I've been playing this deck post-infinite and I love it!
So here's the full play guide, written by me! I hope it helps you climb!
Also, it should be noted that I didn't get to infinite with this deck. I started playing it AFTER, but I honestly feel like I could still climb with it anyway and it's probably what I'll use next season. If you'd like to see the Hit/Sera deck I got to infinite with instead, click here! (Guide included for that as well!)
Be sure to follow me on Twitch if you like this kind of content! ~@Kylix_lol
Updated on: 04/27/23
- Concept
The idea behind my 'World Eater' deck is to play Galactus early and cut off your opponent's ability to win the final lane or straight-up overpower them. If you can't pull that off, there are other win conditions available! I've also included a couple counter dodges in case people try to stop the big play.
- Turn Order
In a perfect world, the ideal turn order would be: T1 skip, T2 Wolverine, T3 Wave, T4 Galactus, T5 Spider-Man, T6 Hobgoblin, Destroyer, Shang-Chi or whatever else wins the lane (your opponent will usually retreat by this point anyway)
In a less than perfect world, you could also do T1 skip, T2 Wolverine, T3 Electro, T4 Doc Oc or Hobgoblin, T5 Galactus, T6 Knull + Death (or whatever combo wins the lane, keeping priority in mind)
- These two turn orders are probably the easiest paths to success, but Galactus is very telegraphed and will usually get countered, so be prepared to think outside the box sometimes!
- Electro/Wave are your keys to victory here. You do not want to play Galactus on turn 6 unless you absolutely have to! If it comes down to this, there will probably be better win conditions in your hand instead.
- Keep an eye on priority at all times as it's easily the most important mechanic for this deck. Knowing who flips first will allow you to make the correct plays on important turns.
There are MANY ways your hand can unfold with this deck, but your ultimate goal should be getting Galactus out by turn 4 or 5. If you can't do that, you'll have to explore other win conditions.
- Snapping and Retreating
Understanding when to snap and when to retreat is essential. I call it "Snap Discipline" and once I figured out this part of the game, I sailed up the ladder. I'll try to explain when and why I snap with this deck to help you make better decisions in your own games.
- Early snaps. If I have an absolutely stellar opening hand that includes Wave, Galactus and Spider-Man by turn 3, I will snap very early. Having Wolverine out on turn 2 is a nice bonus, but almost always gives away your strat.
Identifying the type of deck your opponent is playing as quickly as possible will also help you determine whether you can land Galactus or not. If you suspect a turn 4 counter (of which many exist), then be very careful snapping early. This includes cards like Debrii, Polaris, Cosmo, Viper, a cheeky Titania, etc. Priority matters as well. If you have it, they cannot stop your Galactus from destroying the board.
- Mid-game snaps. The majority of my mid-game snaps happen if I've played Electro, followed up by a good Doc Oc or Hobgoblin and I've got Galactus. If Doc pulls something like Cosmo, Shang-Chi or other big counters/win conditions from your opponent's hand, hit the button! The bulk of your snaps will probably happen here.
- Late-game snaps. I generally don't recommend snapping on turn 6, as your opponent will be able to tell that they're going to lose and you'll only get 1 cube instead of 2 when they retreat. Sometimes it's better to just not snap at all if you haven't by this point. And with Galactus being so telegraphed, they will either have an answer for it and steal your cubes or they won't and they'll retreat. This is a fun deck with a good win rate, but it doesn't gain a ton of cubes.
- Retreats. I recommend retreating if you get unfavorable locations (like TVA, District X, Weird World, etc), if your opponent has clear counters for Galactus or if you have a terrible draw (all high cards with no ramps). Not having Galactus is usually a bad sign, but it's not totally impossible to win without him. It's just a bit risky and you'll have to get creative on turn 6. Better to retreat when things aren't looking good and save yourself some cubes. Remember: You can lose seven "1 cube" games in a row, then win a single "8 cube" game and still come out positive!
- Meta Matchups
Thanos
- Thanos decks can be a problem, but they're not totally impossible to beat. The main issue is that they come in so many flavors that it's hard to tell what counters they'll have access to. Some variations will take advantage of your strategy as well, like when they also run Death/Knull. Other forms will be running Shang-Chi, Cosmo, Leech and even Magneto, so keep an eye out for that. If the Thanos player Snaps, it usually means they know exactly what you're trying to do and have an answer for it, so be very careful.
Shuri
- Post-nerf Shuri isn't as big of a challenge as she used to be, but if they figure out which lane you want to drop Galactus in, this can be a problem. They have the possibility of overpowering your final lane in certain circumstances, but the real problem is that they almost always have Cosmo, Titania and sometimes Polaris. You'll usually want to run Doc Oc against her instead of Hobgoblin and hope you pull their win conditions out. I don't mind this matchup personally, but those are some things you'll want to be aware of.
Galactus
- Running into a Galactus mirror match can be fun, but tricky. It will usually come down to whoever has the better draw, but you can also try to outplay them and use locations in creative ways. You should try to fill their lanes with Goblins to deny their Galactus, or use Destroyer if they clog you with theirs. Doc Oc can be massive here too if he manages to pull key cards. These matches will generally come down to luck, but sometimes having a larger IQ will win as well.
Electro/Sandman
- This is one of the most unfun archetypes to play against in the game. Lucky for you, it doesn't affect you that much. World Eater is basically designed to play a single card per turn anyway, so Sandman won't (typically) kill your strat. He can definitely shutdown a turn 6 Knull/Death combo, but you should still be able to win as long as you've put Galactus out. Electro/Sandman doesn't generally have big cards other than the occasional Dino and you can answer that with a Shang-Chi or overpower it with a Knull or Destroyer. Also watch out for Odin. They love to send your goblins back to you with him. Overall, I don't mind this matchup tbh, but if you have a bad hand, it's probably best to retreat.
- Additional Info
Here are some quick tips I learned about this deck to help you climb!
- Suggested Swaps: If you think Wolverine is too much of a giveaway, you can swap in Daredevil to give you invaluable turn 5 info, or Jeff to steal cubes from players who stop your Galactus with Prof. X. If you don't have Knull, you can swap in Chavez as a replacement to increase your drawing odds instead. If you don't like the Spider-Man combo, you can swap in Shuri/Nimrod and try to synergize that around Wolverine or setup for a decent turn 6 Galactus play when all else fails. There are other swaps you could make to match your own flavor, but these are the best forms of the deck I've found in my testing.
- Electro vs Wave - What to do if you have both on turn 3: This depends on your hand. If you have Galactus and Spider-Man, you're going to want to play Wave. If you have Doc Oc or Hobgoblin and Galactus, you're going to want to play Electro.
- Remember that a turn 3 Wave also allows your opponent to play a big drop, where Electro will only benefit you! You can also use Wave on turn 5 to shutdown combo decks like Sera!
- Keep your options open by playing Wolverine, Electro and Wave in the same lane during the early game! You'll want more than one spot available for Galactus whenever possible. This will make it harder for your opponent to counter you.
- Generally, you'll want to play your Goblins into the same lane as Galactus, but this is also a dead giveaway for your strat and gives your opponent plenty of time to counter. If you land the Goblins and they still Snap, this usually means they have an answer for your Galactus.
- Using Destroyer to clear rocks, squirrels, goblins and other lane cloggers can salvage otherwise lost matches, so use him accordingly!
- Sometimes, taking advantage of an opponent's Cosmo or Armor will allow you to make big plays with Destroyer if Galactus is no longer an option.
- Destroyer can also retrigger your Wolverine buff on the final turn, so keep that in mind when you're doing final calculations!
- Potential anti-Galactus cards to be aware of: Aero, Polaris, Debrii, Viper, Cosmo, Titania, Magneto, Doc Oc, Goblins, Prof. X, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Shang-Chi, Iron Man, Goose and probably more I can't think of right now. All of these are problems for Galactus in some way or another. He actually has a LOT of counters and troublesome cards to deal with!
- A lot of people ask why I don't include Nimrod/Shuri in this deck and honestly, it's because I think they suck. For example, I've had my Shuri powered Nimrod get immediately Shang-Chi'd, which ruined my Galactus setup for next turn. I just don't like the combo personally and Shuri has even less value in this deck post-nerf since she no longer sets up a -16 Hobgoblin for the Galactus lane. Spider-Man is a much, much better option in my opinion, but I've kept them as suggestions in case you'd like to try it.
- Like I said before, this deck has a decent win rate, but it won't grab a ton of cubes. Usually 1 or 2 at the most. It's so predictable now that people either Snap if they can stop it, or retreat if they can't. There's usually no middle ground.
- Never straight up retreat, always use "Retreat Later" - This will save you lots of cubes and only cost you a few extra seconds.
Hope this helps and good luck out there! You got this!