Table of Contents
I like to look at Conquest performances during the first week of the season, even if that mode isn’t as competitive as the Ranked ladder for most of the season. Yet, because there aren’t any bots, we can spot which archetypes are posting strong performances in both modes, and the ones that weirdly don’t perform in Conquest.
Also, the way to build your deck is typically different in Conquest, a mode you have to find a way to win to keep your run alive. In Ranked, you can build a super proactive deck, and simply maneuver good and bad matchups with your Snaps and retreats. Mastering those aspects will be key in Conquest, but there are certain opponents you will just lose slower against if your deck can’t answer certain situations.
So, what is Conquest telling us after taking a look at the Ranked meta yesterday?
- There are fewer great performers in Conquest, but more of the decks we don’t see much of in Ranked. This is likely a result of this less competitive environment, where players can play decks they enjoy, even if that means not winning as much.
- Surge and Esme Cuckoo seem to do better here. At least, they are part of more archetype’s top builds, while they also have a deck in common.
- The three Tier 1 archetypes were also in the top tier in Ranked, anchoring the power of Thanos, Toxic and Surfer in the current metagame. However, Toxic does it with a different build.
- Mister Negative went from Tier 1 to Tier 2, probably because even a perfect Snap and Retreat mastery doesn’t get you out of the Mobius M. Mobius jail if your opponent is using it.
- Sauron and Discard Dracula ranked in Tier 3 in both reports, hitting at their limited power currently.
Lastly, and probably the most important point in Conquest: There is a lot of Thanos around. Then, a good performance goes through being able to beat the Mad Titan consistently, and bots won’t be around to feed you 8 cubes in order to cut your losses.
Happy Tier List, everyone!
| Tier | Deck |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Thanos Control 69.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Toxic 68.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Silver Surfer 68% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Mister Negative 64.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Low Power High Rolls 64% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Thanos Ongoing 63.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Scream Move 62% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Good Cards 61.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Arishem 59.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Bullseye 59.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Shuri Sauron 59% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Discard Dracula 58% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Toxic Surfer 58% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Mill 58% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Destroy 57.5% Win Rate |
Tier 1
Thanos Control
den
Performance: 69.5% Win Rate
Once we can’t just give Thanos a cube and move on from their god draw, it is much harder to limit its dominance. Then, while Thanos appeared to have lost a step in the ranked report, I guess the bots had something to do with it, and the Mad Titan remains the deck to beat at the moment.
Looking at the Gorgons, Cassandra Novas and such cards in other decks, it appears most archetypes are focused on beating it, which makes the 69.5% win rate even more impressive.
Potential Additions
The 3-cost cards are the flexible bunch in this deck, with Shadow King also replaceable depending on the match-ups you expect to face. Copycat, Rocket and Groot, Surge, Gorgon… There are plenty of cards to consider as replacements.
Toxic
Performance: 68.5% Win Rate
The best performer for Toxic in Conquest has been the traditional build, leveraging the Zabu – Surge duo to cheat energy. With Mobius roaming in a lot of decks, I guess Miles Morales and Abomination were probably getting countered too often.
In Ranked, we saw a bit of Luke Cage around, but the card has not been part of the Conquest metagame I looked at, so Toxic could do a ton of damage this week.
Potential Additions
Cassandra Nova, Scorpion and such cards able to inflict negative power make sense. 4-cost cards will also fit perfectly in this deck with Zabu and Surge already in. Enchantress would be the first one to consider.
Silver Surfer
den
Performance: 68% Win Rate
In Conquest, Surge did beat Sam Wilson Captain America for a slot in the deck, while Gorgon also joined the party to help against Thanos. Otherwise, the rest of the deck is pretty standard, with only Phastos not appearing in most list, while Copycat fills that “Pick a strong 3-cost you like” slot.
Conquest tends to change the snap initiative compared to ranked, as you typically know whether your opponent is able to stop Surge, uses Shadow King, and such counter plays. Once you know which threats are real or not, your snaps should become much sharper, making proactive patterns all the more oppressive.
Potential Additions
Killmonger, Mobius M. Mobius, Sage and Sera are amongst the best cards you could use to replace one you are missing.
Tier 2
Mister Negative
den
Performance: 64.5% Win Rate
A threat in Ranked, Mister Negative is also making the most of its improved consistency thanks to Esme Cuckoo to bolster its Conquest performance. This one is particularly impressive considering Mobius M. Mobius and Cosmo are part of the cards used to limit Surge. Sure, they can still cost you a match on their own, but it seems like Mister Negative is much harder to stop now than it was before Esme Cuckoo released.
Potential Additions
Ironheart could replace a 3-cost you do not own, while Wong or Super-Skrull are good 4-cost cards to consider.
Low Power High Rolls
den
Performance: 64% Win Rate
With Esme Cuckoo out of Silver Surfer, this is now the reference deck to run both new cards. This sort of Small Good Cards with the Ongoing trio of Gorr the Butcher, Iron Man and Mystique included feels kind of great to play to be honest, especially in Conquest.
Indeed, once you know whether your opponent will boost Gorr or not, and their approximate points potential, it becomes quite simple to know your chances for the upcoming match. Also, Esme Cuckoo can be a great bluff snap at times.
Potential Additions
Ravonna Renslayer could be a Shadow King or another reactive card of the sort. She enables Iron Man plus Mystique on turn six, but you typically don’t need her if you find either Surge or Agent Venom on turn two.
Thanos Ongoing
den
Performance: 63.5% Win Rate
Thanos Ongoing keeps posting solid results while Enchantress keeps being in a lot of decks. However, Cosmo gained some momentum thanks to its interaction with Surge, slightly improving Thanos Ongoing without actually changing a thing to the deck.
Potential Additions
Gorgon is a nice card against other Thanos decks.
Scream Move
den
Performance: 62% Win Rate
Either the metagame is a little slower to evolve in Conquest, or Thanos is still very popular there, which makes Scream forced to play the Darkhawk variant rather than capitalize on the new move cards it received.
Either way, Scream is strong enough to see play, although Toxic is still prevalent enough to encounter the occasional Luke Cage while Red Guardian remains a generic, strong inclusion in plenty of decks.
Potential Additions
Batroc the Leaper, Kingping and Stegron or Aero can replace the Darkhawk package for a more traditional Scream build.
Good Cards
den
Performance: 61.5% Win Rate
Thanos has been the standard Good Cards archetype for a while, relegating this deck to mostly be an under-the-radar pick. Yet, the pair of Sabu and Surge is good enough to make non-Thanos good cards decks competitive as well.
Cosmo is a bit of a problem as it blocks both Surge and the reactive cards (Shang-Chi, Enchantress). Otherwise, this deck shines through its ability to keep the opponent guessing about the points distribution until the very last moment.
Potential Additions
Captain Marvel or some generic strong 3-cost cards make sense as replacements.
Tier 3
Arishem
den
Performance: 59.5% Win Rate
Bullseye
den
Performance: 59.5% Win Rate
Shuri Sauron
Performance: 59% Win Rate
Discard Dracula
den
Performance: 58% Win Rate
Toxic
den
Performance: 58% Win Rate
Mill
den
Performance: 58% Win Rate
Deadpool Destroy
den
Performance: 57.5% Win Rate
That’s it for this week! As usual, you can find me on the Marvel Snap Zone community Discord to discuss the report, or shoot me a direct message (@den_ccg) for coaching or specific requests.
Good Game Everyone.
Disclaimer and Tier Explanations
In order to be featured here, a deck needs to hold a Win Rate above the 50% threshold over more than a hundred Conquest games. Games in the Proving Grounds are never taken into account, but games in the Silver League are weighted depending on how much data is available for the Gold League. The Infinity League is open during the last week of each season, so that will be the focus of the report during that time.
In order to create this chart, den is using data from our Marvel Snap Tracker, as well as other available data online and his own expertise and opinion of respected players. If a deck showed great performances with a very limited presence in the meta, you can find it in the Silent Performers section. That section highlights decks with an excellent Win Rate, but too little of a sample size to be representative of their real strength.
Decks not good enough to be considered contenders but with a good representation will be ranked in Tier 3 in our chart. See those builds as decks that are good to know about, as you should face them when playing Marvel Snap. However, unless the meta changes or a new variation of the build emerges, these decks are a notch below the dominant ones in Tier 1 and Tier 2.
Silent Performer: Decks with a very little presence in the meta that still showcase a Cube Average and Win Rate worthy of a Tier 2 deck (or better). Oftentimes, these can be archetypes with some nice game play that have been left unchecked in the current environment, or decks on the rise that found a few good match ups to abuse.
Tier 1: Tier 1 represents decks with all the upsides we would be looking for to run the gauntlet. They have good match ups in the current meta, offer different play patterns during a match, and often have the ability for explosive or surprising turns. These should be decks worth investing into in order to climb for the coming week.
Win Rate > 65%
Tier 2: Tier 2 are very good decks but with a weakness holding them back – either not being as reliable in its draws as Tier 1 decks, countered by another popular deck, or still being a work in progress as you read this. A good pilot could probably take these and have the same results as with a Tier 1 deck, but their play patterns are more difficult to enact compared to the tier above.
Win Rate > 60%
Tier 3: This tier is made of decks that have a pervasive issue compared to Tier 1 or Tier 2 decks. Usually, Tier 3 will be a mix of decks on the rise that don’t have much data, old archetypes on the decline, decks that require substantial experience and/or knowledge to pilot properly, powerful decks that aren’t well positioned, or niche decks.
Win Rate > 57%
Budget: Decks that consist only of cards in Pool 1 and 2 that are still capable of competing with an experienced pilot in a similar Collection Level, Rank, and MMR range. See our matchmaking guide for more details.
Meta stats and analytics directly from our Marvel Snap Tracker can also be found here.
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