Welcome to the Complete Sanctum Showdown Guide! Myself and Joffery, an expert with numbers surrounding the limited time mode, are excited to break down all things Sanctum Showdown. This new limited time game mode starts February 25th and runs until March 11th. You can win points that can be used as Charms in the Charm shop to purchase rewards like brand new cards, Uncle Ben, Laufey, and Gorgon, unowned series 4 or 5 cards, and cosmetics like borders and emotes.
Major Changes to Sanctum Showdown!
The Marvel Snap balance team handed down some major changes to the current limited time game mode including several additional bans! Take a look at the press release and stick around for the rest of the article with decks, tips, and info about Sanctum Showdown!
From Second Dinner:
“Hello fellow sorcerers!
It's been awesome to see the community dive into Sanctum Showdown. We've learned a lot from all of you, so we're going to make a few small updates to the game mode today.
- Disabling hot and featured locations: Madripoor was featured this week, but we've updated the game mode to remove future hot and featured locations.
- Banning Altar of Death: We decided to keep a few locations that are hard to contest, but offer other benefits. However, Altar of Death has proven to not be as fun as some of the other ones, so we've removed it.
- Banning more cards: While our initial banned list was pretty big, we were really trying to be conservative and avoid banning any cards that might turn out to be enjoyable in the game mode. After seeing the metagame that developed, we've decided to remove a few of the cards proving to be head and shoulders above the cut:
- Cannonball
- Negasonic Teenage Warhead
- Makkari
- Rocket & Groot
- Scream
The first four probably make sense to everyone, as they've demonstrated themselves to be playable alongside any strategy and very impactful in determining the outcome of the game. Scream isn't as widely useful as the other cards we're banning, but the Scream deck does eat away at some of the core fun of Sanctum Showdown, which is deciding where to position your own cards. We don't mind a bit of disruption, but a top deck using it as a dominant strategy is rough. It's also punishing several other fun and fair cards in the game mode, shrinking the pool of viable choices more than we'd like.
Enjoy exploring the new metagame, and good luck on the journey to Sorcerer Supreme!”
This is a major shakeup and it should bring about a new meta with different decks! Personally, I think Scream is the only one I would have banned, but the others were nearly ubiquitous. So will this lead to a greater diversity of decks? Not necessarily. The general “good Sanctum cards” with Guardians decks will still be prominent, especially at middle MMR tiers where Scream wasn't as prevalent.
Moreover, this opens the door for classic movement decks to take over. They were already exceptionally strong and Scream and skill level were the only things keeping it in check. These decks are especially good at dodging Guardians hits. There are a few more ideas that were percolating just below the surface that may be able to rise now including various strategies involving Mockingbird, Death, or both. Affliction will also likely be on the rise as more people acquire Laufey.
Here are a few decks to try out in the brand new Sanctum Showdown meta:
Proven Winners
Sanctum II move
Sanctum II Kate Guardians
Sanctum II Zabu
Sanctum II Afflict
Rogue Concepts
Sanctum II DeathBird
Sanctum II Ongoing
Sanctum II Warm
Sanctum II Hela
How does the Sanctum work?
Scrolls are your entry fee. You'll draw 3 cards to start, plus one on the first turn, just like in a normal Snap game. One location will be designated as the Sanctum. On turns 1 and 2 one location is worth one point. Starting on turn 3 the Sanctum is worth 4 points and the other locations are worth 1 points each. You and your opponent can Snap to add a point to the Sanctum, so it can be worth up to 6 points. The first one to 16 points is the winner. You get points whether you win or lose, but if you win you get your Scroll back.
Free Scrolls
You 2 free scrolls every 8 hours—be sure to log in regularly to claim them. This system is designed to give you a steady, time-based supply of scrolls. By pacing your play and logging in periodically, you can accumulate scrolls without spending any gold.
Purchasing Scrolls
If you run out of free scrolls but want to continue playing, you can buy additional scrolls for 40 gold each. This option may become costly if you play frequently or if your win rate is low (resulting in more scrolls being lost). It is much more economical to just wait for your free scrolls to replenish rather than spending 40 gold.
Charms
Charms serve as the primary currency in the Sanctum Shop, where you can purchase various special event cards and cosmetics.
You can buy items that cost ‘Charms’ directly with gold, at approximately 1 Charm ≈ 1.35 gold.
Shop Offers
- 4× Random Series 4 or 5 Cards for roughly 3,000 gold
- 3 Event Cards, each costing about 1,620 gold
- Emotes for roughly 2,000 gold
These deals are very attractive compared to acquiring individual cards or cosmetics through standard in-game methods. Event cards are decent, and they are a steal at this price point. Random Series 4 or 5 cards can be really useful for near collection-complete players, especially when they are missing mostly Series 5 cards.
Does winning matter?
In the last limited time game mode, High Voltage, winning and losing didn't really matter much. If you really grinded out wins you could reach Agony one, maybe two mission resets early. So is this mode similar? This is from the official discord regarding reward expectations.
For absolute grinders that want to play hundreds of games of this mode to try to get multiple new cards and some additional items, winning will be crucial. Because you get your Scroll back if you win, it will be far easier to grind for long sessions if you never run out of entry fees. The refresh rate of just 2 scrolls per 8 hours means winning will feel important and it's going to be particularly frustrating for people who go on a short losing streak leaving them without a free way to play the mode.
You still get charms from losing, you just don't get your ticket back. If you're willing to wait for refreshes, pay 40 gold once in a while, or just aren't the kind of player who wants to grind out maximum rewards, the progression will feel different and less dependent on winning. For most though, I expect this mode to feel pretty cutthroat and competitive.
Basic deck construction principles
- High-stat 4-Costs are kings. Snapping and winning big on turn 4 is huge. Big 3s are also incredibly important, but the 4-Cost slot has a lot more options for big power, even more than among 5-Cost cards, surprisingly.
- Premium is placed on raw power output each turn. Having enough high-power 1s and 2s is also extra important in this mode compared to ladder. Set-up time is short and instant power is the priority.
- Movement is like free added value. You're not trying to win all three locations, you're trying to burn hard towards a win each turn so you don't need to save your resources or payoffs. Both self-moving cards and cards like Ghost-Spider and Doctor Strange will be useful.
- Free value is free value. Sam Wilson is likely extra good in the mode. Also Makkari and Yellowjacket are worth a look.
- High-cost cards mean less flexibility. You can’t play them until later turns and you may have already lost by then. Most 6s aren't necessarily built to just win a lane. Weirdly, there are a lot more 4-10 cards than 5-10. High power 4-Costs are kings!
Ranking System
Points & Rewards
- By accumulating 3,500 points from Sanctum Showdown matches, you can earn up to 4,750 Charms and 30 scrolls.
- Points are awarded for both wins and losses, although wins yield more points.
- Approximately it takes 350 matches if you average around 10 points per match.
- It can take 291 matches if you average 12 points per match.
Win Rate
- A win rate above 50% will help you reach 3,500 points faster, though it is not mandatory.
- Even with a 50% win rate, you can still reach 3,500 points—it will simply take more matches.
- If you have ample time, you can earn substantial rewards from this ranking system.
- 3,500 points is almost enough to buy all 3 event cards.
Card Choices
Some cards like Juggernaut, Debrii, and Quake are banned. There is a full list of banned cards at the bottom of this page. Here are the cards I am confident are better in this mode than on ladder (that's a relative statement, not a statement of outright power in the mode necessarily).
Remember, you're just trying to win turns so you don't mind sacrificing late game equity with cards like Maximus and Swordmaster; points are more important. Cull will be a beast in this mode. Unironic Stegron gaming?
The Guardians get their own section! Star Lord and Groot will be especially useful. When you know where your opponent is planning to play, they're way better! Did they plan this???
Ghost-Spider and Doctor Strange are great ways to shift everything you've done on the last turn to a new location on the following turn. They'll be preferable to bouncing your cards since that takes a turn to develop, whereas these are immediate.
Other Cards of Interest
Here are some cards that might be useful in the mode or are interesting in the mode in some way, but I'm not totally sure about without actually playing the mode and seeing its intricacies and what metagame develops. The ones I'm most excited to take for a spin in this mode are Shanna, Squirrel Girl, and White Widow.
If those two early points feel crucial to securing a win, cards like Squirrel Girl, Hydra Bob, and Yellowjacket are going to be great. If it turns out that Laser-focusing on winning the Sanctum with a Snap on turns 3 and 4 is the best strategy, then building up possibilities with cards like Zabu, Jeff, Iron Patriot, and Valentina may become an important strategy. Given the way points progress, that if being able to win reliably on turn 3 and 4 end up being the most important deck-building consideration, then cards like Cassandra Nova, Speed, Luna Snow, Cull Obsidian, Ares, and the Guardians of the Galaxy will be important, while Arishem may feel unstoppable at times.
Full List of banned cards
When do you expect games will end?
I do not expect many games to make it past turn 6, but it's an interesting consideration if it's worth building your deck in a way that you still have gas in the tank for long 7-8 turn games. Hand generation would be one way to do it. However, I expect the best decks to be ones that Snap aggressively and go all out and try to get a turn 5 kill.
Optimization Strategies
Since you receive 2 scrolls every 8 hours regardless of play, log in regularly to claim and use them. This helps minimize the need to spend gold on additional scrolls.
If you’re nearing a major milestone (such as the 3,500-point threshold), purchasing extra scrolls might help you reach the reward track faster.
Otherwise, waiting for your free scrolls is generally more cost-effective.
Currently, you can earn 12 scrolls and 600 Charms by watching your favorite Marvel Snap streamer for 6 hours on Twitch, which provides a free boost to your resources.
Buying Scrolls vs. Buying Charms Directly with Gold
Scroll Cost & Efficiency Benchmark
- Scroll Cost: 40 gold each
- You should aim to obtain around 30 Charms per purchased scroll to match the value of buying Charms directly (about 1.33 Charms per gold).
- If you’re not getting roughly 30 Charms from each scroll you buy, then directly purchasing Charms or Showdown Shop items is more efficient. Additionally, you might find yourself playing games for rewards without enjoying the process.
After Finishing the Main Reward Track
- Once you’ve reached 3,500 points and claimed 4,750 Charms and 30 scrolls, the incentive to buy additional scrolls for more points diminishes.
- If your win rate hovers around 50%, you’ll likely end up spending more time and gold while receiving fewer extra rewards.
- A stronger win rate (around 55% or higher) might justify purchasing scrolls after completing the reward track, although matchmaking typically balances most players near 50%.
Have realistic goals
The shop is chock full of goodies. Getting the full 7 new cards available is going to be an intense grind for most people that will make that goal unrealistic for most players. If you set a more reasonable goal like just your favorite of the 3 new cards and a handful of cosmetics you like, or just one unowned series 4 or 5 card you will likely be able to achieve that as long as you are reasonably committed to the mode while it's live.
This mode is a border lover's dream. There are unlimited purchases of some exclusive borders available including Matte Black. Remember, all three of the new cards will be available at Series 4 after the event. You only have to grind for Uncle Ben if you really want to. I know the Snap community is used to maxing out shops and rewards like this, but they've truly implemented a shop here where you will likely need to pick and choose which rewards are more important to you.
Final Thoughts
The amount and quality of the rewards makes Sanctum Showdown incredibly sweaty. Play something that wins to play early and find a way to counter your opponents later in the week. From myself and Joffrey, good luck and let us know which prizes you're prioritizing in the comments!