Surfing Nimrod Detailed Deck Guide: The Best Nimrod Deck!

Before anything else, let me introduce myself. I’m Bohe, a Marvel Snap and Magic Arena content creator. I started this journey almost three years ago, and with every day that passes, new opportunities present themselves; we just have to be vigilant. It is up to us to take them and make the best of them. I started writing Magic Arena deck guides in September 2022 for MTG Arena Zone, and now being able to do it also for Marvel Snap Zone is a reality!

I started playing Marvel Snap from day one of its global release, and soon after, I began to give it time in my Twitch streams. I do not doubt that it was a great decision. The game is fun; I meet many new people because of it, and now, sharing with you incredible decks and dig in into them will undoubtedly be exciting.

I’m a big fan of The Sentinel Program. Created by Dr. Bolivar Trask, the Sentinels are a group of mutant-hunting robots designed to use them to save humanity from the threat of the increasing number of emerging mutants. Since Nimrod was released a few months ago, I started building many decks around it. The best Sentinel had to work!

Little by little Nimrod has managed to establish itself in some popular archetypes like Galactus or Destroy, however, the combination that I will present to you today is probably the most unorthodox of all.

Deck Presentation

Surfing Nimrod

Created by Bohe

, updated 3 months ago

6

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2.9

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Concept and Strategy

Not many would expect to see Silver Surfer in the same deck as Nimrod, however, after more than one hundred games with this peculiar archetype, I can tell you that in addition to being tremendously fun, it works like a charm!

After working with many iterations of Nimrod decks with Carnage and Venom, I found that TheJollyRoger, another Snap content creator, was working with Nimrod. Many of Roger’s ideas were very innovative and I did not hesitate to start testing them immediately! Credit where credit is due.

Sera has been a central card in the Marvel Snap metagame since day one. Think about how it can be combined with other cards for the bigger payoff on turn six is always on the table. A deeper analysis of the idea of playing Nimod with the symbiotes and Deathlok (usually named Nimrod Pong) makes some things clear:

• Venom and Deathlok cost 3 energy.
• Being able of playing Nimrod on other turns than the fifth is a game-changer.
• Linear decks with only one win condition can be functional, but having flexibility also pays off amazingly.
• Armor has gradually disappeared from the meta until it’s practically no longer seen, which implies that playing destruction iterations is a valid approach for the current meta.

This being said, how can we maximize the efficiency of our “ping pong paddles” (Carnage, Venom, and Deathlok), and play Nimrod on some turn other than 5, while making this whole idea flexible? Combining two different archetype cores that together work very well is something that has worked in the past, and in this case, merging the idea of Nimrod Pong with Sera Surfer gives incredible results.

The general idea is based on the fact that we can play a game focusing on the destruction curve, or the Silver Surfer curve as appropriate, and even playing a combination of both strategies, whether or not we have Nimrod, we can move forward with the game.

Core Cards

The deck is divided into two central parts, the destruction core, and the Surfer core. Let’s explain a little more in depth about it and how it works when combined.

Destruction Core

Variants

Bucky Barnes

When this is destroyed, replace it with the Winter Soldier.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Bucky Barnes

Variants

Wolverine

When this is discarded or destroyed, regenerate it at a random location with +2 Power.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Wolverine

Bucky Barnes, Wolverine: These two cards are an essential part of any destruction-focused deck. In this particular case, its function is to give us a solid early game and allow us to start positioning ourselves at the table.

Variants

Carnage

On Reveal: Destroy your other cards here. +2 Power for each destroyed.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Carnage

Carnage: This symbiont allows us to have redundancy. In a deck where we want the most three-cost cards in play, Venom, and Deathlok are preferred. However, Carnage has a supporting role, letting us destroy our cards when making space is needed by removing nuisances like squirrels, rocks, ninjas, goblins, and the like at the same time. Don’t hesitate to make room when possible, Nimrod having room to bounce is a priority if you have it in hand.

Sera Surfer Core

Variants

Brood

On Reveal: Add 2 Broodlings to this location with the same Power.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Brood

Brood: When we think about playing Silver Surfer, Brood is a card that has to be there 100% of the time. Brood is without a doubt one of the best cards to have in play before playing Silver Surfer. Twelve virtual points for just three energy is something that no one can miss when playing this strategy.

Variants

Polaris

On Reveal: Move an opposing 1 or 2-Cost card to this location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Polaris

Polaris: Another of the main options when playing Surfer. In addition to having good stats on its own, Polaris allowing us to move an opponent’s low-cost card is decisive in many matchups. Especially against Galactus, moving cards like Yondu or Wolverine to the location where Galactus could come into play is a game-decider play.

Combined Core

Variants

Nova

When this is destroyed, give your cards +1 Power.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Nova

Nova: In destruction decks, Nova shines giving more power across our board, and in this particular case, buffing our Nimrod before we destroy it is its main goal. Nova has also been played many times before in Silver Surfer decks thanks to how well it works in combination with Killmonger and Brood. Having both options available in the same deck makes Nova shine as it did before being nerfed.

Variants

Silver Surfer

On Reveal: Give your other 3-Cost cards +2 Power.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer: And here it is, the main reason for the existence of this archetype. Silver Surfer works great in combination with Brood, Polaris, and Killmonger. Now, think about combining it with three cost cards like Venom and Deathlok is something that had been little explored. Having thoroughly tested the idea, I can say that without a doubt, opening up the possibility of playing Surfer with these cards put a new spin on the idea of centering a deck on three-cost cards that certainly turns out to be formidable!

Variants

Killmonger

On Reveal: Destroy ALL 1-Cost cards.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Killmonger

Killmonger: In the same way that Nova is a really good card in this Mix, Killmonger is the other part of this equation. It not only allows us to destroy our Nova to increase the power of our cards and at the same time be able to receive the Silver Surfer buff, but also allows us to keep at bay powerful one-energy cards as Kitty Pryde, Sunspot, and Nebula.

Variants

Venom

On Reveal: Destroy your other cards at this location. Add their Power to this card.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Venom

Variants

Deathlok

On Reveal: Destroy your other cards at this location.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Deathlok

Venom and Deathlok: These two cards are the arms of this deck. Our best cards to ping pong Nimrod on turn 6. Both get buffed by Silver Surfer. With Sera in play, we can make a variety of strong plays during the last turn even without Nimrod. The important thing to mention here, in addition to what was said before, is that playing them before the last turn is not an error. Plays like a turn two Bucky Barnes into a turn three Deathlok is solid enough to not be ignored.

Variants

Sera

Ongoing: Cards in your hand cost 1 less. (minimum 1)

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Sera

Variants

Nimrod

When this is destroyed, add a copy to each other location.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Nimrod

Sera and Nimrod: Having the flexibility of playing Sera o Nimrod on turn five is another reason behind this deck’s success. On many occasions, don’t have Sera for turn five while playing Sera Surfer feels like winning on turn six become much more difficult. In the same way, don’t have Nimrod if you are playing Nimrod Pong makes us think about retreat. Having the two cards in the same deck makes it virtually impossible to not play either one on turn 5, opening up a world of possibilities.

We can not only adjust our play of the last turn by thinking about playing three cards on turn six if we have Sera but also playing Nimrod + Venom or Deathlok is a possibility. And in case of not having Sera, with Nimrod on turn 5, focusing our efforts on playing two ping pong paddles will undoubtedly give us a good chance of winning the game.

Card Substitutions

Substituting some cards in the decks is not an impossible thing, especially working with an archetype as flexible as this one.

Variants

Rogue

On Reveal: Steal an Ongoing ability from a random enemy card at this location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Rogue

Rogue: For a long time this card occupied a space in the list of this deck. Rogue plays well with the Silver Surfer core and responds directly to threats with continuous effects when they are presented in the meta. Wolverine eventually took her place, however, if a lot of cards with continuous effects start appearing again like when Darkhawk reigned, making the switch again isn’t a far-fetched idea.

Variants

Mister Fantastic

Ongoing: Adjacent locations have +2 Power.

Collection Level 1-14

view card details Start a deck Decks with Mister Fantastic

Variants

Storm

On Reveal: Flood this location. Next turn is the last turn cards can be played here.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Storm

Variants

Juggernaut

On Reveal: If your opponent played cards here this turn, move them randomly.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Juggernaut

Variants

Maximus

On Reveal: Your opponent draws 2 cards.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Maximus

Mister Fantastic, Storm, Juggernaut, Maximus: Polaris is one of the best cards for fighting Galactus. Being able to get additional benefits with Silver Surfer is great. Now, if you’re not facing too many Galactus decks, it wouldn’t be a problem to replace it with some other there cost card that can work well in various scenarios like the ones mentioned (close a location with Storm and then make a Nimrod fly there it’s very satisfying).

Other Ways to Build the Archetype

Nimrod can be played in many different ways. We’ve already seen it being a staple in some Galactus iterations, however, the point here is to be able to make the ping pong play on turn 6, with or without Sera. That being said, I present to you some other ideas that have already been tested, and that are certainly quite fun and effective.

NimLad

NimLad

Created by Bohe

, updated 3 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.9

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Zabu SeraRod

Zabu SeraRod

Created by Bohe

, updated 3 months ago

0

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

DeathRod

DeathRod

Created by Bohe

, updated 3 months ago

0

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Snap and Retreat

One of the great advantages of this deck is how during the first turns it can seem like an archetype, and suddenly take an unexpected turn that makes the opponent hesitate a lot when deciding whether to snap, accept our snap, or retreat as the best option against us.

It’s clear that the moment to snap is just before our strongest plays, which in this specific case would be:

• During turn two if we have Bucky Barnes or Wolverine into Carnage, Venom, or Deathlock + Nimrod or Sera.
• During turn three if we have Brood + Silver Surfer + Sera.
• If we have priority and Polaris, before moving a one-two costed card against Galactus two the location where Galactus is going to be played.
• On turn 4 or before playing a card on turn 5 if we have Sera or Nimrod + cards that play in combination with our turn 5 cards.

Deciding when to retreat is easy with this deck. If we do not have Sera or Nimrod we must run, unless the game is going well due to favored locations or the opponent has not presented real threats on the table. If the opponent snaps, consider staying or snapping back if you meet any of the conditions listed above as opportune times to snap.

Locations

Once again, playing a mixed archetype like this is beneficial to us, since we can take advantage of locations that Sera Surfer couldn’t thanks to our destruction core, and in the same way, take advantage of locations that are good for Surfer and that for destruction are not.

Good Locations

• Elysium: If we have Sera or Nimrod in our hand, seeing Elysium appear is an instant snap most of the time.
• Altar of Death, Death’s Domain, Vormir: Any location where cards get destroyed if you play there works well with Bucky Barnes, Wolverine, Nimrod, and even Brood.
• Murderworld: Also a good location for Wolverine and Bucky Barnes.
• Sanctum Santorum, Kyln, The Vault: Restrictive locations like these would be annoying. Have cards like Wolverine and especially Nimrod and jump into those locations when your opponent can’t give you the game on many occasions.
• Mojoworld, The Raft: These are usually bad locations for destroying decks. Thanks to Brood playing a game with Mojoworld or The Raft without any problem is easy.
• Cloning Vats: Venom is insane in this location.
• Rickety Bridge: Bucky Barnes on tun six wins this location 99% of the time.
• Stark Tower, Shuri's Lab, Wakandan Embassy: Any location that buffs Nimrod works well.
• Fisk Tower: Good for Polaris.

Bad Locations

• Wakanda: It’s hard to play our destroy core if Wakanda appears. However, having the flexibility of navigating the game with our Sera Surfer core makes this less annoying.
• Dream Dimension: The works location for us. Don’t have the possibility of playing Sea or Nimrod makes everything extremely complicated.
• Mindscape: Winning with Mindscape in play is very tricky. Our deck has great potential on turn six, and losing it at the cost of playing your opponent’s hand becomes circumstantial.
• TVA, Worldship: Locations that make the game shorter/smaller prevent us from developing a plan that wants to reach turn six with a well-placed board.

Matchups

Evolved Lockjaw

Without a doubt one of the strongest decks in the game right now. It’s complicated to compete against the location where Lockjaw pulls a Evolved Hulk. I like to play against this deck trying to fight for a location where the puppy is not, to decide later which will be the second location to complete depending on the lock of Lockjaw and/or Jubilee.

The advantage here is that while this archetype is solid, it also relies somewhat on the high roll, while our deck allows us to make all the decisions regarding final card positioning ourselves.

In the same way, it’s important to remember that Magneto is one of the cards in this archetype, and having many three-cost cards can make a disaster on the table if he appears. Always keep this in mind before deciding to play the last few turns.

Sera Control

One of the keys here is to snipe Kitty Pryde with Killmonger. If you saw your opponent start playing Kitty Pryde, just lose priority for one turn and then play Killmonger the turn after that. Getting Kitty Pryde out of the equation solves many headaches against this powerful archetype.

Polaris is also vital against this archetype. You can move Angela, Hit Monkey, Invisible Woman, Mysterio, Kitty Pryde, or even Nova. Speaking of Nova, killing it fast with Killmonger is crucial, even if you lose your Nova during the process.

Bounce

Similar to Sera Control, Killmonger and Polaris play crucial roles here. Killmonger has more targets here, adding Bast, Elektra, and Iceman to the beforementioned Kitty-Pryde. Polaris can move any of these cards + Falcon.

Having the capability of moving one card to the location where Angela is is a game-changer. However, Bounce has tools to return all the cards into their hand and build the board again.

In any case, the fact that Surfing Nimrod it’s a deck with a lot of flexibility allows us to match the maneuverability that decks like Sera Control and Bounce can have in the long run.

Evolved Lockdown

From every other tier 1 deck in the current meta Evolved Lockdown is a matchup where we are favored. We have Killmonger for killing Sunspot and Nebula. We can buff our cards trapped in the location Professor X is. Nimrod and Wolverine can enter locations locked by Storm or Spider-Man.

Snapping before Nimrod or Sera when they have Daredevil will probably make them retreat. And finally, spreading points to contest Doctor Doom is easy because of Nimrod or Silver Surfer.

If I could pick a tier 1 deck to face off against all day while playing Surfing Nimrod, I would pick Evolved Lockdown.

Turn by Turn Breakdown

• Turn 1: Playing Nova is usually correct. Just evaluate if saving it for later have any advantage.

• Turn 2: Bucky Barnes and Wolverine are our options here. Decide between one or the other relapses in the circumstances. Most of the time Bucky Barnes is the standard play, but there are exceptions to the rule. Example: Rickety Bridge appearing means Bucky has to be saved for turn six on this location.

• Turn 3: Here is where the Magic begins.The key to playing turn three onward is to be careful and analyze our route to follow. Knowing which of the two central strategies of the deck we are going to develop is crucial: the destruction of the Silver Surfer route. Either way, the point here is that regardless of the decision, the deck is flexible enough to allow us to adapt over the last three turns. The best turn-three plays are Deathlok into Bucky Barnes or Wolverine, Polaris (if we have a good target for it), or Brood. Venom, Carnage, and Killmonger can be played this early, but saving it tends to be better.

• Turn 4: In this deck, turn 4 is a decision after the path taken on turn three. If you have Nimrod, try to save a couple of paddles for the final turn. Save Silver Surfer and another three cost cards If you have Sera.

• Turn 5: The decision is simple. Sera or Nimrod, whichever generates the most points on turn six. Don’t forget that playing Sera on five and Nimrod + a paddle on turn six is an option.

• Turn 6: If Nimrod is on the table, playing two ping pong paddles (Carnage, Venom, or Deathlok) is our way to go. Learning where we want to get Nimrod at the end of the game needs practice. If you have Sera you have two options: play three or more cards or Nimrod + paddle.

Closing Words

Wow! It was fun writing this guide. I’m very happy to be part of Marvel Snap Zone as well.

No doubt Nimrod decks have always been fun for me, but this particular variant isn’t just fun. It has good matchups against some of the strongest decks in the meta, it’s quite solid, flexible, and also effective. 65.35% Win Rate and .85 Average Cubes per game in 101 games are proof of it!

I hope you have enjoyed, dear readers, this guide that I wrote with a lot of effort and love for you. Let me know your thoughts on my social media (links below) and we’ll be back here soon with more Marvel Snap content. Oh! And as I always say on MTG Arena Zone, don’t forget to smile. I assure you it makes a difference.