Best Selene Decks to Try on Day 1 and Strategy Guide: Annihilus’s Missing Puzzle Piece

The 1-Cost cards in Marvel Snap have to battle an extremely competitive environment to be considered in a deck. They either need to have a designated synergy to be a part of, such as Korg with Darkhawk or The Hood with Annihilus, or they need to be extremely strong to be considered a standalone inclusion. Currently, Nico Minoru and Nebula are worthy of that title and see play in multiple archetypes.

Almost all of the other 1-Costs need to see their designated archetype do well for them to be a part of the meta. Deadpool and X-23 in Destroy and Sunspot and Misty Knight with High Evolutionary are prime examples of this. If it wasn’t for Bounce’s need to play several cheap On Reveal cards, there wouldn’t be that much diversity when it comes to 1-Cost cards at the end of the day.

So, where does Selene fit in this mix? And can the card stand above the rest of the 1-drops in this cutthroat environment?

Variants

Selene

On Reveal: Afflict the lowest-Power card in each player’s hand with -3 Power.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Selene

Strengths and Weaknesses

We already know Selene should be part of a respected synergy alongside The Hood, Sentry, and Annihilus. The card seems like it will be right at home in that package. It can reduce The Hood‘s power, which shouldn’t impact you since you intend to send it to your opponent. More importantly, it might make a card in your opponent’s hand useless to play with three less power, which means they are less likely to fill their lanes and thus empowering your Annihilus in the process. Overall, there’s some great stuff here; you could even throw Viper in to make it more reliable in case Annihilus stays at the bottom of your deck. That would give you a back-up plan to donate a -6 power The Hood on Turn 3.

Variants

The Hood

On Reveal: Add a Demon to your hand.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with The Hood

Variants

Sentry

You can’t play this at the right location. On Reveal: Add a -10 Power Void to the right location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Sentry

Variants

Annihilus

On Reveal: Your cards with Power below 0 switch sides. Destroy those that can’t.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Annihilus

Variants

Viper

On Reveal: One of your other cards here switches sides.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Viper

Apart from Annihilus (which is kind of the obvious pairing for Selene), there are a few other groups I could imagine Selene making some fireworks with:

Variants

Ravonna Renslayer

Ongoing: Your cards with 1 or less Power cost 1 less. (minimum 1)

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Ravonna Renslayer

Variants

Green Goblin

On Reveal: Switch sides.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Green Goblin

Variants

Hobgoblin

On Reveal: Switch sides.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Hobgoblin

Both Goblins appear to be premium targets for Selene’s ability. Plus, you can use Ravonna Renslayer to get a discount and/or reduce the cost of the afflicted card in case you don’t have a Goblin in hand at the time you play Selene.

Variants

Black Widow

On Reveal: Add a Widow’s Bite to your opponent’s hand.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Black Widow

Variants

Doctor Octopus

On Reveal: Pull 4 cards from your opponent’s hand to their side of this location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Doctor Octopus

Both of these cards have good synergy with Selene outside specific archetypes. On Turn 4, you can give your opponent the Widow's Bite and immediately make it a -4 power card with Selene. Also, you can make Doctor Octopus more likely to win the lane since one of the pulled cards should be afflicted.

Variants

Beast

On Reveal: Return your other cards here to your hand. They cost 1 less next turn.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Beast

Variants

Falcon

On Reveal: Return your 1-Cost cards to your hand.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Falcon

Variants

Loki

On Reveal: Transform your hand into cards from your opponent’s starting deck and give them -1 Cost.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Loki

Variants

Werewolf By Night

After you play a card, move there to gain +2 Power if it has an On Reveal.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Werewolf By Night

Variants

Nico Minoru

On Reveal: After you play your next card, cast a spell. (The spell changes each turn.)

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Nico Minoru

These are simply cards that can leverage Selene quite easily, or at least make it even more annoying. Beast and Falcon need no introduction when it comes to cheap On Reveal cards, and, alongside Werewolf By Night, they have been the backbone of the Bounce archetype for months now. The trio might not need Selene to perform, but it never turns down a new toy to play with.

As for Loki, the synergy is simply that you can replace the afflicted card in your hand, meaning Selene only disrupts your opponent in the end (as long as you can find something to do with the card). This is precisely why Nico Minoru is included in this list as well. You can transform Selene into a Demon or destroy it to draw two cards, all of which makes the negative power on Selene less of a problem.

Verdict

If Annihilus wasn’t in the game, Selene would be difficult to leverage – especially with Viper recently changed to be a 3-Cost. It might have been a consideration in Bounce, or a fun inclusion in an already-established deck with Ravonna Renslayer and both Green Goblin and Hobgoblin included (maybe Galactus?). Otherwise, Selene doesn’t have much of a shot to be considered a standalone good card, and the synergy with Black Widow likely won’t have been enough to become a thing in the Darkhawk package.

Overall, I would recommend Selene for anyone who enjoys the play patterns Annihilus already pushes. Outside this synergy, I believe the game already has plenty of choices in the 1-Cost slot to make Selene a disposable card. It remains a card that I expect to see impact the game because it should fit in several archetypes, especially considering how many decks are currently using Annihilus. This is even more probable with the recent nerf to Professor X since it allowed that particular synergy to thrive even more.

Selene and Annihilus in All Shapes and Forms

Good Cards Selene

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

2.9

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Selene Bounce

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Agressive Junk

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

1

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.7

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Good Cards Disruption

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

3

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Selene Loki

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

1

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

2.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

All of these decks showcase the various synergies we explored in the previous sections with Selene serving as reinforcement to Sentry, The Hood, and Annihilus first and foremost. Since these three are able to exist in a variety of archetypes, Selene can see play in the same variety of decks, and other synergistic cards can make Selene even more valuable. It is hard to say where Selene will be at its best; the results will probably be determined by the other popular decks in the end. Loki and Good Cards tend to be the easiest ones to play when you pick them up, which could boost their stock early after Selene‘s release. Junk and Disruption might have to wait a bit to explore their full potential since these decks are typically used to counter certain strategies rather than strong global archetypes.

As for Bounce, the deck is simply more difficult to use because of its complexity, which traditionally makes it look weaker until a larger part of the community learns all its intricacies.

Bounce might be the least vulnerable of the bunch if Annihilus is really popular because of the new card because you can always play proactively rather than look for intricate play patterns based on what your opponent could do. Also, Loki might have access to two copies of Annihilus over the course of the match, which can be absolutely insane in a battle based on who can send the negative power card to their opponent last.

Can Selene Be a Galactus Card?

Galactus Ramp

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

1

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

6x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.6

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Galactus Destroy

Created by den

, updated 4 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

I don’t really know if the Galactus route has a chance to become a real thing. If Annihilus is popular, you would have to deal with the opponent sending cards to your side of the board. Nevertheless, there are two different Galactus decks that can easily use the Goblins, and maybe Ramp could even leverage Annihilus for its own benefit by sending The Hood or Selene to set up for the Eater of Worlds.

Doctor Octopus sounds like a good 5-Cost with Selene in the deck now that we need to find a replacement for the nerfed Professor X. It could have been Vision for flexibility, but Doctor Octopus works with Selene and empties the opponent’s hand before you use Galactus.

As for the Destroy build, I think Destroy in general should benefit from a meta with a lot of Annihilus. Also, this would be a sneakier way to use Galactus since the card could be played on Turn 6 thanks to Nimrod providing points (in addition to both Goblins). If the meta stills features a lot of Blob and Alioth without Professor X, Galactus on Turn 6 has a much better chance of landing (if they can even predict it). Otherwise, you can always just play the Goblins and then use Destroyer for a lot of power.

I’m obviously much more confident in the ability of the five decks above to impact the meta and make Selene look like a great card – especially if we have to deal with opponents sending cards to our side of the field. However, it is nice to see that Selene might be usable in other archetypes, even if the card kind of always pushes you to consider Annihilus one way or another.

Closing Words

If it wasn’t for an already established synergy that is part of several high profile archetypes, I wouldn’t have much hope for Selene as a 1-Cost. Proactive abilities tend to perform much better on average. There are a lot of other synergies you can abuse among popular cards, too, with Nico Minoru, Black Widow, Beast, and Falcon. However, I doubt it would have been enough if Annihilus wasn’t a consideration in those decks in the first place.

Overall, my assessment of the card is that it will definitely see play and will probably look like a solid card as well. However, it should fit a specific play style, or rather, a specific synergy that needs to exist in the deck already. Then, there is a chance Selene isn’t really needed for any of those decks to perform, even if it does provide a different and maybe better option compared to other 1-Cost cards. If you can afford the Spotlight Keys, or if you have other cards you want to grab this week, I would say Selene is a good one to have in your collection – especially if you enjoy playing with Annihilus already. Otherwise, if you skip this week and save for a card you really want to get later on, I don’t think it will weigh too much on your gaming experience.

To discuss your ideas around Selene, find me on the Marvel Snap Zone community Discord, or follow my Twitter page where I share decks and biased opinions about the game.

Good Game Everyone.