Willingly getting rid of cards in a TCG may seem counterproductive, but Marvel Snap turns Discarding cards into a mechanic that players can take advantage of to dominate the meta. Similar to Move, Destroy and other keyworded abilities, certain cards in Marvel Snap discard other cards from players' hands, usually as a trade-off for better-than-average stats or a helpful ability.
Just like Marvel Snap's Destroy cards, Discarded cards are effectively removed from the game. Players can see how many cards they've Discarded so far by clicking their player icon. However, this number doesn't account for cards with other Discard effects like Wolverine and Apocalypse. Even with an empty hand, players can still play Discard cards and trigger their additional abilities. Discard cards are extremely powerful and can be game-winning in the right hands. Here's everything players need to know to get the most out of Marvel Snap's discard cards.
Marvel Snap's Discard Effects Trade Cards for Power
Nearly all the Discard cards in Marvel Snap have On Reveal effects. Sword Master, Blade, Hell Cow, Lady Sif and Colleen Wing have higher power than most other cards for a similar cost, but all require a sacrifice or two from the player's hand. Other Discard effects are useful offensively, like Gambit's ability to destroy a single enemy card, or Moon Knight's ability to Discard a card from the opponent's hand.
Some cards don't have Discard effects themselves, but synergize excellently with other Discard cards. Mobius' Ongoing ability gives it +2 Power for every allied card that's been Discarded in the game. Cards like Swarm, Apocalypse and Helicarrier all benefit from being Discarded by creating more copies of themselves, growing in strength with each reincarnation, or filling the player's hand with new options.
Marvel Snap's Discard Decks Are All About Risk Versus Reward
Playing Discard strategies inherently has some level of risk, as the player needs to remove options from their hand at random. This is why having a reliable win condition is important. Some of the best decks use powerful game-winning threats with strong Discard synergy, like Marvel Snap's Hela decks. Hela's On Reveal effect returns all Discarded cards to the field at random locations. Players looking to make the most of this mechanic should use high-Power cards like Hulk, Magneto, Giganto and Infinaut for Hela to bring back on Turn 6. Players should take calculated risks to strategically Discard the right cards before playing Hela to close the game.
Another popular inclusion is Dracula to deliver a late-game surge of Power to one location. Dracula Discards a card at random at the end of the game and gains its Power. If executed correctly, players can leave their strongest cards in-hand to guarantee an optimal target for Dracula. These decks also use Apocalypse to continually gain strength through Discarding, with cards like M.O.D.O.K eliminate all the other options for Dracula to chooes from. If players draw one of Marvel Snap's best 6-Cost cards like Infinaut or Giganto on the next turn, they can freely play their powered-up Apocalypse.
Each Discard deck has a few core cards, and some are helpful to control which cards players Discard, which helps to curtail the randomness and improve consistency. Using Lady Sif to Discard 6-Cost cards before playing Hela guarantees powerful summons. Players can use Ghost Rider to reclaim a lost card, which is extremely valuable when players inadvertently discard an important card in the early game. For decks that run M.O.D.O.K., or whose strategies involve Discarding the majority of their deck, Morbius is a great low-Cost staple that gets stronger over the course of the game.