Marvel Snap Meta Tier List: March 16, 2024 – Thanos and Discard Above the Rest

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

As many predicted, Mockingbird‘s biggest impact has been in the Thanos archetype. With the boost the Mad Titan received with the new card, the change to the Time Stone was basically an afterthought. Even Professor X, which many believed would be the cut for Mockingbird (since the deck lost one of the energy engines it used to get the 5-Cost out on Turn 4), is still seeing plenty of play.

I considered ranking Thanos in its own tier considering how well it did over the last couple of days. However, there is another archetype worthy of being discussed as a powerhouse as well: Discard Dracula.

Hela has started to lose some momentum, and now Apocalypse and Dracula are the only ones standing in Thanos‘s way (even if the buff to Miek hasn’t done much so far). This is logical when you look at the current meta. Most of the strongest strategies are points driven, but they’re not particularly weak to Shang-Chi. Then, even if Mobius M. Mobius gained tons of popularity as a counter to Mockingbird, Discard remains one of the best archetypes when it comes to developing points.

There are a few other pretenders worth discussing, such as The Phoenix Force and Bounce. They’re two synergies with a super high ceiling and are relatively resilient to Mobius M. Mobius. The Phoenix Force finally is out of the Silent Performers section with enough games under its belt to support its solid performance during the Black Order season. As for Bounce, there are multiple builds going around, but the variant based around the Move synergy has been doing fantastic lately. It would have been a high Tier 2 deck if not for the lack of a bigger sample size.

Combined, The Phoenix Force and Bounce are showing that Move is a solid strategy to explore when it comes to developing a lot of points. Professor X still finding its way in Thanos could be a problem eventually, but the traditional Move build didn’t do anything relevant this week so it is good to see other decks around the synergy pick up the slack.

Overall, the meta is very much about a lot of points and a few generic disruptive cards (if you have the flexibility for them). Thanos leads the way as the most flexible archetype in the game; however, Discard still has the higher points ceiling, and Move has built-in flexibility when it comes to dodging Shang-Chi.

There are plenty of other decks to discuss as well, but none were part of the last balance update or use Mockingbird, so they will have to wait a bit more to get their spotlight. Still, don’t dismiss the other decks featured in this report. Some might be a card or two away from a really strong list. Plus, there is a brand new imbalance event going on with the Avengers and the X-Men battling for domination. Check out this piece about the event to see plenty of decks that are centered around abusing those synergies! Until then, you can find some ideas in the Potential Additions section of each deck.

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.

Silent Performers

The top discreet decks this week featured a pair of super proactive decks that aimed to develop a lot of points while keeping their opponent in the dark regarding the precise spread, as well as a Cerebro 3 deck that heavily leaned towards disruption. Killmonger and Leech are worth discussing for this report since they represent two important abilities in this meta to disrupt either Thanos or Discard.

For Thanos, you want to pack Killmonger because he will remove the Infinity Stones from the playing field and keep Mockingbird at her base cost. You could do the exact same thing with Mobius M. Mobius, but, if your deck has other benefits to running Killmonger, removing a bit of power from Thanos is never a bad thing.

As for Leech, the card was widely regarded as nerfed, but hitting all On Reveal cards in the opponent’s hand still covers a wide variety of decks, especially Discard. Sure, you aren’t cancelling Apocalypse‘s ability anymore, but hitting MODOK is often just as good. Plus, you also cancel Alioth and Blob in Thanos, which guarantees Valkyrie or Iron Man can come in safely on the last turn of play. You can also ensure that the Reality Stone won’t change Limbo on Turn 6.

Overall, the ability to develop points remains the essential trait you want to build your deck around, hence why Cerebro 3 is the third of our Silent Performers this week. Still, seeing a disruptive build post a good performance is reassuring in a way because it shows you are not forced to rely solely on points.

Bounce Move

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

2

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x 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+

3.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Double-Up

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

2

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Cerebro 3

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

2

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

2x Starter Card

3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

1.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Tier 1

Thanos Control

Thanos Control

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

4

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

4.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
I considered giving Thanos its own tier this week; the 0.7 Cube Average and 63% Win Rate is just about as dominant as it gets. But the Mad Titan has plenty of various builds in the meta, so, even if the featured one posted an amazing performance, the archetype as a whole didn’t deserve to have a “Tier S” created for the occasion.

Nevertheless, Thanos has been absolutely brutal since Mockingbird joined the game. It dominates the fray through a flexible spread of points and seizing priority for Alioth or Professor X (or giving it up for Shang-Chi).

Overall, it feels like there is no weakness to the deck. You have to beat it with more points while dodging the disruptive cards they throw at you. My only advice is good luck.

Conquest Performance:
Without much of a surprise, Thanos also posted a very solid Win Rate in Conquest where its flexibility shines even more. I would recommend running Alioth there because it is a super scary card in Conquest. Otherwise, there isn’t much to change in a deck this dominant.

Potential Additions:
Mobius M. Mobius and Professor X can both be regarded as flexible inclusions, while Jeff the Baby Land Shark also loses value without Professor X in the deck. However, with Psylocke, Professor X, and Hope Summers already included, you could think about adding another X-Man to reach four and get the bonus during the imbalance event.

As for the Avengers, you have Shang-Chi, Mockingbird, and Vision in the deck, so you could think about throwing Iron Lad or another strong standalone to reach their bonus. Due to Thanos‘s focus on flexibility, I would recommend going with the X-Men because they don’t require any specific positioning to get the bonus.

Discard Dracula

Discard

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

1

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
A notch below Thanos, Discard still has a leg up on the rest of the competition. Indeed, the 0.45 Cube Average and 59% Win Rate would usually be enough to take the top spot (which it did in previous weeks).

So far, the best performing list is the exact same as before the balance patch, but I’ve seen many players report having great results with Miek and Daken instead of Helicarrier and either Gambit, Corvus Glaive, or The Collector. I think Discard will definitely be a contender in the upcoming meta because there is no reason for the archetype to be worse than it currently is. Instead, the question is whether there is a “best way” to play it, whether Discard adapt to its opponents, or whether you can build a deck based on your preferences.

Conquest Performance:
Even if flexibility and adaptation isn’t Discard’s strong suit, the deck has such a high potential right now that it managed to be a strong Conquest pick anyway.

Gambit is really good in that game mode because it can demolish a lot of set up cards such as Zabu and Hope Summers. Plus, the unpredictability brought by Helicarrier probably has more upside in this mode. It dilutes how much information your opponent really has on your deck.

Potential Additions:
Miek, Daken, and the usual high-stat discard abilities (Hellcow, Sword Master) can be considered as replacements in the deck for cards you would be missing, or if The Collector and Helicarrier does not fit your vision of the deck.

As for the event, Discard is a very synergistic archetype, so it feels difficult to adapt the archetype to profit from either the X-Men or the Avengers bonus. This deck might be a little less dominant while the imbalance event is live since other builds have access to a little more points than they usually do.

Tier 2

Phoenix Force

Phoenix Force

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

2

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

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)

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
Phoenix Force has been a solid synergy for a while, but it’s regarded as unreliable and punishing if you aren’t very disciplined with your Snaps and Retreats. Still, the archetype has some incredible upsides compared to most other archetypes trying to compete with the duo in Tier 1: it dodges Shang-Chi and Alioth really well, and it can compete with Discard in a points shootout.

Of course, Phoenix Force isn’t as stable as the other two, and it can lose to itself more than you’d like to. Considering the Snaps with this deck are difficult to punish, be mindful of Professor X. This archetype has been able to post a solid 0.35 Cube Average, even if the Win Rate if significantly lower than Discard and Thanos. You could consider this kind of what Hela was before February: very high highs, but pretty depressing lows.

Conquest Performance:
A really good pilot will probably find success with Phoenix Force in Conquest. However, the deck can be super punishing to play in that mode, and you could see your run end because of poor draws during multiple rounds. Plus, even if you can play around the popular tech cards, Armor is very difficult to play around, which makes InSheNaut, a popular Conquest pick, very difficult to beat.

Potential Additions:
Considering this is a very synergistic deck with little room for adaptation, I don’t think Phoenix Force can really take advantage of the new event. Right now, only The Living Tribunal feels like a flexible card in the deck.

Pure Evolutionary

Pure Evolutionary

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

1

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

5x Starter Card

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
I was not expecting the High Evolutionary synergy to do so well this week since Mobius M. Mobius has been really popular with Mockingbird‘s release. The best performing list is a bit of a mystery as well; it has Luke Cage slotted instead of the expected Hope Summers.

Overall, this feels like a “test it to make your own opinion” kind of deck. I did just that and wasn’t too impressed, but I have to respect the data I had available. One thing to note: Pure Evolutionary might be one of the best archetypes to exploit the new event because it can build for either the X-Men or the Avengers (or both).

Conquest Performance:
There is probably a need for more disruption, such as Rogue, Shang-Chi, or Mobius M. Mobius, in the deck if you decide to pick it for Conquest. Plus, InSheNaut is the stronger pick among the High Evolutionary decks when it comes to this game mode. Then, I would recommend this deck if it is a comfort pick and you feel good about adapting it to fit your vision of the meta.

Potential Additions:
With four X-Men (Sunspot, Cyclops, Magik, and Armor) and three Avengers (Hulk, She-Hulk, and Luke Cage), this deck looks primed to abuse the current event. Rogue and Hope Summers feel like easy inclusions to focus on the X-Men synergy, while Wasp, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman, and Shang-Chi highlight the list of possible Avengers to include.

InSheNaut

InSheNaut

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

3

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

4x Starter Card

3.6

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
The other High Evolutionary build (and typically the best performing one) had a solid Win Rate this week at 57.5%, which is the closest to the dominant duo. However, the Cube Average at only 0.3 was a little disappointing considering the Win Rate, which is probably due to Mobius M. Mobius punishing early Snaps.

There are two important things to note about the featured list. Magik has regained its spot over Hope Summers, which is just as weird as Luke Cage in the previous deck (this might indicate the extra draw is important to the deck’s success). Also, Leech is still part of the deck, probably because there are more than enough On Reveal abilities to make the card worth it.

Conquest Performance:
Conquest is InSheNaut’s backyard, even if Thanos rocking Professor X (even after the Time Stone nerf) is a bit of a bummer. Still, Discard isn’t such a bad opponent thanks to Leech, and you can add Rogue for the deck’s nemesis, Mobius M. Mobius.

If you aren’t a big fan of Thanos or Discard, this is a probably a good one to explore in Conquest.

Potential Additions:
Just like Pure Evolutionary, the event should only benefit InSheNaut because you can build towards both the X-Men or the Avengers synergy if you wish to do so. I would personally love to include Hope Summers plus Wasp in the deck instead of Magik and Nebula. They bring more explosive power and open the possibility of a Turn 4 Leech, which can be backbreaking for certain archetypes.

Hela Lockjaw

Hela Lockjaw

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

2

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

8x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

4.6

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

7.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
While the Ramp builds are still struggling to become dominant, Hela and Lockjaw have reunited around a fairly simple build and managed to post a solid performance together. With the recent dominance of Discard, most of the community has learned to respect this deck when it Snaps, which has logically impacted its Cube Rate as a result. Still, even if Discard Dracula seems to be the best way to play Discard, Hela remains a solid pick – even with more of Alioth and Professor X in Thanos.

Conquest Performance:
Similar to Phoenix Force, Hela needs a sound mastery of your Snaps and Retreats in order to consistently win in Conquest. Plus, while Phoenix Force can’t abuse it as much, a little bluff from time to time can do wonders because it will turn a future Retreat into a one cube gain. That could potentially turn the fate of the match around on the back of your opponent fearing Hela too much.

Alioth is naturally a problem for Hela, and Professor X is as well. That makes Thanos quite an annoying opponent. If you can dodge the him, this is a fine consideration for Conquest.

Potential Additions:
I really like the Colleen Wing + Swarm duo in the deck because they give plenty of high roll potential to Lockjaw. Zabu could be a consideration as well with so many 4-Costs included.

As for the imbalance event, it looks difficult to change the deck enough to benefit from the bonuses. Plus, only the X-Men synergy would make sense since Hela doesn’t really allow you to pick where most of your cards will be positioned.

Destroy

Destroy

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

1

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x 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

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Rank Justification:
While it is still a competitive deck, Destroy has finally suffered from the aftermath of two nerfs and is now a solid Tier 2 archetype. The list is still the same with only Shang-Chi (and occasionaly Deathlok) changing into Alioth or Arnim Zola.

Overall, Destroy is still good enough to grind to Infinite. It’s not a bad choice if you simply enjoy playing the deck. Still, this isn’t a dominant synergy anymore, and Phoenix Force looks to have more upsides if you want to compare the two destroy-based decks.

Conquest Performance:
With InSheNaut running Armor, Thanos with Professor X, and Discard able to match your points, Destroy really needs to be piloted very well to find success over a full Conquest run.

This doesn’t mean the archetype isn’t able to get you an Infinity ticket, but, unless you like this deck a lot, there are probably other proactive options you can pick that will have a higher chance of success.

Potential Additions:
Wolverine and X-23 are staples in the archetype, so you could look for a way to get enough X-Men to have a chance at the power bonus. Rogue could replace Shang-Chi and Forge could be slotted back in the deck, or maybe you could use Magik since an extra turn could lead to a bigger Deadpool.

Tier 3

Galactus Junk is hovering between low Tier 2 and Tier 3 from one week to another, so it isn’t so surprising to see it here. It is a bit more concerning when it comes to Good Cards Black Knight, though, since this is a deck that was riding some nice momentum over the last few weeks. It seems to have been blindsided by the changes this week.

It is difficult to say precisely what is going wrong with the deck (apart from the obvious Mobius M. Mobius problem since this build runs both Zabu and Sera). There are no Zabu decks featured in the first two tiers, so maybe that synergy is a little too fair right now and it cannot compete with Thanos and Discard.

The welcome surprise of Tier 3 this week is the new take on Iron Patriot that looks to leverage Mockingbird thanks to all the tokens created on the board. The performance isn’t stellar by any means, but it has made Patriot a relevant foundation once again, which is already a great thing for diversity.

There are still lots of cards you could try in this deck, such as Bast, Forge, Absorbing Man, or even The Hood. Basically cards that can reduce Mockingbird or come from the previous Iron Patriot shell.

When it comes to the imbalance event, Patriot already runs three Avengers (Wasp, Mockingbird, and Ant Man), so that is a direction to explore. Galactus and Black Knight don’t seem to have a specific side they can abuse easily. Good Cards is known for its flexibility, though, so there may be a way to get more Avengers in there.

Iron Zoo Patriot

Iron ZooTriot

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2x Recruit Season

2.9

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Galactus Junk

Galactus Junk

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

3

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.6

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Good Cards Black Knight

Good Cards Black Knight

Created by den

, updated 2 months ago

0

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)

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

3.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Closing Words

I doubt the imbalance event will completely change the landscape of the meta. An extra power to all of your X-Men is a nice buff, but it’s unlikely to be enough to match the potential of Discard considering the deck’s success lately. Plus, with Thanos running wild, going all in on a location with several Avengers could tip them off regarding where to play Professor X or Alioth.

Even if the event does bring some nice diversity and opens various decks to be more competitive than they usually are (you can check out the article about those decks on this very website by the way), I doubt the dominant duo will be challenged until Cannonball or another balance update comes around.

Until then, we can at least appreciate the fact that Thanos and Discard play very differently, which means we have access to different play styles. The reactive archetypes are definitely struggling, which I’m sure you noticed since there was no Loki or Sera Control included in the report. I was just as shocked as you are, but the Marvel Snap meta can be an unforgiving one at times.

I’m sure we will see more of those archetypes in the near future once everyone gets tired of abusing Mockingbird in Thanos, or we find a way to limit its synergies. For example, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of Killmonger to deal with the Infinity Stones in addition to Mobius M. Mobius.

Until our next update, I hope you have found a deck to enjoy while playing Marvel Snap, or that this report could help you in finding it. 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.