Table of Contents
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
The OTA brought some welcome novelty to the Marvel Snap meta, even if there wasn’t as much change as some hoped. Indeed, while we have a lengthy list of Silent Performers this time around (which shows the patch impacted several archetypes), the most popular decks remain… pretty much the same.
Discard is still on top with two fewer points on Apocalypse, but the change to the Mind Stone seems to have had a bigger impact on Thanos. It ranked in Tier 2 for the first time this month.
Joining them in the top two tiers are Destroy, Hela, Galactus, and Phoenix Force, all decks that were part of the previous report. I could note the absence of Move and Bounce from the Tier List this week since they’ve been routine inclusions this season.
I would attribute their very low play rate to the multiple decks on the rise like Lockdown and Silver Surfer. Both of those archetypes improved quite a bit with the buff to the Guardians of the Galaxy. As I said previously, the improved archetypes with the OTA haven’t overtaken the staple inclusions yet, but it isn’t farfetched to think they will keep gaining momentum as more players report good results with them.
Overall, the meta is pretty traditional for a post-OTA situation. The big names (i.e. the comfort picks) received most of the player base’s attention since it seems that they were just looking to pick up a deck and get results quickly. As for the archetypes with some extra power available, they will need to convince a larger audience and build up a bigger popularity, which usually takes a little more than just a couple of days.
I guess the only thing left to do in this early meta is to pick whether you want to play an old reliable, or give a deck on the rise a shot. If you’re not sure which to pick, this report is here to help!
Happy Tier List, everyone!
Marvel Snap Meta Tier List
| Tier | Deck |
|---|---|
| Silent Performer | Lockdown |
| Silent Performer | Mister Negative |
| Silent Performer | Patriot |
| Silent Performer | Silver Surfer |
| Silent Performer | Toxic Sera Good in Conquest |
| Tier 1 | Discard Dracula Great in Conquest |
| Tier 1 | Destroy 🔼 Great in Conquest |
| Tier 2 | Thanos Control 🔽 Good in Conquest |
| Tier 2 | Galactus Junk 🔼 |
| Tier 2 | Hela Ramp |
| Tier 2 | Phoenix Force |
| Tier 3 | Loki 🔙 |
| Tier 3 | Pure Evolutionary 🔽 |
| Conquest Only | Ongoing Tribunal |
| Conquest Only | Good Cards Stature |
| Budget | Ongoing Kazoo |
| Budget | Devil Dinosaur Destroy |
| Budget | Swarm Discard Aggro |
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 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 rack up Cubes. 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.
Cube Average > 0.5
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.
Cube Average > 0.35
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.
Cube Average > 0.20
Good in Conquest: Has a deck above a 57% Win Rate in that mode.
Great in Conquest: Has a deck above a 62% Win Rate in that mode.
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.
Silent Performers
There are plenty of decks to discuss in this section this week, which is the natural result of an OTA that brought some diversity to Marvel Snap (at least over the first couple of days after its release).
Among this group of Silent Performers, you might see a few familiar faces. Lockdown, in particular, has been a staple for a very long time, but it has been struggling in 2024. With all the Guardians of the Galaxy buffed, the deck that is best able to limit where the opponent can play has easily become better.
Silver Surfer also benefited from those buffs. The archetype uses Groot and Jean Grey as new 3-Cost inclusions, while Rocket Raccoon serves to smooth the curve whenever you have an energy to spare. With Nebula in the mix, guessing where the opponent is playing their cards next is fairly simple most of the time.
The last three decks weren’t directly impacted by the changes, but, when other decks lose some momentum, others are bound to pick it up. Patriot keeps using Mockingbird as another way to develop a solid amount of points on all three location. Mister Negative is rocking an exotic deck with Lady Deathstrike joining the Black Panther shell. As for Toxic Sera, the build remains the best for the Control archetype, even if the twelve cards included have not changed in quite some time.
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Tier 1
Discard Dracula
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Rank Justification:
Losing two points on Apocalypse was something, but surely not enough to make Discard Dracula a bad deck. Indeed, this change was reminiscent of Hulkbuster becoming a [2/3] for Destroy; we quickly got over it. However, this could mean this is just the first of a series of slight nerfs to the archetype that will eventually tone it down to where the developers want it to be.
Until then, Discard Dracula is the best deck to grind the ranks. It’s strong with a great proactive game plan that it can impose onto most opponents, and it has some form of flexibility through Gambit and Helicarrier.
Conquest Performance:
While it was among the most popular decks in the Ranked mode, there wasn’t so much of Discard in Conquest after the OTA. The deck still showed a solid performance with this list posting a 62% Win Rate over close to 200 games.
With both Miek and Colleen Wing included, it seems like Discard wants a stronger start in Conquest. It’s probably to Snap more aggressively and get a few cubes from a scared opponent early in the match.
Potential Additions:
Miek and discard abilities are the next in line to go into the deck. Colleen Wing and Sword Master are both great for their cost, but some difficult choices have to be made since there are only twelve slots.
Destroy
Rank Justification:
On the decline after it was the focus of some slight nerfs in February, Destroy slowly climbed back in the meta rankings to return to being a great archetype once again. It is difficult to say whether it is the new environment that favors Destroy (this is a well-known, comfort archetype for many, after all), or if the deck is really this strong again.
Nevertheless, even if you could put this strong performance on the back of Thanos being nerfed, plenty of other archetypes, such as Hela and Loki, didn’t suffer at all from the OTA. And those still posted worse results than Deadpool and company.
Conquest Performance:
If you look at a significant sample size, Destroy posted the best Win Rate in Conquest after the OTA with 57% over more than 500 games. In that mode, Arnim Zola took over Alioth‘s spot in the deck, which only shows that a more proactive approach to Destroy is better in Conquest. That could make sense since the deck’s biggest strength in that game mode is its ability to Snap early, forcing the opponent to decide whether they stay against a strong hand or give you a cube.
If you were to look at small sample sizes, Destroy soared to a 63% Win Rate when using Shang-Chi instead of Arnim Zola. This is the usual rotation between the cards vying for the last spot in the deck. There was also a list using Forge instead of Nico Minoru that did pretty well.
Potential Additions:
Alioth is the flexible card in the build, with Arnim Zola or Shang-Chi typically occupying that same spot. Some players are starting to run Shuri and Nimrod as well, but that different take isn’t popular at all so far.
Tier 2
Thanos Control
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Rank Justification:
The big question heading into this report was How good is Thanos now?
Well, not so bad apparently. Many archetypes would love to post a 0.35 Cube Average and 56% Win Rate right after being nerfed. If this is the lowest Thanos is going, we still have a great archetype on our hands that has enough flexibility to pack some counter cards if needed.
The change to Mind Stone feels big so far, but Mockingbird, Blob, Hope Summers, and the other powerhouses in the deck are making sure the Mad Titan still has a shot in most games.
Conquest Performance:
We are pretty far from the usual Thanos domination in Conquest where multiple lists post a Win Rate north of 60%. This time, the best list (which is the same as the one for Ranked) reached 60%, but it was alone in doing so for the archetype. Discard and Destroy, on the other hand, had more builds past that threshold.
Granted, no deck was particularly strong this week in Conquest over a large sample size, but this correlates with Thanos feeling weaker overall since the archetype posted worse results in both modes after the OTA.
Potential Additions:
Mobius M. Mobius and Shang-Chi are the flexible cards, with Alioth replacing Magneto at times. I can think of a lot of cards to slot into a Thanos deck, such as Rogue, Elsa Bloodstone, Cannonball, and other strong standalone inclusions.
Galactus Junk
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Rank Justification:
Galactus Junk surprised me twice this week. First with its ranking; it isn’t so common to see this archetype in the same range as Thanos, Hela, and the other front-runners that appear in Tier 1 in any given week. Then, even more surprising was Cable performing better than Jeff the Baby Land Shark in the deck.
Yes, you read that last sentence right. The information provided by Cable and its ability to steal a key card from your opponent is actually great in Galactus. In this deck, the more you know about your opponent, the more educated your decision making process will be.
Also, Cannonball looks right at home in the deck. It serves as an Alioth when you don’t have priority on the last lane, and you don’t fear an opposing Alioth, either.
Conquest Performance:
As is pretty customary with Galactus, the deck didn’t do anything worth noting in Conquest. Indeed, keeping your opponent in the dark is a pretty big part of the deck’s win condition. Over approximately 150 games, Galactus managed to post a 55% Win Rate. That’s decent, but a far cry from the top archetypes.
I’m still curious whether a more disruption based list could do well in Conquest. Now that Cable has been added, maybe another card in the same vein could make Galactus a risky yet good deck if you know when to Snap.
Potential Additions:
Looking at Cable‘s solid showing, I would consider Spider-Ham as well in the deck, or maybe Gladiator for added disruption and information early in the match. Otherwise, Shang-Chi and Jeff the Baby Land Shark should always be fine inclusions.
Hela Ramp
Rank Justification:
Even with Apocalypse nerfed, Hela couldn’t beat Dracula to be the best archetype inside this synergy. Still, with a 53% Win Rate and 0.35 Cube Average, Hela remains a very solid deck.
Depending on how strong Lockdown comes back, the archetype could gain some momentum because Hela has no problems reaching the Flooded location. In that scenario, you might want to include Armor so you don’t fear Alioth ruining your entire game.
Plus, if Thanos keeps losing momentum, this could equal less of Professor X in the meta, which is even more good news for Hela.
Conquest Performance:
Hela used Lockjaw instead of Corvus Glaive to post its best performance this week in Conquest with a 60% Win Rate over a little more than a hundred games.
While Corvus brings more potential in Ranked by opening for some play patterns outside of just playing for Hela, Conquest is more punishing, and you often won’t win unless you find your signature card. With this in mind, it makes sense to include Lockjaw for more consistency.
Potential Additions:
Armor can help protect Hela from Alioth, and it would typically replace Black Cat or Dracula.
Phoenix Force
Rank Justification:
The archetype on the rise before the OTA, Phoenix Force managed to remain popular enough to make the rankings, and its performance was also pretty good (although a little concerning in a way). The 0.3 Cube Average is solid for sure, but the 50% Win Rate indicates a deck that you really need to understand when to Snap and Retreat. Otherwise, you could quickly tumble down the rankings.
Potential wise, Phoenix Force certainly looks able to compete with the Destroy, Discard, and the other proactive decks when it gets going. However, it is important to stay alert as to how reliable the deck feels, as well as the current disruption to your game plan. For example, more of Junk means you might destroy more than just Human Torch or Multiple Man, which makes your signature card a 50/50 bet at most.
Conquest Performance:
The same list managed to post a 56% Win Rate in Conquest, which is good, but not particularly stellar compared to other archetypes in this report. It kind of makes sense, though, as an archetype based on timely Snaps with a low win rate in Ranked tends to have mixed results in Conquest.
Potential Additions:
Iron Fist, Iron Lad, and Alioth have been used instead of The Living Tribunal depending on your approach to the deck.
Tier 3
As usual, I feel like Loki isn’t where it deserves to be, and I think it has the potential to compete for a Tier 2 placement at the very least. Still, with Discard still being dominant (one of the worst match ups for the Trickster god), alongside the need to re-learn certain match ups after the OTA, I understand why Loki is in Tier 3 for this report.
The list looks clean, even if it lacks a few points at times, and it relies on stealing cards from the opponent to find that extra potential. Mobius M. Mobius was really popular with Mockingbird in Thanos, so maybe Loki will see less of that annoying card in the future and regain some momentum.
As for Pure Evolutionary, the deck saw more play than InSheNaut, and it looks like the last deck running Pixie right now. When it draws the nuts, the deck is really solid, although I’m wondering why Mobius M. Mobius isn’t a staple in the deck. However, if you don’t get a solid start in a match, you can quickly fall behind, and then Professor X and Alioth become dead cards as a result.
Loki
Pure Evolutionary
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Closing Words
The biggest goal of the OTA was visible immediately after the update now that Thanos looks a bit worse. As for the other archetypes, it will probably take a little longer to witness the aftermath of the OTA. Discard looks pegged for a repeat of what we saw with Destroy last month. There is very little chance the minus two power to Apocalypse will impact the archetype, so I expect another change to Discard Dracula in the near future.
As for the buffs, we have seen some impact already. Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord have emerged from some collections in various archetypes, while Lockdown and Silver Surfer made somewhat of a push. If more players give the Guardians of the Galaxy a shot, they might become a part of the next meta.
To know for certain, we’ll have to revisit the Marvel Snap environment in a few days. I hope you have fun until then!
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.
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