Table of Contents
To close out the Whaf If… ? Season, Second Dinner decided to give us four new cards, all themed around the Move synergy. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid it would possibly take over the metagame, giving Moving deck a huge influx of power at once. If we look at the amount of games, that phenomenon happened, as Scream Move and Bounce Move have soared in the rankings of the most popular decks. However, neither deck managed to be particularly dominant from a performance standpoint, likely due to Scream acting as a very efficient border.
If we want to talk about decks racking up the most Cubes, or winning the most games, we still have to turn to the same two cards: Thanos and Sam Wilson Captain America. Thanos remains the best foundation in the game, mainly due to its ability to welcome literally any card you wish to play. Then, while Move got a more powerful, it didn’t make it more flexible, limiting its ability to surprise their opponent and getting more than a couple Cubes out of them.
On the other end, Thanos might not put up a million points per match, and you will never be sure of which disruptive cards they do or do not pack when a Snap goes off. Then, with the focus switched to counter Move decks, it is only natural to see Thanos post a similar showing to what we witnessed last week. This change in the common target also allowed other decks to gain some momentum, for example Silver Surfer, finally posting numbers we were expecting after Captain Carter‘s buff last week.
Card wise, the same narrative as last week also applies. Sam Wilson Captain America is a part of most archetypes without a clear 12-card shell. The February Season Pass card is part of six decks out of ten this week, with two more (Clog, Good Creates Cards) arguably able to slot it in pretty easily.
Overall, I’m glad Move didn’t take over the metagame, although it was mostly because Scream Move, a disruption based move synergy, is so good at keeping it in check. Yet, this unfortunately means we are in the same old environment, with fewer decks due to Move builds growing in popularity.
One very positive thing to note however, is the diversity of lists inside each archetype. Thanos obviously leads the way here, but even High Evolutionary Toxic, Silver Surfer or Move decks also have multiple lists, even if just one or two card differences, with similar results. Then, the metagame might not be very diverse in terms of represented strategies, but each feels pretty flexible to build, which is a sort of diversity nonetheless.
Happy Tier List, everyone!
| Tier | Deck |
|---|---|
| Trending | Bounce 0.75 Cube Average / 62.5% Win Rate / 110 Games |
| Trending | Good Created Cards 0.45 Cube Average / 58.5% Win Rate / 150 Games |
| Tier 1 | Thanos Control 0.65 Cube Average / 66.5% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Silver Surfer 0.5 Cube Average / 61% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | High Evo Toxic 0.5 Cube Average / 60% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Thanos Ongoing 0.45 Cube Average / 58% Win Rate |
| Tier 1 | Clog 0.5 Cube Average / 56% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Move 0.4 Cube Average / 58% Win Rate |
| Tier 2 | Scream Move 0.35 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate |
| Tier 3 | Sauron 10 Power 0.25 Cube Average / 56% Win Rate |
Are you still chasing that elusive Infinite Rank? Here are the Top 5 performers in the ranks 80 to 99!
| Ongoing | 0.9 Cube Average / 63.5% Win Rate |
| Silver Surfer | 0.8 Cube Average / 62% Win Rate |
| Toxic Move | 0.7 Cube Average / 61.5% Win Rate |
| Thanos Good Cards | 0.5 Cube Average / 61% Win Rate |
| Scream Move | 0.4 Cube Average / 60% 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
Bounce
den
Performance: 0.75 Cube Average / 62.5% Win Rate / 110 Games
Far from being popular over the past seasons, Hydra Stomper could have been a reason for Bounce to make a splash, as Werewolf By Night seems to synergize very well with the new 3-cost card. Yet, it was the Agent Venom build which returned this week, posting a fantastic performance across about 100 games.
At the moment, the two main threats are Thanos or Move, decks with a decent Power ceiling, but mostly shining thanks to an incredible flexibility. Bounce probably saw it as an opportunity to come back, as the deck is the king of being flexible on the last turn of play.
One could consider this a Small Good Cards with more explosive firepower, at the cost of no disruption.
Good Created Cards
den
Performance: 0.45 Cube Average / 58.5% Win Rate / 150 Games
I can’t really make sense of why this deck posted such a good performance this week when it has been playable for a while already. I guess there must have been less of Gorgon around with Thanos not being the main focus for once.
Tier 1
Thanos Control
den
Performance: 0.65 Cube Average / 66.5% Win Rate
The Cube Rate for this deck is lower compared to last week, probably due to more opponents respecting the deck’s ability to both develop points and play some sort of counter card on the last turn of play. Otherwise, Thanos Control remains the top dog in Marvel Snap, with a first spot in both metrics, and the ability to adapt to whatever environment you might throw at it.
Potential Additions
This deck aims to play the best disruptive cards for the metagame, and fill the rest of the deck with points. At the moment, Mobius M. Mobius probably is the most flexible card in the build if you wanted to include something else instead.
Silver Surfer
den
Performance: 0.5 Cube Average / 61% Win Rate
It took longer than we though, but Silver Surfer finally is where most people expected it when they saw the buff to Captain Carter. Now, the list is much more points focused, aimed at beat the opponent with 20 or more power lanes, with Killmonger and Red Guardian taking care of the disruptive side of things.
Potential Additions
Toxie Doxie can replace Forge for a higher potential, at the cost of unfortunate hits at times. Luke Cage could be strong against Scream. Mobius M. Mobius, Cassandra Nova or Copycat always fit in case you needed to replace something.
High Evo Toxic
den
Performance: 0.5 Cube Average / 60% Win Rate
A constant high performer this season, Toxic doesn’t get the respect it deserves in my opinion. It was already a good pick against Thanos due to the stones quickly filling the board. It can also be a decent pick against Move, as the negative power will follow the cards, no matter which location they end up on.
If Scream was to gain momentum in the near future, switching for a Luke Cage build shouldn’t be difficult at all.
Potential Additions
den
Thanos Ongoing
den
Performance: 0.45 Cube Average / 58% Win Rate
Move decks should provide a big enough distraction for the Ongoing synergy to breath a bit, and not face Enchantress every other game. We aren’t there yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Thanos Ongoing gain some momentum if Move or Silver Surfer command some counter cards in the future.
Potential Additions
Any card with Ongoing written on it can be a consideration, depending what you want to accomplish or the opponents you want to edge against.
Dazzler, Mobius M. Mobius and Luke Cage are three Series 3 cards one can consider for replacements.
Clog
Performance: 0.5 Cube Average / 56% Win Rate
Already in a good with Thanos running the show, Clog should also be quite effective against Move, limiting the space they have to work with.
The Win Rate isn’t on par with the other decks in this tier, but the Cube Average indicates Clog has a strong Snap in this metagame.
Potential Additions
Ravonna Renslayer impacts this build quite a lot. Without it, Cassandra Nova, Sage and Hobgoblin are probably out of the picture.
Magik, Doctor Octopus, or counter cards (Enchantress, Shadow King) were part of previous builds.
Tier 2
Move
Performance: 0.4 Cube Average / 58% Win Rate
It took Silver Surfer a week to rise after Captain Carter was buffed, and Move isn’t the easiest synergy to pick up and play. Then, I would expect this type of deck to improve in the near future, which could be scary. Indeed, the win rate, 58%, is already impressive.
If that number would keep going up, or the Snaps were a little sharper to improve the cube average, Move should join the first tier in no time.
Potential Additions
This is the best performing iteration of many Move decks, and I expect more to come out in the future. Then, it is hard to recommend anything specific. I personally have not found Spider-Man 2099 very effective, especially against Thanos, so that is probably the card I would take out first.
Red Guardian or Enchantress can bring some surprise to a deck everyone expects to be Move only. Plus, the 3-cost takes out Scream very efficiently. Otherwise, Heimdall, Cloak, Doctor Strange, and so on. There are plenty of Move cards to test.
Scream Move
den
Performance: 0.35 Cube Average / 57% Win Rate
There are a lot of things I disagree with this entry. First, I believe Scream Move is much stronger than either its Cube or win rate shows. Then, I also don’t think it is necessary to keep running the Darkhawk package now that Thanos isn’t the sole threat anymore. Cassandra Nova is plenty to edge that matchup, and cards like Batroc the Leaper, Red Guardian, Kingpin or simply more ways to move opposing cards likely make more sense in my opinion.
For curiosity sake, I checked the best Scream list when only considering the highest ranks inside Infinite, and this list remained the best performer. It is worth noting that it posted a 0.5 Cube Average and 59.5% win rate there, showing Scream gets better as we get near the top of the ladder.
Potential Additions
Batroc the Leaper, Kingpin and Red Guardian form a great trio to edge against other Move and Scream decks instead of the Darkhawk package. Silk and Hydra Stomper can also be considered (Juggernaut and Miles Morales are the cut) for more high roll potential.
Cassandra Nova is flexible, included just for the Thanos matchup.
Tier 3
Sauron 10 Power
den
Performance: 0.25 Cube Average / 56% Win Rate
The metagame keeps moving while Sauron 10 Power is cosplaying an immovable object. Eventually, the Ongoing decks were bound to lose popularity, which happened with more of Move this week, meaning Enchantress could not carry the deck when it didn’t draw the nuts. Plus, Move decks can reposition their points very well if they want to give up a location they foresee unwinnable, matching very well against Sauron 10 Power rather rigid points development.
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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