The Sandbar Featured Location Guide: Strategy, Best Cards and Decks

This week’s Marvel Snap Featured Location is The Sandbar: Cards with abilities can’t be played here. This is a brand new location for Marvel Snap’s April 2023 season, Animals Assemble, now added to the Location pool. For the next 24 hours, it will now have a 50% chance of showing up in games. Let’s find out what the best strategies, cards, and decks are for the new meta!

What is The Sandbar?

Variants

The Sandbar

Cards with abilities can’t be played here.

unreleased

view card details Start a deck Decks with The Sandbar

The Sandbar is a remote island located off the coast of Madripoor. The Sandbar was once a haven for pirates, who used its hidden coves and treacherous reefs to evade authorities and store their stolen treasures.

Over time, however, the island was transformed into a peaceful retreat, attracting wealthy travelers from all over the world. In order to keep the peace, no abilities are allowed here.

Strategy

Variants

Jeff the Baby Land Shark

You can move this once. Nothing can stop you from moving or playing this to any location.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Jeff the Baby Land Shark

Variants

The Hood

On Reveal: Add a Demon to your hand.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with The Hood

Variants

Demon

“A deal is a deal.”

Unreleased

view card details Start a deck Decks with Demon

This location is restrictive, similar to locations like Crimson Cosmos and Plunder Castle, but even narrower when we consider how many cards can access the location directly. We are limited to the base cards with no ability cards, Jeff the Baby Land Shark, and the Demon (without any intervention). Additionally, it cannot be impacted by the location control cards other than Snowguard Hawk, making direct interaction with the location extremely limited.

Variants

Patriot

Ongoing: Your cards with no abilities have +2 Power.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Patriot

Variants

Super-Skrull

Ongoing: Has the Ongoing effects of all enemy cards.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Super-Skrull

Variants

Enchantress

On Reveal: Remove the abilities from all Ongoing cards at this location.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Enchantress

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

This will lead most players to Patriot during the Featured Location period. If this is the case, the Ongoing cards are limited to one of the two other locations and counter cards like Enchantress, Super-Skrull, and Rogue may have a higher chance of hitting with less variables. Spreading around locations is a key strategy for many decks, including Patriot, and anything which limits where cards are played can allow for a more predictable use of powerful tech cards.

Variants

Doctor Doom

On Reveal: Add a 5-Power DoomBot to each other location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Doctor Doom

Variants

Vision

You can move this each turn.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Vision

Variants

Ultron

On Reveal: Create four 1-Power Drones at each other location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Ultron

We can get cards into the location via cards like Doctor Doom, Vision, and Ultron. We can also use Movement cards to get cards into the location. These cards are able to fit into a variety of decks, including the popular Ramp style decks. The downside here is falling behind to Patriot decks.

Variants

Sauron

On Reveal: Remove the abilities from all Ongoing cards in your hand and deck.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Sauron

Variants

Ebony Maw

You can’t play this after turn 3. Ongoing: You can’t play cards here.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Ebony Maw

The assumption is that this location does not work with Zero, but it would work with Sauron. This gives us another option of playing Sauron to clear the abilities from our high powered Ongoing cards to enter the location. Some of these cards, like Ebony Maw, are cheap and provide high power, and we could aim to explode onto the board in the final turns with the Ongoing cards as a way to steal matches unexpectedly. If we can combine this strategy with a few key tech cards, we may be onto a powerful deck which also stalls our opponents.

Card and Deck Ideas

Patriot

Patriot

Created by SafetyBlade

, updated 5 months ago

2

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Recruit Season

2x Starter Card

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

The level 1 strategy is often the way to go, and for this location it is a proven deck that requires little to no modification to take advantage of the location. You can play into the location as you like and then use Patriot later to buff that lane and your other lanes. We also can run cards like Ultron to throw extra power around later on. I highly recommend Cosmo during the location to protect our most important cards.

Sandman Ramp

Electro Ramp

Created by SafetyBlade

, updated 5 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

4.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Ramp decks often play several cards that can get into hard to reach locations such as Doctor Doom, so this is usually a way forward for these locations. Patriot is a match up that can be hard for Ramp decks because they can get out in front of you with a better early curve. They also have some effective plays on Turns 5 and 6 when they are limited by Sandman, which may mean this isn’t the way to go. Still, against all other decks, the location is an advantage for this deck which means it’s unlikely to disappear entirely during the location.

Sauron & Enchantress

Sauron and Enchantress

Created by SafetyBlade

, updated 5 months ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

8x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Sauron decks have a unique advantage during the location that may not be immediately apparent. The Ongoing cards we hit with Sauron are often low cost cards, which allows for a surprising amount of power to be played on the final turns to overwhelm the lane. Additionally, this deck can play a card that is great against Patriot: Enchantress.

As mentioned above, when a lane limits where cards can be played, we can better plan our use of tech cards against them. This could allow for more Enchantress plays to be more successful than normal while also turning off the negative effects of some of our other power cards like Typhoid Mary.

Sauron, Enchantress and Monkey

Created by SafetyBlade

, updated 5 months ago

1

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

If you want to be even greedier, try dropping Shuri, Taskmaster, and Vision and going all in on doubling and dropping cards. In the second version, the plan is to use Moon Girl after Sauron to gain more Ebony Maw and Co. cards, then play them out on Turns 5 and 6. If you can double She-Hulk and skip Turn 5, you can play two She-Hulks and two Ebony Maws along with 2 extra energy. Reminder: Two Ebony Maws into The Sandbar on Turn 6 is 14 power.

Full Tech Sera

Nope

Created by SafetyBlade

, updated 5 months ago

0

5x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Starter Card

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

This Sera deck is built to take advantage of the two lane restriction that may occur in 50% of your games. This is achieved through Storm and Spider-Man. We can play Storm in the early game after cards like Angela (and with a solid lead). Star-Lord acts as a potential second 2-cost with five power given the more predictable plays from our opponents. Otherwise, we just want to set up our the tech cards to swing the game as with most Sera strategies.

What should you play

It’s hard not recommend Patriot. It has a clear advantage with the location, and the downsides can be mitigated with one card.

Patriot

Created by SafetyBlade

, updated 5 months ago

2

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Recruit Season

2x Starter Card

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Series 1

No Ability Zoo

Created by SafetyBlade

, updated 5 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 1-14

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Recruit Season

4x Starter Card

2.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Interestingly, this location is more restrictive to lower collection players as the tools to create powerful decks are limited. In Pool 1, we just try combining the flood strategies with the No Ability cards to allow us to play into the location and still play a strong deck.

Series 2

On reveal

Created by SafetyBlade

, updated 5 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 1-14

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

7x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3.6

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

In Pool 2 we can add some cards like Vision to help be flexible with the the location. Jubilee also becomes available, so we keep some of the No Ability cards but look to get into the location using the On Reveal cards primarily.

Closing Thoughts

Remember, at the time of writing these decks are untested. These are theorycraft ideas to get you going, and I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for The Sandbar. Make sure to leave a comment below, share your ideas on our Deck Builder, and discuss with the community on our Discord!

Good Luck, Have Fun, and Stay Safe!