Return of the Ramp: Zabu Nerf and Sandman Buff Let Ramp Decks Shine

Ramp decks are a great change of pace in a game of Marvel Snap. With our fixed six turn matches, having the ability to play two different six energy cards can really swing the tide of battle. The ramp archetype was a reliable option from the launch of Marvel Snap through the December season but fell off a cliff in effectiveness during the January season.

Today we’ll walk through what happened to make ramp a less effective archetype in January, why now is an excellent time to pick up the archetype, some tips to effectively pilot these decks, and cap things off with decks that I’ve found success with post-Infinite rank this season. Truly, it is the RETURN OF THE MACK! Ahem, sorry, I mean return of the ramp archetype.

You Lied to Me

Wave and Psylocke can help but Electro is the real backbone of the ramp archetype given his steady supply of bonus energy. The Electro ramp archetype is near and dear to my heart because during my first ever climb to Infinite in the December season, that deck style took me from 97 to 100 in one evening after banging my head against the mid 90s for over a week with my beloved Negative Surfer deck.

The straightforward and effective game plan Electro ramp offered was a breath of fresh air after the Galaxy brain maneuvering that came with the high end Negative Surfer deck. So when the season turned over to January it was painful trying to climb with my ramp deck. 

Why was climbing with a ramp deck difficult last season? The answer is simple: Zabu. Zabu in his pre-nerf form was full on a better “energy cheat” card than Electro. Assuming both deck archetypes were playing perfectly on curve, Electro‘s downside of only being able to play one card per turn couldn’t compete and provide enough reliable counters to things like Darkhawk and Rockslide being played on the same turn. So that was that. I’m sure some dedicated players were able to make their Electro ramp decks work at the height of the Zabu meta, but for those us looking for a faster way to reach Infinite, our Electro ramp decks had to be shelved.

Return of the Ramp (You Know That I’ll be Back)

The Zabu nerf at the top of the February season was huge for ramp decks. Now that Zabu only reduces four energy cards by one instead of two energy, Electro is firmly the best “energy cheat” card in the game once again.

Even though the Zabu nerf brought ramp decks back into the fray, they were far from center stage. Much of the earlier part of the February seasons post nerf metagame was focused on Shuri decks and folks beginning to tap into Thanos’ potential.

However in the patch that dropped earlier this week a surprise buff to Sandman is poised to make now the best time ever to start playing ramp. This is especially true if you’re still working through Series Three and don’t have a lot of the popular Series Four and Five cards like Shuri and Thanos that have been prominent in the meta.

Marvel Snap February 21, 2023 Card Balance (Surprise) Updates: Thanos Stronger, Sandman is a New Card!

Piloting Electro Sandman Decks

The goal of any great ramp deck is to play Electro on turn three and start snowballing from there. Sandman’s buff to 5/5 goes hand in hand with the Electro style since you’re already limited to only playing one card per turn. Furthermore, getting Sandman down on turn four thanks to Electro can shatter deck archetypes like DeathWave, Mister Negative, and Sera Control that rely on explosive multi card turn six finishers.

The greatest appeal of Electro ramp decks is the straightforward gameplan that lets us go wide across all three locations. This “go-to” play line is Sunspot on turn one, Electro on turn three, Sandman turn four, Doctor Doom turn five, Odin turn six. In many cases this can be enough to win the match, but after piloting these kinds of decks enough the skilled players will know when it makes sense to deviate from this path.

Matchups against Shuri decks are particularly tough for ramp decks, and that go-to gameplan I described will rarely be enough to overcome their high or even midroll play lines. Your best line of defense against Shuri decks will be playing high power cards like Magneto on turn five to clog up lanes and go tall. And especially leveraging a card like Aero to force their obvious turn six Taskmaster into a location they’re already winning.

Another key matchup here is the mirror against other ramp decks that are bound to be fairly common in the wake of the Sandman buff. Although it may seem obvious, if you see an opponent playing Electro on turn three and you haven’t seen tell tale Galactus signs like Wolverine or Adam Warlock plus Yellowjacket, don’t play Sandman on turn four. Let them waste a turn by instinctively throwing down Sandman while you get ahead with flexible cards like Vision or Captain Marvel.

The best Electro ramp decks have cards that can keep them in the game and relatively on curve if you don’t play Electro on turn three. Wave is a less ideal version of Electro but can still enable dropping Doctor Doom on turn four in advance of a turn six Odin play without the bonus energy from Electro.

Ebony Maw also represents a solid turn three play if you don’t draw into Electro or Wave on turn three, admittedly he’s a better drop on turn two in the same location you’ve played Sunspot but a seven power push on three can still help you bridge the gap until you’re able to play five and six cost cards naturally.

Sunspot is a must-have in all ramp decks, because if you end up with a bizarre early hand at least you can float turns three or four and convert that energy into power on Sunspot.

Last but not least, Jubilee is perhaps the best turn four play when you don’t play Electro on three since she’s likely to pull into one of your powerful five or six cost cards.

Related to this is the importance of the balancing act of having strong early game plays while not over investing in cards with less than five energy, and vice versa. I recommend leaning more into a variety of five and six cost cards and being smart about when to retreat, but you don’t want to go out there with Sunspot, Electro, and a bunch of five and six cost cards. Conversely, if you’re stacking Ebony Maw, Lizard, Armor, Jubilee, and White Queen, you might want to re-think if your deck is actually trying to utilize a ramp play style at all.

With those guiding tips in mind, let’s close things out with some of my favorite decks in the emerging Electro Sandman archetype.

My Go-To Electro Sandman Decks

As a quick disclaimer, all three of the decks below can default to the powerful play line of Sunspot on turn one, Electro on turn three, Sandman turn four, Doctor Doom turn five, Odin turn six. So instead of repeating that bit for each deck, just know that option is always there and instead I’ll cover the unique card choices in each deck and how that makes it different from the other two options.

Deck #1: Walk Down to Electro Avenue

Ebony Maw and Armor round out our early game options. Ebony Maw is great at getting your opponent to invest in a location thinking they can easily overcome your seven power locked up location only to fill out that location with the help of Doctor Doom down the line. Armor is here primarily to protect Sunspot, if you have any awkward turns Sunspot can absorb the excess energy and stay safe from a surprise Killmonger. Jubilee is here to hail Mary into one of our big cards if we aren’t able to get Electro or Wave down on turn three.

Leech is here to ruin people’s day if you don’t think a turn five Sandman feels right in your matchup. America Chavez thins our deck for a more likely Electro on turn three while providing a guaranteed high power target for Jubilee. Magneto is a great 12 power finisher that can really cause some chaos if your opponent has three and four cost cards spread out too. Truly, there is nothing more satisfying than moving an opponents Cosmo into the location where they were trying to Taskmaster on turn six.

She-Hulk fills a similar role to Sunspot in reaping a benefit from awkward energy curves, floating turn three and dropping She-Hulk on four can be quite a threatening play line if you miss out on your Electro draw.

Deck #2: Aerodynamic Electro Ramp

This is probably my favorite of the three decks featured here. Lizard and Ebony Maw both pressure the opponent to focus on a single location while we’re able to power it up with our classic Doctor Doom shenanigans. America Chavez is wonderful as always at thinning our deck and letting us have the best chance at playing Electro out on the board on turn three. Magneto’s disruption potential on key three and four energy cards prevalent in the meta like Cosmo and Dracula can swing a game in your favor.

The two most unique pieces here are Captain Marvel and Aero. Captain Marvel, in spite of the litany of “why didn’t my Captain Marvel move?” posts you see on Reddit, can really come in clutch for us if we’ve over-invested in one location and is a perfect play if you expect an Aero from your opponent.

Speaking of Aero, what else is there to say about this card? She’s arguably the best tech card and has double the power of the rest of the tech cards. In our deck here she can make for a jarring turn four play and if you stack another powerful on reveal like Doctor Doom in the same location as Aero on turn five… Then follow that up with Odin on turn six you’ll be sure to have a good time.

Deck #3: Wong and Electro at the Beach

I know I know the name is bizarre but it was my best attempt at combining the mix of the Electro and Sandman combo with the Wong option. Do you think Wong and Electro would get along at the beach together?

Anyway, this deck gets rid of some staple cards from the other decks like America Chavez, Ebony Maw and Magneto to integrate a powerful on reveal package that can both work as a ramp game plan or be a great back up plan if you don’t get Electro on the board on turn three.

Scorpion is an interesting early game card that’s helpful against the infinity stones. While Wong, Black Panther, followed by Arnim Zola can even win games on their own – especially if Arnim Zola hits Wong first.

Spider-Woman recently got a light buff and is more of a flex pick, if you hit a full lane she’s effectively a 5/12. Folks aren’t expecting a surprise Spider-Woman but you could also opt for a card like Vision or Aero if you don’t find success with her.

Final Turn

So as we approach the last week of this season, it does feel like we’re in the return of the ramp archetype. Will the hype die down once we get some more distance from the patch? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, for any players light on Series Four and Five cards or are just looking for a change, hit the ladder with some Electro Sandman action!

If you want to talk about ramp archetypes go ahead and leave a comment or reach out to me on Twitter at @itsthedmc for anything about Marvel Snap. Until next time!