Surfrebro Deck Guide – Into the Quantum Realm Season

*** UPDATED FOR CHANGES TO CARDS*** Are you looking for a new deck to play in light of the changes to Silver Surfer and Zabu? Do you not yet have access to the some of the most powerful Pool 4 and 5 cards like, Shuri, Darkhawk or Galactus? This might just be the deck for you. Introducing Surfrebro!

We’ve all seen how M.O.D.O.K. and his discard brethren have taken over the meta. However, discard feels so random. The tremendously horrible RNG that led me to quit playing Magic The Gathering way back when hasn’t gotten better with time. In fact, it took me until I needed only five Pool 3 cards before I got Sera and was able to field one of the most consistent decks Marvel Snap has seen since it went live, Seracle Surfer.

By leveraging an extremely useful toolbox of 3-cost cards, this deck had many answers to opponent’s plays giving it a chance in nearly every match. Whether it was Rhino destroying a troublesome location, or even better Limbo, ending the game when the opponent wasn’t expecting it, to the combo shutdown power of Cosmo or Juggernaut denying final turn power in a crucial lane. This deck had answers.

After the drop in power that Surfer brings went live, this deck has felt much weaker. In searching for a way to bring the power levels back up, the 3-cost card Cerebro can not only make up for the lost Surfer buff, but in fact surpass it. There are a few things to keep in mind as Cerebro does bring some limitations to the deck. With the target power of each card being 4, let me go card by card and explain the choices.

Ant Man – 1-drop card that can easily reach 4-power. Could be swapped out for Rocket Racoon, the other 1-drop that can reach 4-power. If you do choose Rocket, he is often best played on turn 4 alongside a 3-drop where you can better predict where an opponent is likely to play a card

Cloak – Best 2-drop with 4-power. Played on turn 2 opponent gaining any advantage by moving a card is minimal. Other 2-drop with 4-power to consider is Mysterio, but often his illusions clog our side of the board and bring down overall power.

Cerebro – The card that brings lots of end turn power especially when combined with Mystque. Has the advantage of gaining a bonus from Surfer, but typically does not gain bonus from itself, but it can with the right play line (see Nakia below).

Mystique – Here to copy Cerebro, normally won’t be played otherwise, but if boosted by Nakia can bring 8-power on final turn.

Brood – A longtime staple of Surfer decks, this is a no-brainer addition. Can bring 24 power to a lane on its own with a Surfer play.

Lockjaw – Not an ideal card, but since the 3-drop 2-power choices are limited it finds a spot here. There are times where Lockjaw can surprise the opponent on the final turn by hitting Surfer or Cerebro when the opponent doesn’t expect it. Hitting Surfer early is a danger, so I recommend not playing into Lockjaw if you don’t have Surfer in hand. 

Mister Fantastic – Another 3/2 body. Also has the advantage of pushing some power into locked down locations

 REMOVED BECAUSE THEY BOOSTED HER POWER: Nakia – Another card that is not ideal at times but is included due to limited 3/2 choices. You must be extremely careful not to boost a card beyond 4-power. If you can boost Surfer, Cerebro or Mystique you are setting those cards up for 4-power on the final turn and that can bring significantly more power to a lane as Cerebro now boosts them. This happens more than you might think and you should bear it in mind as you play cards to set up your hand allowing Nakia hit one or two of these cards.

Silver Surfer – The reason the deck exists and along with Cerebro he can bring a ton of power the opponent doesn’t expect. With Cerebro and hopefully Mystique boosting 4-power card up to 8, if Surfer can hit 3 or 4 more cards it is a tremendous amount of power taken them from 2-power per card to 8.

Storm – Another 3/2 body, that can lock up a location if it can be followed up with Brood in that lane. Even if you are behind in that lane with only Storm and one other 3-cost 2-power body, when they both are boosted to 8 power on the final turn it can surprise an opponent and win the lane.

REMOVED BECAUSE THEY LOWERED HER POWER: Crystal – An interesting inclusion here as she does not see much play. When looking for a 4-cost 4-power card, the choices are surprisingly limited for cards that stay at 4-power. The 4-cost cards that see the most play often have ways of gaining power, Jessica Jones, Drax or Rescue. Ka-Zar or Moon Girl are possibilities, but we don’t have many 1-drops for the jungle lord and utilizing Moon Girl with so many other cards necessary to play seems unlikely. Crystal can be played in the center lane to refill the hand if Elysium shows up and allows you to empty your hand. She also allows you to cycle your hand in the event you need to find Cerebro or Surfer.

Sera – Another 4-power body that can be boosted to 8. Provides a huge burst of power on turn 6 often allowing for three 2-cost cards to be played. If you are lucky enough to have the game unfold perfectly, you can drop Cerebro, Mystique and Surfer all on turn 6. Your opponent will NOT see this coming as they don’t expect a Cerebro play when you have a mix of 2 and 4-cost bodies on the board.

REPLACEMENT CARDS FOR CARDS CHANGES:

Rogue — Fantastic 3/2 that replaces Nakia as she can steal ongoing abilities. Often times you can steal from a Wong or Knull and she helps immensely.

Magick — One of the few current 3/2’s. Not the best choice as you often don’t want or need that 7th turn, but you can hold back your Storm and shut off Limbo and take your opponent by surprise.

Playline

T1 – Can play Ant Man if safe in first revealed location where his power won’t be affected. Keep in mind you will need to fill this lane, so if you are unsure, you can hold him to play on turn 4 alongside a 3-cost

T2 – Cloak is the play here, unless you saved Ant Man or drew him on turn 2

T3 – TONS of options open up here and there are too many possible plays to predict what you should do, but some things to keep in mind. Playing Cerebro can be done, especially if you can copy it with Mystique on turn 4, but you are letting your opponent know your deck type. If I only have Cerebro in hand and not Mystique I will often hold Cerebro until turn 4. Magick or Storm can be played also, but I recommend Magick over Storm and then Storm on Turn 6 to surprise opponent. Mister Fantastic is a very safe play here.

T4 – Mystique copying Cerebro is a good play here. Otherwise based on opponent’s card and locations any number of the other 3-cost cards can be played.

T5 – Sera is the play here. An absolute must if you want to hit that explosive turn 6 and possibly 7. If you haven’t played Magick and you need a turn 7 this is the last turn you can play her and get the extra turn. No Sera means playing another 3-drop, hopefully you are at least playing alongside Ant-Man or Cloak. 

T6 – The ideal play her assumes you dropped Sera on turn 6 and you can then play Cerebro, Mystique Surfer. This should boost all your cards in play with the exception of these 3 to 8-power surprising your opponent and stealing at least 4, if not 8 cubes. If you can’t copy Cerebro with Mystique, hopefully you can at least drop another 3-Cost body for an additional 6 power. If you have had issues finding Cerebro or Surfer and you have Lockjaw in play, you can often search out one or both on the final turn as the number of cards in your deck is so small. I have stolen wins with a Lockjaw’ed Surfer and/or Cerebro and stunning the opponent many times. Also if you have Limbo in play and held Storm you can flood that lane and end the game on turn 6 is you are confident that you can win two lanes.

The deck is incredibly fun to play but can be fragile and challenging at times. Luckily it seems like Scorpion is showing up less in the current meta as he can make matching up the power levels tough. Likewise, locations on the board that add or remove power are a challenge. You must be prepared to cut your losses and retreat when an opponent snaps if there are cards or locations that are not going to allow you to hit the 6 or 8 power level with almost, if not all, your cards. This isn’t so different than a normal Cerebro deck, but it is important to note.

There is another version of this deck called Cincorebro which aims to bring everything to 5-power which is in turn boosted to 7 or 9. It utilizes many of the same 3-cost utility cards that were standard in Seracle Surfer; Juggernaut, Cosmo and Killmonger for example. It also uses Dr Strange who we have seen in tandem with Surfer as part of the new meta. Plus if you are moving things and need a 5-cost, why not Miles? No Vulture though as he won’t stay at 5power if moved. More on that deck later if people would like to see it.

If you choose to give Surfrerbro a try I wish that the RNG gods smile upon you and wish you cubes and happiness!