Sleeper Decks of the Week – Evolutionary is Back, Negative is Real and More Thanos

Hello everyone and welcome to Sleeper Decks of the Week! I’m Glazer of Snap Judgments: The Official Marvel Snap Zone Podcast, and in this article, I’m going to take you through all of my favorite Sleeper Decks this week. In addition to the podcast (this week’s episode features the analysis of Spotlight Caches and the crazy OTA of last week), I do my own daily videos where I scour the darkest corners of the net (ahem Twitter and the various Marvel Snap sites) to find the best decks in Marvel Snap before the meta notices.

I realize there are a LOT of high Series cards in this. Want Series 3 decks? I’ll go over my Top 5 of them in an article later this week on Marvel Snap Zone!

Remember: Each deck title will take you to a video explanation of the deck, so don’t be shy – check them out! Usually, we have a bunch of videos from some of our favorite creators playing the decks – but I was on vacation, so there will be little of that this week. That feature will be back next week.

Thanos Everywhere

Thanos came back a few weeks ago and has only increased in both meta share and performance since. Let’s look at the meta Thanos deck and then two alternative contenders from amazing deck-builders.

Tournament Winning Thanos Part 2

Swen Snap Battle Arena Thanos

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

1

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

1x Recruit Season

4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.7

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Two weeks ago, W won a Snap Battle Arena Tournament with Thanos Control. One week later, that deck was 25% of the field at the next tournament and won the whole thing with one swap – Luke Cage out and Super-Skrull in. Super-Skrull gives a ton of extra play into the mirror. The main goal of the deck is to cheat out an early Professor X with either Psylocke or Time Stone. Stealing the opponent’s Professor X for free (and then their Devil Dinosaur for good measure) is a great way to win games.

Beyond that, you’ve seen this deck on ladder or in Conquest by now. It’s an insanely frustrating experience to play against. If you’re allowed to play somewhere, your cards get negative power from Soul Stone or have their On Reveal abilities stomped by Cosmo. Think you’ve got a location won? Here comes Blue Marvel or Klaw. There’s always an answer for here, and we didn’t even mention Shang-Chi.

You will obviously need Thanos to play this list, but Jeff the Baby Landshark, while great, can be replaced by Armor (if your meta has a lot of Destroy) or Daredevil (if you’re struggling with the options on Turn 5).

Watch our friend AZ Snap – Subscribe Here! – take it for a spin:

Lamby New Thanos

Lamby Thanos Hawk

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

1

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Lamby remains known as the best player in the game. After a deck I think maybe a miss down below, he returned to crush Conquest, going an unreal 12-0 with this one.

Devil Dinosaur and Darkhawk are one of the most consistent packages in Marvel Snap. This deck looks to abuse that combination. It can run the four-card Darkhawk package with ease – Darkhawk, Rockslide, Zabu, Korg, but then can skimp out on the Devil Dinosaur cards because the Stones are already drawing you cards.

In place of the Dino cards is… well, variety. Iron Lad’s downside is usually a 4-6 that at least draws a card or puts rocks in a deck, while his upside is Professor X or Darkhawk. Professor X is obviously extremely strong and is supported by Jeff, as usual. Super-Skrull is super utility, as discussed above, just be careful lest an opponent play Electro.

Finally, Beast. Beast is the spice that makes this deck different. It’s hard to guarantee seeing all the cards in a Thanos deck and seeing different parts of different packages, but Beast really helps with that. He can bounce your Stones, meaning a double draw with the second play being free. That gives you the cards you need to win.

Try this one out… but the only high Series card you can do without is Jeff the Baby Land Shark. Jeff makes sense as Cosmo or Shang-Chi – a bit of extra tech to help out.

W Thanos Galactus

W Thanos Galactus

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

2

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.9

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Thanos Destroy is a very powerful and very underplayed game plan. During the Snap Judgments Podcast, when W saw my list, he found two easy cuts to make it a Galactus deck, too. The versatility shot through the roof. There are a lot of one-cube retreats where the deck doesn’t go off, but when it wins? Whew. No one is ready and big cubes abound.

The obvious easy playline is to just destroy all the Stones you can with Venom, Carnage, and Killmonger. Ideally, this leads to a Turn 5 Wave and Death play followed by Knull. That dominates games and is only made stronger by all the Magik decks everywhere. It’s an extra turn to destroy or something you can get rid of for a surprise win with Reality Stone.

Otherwise, the classic Wave + Galactus + Spider-Man play is here. So is Time Stone on 4 into Spider-Man and Space Stone on Turn 5. You can then Galactus a locked-off lane on 6. Also viable? Time Stone on 4 into Galactus on 5 and then Knull. There are just a lot of ways to win.

To play this deck, you’ll need Thanos and Knull, but you can go further all-in on Destroy without Galactus, adding Deathlok and Yondu in the Galactus and Spider-Man slots.

Good Stuff is Good

The Darkhawk package is everywhere right now! Here are two more ways to play that core.

MoveHawk

Move Hawk

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

1

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

1x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Darkhawk and Move decks are at their core, Tempo decks. Both want to get ahead by playing efficient cards and disrupting the opponent’s game plan and ability to plan. You have the same Darkhawk package as always here, but add an extra kill from Spider-Man 2099 and benefit from moving around with a cheap Miles Morales. Don’t think of 2099 as a kill card, though, think of it as stats. a 4-10 is exceedingly playable, and if 2099 kills a 4-power card, he operates as just that.

On the last turn, you hopefully have Zabu out for Shang Chi and another 4, but when you don’t, moving your whole board with an unexpected Heimdall is a fantastic way to steal Cubes.

Iron Lad is great here with most of his hits, but can pretty easily become Vulture for another power card. You will need 2099 and the Darkhawk package, though.

LegionHawk

W Legion Stats

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

2

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

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

1x Starter Card

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: I’m in love with Legion. Get ready for a LOT of Legion decks for a while.

I said above Darkhawk was amazing midrange tempo package and that’s exactly what Legion takes advantage of. If one location flips that lets you lock things down, Legion basically wins the game. Also, with Magik everywhere, choosing to guarantee or destroy Limbo has a ton of power.

Beyond that, this deck is a mix of power and control. Cosmo, Killmonger, and Shang Chi can absolutely wreck your opponent’s game plan, especially as Killmonger sees less play and so is more unexpected. Iron Man can add a ton of power late, and basically, all of these cards are fantastic hits for Iron Lad when played with care and intent.

Invisible Woman throws priority and on turn 6 or 7 dropping her with Shang-Chi or Killmonger when you’re otherwise ahead just steals cubes.

You’ll need the Darkhawk Package and Iron Lad, but if you didn’t get Legion, this deck works very well with Sera. If there’s a piece you don’t like and you do have Legion, throwing Storm in is a safe play.

Negative and Surfer sitting in a tree…

It’s been a long-time since Mister Neagtive has mattered in the meta, and nearly no time since Surfer was great. Here are versions of the deck separate and one that combines the two archetypes.

Top Performing Negative

Turbo Miracle 2

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: When I went looking for Mister Negative decks, this one was not what I expected to find. This section won’t be crazy long – the deck is fairly standard. The goal is to get down Mister Negative, and Magik, and play Jane Foster Mighty Thor for a hand full of 0-cost cards – Angela, Iron Heart, Iron Man, Mystique, Knull and Arnim Zola. Bast helps those 0s you draw before Negative and Luke Cage protects the power of cards – a negative power on Iron Man is especially punishing and bounces Jane Foster back up to 8 power if she’s hit by Bast.

The cool part here? If you don’t see Negative, but it’s a Magik game, you can Shang-Chi on Turn 5 then Knull and Zola the next two turns. Arnim Zola also works amazingly well for Iron Man. This deck is greater than the sum of its parts and even better once Negative cards top out at 6-cost in a coming update.

Knull is the only high Series card in this deck. You can play this reasonably without him – Black Panther seems a clean fit. If you want spice, Valkyrie.

Watch FaThorNewman (subscribe here!) play the deck:

Safety’s Surfer

Safety Surfer

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

2

1x Collection Level 1-14

2x 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)

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

1.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: This is the last really successful home for bounce, I think, and it’s really more of a Silver Surfer deck that takes advantage of Kitty Pryde and Mysterio for Tempo, Angela, Bishop, and Hit Monkey.

When those cards line up, there’s still a ton of power here, but it’s far more fragile than it was and especially prayed on by the lockdown decks that are everywhere. I tend to use Kitty here as an enabler, not to grab a ton of power, meaning I’m prioritizing Bast, Angela, and Bishop on curve over her. I basically never get all of those in order, though, so there’s plenty of time to make her a 1-5 or so, still a great stat line that is, again, representing, 6 power on Angela, 3 on Bishop, and 2 for Hit Monkey.

Sera is a huge priority for the best games and playing her on turn 5 or 6 works great. You want that last turn to be Silver Surfer, Hit-Monkey, Mysterio, and Kitty. You’ll note with Sera, that’s 6 energy, so don’t be afraid to go off on Turn 6… or, if you’re confident Limbo won’t go away, save Surfer for Turn 7.

Hit Monkey is the only high-series card here, but he’s an absolute requirement.

Negative Surfer

Negative Surfer

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

2

1x Collection Level 1-14

8x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

1x Recruit Season

1x Starter Card

3.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

1.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Many are calling this the best deck in the game and maybe it is… when nothing goes wrong. It’s extremely disruptable, whether it be by a Cosmo, Scarlet Witch, or its own bad draws. Still, this is as consistent as Negative has been for a long while.

This deck has two real high rolls. The first is the same as always for Mister Negative – Iron Man and Mystique are crazy powerful together, especially when Negative or Bast is in play. The other high roll is to play Wong and Silver Surfer. You can even Mystique that Wong if you’re feeling crazy.

Both Mystique and the new Magik are three cost cards, increasing the consistency and the power of the Surfer package. Further, that extra turn from Magik gives time for all the various combos in the deck to come together.

The rest of the deck is essentially the best 3-cost cards whose power is less than their cost. This deck is worth playing and worth knowing. Best of all? It’s Series 3 only if you make Zabu be Psylocke.

Watch Combat Marvel Snap – subscribe here – play the deck:

Drop Huge Numbers

To win in Snap, the easiest thing to do is just to grow extremely tall. There are a bunch of decks right now that focus on that. If it’s your style, we certainly have the decks for you.

Double Hulks

Jeet Double She Hulk

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

2

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3x Starter Card

3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Double She-Hulk decks fell out of the meta as Wave was a regular presence due to Bounce. Wave is far less oppressive now due to a combination of Magik and the Bounce nerf, so the power of this deck is back in full force.

This version came in second in the Snap Battle Arena Tournament last week and its ideal world gameplan is to get out cards that benefit from turn skipping, play Magik on turn 3 or 4, Moon Girl on 3 or 4, protect Limbo with Cosmo, then pass turn 6. At that point, the goal is to drop two She-Hulks and a Hulk to win the game.

Be careful of Legion, but otherwise, big power smash!

Fazzer Power

Fazzer Power

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.6

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Our friend Fazzer has been on a roll with the decks lately. The gameplan here is, again, crazy power over 7-turns with Magik. Sunspot grows as turns are skipped while Armor protects the eventual huge cards.

Eventually, you land on one of several play lines. The first is Shuri on 4, skip on 5, Infinaut on 6 and Taskmaster on 7. That’s the most power. There’s also classic Shuri, Red Skull, Taskmaster here, and Shuri, Skip, She-Hulk, and Taskmaster. For either of those last two, in a 7-turn game, you still get a 27-power last turn, as Lady Sif and Ghost Rider can drop a turn 7 Infinaut. Few decks in the history of Snap put up power like this.

The only Series 4 or higher card here is Jeff. Jeff can reasonably be any high-tempo card. I like Nebula (another Series 5), but anything from Medusa to Lizard works – or even Titania for a last-turn power play.

Fazzer Destroyer

Fazzer Destroyer

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

0

3x 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)

1x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Another Fazzer special, this one is all about all the Nimrods. A Nimrod after a Shuri whether on Turn 5 or 6 (ideally 5, but Magik gives you another try) is almost certainly a win. You can then play Arnim Zola and make 4 12-power Nimrods. If it’s turn 6, you can follow that up with Venom and Carnage or Destroyer to really go crazy.

Sometimes Armor or Cosmo will ruin your day, but when they don’t, this deck goes tall and wide. One suggestion – I’m rarely getting Death out here- I think I’d prefer Knull if you have him. Iron Lad operates as a potential high roll for either Shuri or Nimrod and everything else is to really amp up that plan- Wolverine as an extra thing to grow and not be destroyed, Nova as power for the full board, Shang Chi in case they have a card you can’t go over the top of.

Nimrod is a necessity for this deck. Iron Lad is great but can be America Chavez for consistency of seeing Shuri and Nimrod sooner.

TheJollyRoger Destroy Combo

Jolly Roger’s Peach Moknull

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

1

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

8x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: TheJollyRoger remains an absolute mad scientist of decks. He made this deck a few weeks ago, and it was just too inconsistent before the Magik change. It’s still inconsistent overall, but the power it outputs and the fun of playing it is insane.

This deck is all about destroying stuff- your own with Venom and Attuma, theirs with Yondu, Shang-Chi, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. With Magik out, there’s plenty of time to make sure a lot dies and once it does…

Knull is key. He should be absolutely huge. In a 6-turn game, a Mystique or Taskmaster (or both) behind Invisible Woman can copy him for a giant board. With Magik, you can do this, just on turn 7 after a Turn 6 Knull.

The Phoenix Force seems weird here at first, but it’s at least solid with whatever Venom kills. Better uses are Attuma to kill another 16 power and Negasonic, which is 9 power that dies plus whatever else it kills. More on that combo next week!

This deck just requires Negasonic, Phoenix, and Knull.

Miscellaneous Sleepers

These decks just don’t fit anywhere else this week, but all three are worth talking about for different reasons.

Cerebro 2

Cerebro 2

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

1

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

1x Recruit Season

2.6

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

1.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Cerebro 2 is very well-placed right now. It not only got Magik to benefit its combo, but the meta is full of various lockdown decks – Cerebro 2 also goes over those by adding power to lanes late. It’s a surprisingly compelling deck in the current meta that handles everything except extremely tall decks.

Storm locking down a lane can be dangerous now, but if you can get a Brood or Mister Sinister in there, it’s a huge lane after Cerebro and Mystique are played. Scorpion weakens them while Luke Cage prevents the same for you, important with High Evolutionary back in the meta. Goose is amazing control, especially good at protecting a location you don’t want everything to turn into!

Spider-Ham is the only Series 4 card here, and it really helps stop some of the more annoying stuff opponents can do – even hitting Red Skull and turning off its +2 is a positive, but a card like Nightcrawler is a fine substitute.

Lamby Bounce Version 2

Lamby Bounce

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

0

3x 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)

1x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

1x Starter Card

1.9

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

1.6

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: This is the one I alluded to earlier that I don’t think works, but if you miss Bounce, give it a try. Instead of Spider-Ham, this deck goes with Wasp. Wasp is an extra trigger for Hit-Monkey (and potential power for Angela and Bishop) who is a really good card when Bast hits her.

The issue? Kitty Pryde doesn’t get as big as she did, making a lot of the play lines awkward. This is especially difficult given the presence of Lockdown everywhere – Bounce badly needs space to play. It’s possible a card like Legion could slot in here to help, but overall, Bounce is just far weaker both due to the nerf and the meta that has evolved after.

Agatha Evolutionary

FaThor Agatha Evolutionary

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 9 months ago

1

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

5x Starter Card

3.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Our friend FaThorNewman has managed to build the best Agatha Harkness deck I’ve ever played by adding High Evolutionary.

This one has three ways to get out Agatha early – the usual Wave and Lady Sif AND Shocker will always hit Agatha. Agatha also often floats random energy, so Misty and Sunspot end up really nice. A lucky Thing will get out an Abomination, often with a Ghost Rider on Turn 7 since everyone else is playing Magik, but the Kang spot could easily be another negative power card. Finally, Hulk is a closer- something to do on Turn 7.

It’s an Agatha deck – you’ll lose sometimes to her playing everything in Death's Domain, but controlling for that, this is really fun.

Wrap up

Thanks for reading! Check back all next week so much more great content from Marvel Snap Zone!