Table of Contents
Hi! I’m Glazer of Snap Judgments, the official podcast of Marvel Snap Zone. I’ve been playing Marvel Snap since its global launch and never, since the start of the game, has resource planning been a more integral part of the Marvel Snap experience. With Spotlight Caches containing a new card every week, trying to plan to target the cards you want is key.
Today, I’ll be acting as your guide through every Marvel Snap Spotlight Cache rotations currently planned or datamined (keeping in mind the new cards and the cache contents itself can be changed before release), ranking them from most desirable to least. I’m going to put a special emphasis on released cards, since we cannot know how good the unreleased ones are (remember, we mostly thought Loki would be bad, but War Machine would be game-breaking). However, if you’d like to check out the preliminary reviews on all the upcoming cards, check them out:
Without further ado, here are your Spotlight Cache rankings with an explanation for each of the 13 weeks for which we have information.
13. July 9, 2024
This was one of my favorite weeks last time we did this, but since then,
The cards coming with Bob don’t push it up the list. Nebula is excellent, but recently Series Dropped down to Series 4, and she’s a card that was not only a Season Pass card but was also available in various cheap bundles. If you need her, she’s a fine grab, but when the most desirable card by a lot is a Series 4, that week is a skip.
Galactus, a Big Bad who will never go down in Series, seems like a good buy, but he’s also a card that’s entirely outside of the meta. He can win cubes as a nice surprise, but I strongly doubt Second Dinner will ever let him be meta again.
12. September 3, 2024
This is one of two weeks in which we don’t know all three cards releasing. They’re here back-to-back, and this article will be updated when we know what the third card is, as it’s likely to change these rankings significantly.
Silver Sable seems, well, honestly, not very good. She’s a [1/1] that has the new keyword, Activate. Activate seems to be “long-tap a card to make a thing happen”, which, in this case, is stealing two power from the top card of an opponent’s deck. That’s a lot of steps for a [1/3] that might make an opponent’s card worse and might never see play that can (probably) be countered by Luke Cage. No thanks.
Coming with Sable, though, is what may currently be the best card in the game. Mockingbird is a [5/9] engine that is regularly played as a [3/9] or less, and she allows decks to have a ridiculous top end. This card may (and probably should) be nerfed by the time this Cache comes out, but if it isn’t, there’s no other better single card to get.
11. July 30, 2024
This is another two-card week, but this time we know the reason. The new card, Cassandra Nova, will be available for free through the new Deadpool’s Diner game mode, not in Spotlight Caches. Instead, three older cards will be available this week—we just don’t know what one is.
The two cards that are available are both very good, though. Hope Summers, a [3/4] and former Season Pass card, has not been quite as good as expected (although it has found a home in several excellent decks). The card is must-have for Thanos builds, and it works great in Kitty Pryde packages. The issue it has is largely that it ends up in the same spot as Elsa Bloodstone, and often ends up cut in smaller packages because of that. The other issue is that cost-reduction like Ravonna Renslayer often gives more faux energy each turn than Hope. Still, this is a very good card you’d be happy to own.
Proxima Midnight is essentially a Discard-only card, but along with
10. August 27, 2024
This Spotlight is one of the hardest to rank.
Cannonball was the scourge of the meta, and it is still a very good card. It’s just extremely difficult to figure out where this card will be in two months. Right now, it’s still good in some Junk and Move shells, but it’s not a requirement by any means. If we end up in a heavy Zoo meta or Debrii becomes really powerful or even just Junk ends up countering Move, he’ll be a must-have. If not, this month gets far iffier.
Nimrod is a fun former Season Pass card. This Series 4 card is almost never in a Tier 1 deck, but it offers some alternate options to use Shuri for some Destroy and Phoenix Force lists.
Emperor
This week will almost certainly get jumped when the last two weeks get their third card.
9. July 2, 2024
This is the start of the mid-tier with the recent buff to Hercules that made him a [3/4]. Plenty of top players are on Move decks now, and the archetype will get better with two of the best cards in September being amazing move enablers. Hercules may only be Series 4, but it has the potential to be key to one of the game’s most interesting archetypes.
Arishem is an extraordinarily interesting card. Loki decks convinced me of the power of just playing powerful cards well, and Arishem seems like an amazing shell for that combination. We just saw our friend GamingwithFlashX win a tournament with fairly random decks and great play, which gives me further hope that Arishem will be really powerful. Plus, he’s going to be extremely fun, so there is that in this week’s favor, as well.
Black Swan is another former Season Pass card, and she’s never done anything in the meta. Hercules, however, shows how easily she can be great, as simply taking her down to a [2/3] would give her a home in Bounce decks. I’m unsure if that’s on the table, but at least she has the potential to be more than the extremely middling card she currently is.
8. September 10, 2024
Madame Web seems absolutely meta-warping. She’s a [2/3] that has the Ongoing ability You can move one of your other cards away from here each turn. That’s insanely strong with Move cards like Human Torch, Dagger, and Vulture, and she works amazingly with Hercules. She’s almost a guaranteed two moves for a key card and three immediately with Hercules. That’s 8-16 Power for Human Torch or a 15-21 Power Vulture. I cannot be more excited for this card.
If Madame Web is that good, why is this only #8? The other cards here aren’t impressive. Silk is a Series 4 card that had its day in the sun, but even in Silky Smooth decks she’s being cut now. It’s a shame, as she’s one of the more fun cards in the game, but she’s no longer really required for any deck.
Alioth is quite powerful, especially as a [6/10] with his recent buff, but like Silk, there’s a paucity of decks for which he is a requirement. He’s nice at the top end of Zoo, but Gilgamesh lives there, leaving Alioth as just a regular good card that can fit in some decks or not. He’s just not worth the investment currently.
7. August 6, 2024
Marvel Boy seems to be an amazing card for Zoo decks and might just make Squirrel Girl one of the best early plays in the game since it enables Mockingbird and is amazing for Marvel Boy buffs. As a [3/2], Marvel Boy automatically gives up to three 1-Cost cards +1 Power at the end of the turn. If played after Squirrel Girl on Turn 3, that’s +12 power. It’ll work on any 1s; The Hood and Demon seem fairly reasonable, as do cards like Deadpool or Human Torch. I’m really excited for one of my favorite characters to be this strong.
The cards with Marvel Boy are a step up, too. Red Hulk remains the best general 6-Cost card in the game. If you need Red Hulk and have any interest in Zoo, shoot this up the list for yourself. Blob, however, is a Thanos only card at this point. The former scourge of the meta is balanced by only having one home. Thanos, does run a lot of 1-Cost cards, though, which makes Blob, Thanos, and Marvel Boy a reasonable combo.
6. July 16, 2024
Opening this week gives access to three new decks. Darkhawk has been one of the best cards in Marvel Snap since he was printed. Yes, he’s Series 4, but the other cards in his package are all Series 3 or lower, and, no matter how many times he and the surrounding cards have been nerfed, the Win Rate is through the roof for this card that gets bigger and more deadly the more you disrupt your opponent.
Beta Ray Bill is nowhere near as good as Darkhawk—I mean, what is?—but he is another powerful card that opens up the Hammers deck. Like Darkhawk, all the surrounding cards here are Series 3 or lower, and, also like Darkhawk, these Hammers decks have proven to be viable at all meta levels. Unlike Darkhawk, though, Bill is a Series 5 card, and thus even harder to obtain. This is his first appearance in Spotlights since January.
Ajax seems absolutely huge like he’ll be the new Darkhawk. He’ll gain power from your side of the board (and yes, that’s sucking power off your game plan to feed him), but he’s also amazing if your opponent loses power. An early-game Scorpion can make this a [4/8], and a late-game Hazmat can make this up to a [4/16]. Luke Cage will be everywhere, and stopping him will become a cottage industry because this card is going to be one of the best in all of Marvel Snap when he isn’t played.
5. September 24, 2024
White Widow is one of the best generalist cards in the game. Almost any deck can run and be made better by White Widow. She isn’t as good as Jeff the Baby Land Shark—again, what is?—but she’s more required for her decks in the current meta since Junk decks absolutely need her to function at the top levels, whereas there’s no more Professor X that only Jeff can answer.
Skaar is a fairly underrated card. The January Season Pass card keeps finding its way around the fringes of the top of the meta, whether it be Big Idiots decks, Thanos, or Black Knight. A card that can be a [4/11] or less in the right shell is one worth owning.
And Scarlet Spider seems amazing. The Spider is a [4/5] that has the new Activate keyword: it can add an exact clone of itself to another location. That’s a minimum of four energy for ten power, but if it’s buffed in any way, the clone will carry those, too! [4/10] is premium stats, and the other shenanigans that will work with this (reaching spots like Sanctum Sanctorum on the last turn, for example) will be incredible.
4. July 23, 2024
Copycat is a super interesting card. Her ability triggers the instant she’s drawn, as she’ll immediately steal the ability of the bottom card of the opponent’s deck. One might think that’s irrelevant since the opponent would never draw that anyway, but you get two amazing benefits on top of a strong [3/5] body. The first is information. You’ll know what ability your opponent can’t use and they will not. Cable users know how strong that is. The second is the deck you put Copycat in: Mill. In Mill decks, it’s relatively easy to get them to the bottom card of their deck. Copycat lets you know whether or not to Mill that card or if you can let them draw it if it’ll be dead to them.
Copycat comes with the recently re-designed Thanos. Thanos isn’t a meta card, but he is good and is always extremely close to being game-breaking. You can make a Thanos deck that works with a ton of cards, though it is expensive.
Luckily, Cull Obsidian is the third card this week. Cull is not only a fixture in Thanos decks, he’s also quite good in Zoo decks and a card that will go well with the previously mentioned Marvel Boy– or Big Idiots-style lists. Cull and Thanos aren’t must-haves right now, keeping this week out of the Top 3, but they are both great cards to own. And Copycat should be great.
3. August 20, 2024
Speed seems mediocre. He’s a [3/3] with an Ongoing ability that gives him +1 Power for each turn in which you spent all your energy. That could lead to him being a [3/9], but that’s a lot of work to get there, so I assume something will change or there’s more than meets the eye here. If not, he’s a worse Captain America for Ongoing decks.
If the week is ranked this high though, the other cards are surely amazing, right? Yep. This week is the week of Jeff the Baby Land Shark, one of the very best cards in Marvel Snap and the easiest to include card in any deck. If you haven’t played Jeff, you’re missing out.
Joining Jeff is another amazing card: Iron Lad. Iron Lad is a consistency and power piece for an absolute ton of decks. Whether it be playing Living Tribunal decks, Darkhawk decks, or Junk decks (without Goblins), Iron Lad fits almost everywhere and makes good decks better.
Deckbuilding is just easier with the Lad and Jeff in your collection.
2. August 13, 2024
Wiccan is a [4/5] that can give you +2 max energy for the rest of the game. I’m going to be completely honest: I have no idea what shell really wants that (well, except Agatha). Agatha loves the idea of going Quicksilver, Domino, 3-Cost, Wiccan… But +2 energy on Turn 4, if it can be done with any consistency, seems absolutely game-changing. I’m very excited to brew with this powerful effect.
Wiccan comes with two more incredible cards. Pixie goes into a ton of decks like Patriot and Annihilus and increases their power and Snap equity. There’s no shortage of good homes for the 2-Cost card, and, if you have the patience, she can win you so many games and cubes.
Loki is the last card. If you’ve been playing Marvel Snap for any amount of time, I don’t need to explain why this card is so good. It’s at the top of the Infinite Leaderboard every season, and not only is it incredibly powerful and fun, it essentially gives you access to a Tier 1 deck all by itself.
1. September 17, 2024
What’s better than that last week? There’s no card as good as Loki, but I think all three other cards here are absolutely must-own.
Araña seems even better than Wiccan. This Activate card pushes the last card you played to the right and gives it +2 power. That works incredibly well with Iron Fist or Hercules. It’s especially great with Human Torch because it immediately becomes a [1/8]. I’m super excited for this card. It’s probably not as good as Madame Web individually, but the two in concert are insanely strong; you can push a card into Madame Web who can then move it again next turn, and then you can Ghost-Spider it back to Madame Web!
Ms. Marvel is another former Season Pass card, and even though it was once the best card in the game, it’s become extremely underrated. In various Black Knight, Sera, and Sandman lists, it’s still one of the better cards in Snap, even if no one talks about it as such anymore.
Finally, this is the first Spotlight appearance of Sage. Sage is an amazingly powerful card that was kept in check the week it released by the “Leech-on-4″ meta. So many people skipped it because of that, and they are now lacking one of the game’s strongest cards. This is the week to make up for that.
Conclusion
And that’s my ranking of every Spotlight Cache coming to Marvel Snap. Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think!
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