Sleeper Decks of the Week – In Post-OTA Madness, Thanos and Loki Thrive

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 goes over the Top 10 Sleeper Decks in Snap with Educated Collins and CallMeSal!), 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.

Remember: Each deck title will take you to a video explanation of the deck, so don’t be shy – check them out!

Loki Stays Great

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

Loki‘s play patterns have changed, but the greatness of the deck absolutely hasn’t. He’s harder to play, but still a top deck in Snap!

SafetyBlade’s Tech Loki

Safety’s One Last Ride With Elsa

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 6 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x 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)

2.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.6

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: When the meta changes, no one adjusts faster than SafetyBlade, Marvel Snap Zone’s resident genius deck builder.

Much of this deck is exactly what you’d expect from a Loki deck – we have The Collector and cards that add cards for The Collector and Loki to get rid of, like Maria Hill and Snowguard. Most of the rest of the deck is power scaling, like Kitty Pryde and the still-great Elsa Bloodstone.

What’s really cool here is the addition of Shang-Chi and Enchantress. The buff to Spectrum has put Ongoing everywhere, so Enchantress can be backbreaking and game-winning while Destroy and Red Skull can be countered hard by the Shang-Chi inclusion. Wanting to draw a tech card last turn means America Chavez is out of the deck – this has enough other ways to win, as The Collector still gets pretty big!

I think the deck probably needs Snowguard and definitely needs Loki. Elsa Bloodstone is as key as Loki. I’m less sold on the Kitty Pryde/Angela package here, and Zabu, Agent 13, Agent Coulson, Sentinel, and others may work better. Nico could be Agent 13 just fine, too. Jeff can be Nightcrawler.

If you want a turn-by-turn guide for the deck, click the deck title in this article.

My Loki Update

Loki Update

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 6 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

1x Starter Card

2.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.7

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: My first thought upon seeing the Loki update was that we’ll likely be seeing less Mobius M Mobius. That seems to be being born out, even as I still expect that card to be nerfed. That change means Quinjet is good again, especially for games that Loki doesn’t get played out, as Snowguard, Coulson, Mirage, and Sentinel all love the card. This necessitated cutting the Kitty Pryde package – and no card has disappointed me more since patch than Angela.

All of this increases our reliance on Elsa Bloodstone to really grab power, but she’s still up to that task, as a 2-6 or a 2-8 has proven to be plenty of stats, especially since Collector is back to being a 2-10 or so. Given that, Rogue may prefer being Cosmo or Luke Cage for protection, but this deck has already grabbed multiple Infinity tickets, so it has a path to success.

Loki, Snowguard, and Elsa are still must-haves. Mirage is the only other card here that’s high series besides Jeff (Nightcrawler, almost always). Mirage would go for Cosmo or Luke Cage, and maybe should.

Thanos Is Back in the Meta

Thanos had clawed his way back to the top of the meta already when Nico Minoru was released, but then she pushed him over the edge. Nerfing his main competitors made the Mad Titan likely the best deck again.

Variants

Thanos

Starts in your opening hand and shuffles the six Infinity Stones into your deck.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Thanos

Lamby Thanos

Lamby Thanos

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 6 months ago

1

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

1x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

1x Recruit Season

3.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Independently, SafetyBlade, Lamby, and KMBest all came up with this deck with one card changed. Lamby has America Chavez where Safety runs Mobius M. Mobius. KMBest took Glenn Jones’ claim that threats are better than answers to heart and ran Iron Lad over Shang-Chi. Personally, I’d keep Shang-Chi but probably cut America Chavez for Luke Cage.

Nico Minoru operating as a seventh Infinity Stone has been absolutely stellar for this deck, while the W gameplan of Psylocke into ramping out any number of 5-cost cards, most notably Professor X, is game-winning. Indeed, this deck takes from many, as the Elsa + Vision in this shell of Thanos is a Streamer Johnson addition. Whatever it is, though, this is a dominant meta force.

Elsa is the only 100% needed card here. Nico can be any of the changes mentioned above or Echo, and Jeff is worse but acceptable as Nightcrawler. Even Alioth is okay as Leader in the current meta.

If you want a turn-by-turn on how to play the deck, check the video linked in the title.

Quinee Thanos Control

Quinee Equinox Stone Ocean

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 6 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

1x Recruit Season

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Quinee Equinox returned to Marvel Snap and just refused to be told we have Professor X at home. She built her own by adding Jean Grey and Goose to the list, allowing you to force an opponent’s plays last turn of the game, as if they have a card they can play into that Jean/Goose spot, they will not be allowed to play a higher cost card.

The remainder of the deck is just powerful effects to control the board, from Spider-Man making sure you have a lane to Professor X being an absolute guarantee if you’ve got your Jean Grey lane filled and they don’t. We’re at a Super-Skrull meta once again with Ongoing decks everywhere, and with Mobius M Mobius, offers some counterplay to the returned Darkhawk.

There’s no way around how expensive this deck is. You need Elsa, Jean, and Thanos. You should know how to replace Jeff by now. Mobius can be Shang Chi or Vision.

Meta Shakeup Sees New Risers

Variants

Deadpool

When this is destroyed, return it to your hand with double the Power.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Deadpool

Variants

Dracula

At the end of the game, discard a card from your hand to gain its Power.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Dracula

Variants

Hela

On Reveal: Resurrect all cards you discarded to random locations.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Hela

The new meta and newest cards, Nico Minoru and Black Knight, have allowed some old friends to come back and play with high-win-rate decks.

Destroy

Destroy 62%

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 6 months ago

1

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x 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)

3.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Deadpool Destroy has so many tools right now, that if it isn’t hard countered by Armor and Cosmo, Shang-Chi and Shadow King, or bad draws, it’s extremely hard to match its power.

The pattern is pretty simple here – get Deadpool out and eat it a lot. You can eventually copy a huge Deadpool or Venom with Taskmaster or, thanks to X-23 play a huge Knull with Deadpool, or just take advantage of a nearly free 12 power in Death. This is one of the simpler-to-play ways to smash power onto the board, and Nico adds a tool to give Deadpool more power, copy a key card, or destroy a card to see more of your required pieces.

You can’t really replace X-23, but you can try Alioth for Knull, or maybe Leader. Without Nico, you probably run America Chavez for consistency, or maybe Bucky Barnes or even Yondu.

Check the vid for the play-by-play.

Discard

Discard

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 6 months ago

1

5x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2.9

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Discard often gets better when there are huge meta shifts, and this OTA certainly counts as a huge meta shift. In addition, though, Discard itself got a huge buff to the tune of +2 power on Hellcow.

The game plan is essentially the same as always here- Mobius gives way to Daken, Dracula, MODOK, and America Chavez or Apocalypse. Besides Daken, that’s been the pattern since MODOK was released. Now, though, the alternative plans are better. We’re seeing less Mobius, so Swarm is playable again, and Hellcow with Blade gives an alternative turn 5 play to MODOK.

MODOK is needed though, but Daken is not. Storm, Nebula, or even something like Polaris or Spider-Man would work just fine in replacing Daken.

OceanMud FTP-Friendly Black Knight

OceanMud FTP Friendly Black Knight 74%

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 6 months ago

1

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

6

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: OceanMud, one of the most prominent free-to-play high Infinite players in Snap, posted an incredible win rate with this deck featuring all of 1 Series 5 card, so if you got Black Knight, dear reader, and want a home for the card, this is a great place to start.

This deck is all about Lockjaw. When it sees the card, it’s extremely favored, essentially throwing cards into him and happy with whatever Hela pulls back as a result. What Black Knight adds here is essentially a backup plan for a game without Lockjaw.

Black Knight can allow for powerful plays early – a discarded Magneto, Infinaut, or Giganto returns as an Ebony Blade just as Shadow King is less prominent in the meta, while Hela allows for a huge last turn if you can discard two or more of those cards. It’s enough to win quite a few games of Snap.

You know the drill – turn by turn in the link above.

Phoenix Move

61% in 60 games Nico Phoenix

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 6 months ago

0

6x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

2.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: This deck is the hardest to pay of the week, but when it goes off, it can feel nearly unbeatable.

There are two game plans here, really 2.5. The obvious one here is to kill a move card, bring it back with The Phoenix Force, and go to town. If that card is Human Torch or Multiple Man buffed with Hulkbuster, then Taskmaster it for more power. The other plan is to Hulkbuster Deadpool and make it nice and big.

As you do so, you can copy either the Deadpool itself or Venom for a huge Taskmaster. Obviously, this gameplan is vulnerable to Shang Chi or Shadow King, but with careful positioning and an ability to play in three lanes, this is a contender.

You need The Phoenix Force, but Nico can be X-23 or Forge.

Miscellany

Variants

Quake

On Reveal: Swap the positions of the other two locations.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Quake

Variants

Agatha Harkness

Agatha starts in your hand and plays your cards for you.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Agatha Harkness

We have our monthly Infinite Quake here, and the winner of the all-Agatha tournament!

Agatha

JDMacdonaldinho Agatha

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 6 months ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x 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

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.7

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Awesome guy JDMacdonaldinho won Guest’s ALL Agatha Harkness tournament with this.

As for how to play it… well, Agatha. Without Mobius, run Wave. Silk can be Lizard. I’d probably try Loki here, too.

For turn-by-turn, again, check the video, but Agatha.

Keen Koala’s Quake

Keen Koala Infinite Quake October

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 7 months ago

1

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)

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.6

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Deck Thoughts: Keen Koala hits Infinite with Quake every season, and the deck is usually really intricate to play. It kind of… isn’t this month, though.

You will have several game plans to work through if you want to play this. You start simply with the idea that if you can get enough power down, Storm on 4 into Legion on 5 ends games. There’s more though, by a lot. Storm is usually played on 3, forcing an opponent to commit on 4. Then Quake and another 2 make that a poor investment, while your move cards give you access to and an easy win in that lane. As an added bonus, Quake absolutely wrecks most Shuri players.

We don’t need Quake to win here. There are a ton of good tempo cards here, and Crossbones into Alioth is still awesome, even if everyone stopped playing it. Further, the turn 5 or 6 Legion plays are just things people have stopped playing around. Take advantage of it.

Mobius M Mobius isn’t needed here, and though the best replacement may be Silk, a card like Lizard works just fine, too. Nebula and Legion are more important, but can still be Nightcrawler or Vision. Alioth can be replaced with Leader or perhaps Doctor Doom.

Wrap Up

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