flexibility thanks to its high power 1-Cost cards and Invisible Woman. The former can serve to gain priority early, and can also be paired with Taskmaster on Turn 6 to get five to seven points on another lane (in addition to copying our big 5-Cost from the previous turn).

Invisible Woman, if you decide to run it, allows for some unpredictability, alongside a spicy Taskmaster play pattern. Play Shuri on Turn 4, then hide Taskmaster behind Invisible Woman (it needs to be the first card hidden there, though). The game doesn’t see that you played a card on Turn 5, so Shuri can still double the card you play on Turn 6 and Taskmaster will copy it upon revealing on game’s end.

Potential Additions:
The biggest Weakness of this archetype compared to Tier 1, which the other decks in this tier share as well, is their inability to adapt much. Right now, apart from cutting America Chavez for Enchantress, or finding room for She-Hulk and maybe Sunspot, there isn’t much brewing possible with Shuri Sauron.

Closing Words

The early days of a season tend to always push the best decks way more than usual. It is only normal, as the more competitively minded players are trying to climb back to where they were, kind of hitting a reset button on their goals. Considering the domination of both Bounce and Lockjaw over the past month, it was only logic to see these two decks get the hottest start to the new season.

I wished there was much less of these two, especially as there aren’t many incentives to grinding any more early compared to later in the season. As a result, unless you have a great way to beat Lockjaw or Bounce, Conquest doesn’t look to be so fun for this week.

With the next balance patch expected on July 11 (along with the Spotlight Cache changes), what better time than the early season in order to mess things ups and reshuffle the power amongst the dominant archetypes? I’m really curious to see what they have in store for us over the next few weeks.

Until then, I hope you have a great time on Marvel Snap! As usual, 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.