Hello Fellow Snappers!
My name is Drewberry and I've been making Marvel Snap content since Beta. Today we're deep diving into the Marvel Snap's latest addition: ALIOTH
Alioth is one of the MOST hyped up datamined cards since it was discovered approximately 2 months ago. Originally it was a 5 energy card! But quickly Second Dinner made a reasonable adjustment to increase Alioths energy cost to 6. At 5 this would have been the most broken card in the game... at 6, this is still a monster play with incredible game-winning potential.
Alioth is extremely versatile, not necessarily being limited to destroy decks, in fact I believe lockdown decks will make superior use of this ability. Locking up 1 lane for a turn 6 Alioth in another seems like a very potent method to winning many games. Cheating out Alioth early for Arnim Zola shenanigans or even possibly Absorbing man / Odin could become a viable strategy.
On paper, this card has every bit of potential to make a big shift in the meta. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Alioth does not make the cut into a few top tier lists. However evaluating cards prior to their release is a big challenge when we look at Loki or Legion, two cards that stunned the community.
That said, I've brewed some really spicy decks that I believe will make great use of Alioth. Let's find out if Alioth is a SNAP or PASS.
Week of 9/5 - Spotlights
Alioth Tips & Mechanics:
- If Wolverine/X-23/Bucky Barnes/Sabretooth/Colossus/Armor/Professor X etc. haven't been revealed, they WILL be permanently destroyed.
- Knull will still absorb the power of the destroyed cards even if they weren't revealed.
- Unrevealed cards that are destroyed will still be considered destroyed and discount Death. They can also still be revived by Phoenix Force.
- If Alioth is played behind Invisible Woman or Dark Dimension before the final turn, it will still only destroy cards played on the final turn. Likewise if the opponent plays cards behind Invisible Woman or Dark Dimension, only cards played during Alioth's reveal will be destroyed.
- If Alioth is moved prior to revealing (Stegron/Juggernaut/Aero), it will destroy the cards of where it was originally played.
- If a card is played, revealed at the Alioth location, then moved, Alioth will still destroy it in the other lane. Example:
Player 1 w/ Priority: Ironfist (Right) -> Vulture (Right to Mid)
Player 2: Alioth (Right)
= Ironfist & Vulture Destroyed.
Alioth Theorycrafted Decklists!
Berry Control
This infinite list brought me to the almighty infinite rank in back to back seasons. Previously I used Orka as a big finisher, and whale let me tell you, it was a lot of fun. But I see Alioth taking Orka's spot as a more guaranteed method of winning matches. Essentially the goal is to win a location leading up to the final turn. We can achieve this easily with daredevil/prof x or wave into destroyer. The final turn we play Alioth and steal some cubes. I’ve also opted to exchange lizard in for armor and rescue in for Attuma, time will tell if these substitutes work but I feel as though they compliment Alioth’s gameplan better.
Checkmate
Truthfully.. this is a sad day. Galactus lovers unite, the toxic combo of playing Galactus into spiderman for a guaranteed win has returned.. but instead of our web slinging hero, a giant purple cloud is here to establish… a checkmate. Ramp into your galactus, play him at a favorable location and follow up with a turn 6 guaranteed win Alioth for profit. This deck will be strong for grinding ladder. Historically Galactus decks have proven that these checkmate scenarios result in amazing cube gains. The wins won't be as frequent because you need specific draws, but snap early enough when you recognize your wincon and you'll at least walk away with 2 cubes.
Alioth Destruction
Possibly my least favorite home for Alioth on paper is in a standard destroy package, but regardless I think it's still worth exploring. Essentially we've removed Shang-Chi for Alioth, effectively aiming to do the same thing but with the upside of hitting smaller cards and avoiding their on reveals. The downside is that Alioth is more expensive than Shang-Chi so we've included some ramp options that naturally fit in this archetype such as wave & X-23. The goal is to destroy something powerful or vital to our opponents strategy and use that power against them with Knull.
Galaxy Brain
This decklist is for those who like to have FUN. The theme here is a bunch of cards that require you to guess where your opponent will play to reap rewards. Cards such as the Guardians of the Galaxy, Alioth and Juggernaut. I don’t expect a High Cube Rate with this list but it sure seems like a good time.
In conclusion, ALIOTH looks every bit powerful as it is hyped up to be. There are methods to countering this card, like most powerful 6-drops, but I fully expect this to become a meta staple and a card to be VERY wary of going into turn 6. Alioth is a Series 5 card, costing 6000 tokens, this is not cheap so I highly recommend using Spotlight Caches if you're interested in Alioth and have a few caches saved up. Alioth is a certified... SNAP!
Thanks for reading!