Table of Contents
In Marvel Snap, you collect and unlock cards by increasing your Collection Level by upgrading your cards with Boosters or purchasing cards from the Token Shop with Collector’s Tokens. Each card is assigned to a Pool or Series of cards. These vary in set size, which you can see in the table below:
| Series | Collection Level # | Card # | Decks | Tier List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pool One | Collection Level 18 - 214 | 46 cards | Decks | Tier List |
| Pool Two | Collection Level 222 - 474 | 25 cards | Decks | Tier List |
| Pool Three | Collection Level 486+ | 104 cards | Decks (Beginner) Decks (Advanced) | Tier List |
| Series Four | Collection Level 486+ - Rare | 24 cards | Decks | Tier List |
| Series Five | Collection Level 486+ - Ultra Rare | 30 cards | Decks | Tier List |
| Unreleased | Release and Series Drop Schedule | 34 cards |
Here is our tier list and rankings on all the Rare cards from Series 4, to help players make decisions when purchasing them or build better decks based on their collection and compare the power levels of individual cards inside each pool.
Series 4 Card Tier List: Preliminary
| Tier | Card | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Titania | 10/10 |
| Tier 2 | Absorbing Man | 10/10 |
| Tier 2 | She-Hulk | 8/10 |
| Tier 3 | Attuma | 7/10 |
| Tier 3 | Orka | 5/10 |
| Tier 4 | Agent Coulson | 5/10 |
| Tier 4 | Luke Cage | 5/10 |
| Tier 4 | Helicarrier | 5/10 |
| Tier 4 | Maria Hill | 4/10 |
| Tier 5 | M'Baku | 2/10 |
The lost cards are here and with a few more days to ponder then before they arrive, we can’t have too many opinions pieces out there, right?
No one can be sure on just how much impact any card will have on the meta. Card games have lots of moving pieces and what is popular can dictate what is strong. Cards can go from useless one minute to core staples the next, but we can consider what potential they have and try to inform our decisions on this.
So, I am here to provide an “Potential Score” for every card. This score is based on the current and future potential of the card. To create this score we used a very scientific approach of listing out ideas of how to use the card and then considered the impact and power the card has based on these interactions. We also considered the potential strength of the effect by itself.
So in no specific order let’s start the preliminary reviews, analysis and their ratings for all Series 4 cards! For a different perspective, you can also find Den’s theorycraft decklists:
Titania
Decks with Titania
This card is potentially insane. We will find out soon. At a baseline, the effect appears to be a negative, but it is very much in the user’s control and becomes a mind bending puzzle. The power is high and energy cost low (recipe for Marvel Snap success).
She can be swapped back and forth pretty freely in almost any deck. For example, you can drop her on 4 into a lane where your opponent has 3 cards. This fills the lane. She will stay there and on 6 you play a card in the lane, she will jump back and be a 5 point swing on top of whatever card you play. That’s a potential 10 point play for 1 energy!
She may be the final piece in a full negative effects deck (another card in this list is also ready to fit right into my favourite archetype) as when your playing Zero you want many targets for it which can also add value if not Zero’d. Thus allows you to negate the effect without impacting other cards. For example Zero and Titania on 2 followed by Venom.
She is also playable as your very last card for 1 energy 5 power.
In junk decks Debrii to fill a lane, follow up with Titania – simple. Junk decks can struggle with final power pushes and she fits in nicely with some 5 drops (Spider-Woman) on final turns to swing games. This is in addition to the any deck use which applies here also.
Potential Score
We find it hard to believe a card with so many uses does not eventually find one if not several consistent homes. It appears well-placed entering into the game and could get better with age.
She-Hulk
This could be very consistent. Their are many turns in Marvel Snap where skipping a turn and next turn playing a reduced 10 power card is worth it. This is without the very obvious Wave synergy. However she does need to be played into and if hyper efficient decks using all their energy dominate she loses value.
Play Wave on turn 5, she costs 2 on 6. Death costs. Play Death, She-Hulk and Aero, who will cost 4, on 6. Yes please. That seems almost unbeatable if the cards land in order (which they will often, you only need to destroy two cards). This alone is worth a high potential score.
Also what if we build a Zoo deck with She-Hulk. Skipping turn 3 is the earliest she can be dropped. In the worse case scenario she is stronger than America Chavez on 6. Also if we miss on Blue Marvel and don’t use 5 energy on turn 5, she is just a cheaper Chavez which allows us to play more of our hand turn 6.
The Wave interaction can actually be abused with more than just DeathWave. She is a potential additional power for control decks that want to play Wave to limit the Turn 6. Play Wave on 5, then She Hulk and Leader on Turn 6 anyone?
This leads me to Hela. Hela decks can afford to have some other big enablers such as Jubilee. So what if we add Wave, use it as either the back up plan OR a way to get Hela behind Invisible Woman earlier and play She-Hulk just as a Discard target.
Finally, there’s Psylocke. This is not the most exciting but on 4 play Psylocke. Skip turn 5. Play The Infinaut and She-Hulk on 6. Easy Infinite. This is the AFK meme of the ideas but it shows the potential.
Potential Score
She comes in with a lower score than Titania only because the applications outside of the above are not apparent with the effect. It doesn’t appear to have as much future potential. Still she has build around and support routes which leads to a high score.
Luke Cage
Decks with Luke Cage
Stopping all your cards from having their power reduced is great! The marks against Luke Cage are the lower power and potentially requirement to be played early in the game. This makes Luke Cage less flexible than he may seem on the surface. Limited application to be honest which is a shame. The effect is potentially very powerful though so wouldn’t write it off just yet.
The Hazmat deck has been around has a meme for awhile. This definitely makes it a lot better. Being able to guarantee your power not being reduced should allow for more cards to be played throughout the game. However the deck can be countered very easily and can be very reliant on a few cards which all need to appear.
He is also a potential two drop maybe in the Spectrum lists. It appears to be outclassed by Colossus though in this archetype (and Colossus doesn’t make all the lists).
If Negative Zone is a Hot Location he becomes the highest win rate card for 24 hours. Also if you just don’t like the location, here you go, easy fix. Typhoid Mary has been mentioned also but in reality I think this may not be worth it as their are other ways to abuse Typhoid Mary more consistently.
Potential Score
The ability has future potential. Going into the current meta it has limited application and is outclassed. Its one true home may be a key piece of a combo deck which can be easily countered by Cosmo as the cards can’t all be played on one turn. It is also its own counter. Similar to Daredevil, one Luke Cage will “turn off” the other one.
Absorbing Man
Decks with Absorbing Man
Will either be very wrong or very right here. Duplicating On Reveals may create combos or more likely to just make the On Reveal decks more consistent. Creative deckbuilding can lead to some pretty nifty ideas therefore it’s future potential is high.
It’s not as effective as Mystique (the similar Ongoing version) as it costs 4 energy but the sky is only up for our man Mr. Creel.
Wong on 4, Sera on 5, Wolfsbane and Absorbing Man on 6 seems to have potential (as one example). Sera will make Creel cost 3 on the last turn therefore this has potential to be the top end to a Sera list.
Wong into White Tiger into Absorbing Man makes the On Reveal strategy more consistent, but sadly appears to only make one additional tiger, due to how Absorbing Man seems to work following release.
Odin, the king of On Reveal has to feature also. Hitting Absorbing Man, presumably will repeat the copied On Reveal. This may be abused and become more abusable in the future. It also just adds consistency as above.
Also peat a battle cry could just mean you repeat Moon Knight on 4 for more Swarms before a Cerebro in Cerebro 3.
Lockjaw is the high roll. Wave into almost anything in your deck (Doctor Doom, White Tiger) into Absorbing Man. Also excellent pulled out of Lockjaw by another On Reveal (Doctor Doom into pull Absorbing Man and another Doctor Doom)
Potential Score
The potential may or may not be fully realized on release, but over time it will likely find many homes and could just make On Reveal decks more consistent (which in itself should be enough for a high score).
Maria Hill
Decks with Maria Hill
This card may be getting overlooked. The baseline effect adds resources you can slot into the game.
On play she adds a card to your hand and buffs The Collector. This also adds 1 drop value you can hopefully bounce back again with Beast or Falcon.
She also adds power to the board whilst maintaining handsize, therefore is good with Devil Dinosaur. Potential line here is dropping Moon Girl for Maria Hill and Agent Coulson (coming up next) and relying on Devil Dinosaur into Mystique as your final push. Maria or Coulson can be played on 6 alongside the Mystique.
Potential Score
She has two limited homes now and could be seen as a good value card in several other decks. However the ceiling is low for this one. It’s a utility card at best and will be nice to try but unlikely to have a seismic shift now or in the future.
Agent Coulson
Decks with Agent Coulson
The effect alone has potential. He adds 2 buffs to The Collector, adds two cards for Devil Dinosaur finishes (see above in the Maria Hill section) but unlike Maria there are a few other potential avenues.
Devil Dinosaur on 5, into Mystique and Agent Coulson on 6 as one strong example of how he fits in.
Finally, we may want to pair him with Nick Fury for the 6 drops. Alongside the other Agents that are in Marvel Snap, a new way of deckbuilding may one day appear, where you just cut the top end entirely, play Quinjet early game and use cards such as Agent Coulson and White Queen to fill your curve. This is an exciting idea to explore and shows how this sort of effect can be looked at a few different ways.
Potential Score
Devil Dinosaur and The Collector may like this card and it adds potential to a random card deck in future with White Queen and Nick Fury. Even if that materialised though it would be inconsistent.
Helicarrier
Decks with Helicarrier
It appears this card may be okay in Hela decks, but is just as likely to clog up your hand as help. However thinking about it, maybe this is another handlock card with The Collector, Devil Dinosaur AND Morbius. Considering we can expand this effect to other ideas such as this, maybe it has more long term potential than it seems on the surface.
In relation to Hela, it’s on rate, adds card to your hand which may help ensure you don’t discard Hela and may add to the fun level of the deck. Otherwise this does not seem like a good fit. Much like Nick Fury, random doesn’t help if you want to discard certain cards.
Once upon a time, Discard with The Collector and Swarm was strong. Could Helicarrier bring it back? It appears unlikely as the deck will could be clunky and have a lot of fail states, but it’s worth considering as an example. Colleen Wing hitting Swarms and Lady Sif hitting Helicarrier and Morbius and The Collector could get big. The new Lockjaw versions may be able to find room to add this strategy also for profit.
Devil Dinosaur on 5, Mystique and Lady Sif on 6.
Potential Score
The ideas are there but it seems more meme than dream. Over time more hand =lock cards may appear which help this reach a higher ceiling but for now the score is low (but maybe not as low as you thought).
M’Baku
Decks with M’Baku
This card is terrible in its current version. It’s either going to hit your hand with no way to put it back, or it is going to leap to Bar With No Name at the end of the game and lose you the game. If there were more ways to keep it in your deck or send it back other than Lockjaw then maybe. But that’s a big maybe. M'Baku is a the first true disappointment of this list.
With Lockjaw, send it back into your deck and bring back a card you actually want. Then it leaps out into Negative Zone and loses you the game.
Potential Score
It’s unlikely to get better with age and is a fringe piece of a current deck. It is not better than Wasp, Sunspot or Iceman in the one deck it might be good in.
Attuma
Decks with Attuma
We are back on the hype train with this one. Attuma can be part of a Zero deck and may even replace Typhoid Mary or Red Skull. Armor protects it and Professor X can curve into it. You will have to plan around this effect for it to reach it’s full potential, but there are plenty of ways to do this.
Play Armor on 2, Attuma on 4. This is susceptible to Enchantress lines but seems like a strong play line. Also its only 2 cards which fit into other strategies. Professor X is the other end of it, Play Attuma into Professor X. Lock down the lane and likely just win it every time.
Attuma followed by Venom alone is 11 power.
Potential Score
Some strong options to abuse the high stat line. Not many ways for it too have raw power by itself though.
Orka
The bigger Namor! Namor has its uses but it’s never the standalone strongest card in a deck. On a lane by itself though this one is 14 power! Add Klaw and that’s 20 power, add Mister Fantastic and that’s 22 power. Orka has potential (much like Namor does) which may be realized even if at the moment it is hard to see. Also the baseline is still an America Chavez – which makes it stronger than Namor as it could be clutch in any lane.
Also Green Goblin and Hobgoblin can end up on the other side of the board. Green Goblin -3 followed by Orka as +14 is a +17 power swing from two cards which needs to be overcome to win the lane.
Maybe you just play this in a deck which focuses on two lanes as a potential hail Mary on the third lane. 14 Power can win many a lane in Marvel Snap all by itself.
Potential Score
An okay standalone card which may end up being abusable in the future.
Conclusion
That’s it! All Series 4 cards coming to Marvel Snap in the first release, rated on their potential alone. Have we missed any ideas which raise or lower the bar for these cards? Let us know below or our Discord server.
Looking forward to seeing what the community does with these cards and revisiting this too see just how wrong I was in a few weeks time!
Good luck out there!
