Introduction
Classic Surfer deck meets extra Control options by adding Zabu and a few 4-drops. The deck's not perfect, but still great and has that surprise factor which gives you a fighting chance against the currently popular archetypes.
Game plan
Sera and/or Zabu enables us to curve out better on the final turn by allowing Shang-Chi, Silver Surfer and Absorbing Man to be played at the same time - just as an example. Other than them, there's a plethora of 3-drops that benefit from Silver Surfer.
The game plan in not as straightforward as for generic tempo decks, instead you ought to lean into the disruptive/controlling nature of the deck and rely on your own judgement is the short answer.
The value of each card will really depend on the situation, for example you'll sometimes use Polaris to clog up one of the opponent's lanes on turn 5 and push them out of a priority location by utilizing Juggernaut as your finisher. In that specific situation they become invaluable and in others they'll be used for tempo.
Card suggestions
You could run Sunspot (if you're not planning to Killmonger, sometimes you can utilize the psychology of 'now way they're playing him with a Sunspot on board' and just sacrifice him anyway) or Nova (if you do) instead of Iceman.
I wouldn't recommend cutting Zabu as he enables you to play a 4-drop and a 3-drop on that final turn if you missed Sera. If you decide to do so anyway, you can throw in Scorpion and/or Lizard.
You can also consider throwing Aero into the deck as Sera would allow you to play both her and a 3-drop on the final turn.
Decklist
Let's go over the card choices:
- Iceman can be played on curve and can potentially destroy the opponent's whole combo, so even if you don't always see it, he's usually carrying his weight.
- Zabu, discount for 4-cost cards. Helps us curve out better on the final turns, can be played on turn 5 with a 3-drop if you're missing Sera or want to play a different combination of cards.
- Brood for tempo and a great target for Silver Surfer, sometimes Absorbing Man who'll spawn 3 power copies instead.
- Silver Surfer, usually dropped on the final turn as the big finisher, unless you're expecting Leech.
- Storm, or consistent Scarlet Witch as some call her. You can lock down a location with her and Juggernaut in the midgame, you can use her as a surprise to get into a normally unreachable location like Death's Domain or simply ruin one such as The Nexus.
- Cosmo on initiative is the answer to problems such as Mr. Negative, Taskmaster or Galactus. Basically, we're hoping to utilize him as sword rather than a shield like Shuri decks do.
- Juggernaut, I've said it before and will repeat it again, an underrated card which can often surprise the opponent, especially on that final turn. Can be deadly with Fisk Tower, literally.
- Killmonger, Thanos decks do love their stones, can also use him to unclog your board against Junk decks. Sometimes you'll sacrifice your Iceman but it's usually whatever.
- Polaris, ok stats for tempo and can use her effect to mess with the card/power distribution on the opponent's side.
- Absorbing Man, extremely versatile card with Silver Surfer and Brood being the obvious targets, but also nobody expects that second Shang-Chi on the last turn when you use the first one on turn 5.
- Shang-Chi, great utility which swings games.
- Sera, the other cost reduction enabler of the deck. Bonus value if you've managed to get her into Onslaught's Citadel.
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
In the current meta, watch out for the following cards.
- Armor, can counter your own Shang-Chi at a critical moment. Staple in Shuri decks, though the tend to play her on curve.
- Cosmo stops anything On Reveal related.
- Lockjaw, take a look at the deck size of the opponent at the start of the game. If you see more than 10 cards, you're playing against a Thanos Lockjaw deck.
- Elektro or Wave on turn 3 usually means a Galactus is around the corner. Just try to snipe his location with Cosmo. Elektro can also signify a Ramp deck.
- Polaris, Aero and Magneto, always keep them in mind and how they'll impact the board state, especially around Fisk Tower. Aero is 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 Ramp decks.
Have fun!