Table of Contents
With Kid Omega locked behind a paywall, and Nightmare not making much of an impact, the metagame still sees the same cards dominate in terms of popularity. If you have time to play ranked on top of farming High Voltage: Overdrive, you should still see plenty of Surge, Merlin, Zabu, and their typical pairings in all sort of Good Cards build. Popularity doesn’t equal power though. Well, it did up until last week, but this one is different. Indeed, not only is Good Cards an average Tier 2 deck for this report, there are new faces to discuss.
First up are the three decks in Tier 1. Toxic is apparently back with a vengeance, my guess for this resurgence is the honeymoon period for Cerebro 2 ended, and Luke Cage vanished as a result. Mister Negative keeps loving the very low amount of Mobius M. Mobius around, while it packs Rogue for the few it meets. Lastly, Destroy On Reveal suddenly became a thing, after looking like an average performer at best for the past few weeks. I would say Kid Omega was the secret sauce for that deck to click, but the new card isn’t even part of the deck!
Happy Tier List, everyone!
| Tier | Deck |
|---|---|
| Trending | Energized Lockdown 0.25 Cube Average / 54% Win Rate / 220 Games |
| Tier 1 | Toxic 0.75 Cube Average / 63% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Mister Negative 0.7 Cube Average / 56.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | On Reveal Destroy 0.5 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Move Bounce 0.4 Cube Average / 59.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Wiccan Control 0.45 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Good Cards 0.35 Cube Average / 55% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Good Cards Clog 0.3 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Nimrod Destroy 0.25 Cube Average / 58% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Disruption Surfer 0.2 Cube Average / 54.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Thanos 10 Power 0.2 Cube Average / 53.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Bullseye Discard 0.2 Cube Average / 53.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Nightmare Sauron 0.15 Cube Average / 55% Win Rate |
Are you still chasing that elusive Infinite Rank? Here are the Top 5 performers in the ranks 80 to 99!
| Sera Miracle | 1 Cube Average / 64% Win Rate |
| Small Good Cards | 0.65 Cube Average / 61.5% Win Rate |
| Sauron 10 Power | 0.5 Cube Average / 62% Win Rate |
| Thanos Ongoing | 0.6 Cube Average / 61% Win Rate |
| Toxic | 0.5 Cube Average / 61% Win Rate |
Here is my usual annoying advice because I’m a coach and I like to think this helps people: Focus on controlling the stakes of each game and building trust in both your deck and your decision making abilities. Once you feel confident, feel free to take more risks. Reaching Infinite is all about understanding the process of grinding cubes. Also, constantly changing your deck limits your ability to learn the game fundamentals, as you are always focused on learning how to pilot the new deck.
Trending
den
Performance: 0.25 Cube Average / 54% Win Rate / 220 Games
A deck already in this position last week, Energized Lockdown keeps being decent in both metrics, without looking like a threat to anyone either. At its core, the deck looks to develop enough points to win a location that way, while either Professor X or Cannonball is in charge of the second one. On paper, the deck packs everything needed to succeed, but tends to be a little too predictable, even for an under-the-radar strategy.
Indeed, War Machine tips your opponent about Infinaut and Ebony Maw, Sunspot about She-Hulk and Mercury about Cannonball. Luna Snow into Professor X is the only astounding pattern, naturally limiting this deck’s ability to keep opponents into high stakes matches.
Last, Magik feels like a risk with Merlin in a large amount of decks.
Great mix of synergies, but maybe not as creative as one might think at first glance.
Tier 1
Toxic
den
Performance: 0.75 Cube Average / 63% Win Rate
Hazmat becoming a 3-cost hurt Toxic much more than most anticipated, as the deck disappeared for a bit. Looking at today’s result, one could question whether it was really a power level problem.
To be fair, this is really a Good Cards deck based on a specific synergy. Instead of growing our power with the likes of Galacta or Gwenpool, Toxic has enough 4-cost card to play its own game. Plus, while Good Cards tends to be forced to be flexible, Ajax gives Toxic this huge power card to challenge a location on its own if need be.
In the absence of counter cards like Mobius M. Mobius or Luke Cage, Toxic makes a lot of sense, especially since it can run the same great cards everybody else uses on top of its unique synergy.
Potential Additions
Diamondback and Lizard look like flexible pieces. Red Guardian, Cassandra Nova or a specific counter card, maybe Gorgon, could replace them.
Mister Negative
den
Performance: 0.7 Cube Average / 56.5% Win Rate
If Mobius M. Mobius is not around, Mister Negative loses almost exclusively to bad draw and very specific scenarios. What is very intriguing is how can the deck be so good at the moment, when the 3-cost counter would also make sense to run against Surge and Zabu.
My guess is the game is fairly balanced at the moment in terms of synergies available to play. It just so happens that Mister Negative is the best of them if the draws align.
Potential Additions
Shang-Chi, Knull and Arnim Zola form a Destroy package you can use in Mister Negative in case you would be missing multiple Series 5 cards. Killmonger can even be added for more destroy power.
Destroy On Reveal
den
Performance: 0.5 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate
The most enigmatic deck on this report for sure, as the cube average suddenly skyrocketed when On Reveal Destroy was either not so popular, or an average performer at best up until this point. I digged a little, and the only meaningful difference is the addition of Victoria Hand, a card which arguably only synergizes with The Hood’s Demon.
I expected to see Kid Omega be the reason of this meteoric rise, but the 2-cost doesn’t seem to synergize too well with the deck. Then, it seems this deck aims at creating as many 1-costs as possible, and build a very flexible turn six as we pair them with Victoria Hand.
In this metagame rewarding flexibility first and foremost, I can picture how this is a strong strategy. Plus, the amount of cheap, high power cards we can create is definitely snap worthy. Yet, this is also a retreat deck, as not finding The Hood in time greatly limits the potential of this build, even if we can improvise with Frigga as well.
Potential Additions
Surge and Echo are flexible. The 2-cost is simply too good not to run, but feel free to consider this a “play a strong card” slot. Maybe Mirage or Kate Bishop would do well with Victoria Hand.
Echo serves as a disruptive piece, but Spider-Ham, Silver Sable or even Iceman can fit, while synergising with the On Reveal synergy.
Tier 2
Move Bounce
den
Performance: 0.4 Cube Average / 59.5% Win Rate
I don’t think Move Bounce will ever be a deck we can completely forget about, simply due to its flexible ability to mount an immense amount of power.
Not much else to say really, the deck has been the same for a very long time, although many Move cards joined Marvel Snap during that period.
Potential Additions
Falcon or Topaz can replace Sage or Toxin if you missed either.
Wiccan Control
den
Performance: 0.45 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate
The best control deck in the game at the moment, Wiccan Control understands you need to fight fire with fire. Then, instead of trying to react to your opponent’s every move, this deck plays to seize priority early, and only then focuses on answering its opponent.
In a way, this deck shows we need to cheat some energy in order to compete with all the other decks doing it. Yet, it also shows how fragile they can be when they fall behind early, and have to play around the likes of Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Alioth or Red Guardian.
This deck feels like a well-oiled machine designed to beat other well-oiled machines through dismantling one of their key turns in the second portion of the match.
Potential Additions
You can also play the deck this way.
den
Good Cards
den
Performance: 0.35 Cube Average / 55% Win Rate
The worst week for Good Cards in terms of performance. Looking at other decks, it doesn’t like they started running specific counter cards. Rather, synergistic decks have refined their build, and started using Surge too.
Every one is a Good Cards deck I guess.
Potential Additions
Last week’s deck has a higher win rate, but only a 0.25 cube average. It is time to find some sort of surprising element for Good Cards to return to the top.
Good Cards Clog
den
Performance: 0.3 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate
Just like the OG Good Cards above, Good Cards Clog is starting to be well-known around the bloc, which limits its good win rate from producing many cubes. Plus, Merlin is so popular Annihilus giving negative power cards is losing appeal as time passes.
Another great deck that struggles to post great numbers now that everyone knows exactly what to expect.
Potential Additions
Legion was the new addition this week, replacing the typical Viper. Consider that slot flexible for any card you deem important to run at the moment, or just a strong standalone like Legion is.
Nimrod Destroy
den
Performance: 0.25 Cube Average / 58% Win Rate
The Kid Omega deck holds a solid win rate but struggles to earn many cubes. Arguably, this is a good definition of the new 2-cost card: It is a great support card and will make your destroy oriented deck better. However, it also tells your opponent most of what they should expect as soon as it hits the board.
This first iteration focuses a lot on its own game plan, and proved there is potential, as 58% win rate is no joke. However, Nimrod Destroy will need to do more than just develop its own synergies without interacting with its opponent to earn a high cube rate.
Potential Additions
I would love to see Shang-Chi in this deck to open for Elixir plus Shang-Chi on turn six.
Tier 3
Nightmare made it into the report, which is honestly a feat for a card with such a random ability. That twist to the Sauron 10 power deck is required for it to work in the infinite ranks due to no one being fooled and Shang-Chi being very popular. I mean, there is a reason the Thanos 10 power deck has been better in Infinite while Sauron 10 Power tears it up before the Infinite rank.
Joining these two are Bullseye and the disruptive list of Silver Surfer. To be fair, I expect Bullseye to always be somewhere on the report, but have very different results depending on the metagame. Toxic resurgence means more of Luke Cage, which explains the dip this week. As for Surfer, with the Wiccan Control deck gaining momentum, I fear there is little reason to run that deck at the moment.
Disruption Surfer
Performance: 0.2 Cube Average / 54.5% Win Rate
Thanos 10 Power
den
Performance: 0.2 Cube Average / 53.5% Win Rate
Bullseye
den
Performance: 0.2 Cube Average / 53.5% Win Rate
Nightmare Sauron
den
Performance: 0.15 Cube Average / 55% 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 > 0.25 & Win Rate > 55%
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 > 0.15
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.
More Content