Marvel Snap Ranked Meta Tier List: April 28, 2024 — Thunderbolts Week 4 & Post-OTA

Welcome to our Marvel Snap Meta Meta Tier List! Each week, we review the best decks in the ever-changing Marvel Snap ladder meta.

This report is dedicated to the Ranked mode and lists the current best decks heading into and once in the Infinite Rank. We also provide a Conquest report, available every weekend, that highlights the best archetypes for that mode. Looking to figure out the impact of the newly released card or the latest balance changes? This is the place to be!

If you are looking for more information about a deck in particular, check out our Archetypes pages, with detailed information about each of the household names in Marvel Snap.

Marvel Snap Meta Overview

Disruption remains the key word in this metagame, as it seems to be the only way to reliably beat Hela or The Living Tribunal, who would otherwise dominate Marvel Snap. Every synergy is using a different trick to stop them, from clogging their space with Annihilus, stealing their cards with Cable, or closing down locations with Professor X.

Heading into the OTA Card Balance Updates, Annihilus felt like the dominant synergy, and we were seeing the 5-cost, Sentry and The Hood slotted in a lot of different decks. However, the more the other forms of disruptions appear, and the worse Annihilus looks. It is only logical, as Annihilus is the most predictable form of disruption, considering you see The Hood and Sentry in play. Plus, it tends to be easily countered by the other disruptive patterns, which can snap as soon as they recognize it and hold the punish in their hand.

Then, with the OTA not pushing a deck, but rather several cards able to fill in various strategies, a lot of different build, all with a similar purpose but different ways to make it happen, emerged. This creates a metagame with a lot of diversity when it comes to cards, but not so much regarding macro strategy.

Right now, I can only recommend checking them out to not be caught off guard if they end up being the real deal in a few days, especially if you enjoy a disruptive, or reaction based game plan. Yes, that is still the best way to win in Marvel Snap, it seems.

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.

Silent Performers

Ongoing Affliction

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

1

1x Collection Level 1-14

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

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)

1x Recruit Season

1x Starter Card

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

This is the deck you need to know about currently, as the Ongoing synergy is making a big push since the OTA. It’s not necessarily Jean Grey gaining a power or U.S. Agent now afflicting minus four power which pushed the deck to be great. Instead, it feels like it does everything the right way in the current metagame.

Armor and Cosmo are great against Annihilus decks, your cards aren’t simple to use for Mill, and you can force some patterns with Jean Grey against Hela or Destroy. The points potential isn’t particularly strong, but Spectrum often is enough to take the win on two lanes when coupled with the appropriate disruption.

Tier 1

Junk

Junk

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

0

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Junk has been gaining momentum every week since it emerged as a solid counter to The Living Tribunal builds. Nowadays, only Hela remains from this category, largely limiting how often Junk can simply clog the opponent for the win. Yet, it seems like the strategy remains strong overall, especially as Destroy isn’t as popular as one would expect.

It is worth nothing Junk is the best archetype when looking at the entire Infinite rank, but loses a bit of momentum as we get higher inside this rank. The synergy would still deserve a Tier one spot even then, but seems to win a bit less the more flexible decks are around.

Also, it is fascinating to see that the best performing lists for Junk do not run Annihilus, Sentry and The Hood, instead focusing on countering this trio with Professor X.

Potential Additions

Titania replaces Daredevil in some lists, while you could think of a lot of specific counter cards if you wanted to edge a specific matchup.

Hela Tribunal

Hela Tribunal

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

4

1x 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)

4x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

1x Starter Card

4.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

6.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

While Ongoing and Negative Tribunal aren’t part of the report this time around, Hela Tribunal keeps finding ways to be a solid deck. As usual, the win rate is much worse compared to most other decks atop the metagame, but the ability to snap remains second to none. For some comparison, Hela Tribunal posted a 0.55 cube average with a little less than 53% win rate. This is the same amount of cubes per game as Loki, the next ranked deck, but with 6% less in the win ratio category.

We might be in a metagame based on disruption and leveraging information early, which shortens the lengths of matches and focused on your win rate, but Hela still finds a way to play the game its own way.

Potential Additions

Jubilee can replace Iron lad or Crystal in that consistency support role.

Loki

Loki

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

3

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

2.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

In a metagame with opponents trying to empty your deck, or disrupt your space to leverage cards such as Cannonball or Titania, Loki just makes a lot of sense. Indeed, you create enough cards so that Mill will never run your hand out of options, and copying Annihilus, Cannonball or another big card from Junk is often enough to play against the deck.

I still find Loki‘s lack of points compared to a lot of other decks a little concerning, but it doesn’t seem to bother the Trickster God, who is on a great run lately.

Potential Additions

Baron Zemo feels more like a card we use to fill up a lane to leverage Elsa Bloodstone than a necessary inclusion. Then, you could replace the season pass card with any other card you see more fit based on your popular opponents. Gladiator, Rogue, Cosmo, Mobius M. Mobius…

Tier 2

Hela Corvus

Hela Corvus

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

4.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

7.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

With a much higher win rate than Hela Tribunal, 56% against 52%, Hela Corvus doesn’t seem able to get as many cubes per game, It might be the ability to keep the opponent in the game when it snaps, or the fact Hela Tribunal disguises its potential much better.

Also, it could be worth noting Hela Tribunal isn’t played much in the very top of the infinite rank, while Hela Corvus sees play at every threshold available.

Potential Additions

Giganto or another big card replaces Black Knight for those missing the card.

Hammer Control

Hammer Control

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

1

1x 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)

4x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

I didn’t give the deck much credit when I first saw it, as except when drawing Thor into Beta Ray Bill into Jane Foster Mighty Thor, it felt like there were very few points to develop. Yet, with a 0.4 cube average and a 56% win rate over about 900 games, the deck must be doing stronger than I gave it credit for.

The disruptive cards look great in the current metagame. Shadow King helps against Destroy, Angela, or Nebula. Lady Deathstrike thrives in a metagame with a lot of Junk going around. Red Guardian is the most irregular in terms of performances as it depends a lot on how the opponent places their cards, but can shut down certain decks on its own.

On top of those, we have Quake for location control, and Shang-Chi because it is Shang-Chi. Then, if you manage to develop enough points to compete, you have a way to disrupt almost any opponent you’ll come across.

Potential Additions

The deck is just getting starting following the buff to Jane Foster, so feel free to test various ideas to build your ideal list of Hammer Control.

Another Control deck also rose since the OTA, merging concept from the Ongoing build in the silent performers, and some disruptive tools atop the curve:

Affliction Control

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

0

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

For most of 2023, Silver Surfer didn’t feel like it could compete, no matter how the deck was built, mostly due to never feeling unfair compared to other dominant archetypes. With a lot of new cards being strong 3-costs, Silver Surfer keeps piling on the good cards to include, and feel like it can produce a competitive build at any point.

The Hazmat, combo oriented build isn’t part of the report this week, but the other, more classic build is carrying the torch with a 0.35 cube average and 58% win rate, one of the highest in the game.

Potential Additions

Any 3-cost you deem worthy of using in the current metagame can make the list, while some like a second 4-cost alongside Absorbing Man, as Hope Summers routinely allows you to play with seven energy on turn six.

Move

Move

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

1

2x 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)

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

3.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

I tend to compare Loki and Move a lot, as both archetype are extremely flexible in how they develop, while both rely on Angela, Kitty Pryde and Elsa Bloodstone as well. Yet, it seems like Loki is doing much better than Move lately, which I would explain two different ways:

• Loki might not be as punishing to play, considering the signature card is able to get you out of certain situations, even if you made a mistake in placing a card in the wrong location.
• Move might be very flexible, the amount of points it can develop isn’t so difficult to anticipate, only their position being up in the air.

In both cases, Move seems to be a little more difficult to leverage currently, explaining the 0.35 cube average and 55% win rate when the other super flexible deck sits in Tier 1, largely ahead in both categories.

Potential Additions

Captain Marvel or a different counter card can be slotted instead of Shang-Chi or Miles Morales.

Tier 3

Lockdown

Lockdown

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

8x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

I don’t know how Lockdown managed to post a solid performance last week with the [2/3] Zabu, but I’m very glad the deck looks to have gone a different direction now
For this one, we still find some staples of the archetype, such as Nebula or Ms. Marvel, but Professor X is now the lockdown card of choice. In a metagame with a lot of Annihilus going around, the card makes a lot of sense, and it finds good synergies in this deck as well, helping Nebula or White Widow be as annoying as possible.

0.3 cube average isn’t so bad for a deck in rebuilding mode, especially with a 57% win rate.

Hammer Miracle

Hammer Miracle

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

2.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

In a Junk-heavy metagame, I didn’t expect this type of deck to be able to thrive, as it can quickly lack the space needed to develop its synergies. Yet, with a 0.3 cube average and 56% win rate, Hammer Miracle is the best way to play a Bounce style, explosive deck since the OTA.

DeathJunk

DeathJunk

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

1

2x 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)

4x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.6

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Based around the idea of getting Mockingbird and Death for free in order to build a great turn six, I would have never imagined DeathJunk had a shot at doing better than Destroy. Yet, the Deadpool archetype struggled for some reason lately, meaning this was the best way the leverage the Destroy synergy over the last couple of days.

Zemo Mill

Zemo Mill

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

0

2x 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)

4x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Although it keeps being a popular deck, Baron Zemo still can’t find a way to raise its cube average enough to be a threat in the metagame. At this point, it might be safe to say this is kind of the new InSheNaut, a deck with a lot of upsides in Conquest, but simply not suited to grind the ladder. Indeed, you need to make bold snaps for your opponent to stay in the game, as they typically can see why you raised the stakes on most occasions.

Destroy

Destroy

Created by den

, updated 14 days 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+

In a metagame with a lot of Junk, I was expecting Destroy to be one of the best archetypes in the game, so it’s a bit of a shock to see it so far down the list. The deck is the same so it must be due to the surrounding environment.

More of Professor X and Red Guardian could be a part of the problem. The Ongoing synergy being more popular means Armor and Cosmo are as well. It looks like the environment from afar is great for Destroy, but there are a lot of traps you need to avoid if you take a closer look.

Phoenix Force

Phoenix Force

Created by den

, updated 14 days ago

3

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

I really thought The Phoenix Force hit the jackpot with the hybrid list using The Living Tribunal alongside Iron Man and Onslaught, but that one is nowhere to be seen right now. Then, with Professor X growing rampant, and Yondu in the Mill deck transforming your easy snap into a 50/50, Phoenix Force isn’t living its best life currently.

Closing Words

If I had to give an advice as to how to approach the current metagame, it would be to keep it simple unless you know the game very well. Right now, there are so many disruptive cards to account for, it makes it quite difficult to figure out precisely why your opponent snapped, as a lot of decks look the same early on.

Nebula into Jeff, White Widow or Cable, could be a Junk, Lockdown, or Mill deck, if we can even tell the difference considering they all often share 3 to 5 cards. Proactive decks are easier to spot, which is probably why they aren’t doing so well lately, apart for Loki thanks to cheating energy to come back in the match, or Hela which benefits from being simple to snap with.

In this environment with a ton of information to handle in order to make the best decision, the reasonable route probably is to limit how much information we need to play our deck well, at least at first. Once we built more comfort, we can venture into more intricate play-patterns, which will require us to identify the traps our opponent has waiting for us.

This hasn’t happened much in Marvel Snap, as proactive decks have almost always been dominant in the game. I see a lot of mixed feeling about it on social media. 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.