Marvel Snap has impressed since its Beta and Early Access releases throughout 2022. It manages to cater both to those who have long loved card-playing video games and those new to them. Marvel Snap's appeal comes not just from the familiar fan-favorite characters from all across Marvel's extensive roster, but its inventive use of locations, abilities, and strategy.
Every card has its uses in Marvel Snap, but there are some that can change the game in the latter rounds of a match. It is important to quickly establish Power in each of the locations early on and take advantage of Marvel Snap's many locations perks, but there are abilities and strategies that can snatch a late victory from the jaws of defeat if applied correctly.
Updated on February 27th, 2023 by Mayra García: In the last months, Marvel Snap has released new series of cards that will help players polish their game strategies. This list has been updated with new cards that can guarantee a victory if used during the last turns of the game.
15 Lady Deathstrike
Marvel Snap's Lady Deathstrike costs six energy points. Given this, it can only be used in the sixth turn, unless something affects the energy flow of the game. This card is quite an asset. On one hand, Lady Deathstrike adds four power points to any location. On the other, it destroys the enemy card with the highest number of power points in the same location.
This ability makes Lady Deathstrike as dangerous as she is in the comics. By using this card in the end, there won't be any way the opponent can stop its attack. Lady Deathstrike will add four points to the game and eliminate whichever card could take the win. With enough luck, it ensures a victory in that location.
14 Ka-Zar
Ka-Zar may not be in the MCU at all, but he can certainly be of great use in Marvel Snap. Costing 4 Energy, Ka-Zar is a mid-to-late-game card that not only brings 4 Power to the table but enhances all the user's 1-Cost cards that have already been played.
Ka-Zar can make cards like Squirrel Girl and even the useless Rocks have some overall value, especially if this Ongoing ability is doubled or accompanied by a copy effect. Ka-Zar really can change a game if enough cheaper cards are in play or if there are some useful locations at work.
13 Dazzler
Based on the disco singer, the Dazzler card costs 4 energy points and adds the same quantity to any location where it's played. However, its ongoing ability gives her more power. If all locations are full at the moment when Dazzler is played, Dazzler will have 6 more power points.
With 10 points, Dazzler becomes one of Marvel Snap's powerhouses. The only way to gain the extra 6 points is by filling all locations. Since it's an ongoing ability, Dazzler could lose the points if any card is destroyed. Given this, the best option is to play it at the end of the game, so the opponent doesn't have a way to counter it.
12 Enchantress
Just as Cosmo shuts down On Reveal effects, Enchantress is a bane to any Ongoing ability in play from her chosen location. Enchantress negates the Ongoing abilities on both sides, but players can learn to work around it and use straightforward Power and On Reveal abilities at this location instead.
At 4 Energy, Enchantress can even be used alongside another card in the final round as a form of counterattack, restricting an opponent's advances while having an immediate response. There are cards in Marvel Snap with more devastating Power output, but Enchantress is perfect for ruining opposing plans and lineups.
11 Gamora
For those players who like to utilize Rocket and Star-Lord early on to get additional Power for predicting an opponent's move, their Guardians of the Galaxy teammate Gamora is potentially even more devastating. Gamora is an expensive Marvel Snap card at 5 energy, but the cost is certainly worth it if the player plays her at the same location as the opponent's move.
Gamora's base Power is 7, but with the On Reveal ability being triggered, she gets a staggering +5. At 12 Power plus any further boosts, Gamora can hold a location all by herself. In extreme circumstances, Odin could even trigger that ability once again in the following turn, making Gamora even deadlier.
10 Iron Man
Everyone knows Iron Man as one of the most popular Marvel characters of all time, and his Marvel Snap card reflects that popularity once again with an extremely useful ability. Iron Man may cost 5 Energy and offer 0 Power by itself, but it doubles the total Power at its location.
This means that pairing Iron Man with cards that have considerable Power-output will turn up the heat going into the final round. Iron Man's ability is Ongoing, so applying Onslaught next to it in the following turn would double the Power once more, for unprecedented levels of Power.
9 Blue Marvel
Ka-Zar has its value in granting the cheapest cards extra Power and Ironheart can target three cards with +2 boosts, but Blue Marvel can turn up the heat in the latter rounds, giving +1 to every other allied card. Blue Marvel only has 3 Power itself, as any higher would need to be nerfed immediately.
If paired with other Marvel Snap cards that can trigger its Ongoing ability again, or simply provide further boosts, then Blue Marvel can be the key that wins the game. Granted, there will be some occasions where brute force and straight-up Power will win games in the latter stages, but Blue Marvel brings more finesse and coverage to keep the player in good stead as the end draws near.
8 Spider-Woman
In some Marvel Snap situations, reducing an opponent's Power at a certain location takes priority over placing straight-up Power, but Spider-Woman brings a bit of both. Spider-Woman is expensive at 5 Energy, but given that she afflicts every opposing card at the chosen location with -1 Power, as well as bringing 7 Power of her own, it is a necessary price to pay.
Playing Spider-Woman has the potential to level up a location with an 11-Power deficit, and that would leave it prime for a 6-Cost card to hammer home a victory in the following round. Even if its On Reveal ability is neutralized or simply isn't enough, the base Power that it provides can still go a long way.
7 Hobgoblin
One of the most prominent members of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery, Hobgoblin is as destructive in Marvel Snap as he is in the comics. Hobgoblin costs five energy points and doesn't add any. Instead, it reduces a location's power by 8. This seems counterintuitive. However, its On Reveal ability dictates that this card goes directly into the opponent's side of the game.
-8 points are quite a hit. In order to maximize Hobgoblin's effect on the enemy's strategy, it's a better idea to use it last. If a player uses it in the fifth or sixth round, their opponent won't be able to do much to protect themselves from this attack.
6 Professor X
It comes as no real surprise that the wise and vastly experienced Professor X has an exceptional card in Marvel Snap. At 5 Energy for just 3 Power, Professor X may seem expensive and rather worthless, but that's where his Ongoing ability comes into play.
Professor X's ability locks down the location where the card is played, meaning that cards can't be added or removed. If played at the right moment, the lockdown can protect a lead, allowing the user to focus on other locations, which could prove invaluable going into the final round. Power can still be conferred onto that location through the likes of Mister Fantastic or Blue Marvel, but denying cards from moving there could be crucial.
5 Onslaught & Odin
Onslaught and Odin can be easily grouped together in terms of their worth and cost, even though their impacts can be very different depending on the field or location they are played into. While Onslaught doubles Ongoing effects at its location and brings 7 Power of its own, Odin activates all On Reveal abilities at its location, with an additional Power of 8.
With the right application, both Marvel Snap cards can be huge final-round players. Odin can improve On Reveal cards like Spider-Woman, White Tiger, and Jessica Jones, but Onslaught can cause pure mayhem by boosting the likes of Iron Man, Klaw, and Blue Marvel.
4 Valkyrie
One of the newest cards in Marvel Snap is Valkyrie. The Asgardian warrior costs five energy points and only adds three to any location. This may not be the most useful thing. However, her On Reveal ability also alters the other cards in the location to add three points.
With enough strategy, Valkyrie would be enough to take any location directly to 12 points. By using this card in the last turn at a location with 1 and 2 power points, the player can take advantage of the situation. If the card is used in the last turn, there won't be anything for their opponent to do.
3 Apocalypse
Regarding sheer Power, Hulk is the most initially eye-catching of the Marvel Snap 6-Cost cards, but Apocalypse should not be overlooked. 8 Power for the cost of 6 Energy may not seem too great, but Apocalypse becomes a terrifying card when used in a discarding-oriented deck.
Whenever Apocalypse is discarded, it's immediately returned to the player's hand, but with +4 Power. If the user is fortunate enough to have utilized cards like Lady Sif and Sword Master in discarding Apocalypse in previous rounds, then they could well be going into the final round with a 16-Power card at their disposal.
2 The Hulk
There may be countless fun cards out there to play with in the later rounds, with their intricate abilities and the strategy involved in playing them correctly, but sometimes a "Hulk Smash" is exactly what is needed. Hulk comes in as a 6-Cost card that deals a whopping 12 Power.
In Marvel Snap, it is easy to overthink and overcomplicate the route to a potential victory, especially when having to figure out which abilities would work best at which locations. However, this powerhouse of a card just gets the job done with no questions asked. It relies on the user placing him in the correct location, but the +12 Power could be all that is needed to assure victory. Hulk simply eclipses other similar cards like The Thing and Abomination.
1 Super Skrull
With a four-point cost and only two power points to add to the game, Super Skrull may not seem like the best Marvel Snap card to play. However, its true value comes from its ongoing ability. Once in the game, Super Skrull will copy the ongoing effects of all enemy cards.
Players will want to use Super Skrull in the fourth turn as soon as it's possible. By this point, there are enough turns in the match to take advantage of its ability, but additionally, the opponent has used enough cards with ongoing abilities for Super Skrull to be incredibly powerful.