There seems to be an ever-growing list of card-based battle games available, but Marvel Snap isn’t the same thing rehashed. There are daily tasks, randomly paired matches, and all your favorite Marvel characters to be collected for your decks. You and your opponent are battling for possession over three different locations at once - and how and when you place your cards is entirely up to you.
Among the various functions of the cards you collect is the Destroy ability. There are roughly a couple dozen cards that fall under this category, with a range of low to high power and cost, so picking which ones go in your deck is a matter of strategy.
10 Armor
Armor will cost you two energy and give you three Power at the location of your choice. His ability is Ongoing, so if you play it early in the match, you’ll still get the benefits as your progress.
Armor will protect all of the cards placed at the location from being destroyed, so it could be in your favor to play your higher Power cards along with Armor or cards that also have Ongoing abilities.
9 Professor X
Professor X can be a bit expensive to play (costing five), but he also provides five Power to the location you place him. You’ll want to play him when you have the higher Power at the site, though, because his Ongoing ability is to lock the entire location down.
Once you play Professor X, you’re taking away both your and your opponent’s access to place cards at the location. Timing will be crucial with Professor X, so make sure you’re in the lead.
8 Bucky Barnes
Bucky Barnes has a lot going on, but it makes him quite appealing for your deck. He costs two energy and gives you one Power, so he’s a decent card to play early in the match. Once the enemy destroys him, he transforms into the Winter Soldier.
The Winter Soldier has six Power and would normally cost you two energy to play, but since he’s being converted from Bucky, you’re getting a sort of buy-one-get-one-free. Bucky gives you insurance that you’ll have a strong hold on a location, either by becoming the Winter Soldier or deterring your opponent from using destructive cards on you.
7 Gambit
Gambit is a Marvel fan favorite across all mediums, so it may be disappointing at first to see his stats are three cost and only one Power. But his use of card tricks as a weapon translates well to a card battle.
On Reveal, Gambit will discard one of your cards in your hand while simultaneously destroying one of your enemy’s at random. Though you can’t control what is taken from your opponent, having any control over their hand can effectively ruin their strategy - making Gambit the Ace up your sleeve.
6 Carnage
Carnage is a lower-cost card that uses only two energy and provides you with two Power at a location. This may entice you to use him in your earlier turns, but since his ability is On Reveal destruction, you’ll want to hold on to him a bit longer.
Carnage will destroy all your cards at the location, giving him an additional two Power for each card he destroyed. Playing him around turn four can be extremely beneficial, as it allows you time to put more cards at the location once he’s taken on the extra Power.
5 Shang-Chi
Shang-Chi costs four with a Power of three. On Reveal, he’ll destroy all of your enemy’s cards with nine or more Power at the selected location. Due to his slightly higher cost and ability to only destroy high-Powered enemy cards, you’ll want to time playing Shang-Chi perfectly.
You’ll get six turns each match, and depending on how much energy your opponent has to spend on cards, you may not be able to use Shang-Chi until the fifth or sixth turn when it’s more probable they’ll use their Hulk (12 Power) or similar. It also means they won’t have much chance to respond, allowing you to win the location easily.
4 Venom
Venom, at a glance, doesn’t seem like an investment worth making. He costs three while only giving you one Power at a location. But part of what makes Venom well, Venom, is his insidiousness.
Venom’s ability is On Reveal. He destroys all of your other cards at a location, then takes their Power for his own - so his true Power-to-cost ratio depends on the total Power of your cards at the location. Since you can only have four cards at a given site, this means you can combine Power into Venom and have room for more cards to take the win.
3 Wolverine
Wolverine only costs two and provides three points to your Power wherever you put him. This alone makes having him in your deck worthwhile, but if your opponent destroys him or he’s discarded for any reason, don’t count him out of the battle.
One of Wolverine’s classic abilities in the comics is his ability to heal and bounce back. In Marvel Snap, this is translated to his ability to relocate after his destruction. This means his Power moves to a different location in the match, keeping him in play and your chances of winning alive.
2 Colossus
Colossus costs two to use and offers three Power at your selected location. Three Power can be enough to make or break a win at a location, so having Colossus in your deck can significantly impact your gameplay.
His effects are Ongoing, as well, which means that he can’t be destroyed, moved, or have his Power reduced at any point during the match. There are a few cards that can null and void Ongoing effects, but those are few and far between, making Colossus a fairly safe bet in your hand.
1 Deadpool
Deadpool is low-cost and low-Power (both stats are one), but he’s not without his charm. Since he costs little to put in play, he’s a great candidate for your first or second turn, and any Power on a location is good Power.
After he’s been destroyed by the enemy, he goes back into your hand and now holds Power worth two. While this isn’t a massive improvement on his original stats, he will give you enough to potentially overtake a location.