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

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

Many Snap decks fall into certainly one of three archetypes: ramping up to a giant combo or card on flip 5 or six, establishing tempo early to take management of the tempo of the sport and lock down some areas, or countering your opponent’s huge combos or playing cards. Discard decks have a tendency to fall into the primary one — the playing cards you’re enjoying sometimes lead up to an enormous play on flip six. But there are a couple of totally different variants of discard decks to pay attention to.

I believe the present simplest way to divide discard decks is into two classes: “Hela decks” and “Apocalypse decks.” A whole lot of Snap gamers are aware of Apocalypse decks — Apocalypse is a strong card in Pool 1, and is usually 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 desires to be discarded, so it’s an amazing match for a robust flip six.

Hela is newer for lots of gamers, because the card is gated behind Pool 3. Hela decks have the next ceiling than Apocalypse decks, however a decrease flooring, due to the inherent randomness of the impact: Hela resurrects each card you discarded this recreation in a random location. There is a specific amount of randomness to which playing cards you’re able to discard every recreation, and then there’s the difficulty of the place they get performed. But in the event you handle to discard a number of highly effective playing cards earlier than you play Hela, your chances are high fairly good you’ll like the top end result.

Let’s begin with a rundown of among the best 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

• Lady Sif: A 3-cost, four-power card, Lady Sif is extraordinarily helpful due to her impact, which discards the highest-cost card out of your hand on reveal. By taking out quantity of the randomness inherent to discard decks, you may have extra management over your endgame — you possibly can principally assure discarding your Apocalypse or a high-value card you need to resurrect with Hela with Lady Sif.
• Morbius: A two-cost, zero-power card, Morbius good points two energy each time you discard a card. If you may have a deck constructed round discarding as many instances as attainable, Morbius might be the uncommon two-cost card that wins you a lane by itself. A good warning, although: Morbius’ impact is an ongoing one, which implies 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. One of the best playing cards in Snap, Dracula can simply win a location by itself if in case you have the best deck for it — both discarding an Apocalypse one ultimate time and taking up its energy, or discarding a card like The Infinaut and gaining 20 energy with out having to fear in regards to the “you can’t play a card the turn before” situation. Also in Dracula’s favor: the impact just isn’t ongoing (subsequently it’s immune to Enchantress), and because it occurs on the conclusion of the sport, it’s Shang-Chi-proof as properly.
• Sword Master and Hell Cow: These two aren’t essentially a combo bundle, however they’re good for a similar purpose — they’ve excessive energy for his or her prices. Sword Master 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. Generally talking, I believe these playing cards are higher in Hela decks, the place you’re attempting to discard a ton of playing cards (whereas in an Apocalypse deck you’re attempting to discard one card repeatedly), however they’re strong in each decks and may help you win lanes whereas additionally pursuing your final win situation.

Image: Second Dinner/Nuverse

Good playing cards for Apocalypse decks

• Colleen Wing and Swarm: A combo bundle, you’d undoubtedly need to take these two collectively in the event you determine to embrace them. Colleen Wing’s impact is the other of Lady 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 in the event 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 won’t sound like a lot, nevertheless it would possibly make all of the distinction on flip six, when you possibly can 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: Cards performed on the similar location as Lockjaw shall be changed by one other card in your deck. This occurs after their “on reveal” impact, so you possibly can play lower-power discard playing cards like Blade, Gambit, and Lady Sif, make the most of their discard impact, and then additionally exchange them with (hopefully) a higher-power card in your board. This works significantly properly with Colleen Wing and Swarm, as you should utilize your zero-cost Swarms on the Lockjaw location as properly.

Good playing cards for Hela decks

• Jubilee: Your Hela deck goes to embrace too many highly effective playing cards to play, so that you’ll need to introduce different methods to put them on the board. Jubilee, who performs a further card out of your deck, is a good way to herald a shock highly effective card, and may help you keep aggressive in the event 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 Lady Sif on flip three (discarding certainly one of your huge playing cards) and then Ghost Rider on flip 4 (enjoying that exact same discarded card).
• The heavy hitters: The most essential a part of a Hela deck is all the massive playing cards you need to get resurrected. It’s the standard suspects; any card with a excessive energy will do the trick: The Infinaut, Giganto, Magneto, Death, and Hulk all match the invoice. But in the event you’re searching for one thing somewhat extra fascinating, Captain Marvel is one other enjoyable one to embrace.
• Invisible Woman: A Hela deck might be simple 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 Woman may help you disguise that info till it’s too late, and leaves room for you to play MODOK with Hela, since MODOK’s impact received’t happen till after the sport if performed behind Invisible Woman. Even with out Modok, you should utilize Invisible Woman for a few of your different discard results (like Hell Cow) to be sure to don’t by chance discard Hela.

The best Marvel Snap discard decks…

…if in case you have MODOK:

Image: Second Dinner/Nuverse through Polygon

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

The purpose: Dracula wins one lane by discarding Apocalypse after the sport is over, and you win one other lane via 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 in the event you don’t draw Apocalypse.

Alternates value contemplating: Gambit, Wolverine

…in the event you don’t have MODOK:

Image: Second Dinner/Nuverse through Polygon

The deck: Zabu, Lady Sif, Sword Master, Jubilee, Ghost Rider, Hell Cow, Captain Marvel, Magneto, Hela, Giganto, The Infinaut, Death

The purpose: Get as lots of your large playing cards on the board as attainable. Lady Sif and Ghost Rider are a vital combo, and Jubilee additionally helps. But the primary factor is discarding your huge playing cards with Lady Sif, Sword Master, and Hell Cow, in order that Hela can revive them all on the finish. One essential phrase of warning: Be cautious of enjoying Jubilee earlier than enjoying Lady Sif or one other discard card, except you have already got Ghost Rider in your hand. Drawing Ghost Rider with Jubilee is a surefire approach to have a nasty time with this deck.

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

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

The best Marvel Snap Pool 2 discard deck

Image: Second Dinner/Nuverse through Polygon

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

The purpose: Discard Apocalypse as many instances as attainable, or Wolverine and Swarm in the event 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. If you’re in Pool 1, you’re higher off ready to get extra items earlier than enjoying a discard deck. Try enjoying certainly one of these newbie’s Marvel Snap decks as a substitute.

Happy discarding!