Despite some rough beginnings, Marvel Snap has managed to attain an impressively solid player base across both PC and mobile. Players use cards based on various Marvel characters to battle for control over three locations on the game board. These locations can have modifiers attached to them, greatly influencing the strategies that players use during matches. While having a balanced deck is the main way to secure a victory during a game of Marvel Snap, new players shouldn't overlook the influence locations have.
Despite gamers having little control over the locations revealed during a match, there are still plenty of ways that they can be used to achieve victory. Knowing how to best use the three locations randomly generated throughout a match can sometimes help a player come back from a less-than-ideal opening. Similarly, knowing how to play around locations can help gamers keep their opponent from gaining a surprise lead in the final round.
How Locations Work in Marvel Snap
There are three locations during a game of Marvel Snap, and they are key to securing a victory. Players can place up to four cards at one location. Whoever has the highest overall power at a certain location at the end of a match wins said location. The player that controls the majority of locations is declared the winner. The basics are fairly simple, but that's where location abilities come in to shake things up. A location activates its ability when it is revealed, which could do anything from adjusting card power to adding another turn to the game.
The first, second, and third locations reveal themselves on the first, second, and third turns respectively. Players can place cards at any of the three locations, regardless of whether they've been revealed. There's always a risk in doing this, as location abilities may add harmful effects to the cards already played on them. For example, the Hala location has an ability that destroys any cards played there by whoever is losing that location on turn four.
Taking Risks on Unknown Locations Can Pay Off - Sometimes
Players can also earn huge benefits if they set their cards up in a location that has yet to be revealed. Not only could cards get an unexpected boost in power, but they could also potentially avoid harmful effects that prevent the opponent from being able to take control of the location. The Flooded location is a great example of one wherein playing cards before it is revealed could pay off, as no additional cards can be played at that location once it is revealed.
Having a near-guaranteed win at a location within the first three turns is a huge advantage, as it greatly reduces the opponent's chances for victory. This doesn't mean players should ignore reinforcing a location, however. Certain cards, such as Nightcrawler, may be able to work around location ability restrictions and catch players by surprise. It's important to stay aware of what an opponent could potentially do to work around location abilities.
It's very likely that the first location revealed is less than ideal for a player's strategy. In these situations, it's almost always worth playing a low-cost card on one of the other two yet-to-be-revealed locations. New players can sometimes be apprehensive about playing cards at unrevealed locations due to the risk that comes from the unknown. While playing safe can certainly work at times, a low-cost card presents very little loss if the location ends up having a negative ability.
The Best Locations to Utilize in Marvel Snap
There are a few locations of note that can almost always be huge game-changers when they appear. Cloning Vats adds a copy of whatever card is played there back to the player's hand, which includes any buffs the card receives when it is played. Playing a card that gains extra power when revealed can lead to some borderline silly levels of power, making the Cloning Vats great for decks that focus on buffs and power escalation.
Another useful location is The Raft. Whichever player fills this location with cards first earns a six-power card that they can play for free. If players have enough low-cost cards in their deck, they can very easily fill up the space to get a huge advantage in the resulting powerful card. This doesn't even begin to go into the powerful location-based abilities that many of these cards have, such as how Odin can reactivate the On Reveal abilities of any cards at the same location he is played.