Pool 3 Zabu Dino with a few tips by Wellwhatever - Marvel Snap Decks

Introduction

Going back to my roots with a good old Dino deck. And also a bunch Pool 3 cards which synergize with the cards in the deck and provide control options. The deck's still great even after the Zabu nerf.

Game plan

There's the intuitive playline of dropping Moon Girl and playing two She-Hulks, two or even three Devil Dinosaurs with the help of Mystique. You can also go for the strategy of gaining a lot of tempo during the first 4 turns, and dropping Aero with She-Hulk (can also play her on turn 4 for tempo) on the final one, securing the win. The deck is further supported by Quinjet who'll make all copies cheaper, it also affects the copies of Sentinel and cards copied by White Queen.

You can also opt for a more control style game if needed by utilizing Aero, Shang-Chi or Enchantress. The latter two also benefit from the cost reduction from Zabu which often allows playing them after Mystique copies the Dino.

I also like to alternate between Enchantress and Cosmo, depending on whether I'm seeing more Ongoing shenanigans or big On Reveal combos. I've been also juggling Juggernaut as necessary.

Sunspot, Quinjet and Sentinel can provide some early tempo so you don't fall behind too much by the time midgame is upon you.

The multiple available win conditions also require you to start planning the endgame on the fourth turn based on your hand, just a recommendation.

Card suggestions

The cards included have been carefully picked to fill certain roles and synergies, but feel free to try out different card combinations.

You can run Iceman instead of Quinjet if it's missing from your collection.

Armor or Cosmo can be swapped in for Zabu and Mystique and the deck will have a vast amount of tech cards. If you prefer stats instead, Lizard, Scorpion and Mister Fantastic are good options.

She-Hulk can be replaced with America Chavez for increased draw consistency as the playline for the final turn should be clear to you by turn 5 anyway.

Aero is a bit tricky to replace as she's the biggest cube thief of the deck. I'll leave her spot up to your imagination, but most of the competitive decks in February start by adding Shang-Chi and Aero into them.

Decklist

Can be upgraded with the Darkhawk package, but that's just way out of reach for most players even with his downgrade to Pool 4, so this feels like a comparatively cheaper alternative.

Sunspot is great as early tempo or surprise late game stats. Some of your combos you'll be setting up may require you to float some energy which he can absorb.
Quinjet, great synergy with all added/copied cards. Sometimes you'll only be playing the copies and enjoying the energy flexibility that the discount brings.
Sentinel, decent curve filler which doesn't lose you a card and gets better thanks to Quinjet as the subsequent copies will cost only 1 energy.
Zabu, more discount for 4-cost cards. Helps us curve out better on the final turns, but the deck can carry its weight without him as well in case you're missing him.
Mystique, only here to provide additional benefit from Devil Dinosaur, will let you curve better on the final turn but still enable to play a second Dino. Sometimes you'll opt for a Devil Dino (13 power) + double Mystique (10 power each).
Shang-Chi or Enchantress are just a good fit for a deck with Zabu in it, both providing great utility.
Moon Girl to make two copies of Devil Dinosaur, She-Hulk, Mystique (only relevant if you're playing them into the Dino), sometimes you'll be happy with double Shang-Chi or two Aeros as well.
White Queen, great effect and good stats. If Quinjet's on the board, you can sometimes beat the opponent at their own game by playing their finisher a turn earlier.
Devil Dinosaur, few cards rival the stats at the cost, depending on hand size of course.
Aero, to move away the opponent's cards from a priority location on the final turn. Especially powerful when we hold the initiative as she can grab a Shang-Chi or Enchantress from a location with a Dino on it or move away the opponent's Odin from Wong or Hela from behind Invisible Woman.
She-Hulk, another card to benefit from Moon Girl with built in cost reduction. Can be played as early as the fourth turn if you float at least 2 energy on the third turn. And she also works well with Aero if you skip turn 5.

Snapping

The Snap is an interesting mechanic which makes your matches similar to games of Poker. Meaning, knowing when to fold (retreat) or double down by snapping will heavily impact the amount of cubes you'll be gaining. It also means that while I'm in love with the game, I wouldn't recommend playing it if you're struggling with gambling addiction.

Snap in the midgame if you look at your hand, can already see your endgame and you like it - depending on the matchup - is the short answer on when to snap.

I'll go over some general rules I try to stick to which may help out players maximize cube gains and minimize losses, as I see a lot of them using this mechanic in questionable ways.

Never snap before all the locations are revealed is probably the first one I adhere to. Therefore, turn 3 should be the first moment when you ought to consider snapping as you never know whether that final location will turn out to be Ego, Worldship or a location which supercharges the opponent's archetype and the whole game plan just flies out of the window. Not to mention, the opponent also has agency and will use it by playing Storm, Scarlet Witch, Aero, Magneto, etc. That also brings me to the second rule.
I don't recommend snapping until you've figured out what archetype the opponent's playing. This can delay your decision to do so by a turn or two. You could have the best hand in the game, but a disruptive deck doesn't care about that. This leads us to the next point.
Watch the game, take note of what and where the opponent's setting up their plays. To be honest, this is probably the most complicated one as it requires a broader knowledge of the archetypes and it will take some time to gain enough experience. If you've considered all the options and are feeling comfortable, go ahead and snap before locking in your play on turn 5 at latest - the reason to do so is related to the next rule. The same goes for when you're feeling behind and the opponent snaps on turn 5, there's always the option to retreat. Also, if you've accepted a snap earlier or have snapped yourself, it is not wrong to retreat if you see an unfavorable outcome. No need to feel obligated to commit just because there's more than 1 cube on the line, losing 1 or 2 cubes doesn't matter in the long run as they can be replaced easily by winning just a single match.
Never snap on the final turn. This is probably the most common thing I see when playing. The math is mostly on the table on the final turn, be it a close game or they're ahead, the opponent snaps. Best case scenario; it may occasionally cheat out 4 cubes from a less experienced player. What it usually ends up achieving is a retreat in a close game where the other party would stay in for those 2 cubes (because now they know that they've managed to draw their finisher and people are very rarely bluffing on the final turn), making a loss of 1 cube. Worst case scenario; the finisher's been anticipated, countered and you make a loss of 4 or more cubes.
I'll dub this one 'Avoid bad snaps', it's about snapping before making a play of small significance. One of my favorite examples is snapping when playing Armor on Nova or The Hood. Remember that the opponent has 11 more cards in their deck, was also just informed about the 'big counter' and will likely adjust accordingly.

Final thoughts

As there are only so many cards that can be included, the deck can't carry each and every tech card. So in the current meta, watch out for the following counter/set up cards, which can also help you identify the match-ups.

Armor, can counter your own Shang-Chi at a critical moment. Staple in Shuri decks.
Cosmo stops anything On Reveal related, can be a double edged blade though because it protects our Dinos as well. Currently it's another staple in Shuri decks to protect their big Red Skull/She-Hulk. If you see their game plan coming together, just leave.
Killmonger if you're growing an unprotected Sunspot or really need that cost reduction from Quinjet. Currently less common, you'll find him in Sera Control.
Lockjaw, take a look at the deck size of the opponent at the start of the game. If you see more than 10, you're playing a Thanos Lockjaw deck.
Elektro or Wave on turn 3 usually means a Galactus is around the corner. If you have initiative, just pull him to the location where they have cards with Aero or drop a Cosmo into their empty lane.
Shang-Chi as we're usually looking to be carried by big stats. The solution to Shuri decks if you can lose initiative on turn 4 and they don't have a Cosmo or Armor on the board, provided you can guess the correct location.
Enchantress or Rogue, as there are quite a few Ongoing cards in our deck. Seen mostly in Sera Control matchups.
Polaris, Aero and Magneto, always keep them in mind and how they'll impact the board state, especially around Fisk Tower. Aero especially, as she's currently very prominent, you'll see Magneto in Lockjaw decks.
Leech can just delete your plans for the final turn. Usually run in Thanos Lockjaw or Galactus Ramp decks.
Doctor Octopus has seen an increase in play, both in Disruption and Galactus decks. Usually played into your emptiest lane so you can try dropping a Cosmo on turn 4 if they're ramping with Elektro.

Hope I didn't miss anything.

Have fun!