On Reveal Ability Guide: Decks, Cards, Synergies, and Counters

Marvel Snap features a lot of different cards, all with different abilities, representing ways to affect a match. In these series of guides, we will go in-depth on each of these specific abilities, covering their strengths, weaknesses, and favored gameplay.

In this guide, we will cover the On Reveal ability, an effect that triggers when a card is turned face up after playing them on the board.

At the end of this article, you will be able to find two decklists: The first is a budget build aimed for beginners, and will not include anything outside the first pool of cards that you should be able to obtain within a week of first playing. The second deck will be a more competitive build and represent what can a player aim for when building around the On Reveal synergy.

What is the On Reveal Ability?

A card with On Reveal means it will trigger its effect when flipped onto the board. The effects on On Reveal cards can be extremely different, so at the time, there isn’t a clear 12 cards decklist that could be called the go-to on-reveal deck currently.

Instead, the On Reveal synergy should be seen as a flexible one, which can be built upon or serve as the support for another dominant synergy. A testimony to that flexibility is the fact that a lot of the popular tech cards feature this keyword. As such, you will likely play and face a lot of On Reveal cards during your journey, but this doesn’t mean they are the core cards of the deck.

Variants

Scarlet Witch

On Reveal: Replace this location with a new one.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Scarlet Witch

Variants

Killmonger

On Reveal: Destroy ALL 1-Cost cards.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Killmonger

Variants

Enchantress

On Reveal: Remove the abilities from all Ongoing cards here.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Enchantress

Variants

Storm

On Reveal: Flood this location. Next turn is the last turn cards can be played here.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Storm

At its core, the On Reveal synergy is a responsive one, meaning it is looking to be disruptive to what the opponent is looking to do.

As such, when playing a lot of On Reveal cards, we usually take on the role of the defender in the match, answering what our opponent does. This rather passive gameplay at the start of the match is reinforced by our need to work our available spots, as we typically want to keep a space open in all locations to trigger our synergies when needed.

When are Cards Revealed?

If you look at the image above, you will see that one player’s name has an orange lighting added to it when the other one doesn’t. This lighting means that DEN will reveal its cards before TREC in the upcoming turn. The player with the lightning is the one with the lead at the start of the turn.

This information is key, as some tech cards want to be in play before their target, and others want to be revealed afterwards.

Armor or Cosmo, for example, need to be active before Carnage, Deathlok or Venom are revealed to destroy Nova. In the picture, DEN has initiative, meaning if TREC didn’t place Armor last turn, they cannot prevent their opponent from destroying Nova.

In the Enchantress against Devil Dinosaur interaction though, it’s the opposite that happens. Enchantress wants to reveal after Devil Dinosaur did. This means we either have to play Enchantress the turn following Devil Dinosaur or take a gamble on where our opponent could play it if they have the reveal initiative the upcoming turn.

This mechanic in the game puts the emphasis on the player using the tech cards to be wary on timing and keeping an eye on who will reveal first.

For example, a way to play around the Enchantress for the Devil Dinosaur deck is to fall behind on point on turn 5 and play Moon Girl with Devil Dinosaur in hand. This way, the player will be able to play both Devil Dinosaur safely, as they will reveal after the opponent’s cards, making Enchantress worthless while adding a ton of points on 2 locations.

On Reveal Synergies

Variants

Odin

On Reveal: Activate the On Reveal abilities of your other cards here.

Collection Level 1-14

view card details Start a deck Decks with Odin

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

Variants

Wong

Ongoing: Your On Reveal abilities here happen twice.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Wong

In addition to being able to respond to what the opponent does as long as we can play a card on the location, two cards are the main reason for us to leave spaces open when playing an On Reveal deck. The first one is Odin, a card you will get very early in your journey in Marvel Snap. The card allows you to trigger all your On Reveal at the location you play the card, providing a big burst on turn 6. Similarly, Wong is a card from Pool 3 that can also allow for some explosive plays.

The other card is Doctor Doom, another Pool 3 card that allows to push for every location at the same time. While you shouldn’t worry about this card until later in the game at least until the Diamond rank on the ladder, it embodies quite well the idea of the On Reveal synergy trying to work on all fronts at the same time.

On Reveal Cards: Strengths

The biggest upside of On Reveal cards is definitely their flexibility. There are so many of them in the game, you can build your deck to fit many situations and opponents, or simply try to take advantage of some specific cards.

This flexibility also means that it is a synergy you can pick up early on in your journey, and it will progress with you as you collect cards. Currently, out of the 172 released cards in Marvel Snap, 99 have On Reveal effects, so you shouldn’t run out any time soon.

During a match, the thing that usually works very well for the On Reveal cards is their unpredictability. With that many effects at their disposal, your deck could be a counter deck to a popular metagame pick or a combo deck that the opponent wouldn’t recognize it in the first few turns.

Exodia Gambit by robcote22

Created by den

, updated 2 years ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

8x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Recruit Season

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

This first deck is an example of a proactive On Reveal deck, one that comes into a game with a defined strategy. In this case, the On Reveal keyword is looking to be abused for our own benefit, creating a combo worth a ton of points.

Anti 1 Drop Aggro

Created by den

, updated 2 years ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

5x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

This second deck is built with the idea to counter and control your opponents. Most of these cards are rather situational and look to punish an opponent who would be looking to swarm the board with units.

At the time I am writing this piece, the 1-drop aggro deck is largely dominating the ladder at most ranks. In order to benefit from its big popularity, we can use the On Reveal cards to deny this specific deck’s strategy.

On Reveal Cards: Weaknesses and Counters

The big emphasis in this synergy is the need to find your synergies. Marvel Snap plays with just 12 cards in a deck, which makes each build very reliable in what it does. Yet, the On Reveal synergy is one I find to be bricking a bit more than the other ones.

Because of the highly synergistic nature of the mechanic, which usually relies on a few cards combining together in order to generate a lot of points. We can run into some trouble when we draw badly or get derailed by an opposing disruption card. A card like Cosmo, or Yondu at the right time can completely throw our deck off the rails.

Variants

Cosmo

Ongoing: On Reveal abilities won’t happen here.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Cosmo

Variants

Yondu

On Reveal: Destroy the lowest-Cost card in your opponent’s deck.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Yondu

Another thing that can be quite difficult when starting with the On Reveal synergy is the need to play reactively. This style of gameplay will quickly become more familiar as time passes, and you get used to the popular decks you are often time facing.

At first, you might feel like you are losing a lot of games because of your own mistakes, not using your resources properly or rushing some effects which could have mattered later on. This is because the On Reveal synergy relies a lot on timing your cards right, which can be difficult when you are just starting with a deck.

Budget On Reveal Deck Build

Budget On reveal

Created by den

, updated 2 years ago

0

3x Collection Level 1-14

7x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Recruit Season

1x Starter Card

2.9

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

An excellent thing if you are on a budget is that there already are quite a lot of On Reveal cards in Pool 1, that can all be obtained within a week or two of consistent play. You get Odin, Ironheart, White Tiger and Wolfsbane in the beginners tracks as well.

This deck is looking to play mainly on 2 locations, using the early game and utility cards to create a distraction on the third one.

In theory, Spider-Woman and Odin can win a location that was flooded early by our opponent. While they only combine for 12 points, triggering Spider-Woman twice on a full location also removes 8 points from our opponent’s total.

The other location we are looking to win should be accomplished with a mix of points. Wolfsbane, Ironheart buffs units, 7 points from White Tiger, and denying our opponent’s synergy with cards like Elektra and Enchantress.

Considering this is just dipping your toe in the competitive waters, you shouldn’t consider this deck a long term investment. Still, with a good mix of several synergies, this budget deck is a great starting point.

Competitive On Reveal Deck Build

On Reveal competitive

Created by den

, updated 2 years ago

1

1x Collection Level 1-14

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

4x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

As you unlock more cards and reach the higher tiers of the ladder, you should notice the On Reveal synergy to become more of a combo based mechanic.

In this deck, we are looking to abuse Wave, Ghost Rider, Dracula, and Jubilee in order to get our bigger units on the board and score some major points. The On Reveal mechanic is just a support to getting a ton of points, the deck not being built to particularly make use of the ability itself.

These more competitive decks tend to be extremely reliant on some specific synergies. They usually embody really well the biggest strengths of the On Reveal mechanic, as they can be unpredictable and impossible to clearly figure out for the opponent. On the other end, although extremely powerful when piloted to the best of their abilities, these decks can also be quite disappointing when the random aspect of some cards doesn’t go our way.

In Marvel Snap, considering the Snap mechanic, this low rolls can be compensated pretty well. We can snap when things go our way, looking to get as many cubes as possible, and simply retreat if the opponent snaps, losing just a cube when the deck isn’t working as intended.

Closing Words

As time passes, decks will be looking to diversify themselves, and the full On Reveal deck you build when you were still in the early stages of your collection will likely be abandoned as you gather more options. In this regard, the On Reveal cards will be in almost in every deck you build, considering how many there are in the game. However, they might stil be played as the role of the Tech Cards or as support to other payoff cards.

No matter when you are in your experience of the game, the On Reveal mechanic will impact your experience of Marvel Snap, as you likely will play it or face it at some point in your journey.

If you had any questions regarding this guide or simply on Marvel Snap in general, feel free to drop a comment in the section below. You can also check our other guides as all the other synergy will be covered here.

For a direct contact, you can add me on Twitter or Discord (den#3613).

Good Game Everyone,