Marvel Snap destroy decks have been in the meta for a while now. The reason is the simple synergies the cards that compose these decks offer and a fairly easy game style combined with the huge amounts of power they yield. If you are just starting with the game you can check out our guide for beginner destroy decks in Marvel Snap. Unlike the one for beginners, in this article, we will focus on more advanced decks that are currently meta decks in Marvel Snap. That being said, the player needs to have a higher collection range and quite a few rare cards in order for this strategy to work. Without further ado, let’s see what Marvel Snap destroy decks are all about.
This guide is up-to-date for the balance patch released on January 18th.
Strategies & Counters for Destroy Decks in Marvel Snap
Let’s focus on the good things about these decks first. The main advantage of this deck archetype is that it is highly reliable – you are not dependent on drawing specific cards as there are several replacements in most decks that will allow you to stay competitive throughout the game. The high power output that the Bucky Barnes – Wolverine – Carnage combo yields will allow you to have priority after turn 3 which can be crucial for winning. The end-game slam with Knull and/or Death is just amazing and it is guaranteed that it will get you some cubes for sure.
The downside of these decks is their predictability – as soon as you land X-23 or Nova on turn 1, the opponent will know exactly what your plan is. There are several counters for destroy decks; Armor, Cosmo, and Juggernaut just to name a few. All of them do the same thing – they prevent destroying cards which is crucial for all destroy decks. Having priority and predicting where counters will land is essential in order to avoid this.
These are the general tips for all kinds of destroy decks in Marvel Snap:
- Never play Nova in the same location where Bucky Barnes is as you want her to give him the buff
- Turns 2 and 3 are crucial for countering destroy decks – be on the lookout for Armor or Cosmo. Assume that the opponent has them and is going to play them and address your strategy accordingly.
- If you are facing a High Evolutionary deck wait for them to play Sunspot and Misty Knight and then play Killmonger. Don’t waste Killmonger early on unless it’s the only option for destroying X-23.
- Wolverine randomly respawns on the field so it’s better not to destroy it if there is a location where you don’t want to have him.
- If you are facing discard decks you might consider using Lady Deathstrike in order to kill off their Dracula on turn 5. The same goes if you are facing Wong Decks.
- Professor X also prevents you from destroying your own cards even with Killmonger – be on the lookout for him on turn 5 if you are up against the control deck.
- Knull picks up the power from all destroyed cards – including your opponent’s cards as well as the ones destroyed with Yondu.
- Knull has an ongoing ability, be on the lookout for Enchantress and Rogue if you have priority
- Feel free to destroy Sabretooth as many times as you can as the power will stack with Knull and decrease the cost of Death.
- Destroy decks allow you to spread on all three locations and focus on the final two on turn 6 – be sure to use that so that your gameplay is less predictable.
- Be careful what you eat with Venom – if you grab a Hobgoblin or anything with negative power, Venom will get it as well.
Standard Destroy Deck: Knull & Death
Key cards: X-23, Carnage, Bucky Barnes, Wolverine, Sabretooth, Killmonger, Venom, Deathlok, Knull, Death
Support cards: Nico Minoru, Forge
Deck code:
eyJDYXJkcyI6W3siQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiRGVhZHBvb2wifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IkZvcmdlIn0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJOaWNvTWlub3J1In0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJYMjMifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IkJ1Y2t5QmFybmVzIn0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJDYXJuYWdlIn0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJXb2x2ZXJpbmUifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IktpbGxtb25nZXIifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IlZlbm9tIn0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJEZWF0aGxvayJ9LHsiQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiS251bGwifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IkRlYXRoIn1dfQ==
The first one is a classic – standard Death & Knull destroy deck. Let’s begin with the obvious – you need a specific card in order for this deck to work. Sure, you can replace Nico Minoru and Forge, perhaps even Deadpool (Nova, Shang-Chi, Sabretooth) but really, when it comes to other cards there are no replacements. This can be a real issue for beginners, especially in terms of getting X-23 and Knull since they are rare cards. Providing that you do have cards for this Marvel Snap destroy deck, let’s see how it works.
First off, you need to understand that there are three types of cards in this destroy deck:
- Cards that destroy other cards (Carnage, Venom, Deathlok, Killmonger, Nico Minoru)
- Cards that need to be destroyed ( X-23, Bucky Barnes, Wolverine, Sabretooth)
- Cards that benefit from other cards being destroyed (Venom, Carnage, Knull, Death,)
As you can see, the synergy between these three types of cards is pretty obvious. Play X-23 or Deathpool followed by Bucky Barnes and/or Wolverine. If you can, use Forge to boost Deathpool before you play him. Destroy them with Carnage or Deathlok. Repeat the same thing with X-23 and try to destroy whatever is the best with Venom (in terms of power). On turn 6 play Death on one location, Knull on the other one. That’s how you win with this deck. The issue comes with counters – be aware of Armor and Cosmo in particular. Those would be the biggest threats for this deck. Other than that, it’s pretty straightforward as you will have more than 20 power in at least two locations if you play it right.
Deadpool Destroy Deck
Key cards: Forge, Deadpool, Carnage, Deathlok, Venom, Hulk Buster, Arnim Zola
Support cards: X-23, Wolverine, Killmonger, Knull, Death
Deck code: eyJOYW1lIjoiRGVhZHBvb2wgRGVzdHJveSIsIkNhcmRzIjpbeyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJEZWFkcG9vbCJ9LHsiQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiRm9yZ2UifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IlgyMyJ9LHsiQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiQ2FybmFnZSJ9LHsiQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiV29sdmVyaW5lIn0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJLaWxsbW9uZ2VyIn0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJWZW5vbSJ9LHsiQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiRGVhdGhsb2sifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6Ikh1bGtidXN0ZXIifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IkFybmltWm9sYSJ9LHsiQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiS251bGwifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IkRlYXRoIn1dfQ==
Deadpool destroy deck has similar mechanics as the regular Death & Knull deck but with one major difference – you need to boost Deadpool before you start destroying him. The easiest way to do this is by using Forge and/or Hulk Buster. Since Deathpool’s ability allows him to regenerate back in your hand with double power, the synergy between destroy cards and him is pretty obvious. On top of that, you still have Death and Knull so you can play this deck as a regular Marvel Snap destroy deck in case you don’t pull Deadpool early on.
In a perfect scenario, you would start by playing Forge – Deadpool – Hulk Buster until turn 3. After that, you would go with Carnage or Deathlock, possibly followed by Wolverine in the same location. On turn 5 you would play Venom destroying Deathpool one more time. Depending on what you have in hand, on turn 6 you can either slam Death and Deadpool or Knull and Deadpool providing that you destroyed X-23 on the previous turn and gained one more energy needed for this combo. The alternative is to go with Arnim Zola and duplicate Venom on the other two locations.
Nimrod Destroyer Deck
Key cards: Nova, Carnage, Bucky Barnes, Wolverine, Hulk Buster, Venom, Deathlok, Nimrod, Arnim Zola, Death
Support cards: Deadpool, Killmonger
Deck code: eyJOYW1lIjoiRGFrZW4gTmltcm9kIERlc3Ryb3kiLCJDYXJkcyI6W3siQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiTm92YSJ9LHsiQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiRGVhZHBvb2wifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IkNhcm5hZ2UifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IkJ1Y2t5QmFybmVzIn0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJXb2x2ZXJpbmUifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6Ikh1bGtidXN0ZXIifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IktpbGxtb25nZXIifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IlZlbm9tIn0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJEZWF0aGxvayJ9LHsiQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiTmltcm9kIn0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJBcm5pbVpvbGEifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IkRlYXRoIn1dfQ==
What you see above is a safe way of playing Nimrod deck – alternatively, you can replace Killmonger or Death with Shuri and go with that. The reason why we choose this is the fact that it’s easier and kinda more reliable as opposed to the one with Shuri – although Shuri Nimrod does potentially yield more power. Be it as it may, the principle is similar: you need to destroy buff and destroy Nimrod as many times as you can in order to gain enough power to win the game.
As you can see, this deck can work with Deadpool as well – that’s why he is there, that’s your alternative in this one (in case you don’t pull Nimrod early on). Nova is there as well but one might argue that Forge is a better option so feel free to try it out and see which one works better for you. Whatever you do, the endgame is the same – Arnim Zola on buffed Nimbrod or Venom followed by Death if possible. This is not a meta deck by any chance because there are so many counters to it (Armor, Cosmo, all kinds of move cards, etc.) but it is a fun one to play with.
Phoenix Move Destroy
Key cards: Forge, Human Torch, Carnage, Venom, Deathlock, Phoenix Force, Shuri, Arnim Zola
Support cards: Ghost Spider, Multiple Man, Nico Minoru, Nimrod
Deck code: eyJOYW1lIjoiUGhvZW5peCIsIkNhcmRzIjpbeyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJOaWNvTWlub3J1In0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJHaG9zdFNwaWRlciJ9LHsiQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiRm9yZ2UifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6Ikh1bWFuVG9yY2gifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IkNhcm5hZ2UifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6Ik11bHRpcGxlTWFuIn0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJWZW5vbSJ9LHsiQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiRGVhdGhsb2sifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6IlNodXJpIn0seyJDYXJkRGVmSWQiOiJUaGVQaG9lbml4Rm9yY2UifSx7IkNhcmREZWZJZCI6Ik5pbXJvZCJ9LHsiQ2FyZERlZklkIjoiQXJuaW1ab2xhIn1dfQ==
Probably the most difficult of all Marvel Snap destroy decks is the Phoenix destroy deck. The reason why it’s so tricky to play this deck is the fact that there are so many things to consider and a lot of planning (and a lot of RNG elements regarding locations). The deck combines the powers of Human Torch with Shuri and Phoenix Force – so, in essence, this is a destroy-and-move type of deck and as we know, there are not many of those around.
The dream here is to buff up the Human Torch early on and destroy it. Play Shuri and return the Human Torch with Phoenix. If it’s possible move it to an empty location and Arnim Zola it. As you can see math doesn’t fit here so you need to use Ghost Spider to circumvent that on turn 5. Most of the time this will not be the case – you won’t get all these cards in the right time so you have alternatives with Venom and Nimrod. Although it’s a tricky one to get used to, it surely is interesting to combine move and destroy mechanics so be sure to give this one a try.
Final Thoughts on Destroy Decks in Marvel Snap
As you can see there are plenty of ways to play Marvel Snap destroy decks. Probably the most popular and the most reliable is the standard Death & Knull deck. If you have the cards for other decks be sure to try them as well – I mean they might not be meta decks but what’s the point in playing one single deck all the time right? Thank you for reading and happy snapping!
Photo Credits: Nuverse, Marvel Snap.
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