Table of Contents
Just a couple of days removed from an OTA, some decks are obviously missing from this report while others still have to stabilize their performance. Yet, with a new season just around the corner, we can’t afford to wait any longer before having a look at the current metagame.
Move is among the best synergies with several hundred games reported, and should receive plenty of reinforcements in July.
It isn’t far above the rest. Actually, it doesn’t sport neither the best cube average nor the best win rate, only the best mix of both metrics. Still, the Move synergy has always been a fantastic one in Marvel Snap, typically appearing like a nerf candidate rather than buff worthy.
The cards buffed on Thursday have had no impact on the metagame so far, as the best performing Move list isn’t using Topaz or Web Sling. However, the ones about to release with certainly make a difference, as buffing and moving cards is precisely what the Move deck atop the chart aims to do.
This Meta Tier List is about a temporary metagame stuck in between a balance update and a new season. Yet, I have a feeling the arrival of Spider-Man Brand New Day, Mary Jane and Aunt May will only help one deck from this report, and it is well positioned already.
Mercury is going to be very popular next week.
Happy Tier List, everyone!
| Tier | Deck |
|---|---|
| Trending | Discard Combo 0.45 Cube Average / 58.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Move 0.5 Cube Average / 59% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Created On Reveal 0.6 Cube Average / 57.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Buffed Surfer 0.5 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Buffed 1-cost 0.35 Cube Average / 60% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Disruptive Aurora 0.35 Cube Average / 59% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Fantomex 0.5 Cube Average / 55% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Nimrolactus 0.45 Cube Average / 55% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Iron Hand 0.45 Cube Average / 53.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | War Machine Ramp 0.35 Cube Average / 55% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Hela Discard 0.25 Cube Average / 54% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Supergiant Rocks 0.2 Cube Average / 54% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Buffed Zombie 0.2 Cube Average / 54% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Buffed 4-costs 0.2 Cube Average / 53% Win Rate |
Trending
Discard Combo
den
Performance: 0.45 Cube Average / 58.5% Win Rate
Right after an OTA, there are always a few gimmick decks able to post great results on the back of the metagame featuring less disrupting cards than it should. It is only fair, as the community is busy testing the recently buffed card, while we wait to know which decks will step in the space opened by the nerfs.
Lately, Cosmo wasn’t a very popular disruptive cards, as it barely did a thing against High Power decks. Yet, if the likes of Discard Combo, or other On Reveal decks featured in the other tiers get popular, expect a triumphant comeback.
Until then, this deck should be able to develop a lot of points, and stay behind on priority in order to keep Daken safe from Shadow King.
Tier 1
Move
Performance: 0.5 Cube Average / 59% Win Rate
There is always a move deck somewhere near the top of the power rankings after an update. Indeed, the synergy is both able to develop a lot of points and reposition those points flexibility, allowing it to adapt to its opponent even without disruptive cards.
The featured list is a perfect example, with only Juggernaut in that role, a card that will be annoying for every deck, until we figure out which ones need to be targeted.
Potential Additions
Cosmo protects our scalers from Shadow King, while Mercury would win the mirror match.
Created On Reveal
den
Performance: 0.6 Cube Average / 57.5% Win Rate
The weird list in the report, this deck clearly is making the most of a chaotic, post-OTA environment focused on proactive synergies.
Overall, this deck makes a lot of sense if we focus on its gimmick. There are ways to build points with Iron Patriot, Valentina and Agamotto. It is also possible to disrupt with Lady Bullseye or Gambit Horseman of Death.
As long as Cosmo or ways to cancel Wong’s ability aren’t popular, this should be a contender.
Potential Additions
Cards with an On Reveal ability, or able to create cards we can discount with Quinjet are the two synergies to build upon.
Buffed Surfer
den
Performance: 0.5 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate
The most popular archetype this season, Silver Surfer has three ways to build its list depending on your preferences.
You could go with Nova and Killmonger, to prey on the 1-cost decks. You can also all-in on buffs with Agony, Maverick and Stick. Or you can build it like the featured list, mixing both ideas but skipping your first two turns to fit everything.
The best list depends on the metagame. Early on with everyone focused on their own amount of points, the one able to go both ways is posting the best results.
Potential Additions
Makkari and Rogue are the easiest cards to swap out if you wanted to include more buffs or Nova plus Killmonger. Sebastian Shaw or Namorita are next, as the full buff lists typically also run Viv Vision.
Tier 2
Buffed 1-cost
den
Performance: 0.35 Cube Average / 60% Win Rate
The highest win rate overall fails to transform many wins into a lot of cubes. It isn’t much of a surprise considering the Buffed 1-costs concept is forced to show its opponent how strong its draws are.
Indeed, if Venus or Bishop aren’t on the board by turn three, this deck doesn’t represent much of threat. If they are, the opponent can simply assess their ability to beat it, or leave for a few cubes.
In my opinion, disruptive cards are key to help with aggressive snaps, the only way for this deck to win at least two cubes per match.
Potential Additions
Cosmo is a strong protective piece if you often have priority in the later turns. Shadow King can turn around the location you haven’t developed much on. Last, Nico Minoru or Spider-Ham are more flexible 1-costs than Sub-Mariner, even if they don’t synergise with the deck as much.
Disruptive Aurora
den
Performance: 0.35 Cube Average / 59% Win Rate
Aurora becoming a [6/5] hasn’t changed its signature archetype’s fortune so far, as the win rate remains excellent, while the cube average is on par with a deck unable to surprise their opponent.
The list is the same as it was before the OTA, so it is safe to say this deck will stop being competitive when stronger decks will appear, or it gets nerfed a second time.
Potential Additions
Stardust or Mobius M. Mobius are good Ongoing abilities to consider.
Fantomex
den
Performance: 0.5 Cube Average / 55% Win Rate
A top tier cube average alongside a decent win rate, Fantomex is making the most of its core synergy aligning very well with the current metagame. Indeed, most decks are trying to scale the power of some cards to transfer or double it. Through keeping a Human Torch or a Captain Carter low, Fantomex can derail an entire location or game plan.
If Marrow, Fastball Special or Omega Sentinel aren’t enough, Gambit and Shadow King can give a try at sniping them.
Potential Additions
Killmonger plus The Hood or Carnage plus Bucky Barnes are duos to consider if you want to improve the destroy part of this deck.
Nimrolactus
den
Performance: 0.45 Cube Average / 55% Win Rate
Several decks are focusing on a single location until they drop a ton of points on a second one on the last turn of play. With Galactus, this deck is capable of punishing that behavior, while Nimrod or Black Panther have the ability to develop a ton of points of their own.
With more disruption, or some respect for its abilities, this deck will likely sport a weaker cube average.
Potential Additions
Gwenpool could be Shuri or another buff card depending if you value flexibility or sheer power.
Iron Hand
den
Performance: 0.45 Cube Average / 53.5% Win Rate
Iron Hand is another popular archetype alongside Silver Surfer. However, unlike the 3-cost focused build, this one doesn’t have a list with both metrics at a dominant rate.
Instead, Iron Hand needs to pick a reliable list, which often will be met with retreats and probably average closer to a 0.3 cube average. Or one able to snap certain hands early on, such as the featured one, and play for 2 or 4 cubes more often.
I value cube average over win rate myself, but some players would rather win more often and build some momentum before snapping more aggressively.
Potential Additions
Mirage, Valentina and Iron Patriot are good 2-cost cards to consider. Mobius M. Mobius or Sasquatch can replace a 4-cost depending how you like your Iron Hand.
High Power Summons
den
Performance: 0.35 Cube Average / 55% Win Rate
The list with Debrii, even as a [3/7] still looks superior in my opinion. Indeed, even with one less power, I doubt the deck lost 4% win rate and 0.25 cube average due to the OTA.
This performance is most likely due to this other way to build the deck rising in popularity after the update. The metrics are fairly good, but High Power Summons was so much better over the course of the season.
Potential Additions
Blink could be a disruptive card, such as Ghost Rider”] or Enchantress. Legion or Vision also great 5-cost flexible cards.
Tier 3
Among the four Tier 3 decks we have, Supergiant Rocks is the odd deck out, typically ranked much higher. The deck absorbed 2 nerfs which has to play a role, while cards able to destroy Rocks (Killmonger, Gambit Horseman of Death) gained some popularity.
Overall, I don’t think Marvel Snap has a deck so strong it can dominate even if the environment is against it, and Supergiant Rocks is living that scenario at the moment.
The other three have decent enough numbers to be mentioned, but aren’t impactful picks at the moment. Buffed Zombie likely is the best of this bunch, but Shadow King shuts its down pretty hard.
There is a new season in a few days, so these decks are probably default picks for the time being.
Hela Discard
den
Performance: 0.25 Cube Average / 54% Win Rate
Supergiant Rocks
den
Performance: 0.2 Cube Average / 54% Win Rate
Buffed Zombies
den
Performance: 0.2 Cube Average / 54% Win Rate
Buffed 4-costs
den
Performance: 0.2 Cube Average / 53% 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.
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.
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.
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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