Marvel Snap Meta Tier List: January 5, 2024 – Caiera and Skaar Push For Points in the New Season

Welcome to our Marvel Snap Meta Tier List! Each week, we review the best decks in the ever-changing Marvel Snap meta. Then we bring you the deck lists, and we provide an in-depth report about them. This report contains information like how the ranks are justified, how the decks fare in both Ranked and Conquest modes, and how to build the deck with alternate cards to accommodate different collections.

This report is updated twice a week to make sure it is as close to the current meta as possible. Looking to figure out the impact of the newly released card or the latest balance changes? This is the place to be!

Marvel Snap Meta Overview

I have never been a fan of the featured location pushing new cards to be strong. It not only gives a false impression of their real strength, it also limits the amount of decks we can play early in the season. If you add the bots to this equation, it makes for an extremely confusing time trying to sort out the good decks from those that just took advantage of the benefits.

There are several ways to make some sense of this whole situation. First, it is important to consider that everything we see is based off a low sample size in a very dynamic environment, so the date is very important. A list that did great during the first day might not be as impressive two days later. The meta could have changed, either because other decks were refined or because counters have emerged, so you must always look for fresh information.

Then, it is critical to look at the deck itself and figure out what information you can rely on and what could have just been a temporary upside. For example, if a new card is just added to an already established, dominant deck, you might wonder if the card is excellent or if it just benefits from a deck we all knew was strong in the first place.

The same is true if there is a brand-new deck emerging thanks to a new card; there are plenty of factors to ponder. Is the deck fully refined? Has the meta adapted to it? Is it strong due to imposing its game plan on other decks, or does it rely on countering another very popular deck?

Early in the season when the meta is a bit of a mess, it can be hard to figure out a deck that will suit both your opponents and your strengths as a player. It can be very difficult to find some comfort since everyone is constantly enticed to try the next best thing shared online.

So, how do we know if we can really trust the hot start Caiera and Skaar took early in the Planet Hulk season? Are these two just benefiting from Thanos Blob already having a deck ready for Skaar and Caiera stepping into InSheNaut? What we really need to figure out is if they will really improve both archetypes going forward.

If you look at the first rankings of 2024, it is hard to deny the impact of both cards. Thanos Lockjaw and InSheNaut are at #1 and #2 in the rankings this week. Still, we can’t forget that both decks were already Tier 1 material at the end of the Hellfire Gala season, and both can take advantage of the featured Throne Room really well.

Maybe the right way to look at these decks is to not wonder whether they are good. That is a given considering both their current performance and their track record. However, you can still question if they will be able to maintain this status going forward, and which threats they should keep in mind. Indeed, there are plenty of other decks with very solid numbers that are ready to take their spot. They might very well do it once the disruptive cards of the current meta are figured out.

Happy Tier List, everyone!

Marvel Snap Meta Tier List

Disclaimer and Tier Explanations

In order to be featured here, a deck needs to represent at least 1% of the current environment and have a positive cube average in the Ranked mode. Win Rate is also taken into consideration, and it can greatly impact the ranking of a deck, particularly when several archetypes (or different builds of the same deck) have a similar Cube Average but big Win Rate discrepancies. The Marvel Snap mechanics do, however, push players to maximize cubes gained rather than win every single game.

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 Cube Average 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. They won’t have their own dedicated write up here, but they may be transferred to the main Tier List section. 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 Tiers 1 and 2.

For each deck, you will also get a write-up about their performance in the Conquest mode. In that section, we’ll discuss how the deck is doing and which differences, if any, exist when compared to the Ladder performance. In the chart above, you will also be notified of a strong archetype in Conquest with a Conquest flag next to their name.

Tier 1

Thanos Lockjaw

Thanos Lockjaw

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

3

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

4x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

5.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

6.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
There have been many lists of Thanos Blob around since Skaar released. Some had Caiera, others didn’t have Lockjaw. There were also a ton of 5-Cost cards being tested out, which made it difficult to figure out which list is the very best for Thanos right now. The duo of Killmonger and Death has looked excellent so far, even if Caiera can limit Killmonger and Mobius M. Mobius can stop the discount. Still, it gives you another chance at a cheap Death if you don’t summon it with Lockjaw during the match. Plus, you need to find ways to play 10+ power cards before Turn 6 so you can play Shang-Chi plus Skaar on the last turn.

This particular list had a 0.6 Cube Average and a 60% Win Rate over a few hundred games, which is enough to make it the top build of this early season. It looks extremely greedy, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it relied on Snapping whenever Lockjaw is around to feed both metrics.

I would expect this deck to look a little more balanced when we revisit the rankings early next week, but there is no denying that the all-in on Skaar approach has worked really well so far.

Conquest Performance:
Thanos was already a very good Conquest archetype thanks to being very flexible and rarely drawing horribly. With Lockjaw in the mix, the deck even gained an easy Snap opportunity (and a potential bluff) in order to milk cubes from a scared opponent.

In Conquest, the build is slightly different. Psylocke replaces Wave to avoid giving your opponent opportunities to also slam big cards, and some decks include Mobius M. Mobius instead of Shang-Chi as well. Skaar wasn’t part of the two best performing lists, but both of them were using Lockjaw. I don’t know if this is due to the card not being owned or Thanos not necessarily in need of Skaar after all. If you think about it, Skaar entices your opponent to use Shang-Chi early in the match to revert the cost of the Season Pass card to six. This kind of defeats the point of playing Leech. It’s definitely an interaction to explore in order to find the best possible build of Thanos Lockjaw.

Potential Additions:
I would expect all 5-Cost cards and Shang-Chi to be flexible, although Vision tends to pair up nicely with Lockjaw and Leech protects your big cards on the last turn of play. There are plenty of cards you could consider, but it seems like a greedy approach that banks on finding Lockjaw or being able to ramp reliably is ideal for this deck. Maybe Psylocke could make that last part even more reliable, too.

InSheNaut

InSheNaut

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

1

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

4x Starter Card

3.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
Caiera replaced Armor in the deck and also kicked Cosmo out in favor of Shocker for energy purposes. These changes have made InSheNaut look like an absolute powerhouse that simply follows its own agenda and imposes its will on any opponent – at least, that’s the case this early in the season.

Indeed, the 0.55 Cube Average and 60% Win Rate is one of the archetype’s best performances ever. The community was also quick to adapt with Mobius M. Mobius and Legion seeing increasingly more play as time passed. Then, while Thanos came up with a different build and brought some surprising play patterns (in addition to Skaar), InSheNaut kept basically the same deck with similar weaknesses to its old iterations, which means the environment was quicker to adapt against it.

It remains a great deck, and Leech is returning to be one of the most disruptive cards in the game, so I wouldn’t be too afraid for InSheNaut. Still, its resiliency might be a concern if the deck reaches very high levels of popularity.

Conquest Performance:
The archetype is historically stronger in Conquest than it is in Ranked, so it is no surprise to see InSheNaut do well. However, some of the best performing builds were playing Rogue instead of Caiera or Leech. The reason is probably to deal with Mobius M. Mobius since it has been showing up in several decks. If that trend continues, the archetype could very well be a distant memory when we revisit this report – especially since the 3-Cost also helps against other decks using Zabu or Loki.

Removing Caiera will make the deck weaker against Killmonger (which you will see plenty of in Thanos Lockjaw), while Leech derails Blob and Alioth more than anything else. It is difficult to figure out which option is the best, and this shows that, once again, InSheNaut isn’t as resilient to counter cards as Thanos might be. Both game modes indicate that InSheNaut is struggling to adapt to disruptive cards.

Potential Additions:
InSheNaut has always been a deck that is difficult to adapt once it has found a refined build. Shocker might still be a flexible card, but the other eleven look set in stone.

Good Cards Darkhawk

Darkhawk

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

2

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
Yes, all three decks at the top of our rankings are running Leech this week. It makes sense considering the card was already gaining lots of momentum with Blob and various disruptive cards to turn off going into Turn 6. Now, Skaar is another card you are happy to cancel so it doesn’t get the cost reduction. You could also add that, with Skaar pushing for Lockjaw to be more popular, the Rock synergy looks more appealing.

This only made Darkhawk stronger going into this season, and it’s a comfort pick for many players. Looking at the 0.5 Cube Average and 59% Win Rate, it seems like it was a reasonable choice.

Conquest Performance:
With Mobius M. Mobius instead of Rogue and Echo replacing Iceman, Darkhawk has been doing well in Conquest this week – just like it always does. The Rock synergy makes it a decent deck against Thanos Lockjaw, even if Shang-Chi could help even more in that particular match up. Honestly, there isn’t any particularly bad match up for this deck. InSheNaut could be considered an annoying one without a way to remove Limbo, but Mobius M. Mobius more than makes up for that, and Shadow King can turn a lane around.

It looks like Good Cards is just its old self early in the new season no matter which mode you look at. If you nail the disruptive cards, you should have a Tier 1 deck.

Potential Additions:
Iceman and Rogue are the two flexible cards in the deck. Shang-Chi and Mobius M. Mobius are popular disruptive cards currently, while Black Widow and Killmonger are often included in the archetype.

Lockdown

Lockdown

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

2

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

1x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

6x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
It seems like the hybrid Move list is now the standard one for Lockdown, and the 0.5 Cube Average and 59% Win Rate backs that up nicely. The deck functions as a Good Cards deck, but it isn’t using Zabu; instead, Lockdown features more disruption with Echo, Storm, and Alioth. In a fairly slow environment (both InSheNaut and Thanos don’t really develop a ton early on), the ability to limit space has many upsides, especially with Alioth available.

Outside this core, the deck relies on disruptive cards to adapt to the meta. In particular, Mobius M. Mobius does a lot of work against InSheNaut, Zabu, and Loki.

Conquest Performance:
Negasonic Teenage Warhead is included in the best Conquest list for the archetype, either instead of Mobius M. Mobius or Alioth, while Spider-Ham replaces Iceman (likely because it opens more Snap opportunities early in the match). Usually, I see much more of Lockdown when looking at the Conquest data since the deck has been great in that mode for a long time. I guess fewer people fancied playing that deck with new cards releasing, hence why Lockdown didn’t look as dominant as it used to.

Potential Additions:
With more of Mobius M. Mobius in the meta, I could see Iceman being replaced for another cheap card that is able to develop tempo early on.

Ongoing Tribunal

Ongoing Tribunal

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

2

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

1x Starter Card

3.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
With less attention around the Ongoing synergy, the deck entirely based on abusing it has managed to rise quite nicely early in the season. Indeed, with a strong 0.5 Cube Average and 58% Win Rate, Ongoing Tribunal dodged all the Shang-Chis, Mobius M. Mobiuses, and Killmongers in the other decks while putting up enough points to challenge most of the current popular archetypes.

A mastery of Snaps and Retreats should make this deck excellent in this early season meta.

Conquest Performance:
The strong performance on the Ladder doesn’t seem to have transferred to Conquest for Ongoing Tribunal; it couldn’t post a high enough Win Rate to be considered a good deck in that mode. Considering Conquest tends to reward flexible archetypes that are able to play most match ups, it only makes sense to see such a synergistic archetype struggle there. Indeed, once the opponent knows what your deck is about, they will be much more precise in their use of counter cards, and they’ll also be more cautious with their Snaps and Retreats. You could get a few cubes from early Snaps if the opponent fears they cannot stop your best hand, but you will usually be punished pretty hard once both players have revealed their decks.

Potential Additions:
Invisible Woman and Sera are also common inclusions in the archetype.

Tier 2

Electro Ramp

Electro Ramp

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

2

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

4.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.7

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
Blob decks are suffering from Leech being part of several builds right now, but Electro Ramp’s ability to land it on Turn 5 does a better job than Good Cards Blob (which isn’t ranked this time) at playing around it.

With a 0.4 Cube Average and 54% Win Rate, this deck looks like a decent pick for a player in search of a simple deck that follows similar play patterns game after game. While it could be considered boring for some, this kind of archetype helps players find comport early in a new meta since you don’t need to adapt your strategy against different opponents.

Conquest Performance:
For a deck with a very linear game plan, Electro Ramp has been doing pretty well in Conquest since it became the second most played Blob deck. The best list in the mode managed to post a 62.5% Win Rate and featured a greedier build than the Ranked list. The deck is not running any 1-Costs, instead adding either Arnim Zola or Red Skull to the mix. It seems like the goal is just to leverage the Snap mechanic whenever you can find Electro early on, while accepting that a hand with any 1-Cost but not a way to ramp to your big cards early won’t cut it most of the time.

Plus, this deck is doing pretty well against Good Cards Darkhawk – a popular deck in Conquest – because Blob can come out behind Armor on Turn 5, thus dodging both Shang-Chi and Leech. Shadow King can still be a problem, but you should know soon enough whether your opponent plays it or not.

Potential Additions:
Sunspot could be replaced with Echo, Nebula, or another strong standalone 1-Cost. As for more expensive cards, Vision and Orka look like the flexible ones in the deck, with other high power cards like Red Skull, Giganto, or The Infinaut able to replace them (depending on if you want to invest into a huge Blob or the ability to play when you don’t draw your signature card).

Loki Collector

Loki Collector

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

1

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
Loki was part of the group of decks that started the season slow and slowly climbed back to their usual standards. The 0.35 Cube Average and 57% win rate isn’t particularly bad, but many players will tell you Loki is much stronger than those numbers would indicate and the archetype deserves to be in Tier 1.

It probably will once it figures out its best list in the current meta, just like it did in previous seasons. Right now, Loki doesn’t like to steal cards from InSheNaut, even if Mobius M. Mobius helps in that match up. The thing is, that same card is also a problem for Loki, and it is starting to spread across the meta (and annoy the Trickster God in the process).

Conquest Performance:
Loki is playing the same list in Conquest with only the tech cards being changed depending on which list you look at. But, in every case I saw, the archetype couldn’t cross the 60% Win Rate barrier over a large size. It simply seems like the current disruptive cards are too annoying for Loki to deal with.

Also, Thanos Lockjaw and InSheNaut aren’t particularly good opponents to face since stealing either deck rarely leads to an incredible turn. Overall, the meta is more synergistic with more specific game plans, and that doesn’t work out in Loki‘s favor.

Potential Additions:
There are various iterations of Loki going around, although it seems like Ms. Marvel plus Devil Dinosaur is the most common one. However, Rogue, Mobius M. Mobius, and Shang-Chi are flexible and could be replaced depending on which aspects of the deck you want to emphasize on. Among the core cards, Mirage looks like the most replaceable one with Sentinel a consideration as another 2-Cost.

Good Cards Black Knight

Black Knight Tempo

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
Black Knight was the other card often associated with Skaar outside of Blob, but it seems like the pair didn’t manage to work together as well. Instead, Black Knight has remained very close to its build from last season, with only Rogue added to the mix for an opposing Mobius M. Mobius annoying Zabu and Sera.

Without any improvements compared to last season, and with the other point-driven decks including a new card or managing to adapt against the popular decks, the 0.35 Cube Average and 53% Win Rate feels logical for this archetype.

Conquest Performance:
When you play Zabu plus Sera and Mobius M. Mobius is the popular tech card, it is difficult to have a good time in Conquest. You know your opponent will often Snap you once they saw you didn’t have a great opener to create a huge Ebony Blade. Even with Rogue in the deck to help with that, it still means you have to do something other than developing your synergies on Turn 4. With that turn used for a different purpose, you then need to find both Zabu and Sera to have an explosive Turn 6 and catch up in the points department.

With a lot of Blob decks having a higher ceiling than you do and Rogue ready to take away your Zabu, Black Knight isn’t having it easy in the current meta. More than anything, it is the fact that a lot of Snaps will come from your opponent, and you will have to win a few of those rounds to keep your run alive.

Potential Additions:
Mobius M. Mobius and Legion could easily replace Rogue in the deck as far as disruptive cards go. Otherwise, Jeff the Baby Land Shark is played because it is the best flexible 2-Cost, but it could become another 2-Cost if you feel like one is more valuable in the current meta.

Tier 3

Destroy is probably the biggest surprise to see so far down the list, but Caiera and Leech are bad news for the archetype. Also, Skaar pushed point-focused decks that are able to challenge Destroy when it finds Deadpool (and pretty much bully it when it doesn’t). Then, even if the archetype still has some nice potential to exploit, the environment simply feels wrong for Destroy early in the season.

As for Junk and Pure Evolutionary, both decks are doing decent for their own standards. Junk has the great upside of using Shadow King and Valkyrie in its arsenal, and both of those cards are able to bypass Caiera to take care of an early Blob. The deck lacks in the points department to compete with the rest of the meta, though, as the average points output per game is very high right now. Still, there is something to explore with Junk on the disruption side of things. It is also important to note that Junk was a very good Conquest deck this week thanks to a more reactive, information-driven kind of build.

Pure Evolutionary is just a bad InSheNaut with disruption instead of points, which doesn’t seem to be the way to go currently. Having Leech in the deck means you aim to disrupt. Plus, a deck with Abomination and She-Hulk in a meta with a lot of Mobius M. Mobius doesn’t feel right.

Junk

Good Cards Junk

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

1

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

6x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Conquest Junk

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deadpool Destroy

Deadpool Destroy

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

2

4x 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)

3.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.7

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Pure Evolutionary

Pure Evolutionary

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

2

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

4x Starter Card

3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Closing Words

After a few days, the meta clearly seems to reward a proactive, points-driven mindset more than the disruption-happy meta we had to close the season. Even if you look at the annoying cards, most of them are global rather than precise tools. Mobius M. Mobius and Leech are designed to be played on curve, while Shang-Chi keeps riding alongside Zabu thanks to being a 4-Cost card (and Thanos Lockjaw tends to slam worthy targets one after another). There is still a bit of Rogue since it answers Mobius M. Mobius pretty well and Ms. Marvel still is a popular card, but the rest of the game is very much about points.

Considering we are in the early stages of Planet Hulk and both cards from the first week pushed for this kind of strategy, I don’t see anything alarming at this point. This is just the logical first step for a meta to start balancing itself; we just have to figure out the strong proactive synergies that we need to beat. We can already see InSheNaut being adapted against with Mobius M. Mobius and Legion, so nothing is set in stone yet. Thanos Lockjaw might be a bit more difficult to counter because the deck is much more flexible than InSheNaut, but let’s give it more than just a couple of days before we start panicking.

That is all for the first days in Planet Hulk. I hope you are having a good time playing Marvel Snap. Feel free to share your impressions or preferred deck in the comment section. To reach out, 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.