Marvel Snap’s finest discard decks and the best way to play them (MODOK or not)

Marvel Snap’s February 2023 seasonal meta has been dominated by MODOK, which suggests discard decks have by no means been extra in fashion.

Many Snap decks fall into one among three archetypes: ramping as much as a giant combo or card on flip 5 – 6, establishing tempo early to take management of the tempo of the sport and lock down some places, or countering your opponent’s massive combos or playing cards. Discard decks are inclined to fall into the primary one — the playing cards you’re taking part in usually lead up to an enormous play on flip six. However there are just a few completely different variants of discard decks to pay attention to.

I believe the present best solution to divide discard decks is into two classes: “Hela decks” and “Apocalypse decks.” Loads of Snap gamers are accustomed to Apocalypse decks — Apocalypse is a robust card in Pool 1, and generally is a cornerstone for early decks. With the addition of MODOK to the sport, Apocalypse has seen a resurgence in Snap, as the 2 playing cards have pure synergy collectively. MODOK discards your hand, and Apocalypse needs to be discarded, so it’s an ideal match for a robust flip six.

Hela is newer for lots of gamers, for the reason that card is gated behind Pool 3. Hela decks have the next ceiling than Apocalypse decks, however a decrease ground, due to the inherent randomness of the impact: Hela resurrects each card you discarded this recreation in a random location. There’s a certain quantity of randomness to which playing cards you’ll be able to discard every recreation, after which there’s the difficulty of the place they get performed. However when you handle to discard numerous highly effective playing cards earlier than you play Hela, your chances are high fairly good you’ll like the top consequence.

Let’s begin with a rundown of a number of the finest playing cards to pay attention to within the discard rotation, earlier than stepping into the Apocalypse versus Hela of all of it.

Good playing cards for discard decks generally

• Woman Sif: A 3-cost, four-power card, Woman Sif is extraordinarily precious due to her impact, which discards the highest-cost card out of your hand on reveal. By taking out a very good quantity of the randomness inherent to discard decks, you will have extra management over your endgame — you’ll be able to principally assure discarding your Apocalypse or a high-value card you wish to resurrect with Hela with Woman Sif.
• Morbius: A two-cost, zero-power card, Morbius good points two energy each time you discard a card. You probably have a deck constructed round discarding as many occasions as attainable, Morbius will be the uncommon two-cost card that wins you a lane by itself. A good warning, although: Morbius’ impact is an ongoing one, which suggests it may be nullified by Enchantress or stolen by Rogue.
• Dracula: A four-cost, zero-power card, Dracula discards a card out of your hand on the finish of the sport and takes its energy. Probably the greatest playing cards in Snap, Dracula can simply win a location by itself you probably have the precise deck for it — both discarding an Apocalypse one closing time and taking over its energy, or discarding a card like The Infinaut and gaining 20 energy with out having to fret concerning the “you’ll be able to’t play a card the flip earlier than” situation. Additionally in Dracula’s favor: the impact shouldn’t be ongoing (due to this fact it’s resistant to Enchantress), and because it occurs on the conclusion of the sport, it’s Shang-Chi-proof as effectively.
• Sword Grasp and Hell Cow: These two aren’t essentially a combo bundle, however they’re good for a similar cause — they’ve excessive energy for his or her prices. Sword Grasp is a three-cost, six-power card that discards a random card in your hand, whereas Hell Cow is a four-cost, six-power card that discards two random playing cards in your hand. Typically talking, I believe these playing cards are higher in Hela decks, the place you’re making an attempt to discard a ton of playing cards (whereas in an Apocalypse deck you’re making an attempt to discard one card repeatedly), however they’re strong in each decks and may also help you win lanes whereas additionally pursuing your final win situation.

Picture: Second Dinner/Nuverse

Good playing cards for Apocalypse decks

• Colleen Wing and Swarm: A combo bundle, you’d undoubtedly wish to take these two collectively when you determine to incorporate them. Colleen Wing’s impact is the other of Woman Sif’s, discarding the lowest-cost card out of your hand on reveal. Swarm, a two-cost, three-power card, creates two zero-cost duplicates of itself when discarded. So when you play Colleen Wing with Swarm in your hand (when you haven’t any different two-costs or one-costs), you’re assured to get two free playing cards. It may not sound like a lot, but it surely would possibly make all of the distinction on flip six, when you’ll be able to play a six-cost and two extra playing cards. These playing cards are much less good with a Hela deck, since you need Hela to resurrect extra highly effective playing cards.
• Lockjaw: Playing cards performed on the similar location as Lockjaw will probably be changed by one other card in your deck. This occurs after their “on reveal” impact, so you’ll be able to play lower-power discard playing cards like Blade, Gambit, and Woman Sif, make the most of their discard impact, after which additionally exchange them with (hopefully) a higher-power card in your board. This works notably effectively with Colleen Wing and Swarm, as you should use your zero-cost Swarms on the Lockjaw location as effectively.

Good playing cards for Hela decks

• Jubilee: Your Hela deck goes to incorporate too many highly effective playing cards to play, so that you’ll wish to introduce different methods to place them on the board. Jubilee, who performs an extra card out of your deck, is an effective way to usher in a shock highly effective card, and may also help you keep aggressive when you don’t draw Hela.
• Ghost Rider: Ghost Rider performs a card you discarded already — consider it as a mini-Hela. An amazing combo is to play Woman Sif on flip three (discarding one among your massive playing cards) after which Ghost Rider on flip 4 (taking part in that exact same discarded card).
• The heavy hitters: An important a part of a Hela deck is all the massive playing cards you wish to get resurrected. It’s the standard suspects; any card with a excessive energy will do the trick: The Infinaut, Giganto, Magneto, Loss of life, and Hulk all match the invoice. However when you’re in search of one thing somewhat extra fascinating, Captain Marvel is one other enjoyable one to incorporate.
• Invisible Girl: A Hela deck will be straightforward to learn, and when you begin discarding some main playing cards, a well-placed Cosmo or Shang-Chi can mess your complete day up. Invisible Girl may also help you cover that data till it’s too late, and leaves room so that you can play MODOK with Hela, since MODOK’s impact received’t happen till after the sport if performed behind Invisible Girl. Even with out Modok, you should use Invisible Girl for a few of your different discard results (like Hell Cow) to be sure to don’t by chance discard Hela.

The perfect Marvel Snap discard decks…

…you probably have MODOK:

Picture: Second Dinner/Nuverse through Polygon

The deck: Morbius, Swarm, Colleen Wing, Lockjaw, Moon Knight, Woman Sif, Sword Grasp, Dracula, Hell Cow, MODOK, Apocalypse, America Chavez

The purpose: Dracula wins one lane by discarding Apocalypse after the sport is over, and also you win one other lane by a mixture of Morbius, MODOK, and your different high-powered playing cards. Your third lane is for Lockjaw to play as many discard results as attainable. America Chavez is right here as a security valve, particularly when you don’t draw Apocalypse.

Alternates value contemplating: Gambit, Wolverine

…when you don’t have MODOK:

Picture: Second Dinner/Nuverse through Polygon

The deck: Zabu, Woman Sif, Sword Grasp, Jubilee, Ghost Rider, Hell Cow, Captain Marvel, Magneto, Hela, Giganto, The Infinaut, Loss of life

The purpose: Get as lots of your large playing cards on the board as attainable. Woman Sif and Ghost Rider are an important combo, and Jubilee additionally helps. However the primary factor is discarding your massive playing cards with Woman Sif, Sword Grasp, and Hell Cow, in order that Hela can revive all of them on the finish. One necessary phrase of warning: Be cautious of taking part in Jubilee earlier than taking part in Woman Sif or one other discard card, until you have already got Ghost Rider in your hand. Drawing Ghost Rider with Jubilee is a surefire solution to have a nasty time with this deck.

Alternates value contemplating: Morbius, Dracula, Hulk, Invisible Girl

Lastly, listed here are some newbie discard decks for gamers not but in Pool 3.

The perfect Marvel Snap Pool 2 discard deck

Picture: Second Dinner/Nuverse through Polygon

The deck: Blade, Iceman, Ant-Man, Nightcrawler, Swarm, Morbius, Wolverine, Sword Grasp, Bishop, Woman Sif, America Chavez, Apocalypse

The purpose: Discard Apocalypse as many occasions as attainable, or Wolverine and Swarm when you can’t. Bishop or Morbius can win you your non-Apocalypse different lane, relying on whether or not you’re drawing your discard playing cards or your good one-cost playing cards.

Alternates value contemplating: Sunspot, Yondu, Angela. For those who’re in Pool 1, you’re higher off ready to get extra items earlier than taking part in a discard deck. Attempt taking part in one among these newbie’s Marvel Snap decks as a substitute.

Pleased discarding!