Elsa Move Detailed Deck Guide: Flexibility and Adaptability at Its Finest

After more than a year now, the archetypes in Marvel Snap have evolved in very interesting ways. Some come and go while others remain despite balance changes and the ever-changing metagame.

I’m going to quote my words from a few months ago:

It seems hard to believe that I’m saying this, but the Move archetype is finally in a position to compete in Marvel Snap. And I’m not just talking about being able to have even matches against the strongest archetypes. If the trends continue, we could be facing a deck that is going to be placed at the top of the Meta Tier List for some time to come.

Move is a case of those archetypes that have consolidated to the point of knowing that they will be with us for an indeterminate time.

An archetype that began as a niche deck, with few cards that supported the strategy, and with some followers like Molt, content creator at YT, who were looking for the best way to make it work, but as new cards came out and some others had received changes, little by little it has become one of those archetypes that are destined to remain in the competitive environment for a long time.

Decklist and Stats

I started playing Elsa Move in mid-August. After the balance changes of December 21st to Alioth and America Chavez, it seemed necessary to revisit the deck, and let me tell you, dear readers, that as I mentioned in the introduction, Move is an “eternal” deck.

Certainly with the December balance changes, we had to say goodbye to America Chavez. However, after testing it, it is certainly in this deck where America Chavez can continue to be viable since practically all targets take great advantage of the +2 bonus to power, instead, I’ve been playing with Captain Marvel, and the reality is that thanks to Elsa, the Captain is still able to shine like in her old days.

Maybe it’s not an extremely high number of games, but I think the winning percentage and the average cubes per game speak for themselves.

Concept and Strategy

It seems clear to me that one of the reasons for this deck’s success is that it could be considered a variation of Good Cards. If you look carefully, you will notice the similarities. One or more sets of cards that work in perfect synchrony.

Instead of playing the Darkhawk, we play Kitty Pryde + Angela and Elsa Move cores; a set of cards that can appear together in different archetypes simply due to the powerful interaction between its pieces.

I decided to try the duo of Kitty Pryde and Angela to give them a chance after their changes, and the reality is that Kitty easily manages to represent 5-6+ power points per game in exchange for one energy. Similar situation with Angela.

Speaking of our second core, Elsa Bloodstone allows us to increase the power of all our cards with manual mobility such as Nightcrawler, Jeff the Baby Land Shark, and Vision. This enables very powerful and flexible lines of play during the mid and late game. Playing these 4 cards together in different archetypes is not a far-fetched idea. – It’s something I’ve done several times with good results.

The new Spider-Man (let’s remember that some time ago it had another effect) was the missing piece, doing an incredible job of hindering the capabilities of the opponent to play optimally.

Combining this movement core with the aforementioned Kitty Pryde + Angela combo, another good anchor as Kraven, and Alioth results in a combination that is tremendously capable of navigating extremely difficult games and coming out on top.

Key Concepts

• Angela and Kraven are our “anchors” ⚓. To understand this concept, imagine what Morbius and Dracula are for the Discard archetype. An anchor is a card we play in a lane that, as a result of the rest of our plays, has its power increased enough to compete for that location on its own. Angela can reach 5-6 power regularly while Kraven goes 8-10+ power per game consistently.

• Unlike certain iterations of Good Cards, we can fight for inaccessible locations thanks to Jeff the Baby Land Shark, Silk, Spider-Man, and Nightcrawler.

• We have reactive and disruptive tools that allow us to interact with the opponent’s plan like Spider-Man, and Alioth.

• Many of our cards like Kitty Pryde, Angela, Kraven, Silk, and Miles Morales represent a lot of power for little cost.

It certainly isn’t an easy deck to pilot, but its flexibility and adaptability allow us to play against any other deck in the meta at par.

⚓ Anchor Core Cards

Variants

Angela

After you play a card here, +2 Power.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Angela

Variants

Kraven

When a card moves here, this gains +2 Power.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Kraven

At first glance, these two cards may seem underpowered. Nevertheless, knowing that Angela can represent 5-6+ power, and Kraven is capable of reaching 10+ consistently the perspective starts to change.

However, as I mentioned above, these cards are the anchors of our lanes. Playing them on Turn 2 allows us to easily get them up to eight or more power. Playing a card into Angela‘s lane and making space isn’t hard. In the same way, taking cards back and forth to Kraven‘s location is fairly simple.

Low-Cost, High-Power Core Cards

Variants

Kitty Pryde

When this returns to your hand, +1 Power. Returns at the start of each turn.

Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Kitty Pryde

Variants

Silk

After ANY card is played here, this moves to another location.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Silk

Variants

Miles Morales

If a card moved last turn, this costs 1.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Miles Morales

One thing that has characterized many of the successful decks in recent weeks is having cards that are very efficient in terms of their cost-to-power ratio.

Kitty Pryde functions as an energy sink, allowing us to always make effective use of our resources every turn and giving us, on average, six or more power in return.

Silk is part of the movement core, but it’s important to mention her in this section. Cards with this cost-power relationship tend to have great disadvantages (like Lizard, for example). Silk, on the other hand, is a card that many may consider “unstable”. This is because it’s not easy to control its movement. Nevertheless, in a deck where we take advantage of this mobility, Silk becomes, without a doubt, one of the best cards in the entire archetype. It takes some practice, but believe me, Silk is probably one of the most powerful cards in this archetype.

Little needs to be said about the most charismatic spider in the Spider-Verse. Miles Morales is a card that, as long as we can enable it on multiple occasions, will be a key piece. In the same way that Stature works for decks with Discard synergies, Miles Morales works for decks with Movement synergies. Thanks to Elsa Bloodstone, Miles works similarly to Kitty, representing 5-7+ power for just one energy.

Reactive and Disruptive Core Cards

Variants

Spider-Man

On Reveal: Move to another location and pull an enemy card from here to there.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Spider-Man

Variants

Alioth

On Reveal: Remove the text from all unrevealed enemy cards here.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Alioth

Being able to interact with the opponent’s plan is a fundamental part of most competitive archetypes. Spidey now not only allows us to fight for inaccessible locations or enable Kraven but also can interfere with the opponent’s plans. That is an ability that has made cards like Polaris and Magneto always be seen as powerful cards (and also options for this archetype).

For its part, Alioth is a very powerful closing tool in the right archetypes. In this case, thanks to the mobility of our cards and their high power at a low energy cost, reaching turn 6 with priority is easy, making Alioth’s effectiveness maximized compared to other archetypes.

You would think that after many changes, Alioth would have vanished. The reality is that in archetypes like this that usually reach the last turns with priority anyway, The Purple Cloud is still lethal to opponents. And even more so when few people play around it anymore.

Elsa Move Core Cards

Variants

Elsa Bloodstone

Each card you play to fill your side of a location gains +2 Power.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Elsa Bloodstone

Variants

Nightcrawler

You can move this once.

Collection Level 1-14

view card details Start a deck Decks with Nightcrawler

Variants

Jeff the Baby Land Shark

You can move this once. Nothing can stop you from moving or playing this to any location.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Jeff the Baby Land Shark

Variants

Vision

You can move this each turn.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Vision

We could certainly add Silk and Spider-Man to this section, but, I’ve placed each card where I think its role in the deck can be better understood.

Unlike Silk and Spider-Man which we can only learn to reduce the rng, Nightcrawler, Jeff the Baby Land Shark, and Vision will end up at the end of the game is something that depends on us.

All these cards give us flexibility and access to difficult locations. However, after testing this set of cards in other archetypes, without a doubt, the biggest advantage of these 3 cards is their powerful combination with Elsa Bloodstone. We can play in a safe location, without fear that some random situation will complicate the game, increase the power of the moving cards, and close the game with our power points where it is most convenient for us, avoiding the consequences of early-game decisions.

Flexible Core Cards

Variants

Captain Marvel

At the end of the game, move to a location that wins you the game. (If possible)

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Captain Marvel

America Chavez’s slot has been taken by Captain Marvel. Another card that stands out thanks to Elsa Bloodstone, which makes it shine like its old glories, and thanks to Kraven it can easily represent 6-8 mobile power (to the best possible lane) consistently.

Card Substitutions

Variants

Aero

On Reveal: Move the last enemy card played anywhere to this location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Aero

Variants

Polaris

On Reveal: Move an enemy 1 or 2-Cost card to this location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Polaris

Variants

Magneto

On Reveal: Move all enemy 3 and 4-Cost cards to this location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Magneto

Cards that allow us to continue having control over the opponent’s plays are a good option. They allow us to interfere with the opponent’s plan, and at the same time, they are tools to empower Kraven.

Aero and Polaris can take Captain Marvel’s place if more interaction is preferred. Magneto is extremely powerful, especially when he can easily give Kraven +4 last turn with ease, which buffers him from moving cards into Magneto’s lane.

Variants

America Chavez

On Reveal: Give the top card of your deck +2 Power.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with America Chavez

It may seem strange to recommend Chavez after his complete skill change. However, the reality is that this deck is one of the best places where you could do a good job.

This is because the +2 power that it gives to the top card can be greatly exploited by movement cards like Jeff, the Baby Land Shark, or Vision, or by low-cost, high-power cards like Silk or Miles Morales.

Variants

Mobius M. Mobius

Ongoing: Your Costs can’t be increased. Your opponent’s Costs can’t be reduced.

Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Mobius M. Mobius

This archetype can afford to play MMM because it fits very well with the curve of the deck. It’s a good idea depending on the state of the metagame.

Variants

Iron Lad

On Reveal: Copy the text of your deck’s top card.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Iron Lad

Variants

Doctor Doom

On Reveal: Add a 5-Power DoomBot to each other location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Doctor Doom

As I mentioned; This archetype develops in ways similar to what we know as Good Cards.

There are versions of this deck with these two cards, and without a doubt, they are quite effective. That Iron Lad can move or place power in all three locations maximizing Doctor Doom with Elsa, are effects that leave the opponent without many options.

Other Ways to Build the Archetype

Good Cards Elsa Move

Created by Bohe

, updated 5 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

5x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Mobius M. Mobius, Iron Lad, and Doctor Doom make a solid third core that integrates without any problem into this archetype, giving us many additional lines of play to those already existing. This allows us to have more tools to stop the opponent’s strategy and at the same time, have more options for situations where movement decks might not be favored.

Angela can still perform without Kitty Pryde. Nevertheless, using her spot for any tech card is doable.

Good Cards Elsa Move 2

Created by Bohe

, updated 5 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

1x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

3x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

More good cards that win games on their own. Cosmo is capable of breaking many strategies in half without much effort. When our deck hardly plays cards with on-reveal effects, it is a tool that bothers us little or not at all.

Legion, for its part, can also steal many games without the opponent expecting it. We could even venture to play Storm in this version of the deck.

America Chavez has the opportunity to shine in an archetype where all the targets can take great advantage of the +2 additional power.

Elsa Move Alioth

Created by Bohe

, updated 5 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

4x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Changing Miles Morales for Mobius M. Mobius is a simple change, but it brings with it the possibility of stopping in its tracks any deck that plays Ravonna Renslayer, Zabu, Loki, Beast, and the like, cards that season after season solidify themselves as powerful cards and capable of creating archetypes around them.

Snap and Retreat

Rules for an early game Snap:

• You can snap on Turn 1 and be very aggressive. In certain matchups – particularly in Conquest mode – it can give us big rewards. I would encourage it if we have Kitty Pryde + Angela or Kraven + Silk or Spider-Man.

• The idea to consider a Turn 2 Snap is the same, only that we must add the awareness that we have the possibility of navigating the game with the two locations that have been revealed without too many problems. Having drawn Elsa Bloodstone + Jeff The Baby Land Shark, Vision, or Nightcrawler gives us extra confidence.

• If you haven’t Snapped so far or you want to know whether to stay in the game, try to keep in mind the maximum power capacity that Kitty Pryde, Angela, and Kraven could get to for the rest of the game. If the power of these cards will be at least five, we are on the right track. If either has the potential to go to six or more, snapping is a good idea.

• Snapping on Turns 4 and 5 depends mostly on making efficient use of our energy. We can Snap before playing our cards if we have powerful turns like Kitty Pryde on Angela + Spider-Man, or Elsa Bloodstone + Jeff the Baby Land Shark on Turn 4, Kitty Pryde or Miles Morales + double 2-energy cards on Turn 5, Vision being buffed by Elsa, with Alioth in hand, etc.

Staying in the game after an opponent’s Snap or counter Snap will depend on assessing the maximum power of our anchors as well as our ability to maneuver during the remaining turns of the game. Think calmly; the archetype is almost too flexible to fail, and it can easily get out of many difficult situations.

Good Locations

• Altar of Death, Death's Domain, Sanctum Sanctorum, Luke's Bar: Easy to win thanks to our Movement cards.
• Aunt May's, The Bifrost, K'un-Lun: Any location with the word “Move” serves us well.
• Shuri's Lab: Amazing for Kitty Pryde.
• Great Web: Playing Kraven here works wonderfully.
• Rickety Bridge: Captain Marvel is the best card for this location in the entire game (Bucky Barnes is close).

Bad Locations

• Crimson Cosmos: It blocks over half of the cards in our deck.
• Fisk Tower: Ouch…

Versus Lockdown

Lockdown

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

1x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

5x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

1x Starter Card

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Move is a deck that can play all day vs Lockdown and ends with a positive win rate.

Thanks to the mobility of our cards we can play on Nebula and reposition the points without much problem. Echo doesn’t cause us any major problems. In the same way, closing a location with Storm is not significant because we can put points in closed lanes easily.

What you have to be careful of is playing around Professor X, who although we also have Jeff the Baby Land Shark, Ms. Marvel can complicate the situation.

Try to get to turn 6 with priority, even if that means moving a card early. That will give us the advantage in turn 6 Alioth vs Alioth battles.

Versus Loki by Night

Loki Zabu

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

3x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Three rules apply to this matchup.

1.- Try to anchor with Kraven or Angela in the same lane where they have The Collector. This will keep the location in contention until the end of the game. If you couldn’t get any of these cards down on turn 2 in the same lane as The Collector, it’s better to play them elsewhere.

2.- Try to buff at least 3 cards with Elsa Bloodstone. If they decide to use Loki on turn 5, they can take advantage of him if they copy Elsa, but it will probably be 1 or 2 times.

3.- Finally, getting to turn 6 with priority is very important and not that complicated. Alioth is a great help in the final turn.

PS.- Werewolf by Night moves a lot and achieves a lot of power. We can move large amounts of power too thanks to Elsa Bloodstone and Vision without much problem.

Turn-by-Turn breakdown

Turn 1

If you have Kitty Pryde, it’s time to play her and start increasing her power. It is preferable to wait and play Nightcrawler in a lane where Elsa Bloodstone can buff him.

Turn 2

We have multiple options for this turn. The correct decision is usually between Angela and Kraven, either of which will anchor a lane. Choose the one that can most easily reach 6+ power in combination with the cards in your hand.

You can play Silk or Elsa Bloodstone if you don’t have any of our anchors. However, the normal thing would be to play Elsa on turn three + Nightcrawler filling a lane, or on turn four + another 2-cost card also filling a lane.

Turn 3

Spider-Man would be the natural choice. Decide whether to hinder the opponent’s plan or advance ours based on the archetype the opponent is playing.

Turn 4

The options are vast. This is due to the great synergy between our cards and the flexibility of the deck.

Think calmly. Sometimes it’s okay to go for the most points by powering Kitty Pryde, Angela, and Kraven, and sometimes assembling a more impactful plan for the late-game could be a better choice.

In that regard, Although it is possible to buff a card on turn 3 with Elsa Bloodstone, this turn should be the moment where you already have a full lane and can take advantage of Elsa and the movement core in all games.

Turn 5

The only difference with the previous turn lies in the decision between a combination of our cards or playing Vision. Choosing to play Vision should only happen if it will translates into a decisive line that gives us the upper hand for the final turn. By this, I mean having 11 power thanks to Elsa + moving to a lane where you are sure about winning.

Turn 6

Alioth or not Alioth. The answer depends on the opponent’s deck. If the opponent is going to contest a single lane, Alioth is usually the correct answer, even if you don’t have priority (although having it secures the situation).

Fighting for multiple lanes is not difficult thanks to Miles Morales, Kitty Pride, and the rest of the high-powered, low-cost cards that we have in the deck.

Closing Words

Move is an archetype that is now an ever-present deck in the competitive environment. Its great flexibility allows us to maneuver during all stages of the game. While it’s true that it requires a lot of practice, the ability to reach any location with a strong plan for competing in the points department makes this archetype promise to be with us for a long time.

As mentioned at the beginning, the game has moved towards an environment where we can observe groups of 3 or 4 cards moving together through different archetypes. This is the case of Elsa Bloodstone, Nightcrawler, Jeff The Baby Land Shark, and Vision. Something similar happens with Kitty Pryde + Angela.

This seems tremendously positive to me since it opens the doors to experimenting with different combinations of these cores, which in the end gives birth to new decks and variations of existing decks that undoubtedly give us a lot to talk about.

I hope this article has been to your liking, and that it will help you quickly achieve your goals for this month. Let us know your thoughts on this and any other Marvel Snap-related topics in the Marvel Snap Community Discord, on my Twitter, and in the comment section of this article (I promise I read them all!).

Don’t forget that I have started providing personal coaching services for Marvel Snap. If you want to contact me, you can look for me on Discord as bohettv, on my Twitter, or via email at [email protected]

Thanks for reading, and as I always say, dear readers, don’t forget to smile; I assure you that it makes a difference.