Table of Contents
No deck has really look dominant since the OTA. Indeed, the best win rate at 58.5% is combined with a fine but not glorious 0.35 cube average, while the top ranked 0.55 cube average comes from a deck with a 57.5% win rate.
Typically, these post balance update periods can go two ways:
- Synergistic decks rise, either due to a buff or a chaotic environment without the appropriate counter cards to counter them.
- The metagame barely changes, except for decks we already knew before the update trading popularity points depending on the balance update.
Currently, it seems like we live in the second scenario, with barely any changes to the metagame except for Hela Discard performing well enough to be worth mentioning. In that context, Scream also finally appeared, backing up Mercury to lead Move decks to their worst performance of the season so far.
In that context, there isn’t a ton to discuss to be fair. Move deck probably still are among the best in Marvel Snap, but there are too many counters around to reliably perform with those. As a result, synergistic decks are able to thrive in comparison, without any looking like a real menace. Indeed, the likes of Discard Combo or Nimrod Destroy would easily go away if the metagame decided to target those instead of Move.
So what is the plan to climb at the moment? Probably don’t play Move unless you are very disciplined and able to lose 1 cube while winning 4. Scream likely is the best one currently to both play and counter Move at the same time. If you don’t go this route, you can either pick a flexible deck, and likely toss in Mercury for good measure, or pick a synergistic deck hoping to avoid your direct counter card.
Based on the performance from each archetype in this week’s ranking, there isn’t a particularly better way to play Marvel Snap, so just pick based on your preferences!
Happy Tier List, everyone!
| Tier | Deck |
|---|---|
| Trending | Scream Move 0.3 Cube Average / 58.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Discard Combo 0.55 Cube Average / 57.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Virused 10 Power 0.5 Cube Average / 56.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Disruptive Aurora 0.35 Cube Average / 58.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Nimrod Destroy 0.4 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Supergiant Rocks 0.35 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | War Machine Ramp 0.35 Cube Average / 56.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Lockdown Move 0.3 Cube Average / 56.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Fantomex 0.35 Cube Average / 55.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Hela Discard 0.45 Cube Average / 53.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | End of Turn 2099 0.25 Cube Average / 56.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Flexible Lockdown 0.2 Cube Average / 56.5% Win Rate |
Trending
Scream Move
den
Performance: 0.3 Cube Average / 58.5% Win Rate
I’m more surprise it took Scream so long to make it into a tier list rather than finally see it appear in the trending section. I guess Mercury felt enough to contain the theme of this season, meaning Scream never became popular.
It sort of makes sense. Indeed, Mercury can be in any deck, meaning your Move opponent doesn’t necessarily know why you are snapping. However, Scream needs to snap on Turn 2, or the surprise is ruined.
This explain the strong win rate paired with an average cube per match ratio.
Tier 1
Discard Combo
den
Performance: 0.55 Cube Average / 57.5% Win Rate
We are less than three days removed from an OTA, so this could just be a temporary thing due to the typical chaotic metagame that settles for a bit after a balance updated. In that short period of time, decks able to develop a ton of points while being good at hiding it tend to perform extremely. Discard Combo has been on these report for a few weeks, but remains a relatively scarce archetype nonetheless.
It is pretty ironic considering Supergiant just lost one power, but her contribution to this deck has never been to bring points.
Potential Additions
Wolwerine feels like the weaker card in the deck if you wanted to include something else. However, except for another 3-cost in case Daken wouldn’t show up in time or a different discard target, this deck isn’t very flexible in its play-patterns.
Virused 10 Power
den
Performance: 0.5 Cube Average / 56.5% Win Rate
With no archetype posting a dominant win rate, those able to rack up the most cubes get to sit at the top spots. 10 Power has turned to a more high roll based list since suffering several nerfs after the Organic Techno-Virus season.
Now, it still can develop a ton of points, and got some attention with Tarantula joining the archetype. However, it takes a pilot able to snap and retreat properly for the deck to thrive.
Potential Additions
Shadow King could be another disruptive card. Mercury or Cosmo are also great in that slot.
Monstro is played to be a [3/8] at the very least. If you don’t think that’s a good deal, run another 4-cost with at least 10 power instead.
Disruptive Aurora
den
Performance: 0.35 Cube Average / 58.5% Win Rate
Disruptive Aurora gets to be in the first tier for its top of the class win rate and past accomplishments. However, the cube average needs to be on the rise for the deck to be considered a real menace. It might be just a thing of snapping a bit earlier as this deck barely has any secrets left to unravel.
Potential Additions
Mercury can replace Cosmo as another Ongoing ability. Drax could also be swapped if you don’t feel like there are enough opportunities to grow it to 10 power.
Tier 2
Nimrod Destroy
den
Performance: 0.4 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate
Galactus is gone with Move decks everywhere, meaning Nimrod Destroy is a combo deck built around the destroy synergy. It would be pretty simple to beat it for anyone packing Armor and Cosmo. However, there are bigger problems in this metagame, meaning Nimrod Destroy is free to develop and rack up cubes doing so.
Potential Additions
If you are afraid of Cosmo or Shadow King, you can play another buff card instead of Shuri. Gwenpool or Stick don’t grant as much power, but allow you to play Nimrod or Black Panther on any location.
Supergiant Rocks
den
Performance: 0.35 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate
No archetype has emerged following the OTA, and Supergiant remains a powerful ability even with a less power attached to the card.
Silver Surfer has disappeared lately, while Deadpool Destroy has not been competitive for a while, meaning Killmonger is barely played except for Fantomex. That card not being around is probably better than the three power this deck has lost through the Debrii, Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Supergiant nerfs.
Potential Additions
Nightcrawler is a slightly worse 1-cost than Spider-Man Brand New Day, while Mercury is always a 3-cost to consider at the moment.
Valkyrie is also quite good to hide on turn five to synergize with our Rocks.
War Machine Ramp
den
Performance: 0.35 Cube Average / 56.5% Win Rate
This archetype had a great run to the top of these reports last season, and has been a fine tier 2 competitor since. The list barely changes, except to balance On Reveal abilities for Astral Projection. This time, it seems like even Fin Fang Foom is too much, and we really want to hit Jubilee or Dragon Lord with our 3-cost skill.
Both the win rate and cube average are fine in regards to the other decks on this report. Considering the deck has been around for a while, the snaps and retreats must be the main way to impact this deck’s performance
Potential Additions
Red Hulk is our worse 6-cost in the deck, but it seems like we really want to target specific On Reveal cards with Astral Projection. Monstro probably will be cheap, but isn’t 10 power for Skaar.
Quicksilver and Domino are a possible duo in the early game.
Lockdown Move
den
Performance: 0.3 Cube Average / 56.5% Win Rate
Quite a disappointing performance for the best way to play Move so far this season. Indeed, the deck was a routine top tier performer so far this season. The OTA did not impact it so my best guess is Scream in the trending section must have something to do with it. Plus, the more Move decks in the metagame, the weaker Professor X becomes.
Potential Additions
Professor X could be Legion as another way to disrupt the battlefield if you see too many Move opponents able to enter the supposedly locked location.
Fantomex
den
Performance: 0.35 Cube Average / 55.5% Win Rate
Last week’s surprise top performer has returner to its typical standards of a fine Tier 2 deck. The list is once again different compared to the previous week, this time focused on strong cards rather than building around Fantomex specifically.
Killmonger and Shadow King have many targets at the moment, representing a large part of this list’s success. Yet, to see this deck as the best performer is an indication the full combo build probably can’t match other synergistic archetypes out there. Plus, Luke Cage got some spotlight with the OTA, which probably didn’t help either.
Potential Additions
Mobius M. Mobius would be the flexible slot if you were looking to run another card. Otherwise, you could also build around Jocasta, Air-Walker and such cards to focus on Fantomex specifically.
Hela Discard
den
Performance: 0.45 Cube Average / 53.5% Win Rate
To see Hela right after a balance update isn’t a shocker, as it fits perfectly the “I want to make points until I can figure out the metagame” narrative. The Win Rate is on the lower side compared to other decks on this report, meaning the snaps play a large part in Hela’s overall performance. We’ll see if the metagame adapts or whether Hela gets to snap and get away with it for a while.
Potential Additions
Agatha Harkness and Red Shift are a duo. You could run Lady Sif and Death instead.
Tier 3
There were other decks to consider in this last tier, such as Bounce or Buffed Move. Yet, these were a real notch below, with a similar cube average at 0.2 but a win rate ranging from 51 to 53% win rate, about 3 to 5% below the archetypes on this report.
Overall, once a build performs below the 55% win rate, it needs to have a powerful snap to make the most of winning one out of two games. End of Turn 2099 and Flexible Lockdown only need to figure a way to earn more cubes per match, which is often easier to do rather than have to win more matches.
Indeed, the first one can be fixed with counter cards to help snap against specific opponents, while the other typically requires to rethink the core of the deck.
End of Turn 2099
den
Performance: 0.25 Cube Average / 56.5% Win Rate
Flexible Lockdown
den
Performance: 0.2 Cube Average / 56.5% Win Rate
That’s it for this week! To reach out, find me on the Marvel Snap Zone community Discord, or shoot me a direct message (@den_ccg) for specific stuff or coaching.
Good Game Everyone.
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 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 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
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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