Introducing the leader of the Dark Elves, Malekith is a 4/6 that adds a random 1,2, or 3-cost card from your deck to his location, which is revealed at the end of the game. This effect resembles something like Invisible Woman, where only you can see the card you’ve pulled. Additionally, Malekith will not pull a higher-cost card whose Cost you manually reduced (for instance, if you used Zabu to lower your 4-cost cards’ Cost, Malekith will still not pull them out.)
Cards That Synergize With Malekith
In retrospect, this deck-thinning mechanic is similar to what America Chavez used to do—of course, Malekith is not the same, as he only affects your draws for the final two turns. Malekith feels much more like a well-stat Jubilee but with significantly lower flexibility. Still, this can be powerful for combo decks requiring specific cards to complete their plays. With Malekith allowing a free and somewhat calculated draw, these decks get one step closer to their desired combos.
Since this card’s ability is so random, finding specific card synergies for him is slightly challenging. In most cases, it largely depends on the overall deck and what it wants to accomplish. Regardless, you want to play Malekith as early as possible for that deck-thinning and potential Snap condition.
Like Jubilee, Malekith is another free-pull card that'll work with Lockjaw, albeit a less efficient one. Since Malekith has 6 Power, there's a chance you might replace him with a lower-power card—an unsatisfactory trade-off.
However, if you look beyond the Power output, the main strategy here is to thin your deck even quicker and have your combos in hand. Later on, you might even draw Malekith again and use him to pull out another card.
Hydra Bob and Silk have some of the highest base Power in their respective Cost categories. However, their only downside is their erratic and unpredictable movement, which Malekith can easily eliminate.
By making them reveal after the game ends, they can't move to a different location, and if you consider the overall Power output, Malekith pulling out either Bob or Silk makes him a 4/11, which is still fairly powerful.
Looking strictly at the 2-cost category, these three cards work well the most with Malekith. Shadow King, of course, is the strongest tech card in this category and arguably in all of Marvel Snap. He has the second-highest Play Rate in the game, and by being such a fierce counter to so many cards, he’s easily a must-have choice that can act as a surprise factor.
Similarly, U.S. Agent is another card that can catch players off-guard, thanks to Malekith. Since he’ll be hidden from your opponents, they may unknowingly put 4,5,and 6-costs at his location. And, once he’s revealed at the end of the game, your opponents get a massive debuff.
Dazzler’s synergy is slightly weaker than the other two, but it does somewhat work in the sense that Malekith fills two spots in a lane. This makes it easier to trigger her ongoing ability and gain +2 Power. After all, filling one location with Malekith is easy, and Dazzer at 4 Power would make Malekith a 4/10, a healthy stat line.
Moving onto the 3-cost category, these cards would definitely be a high roll for Malekith. Sage and Hit Monkey, in any circumstance, should be played as late as possible, and with Malekith guaranteeing that outcome, it’s a win-win situation. Both cards are plausibly the ideal things to pull, and with Sage’s respectable 62.61% Win Rate alongside Hit Monkey’s 66.08% Win Rate, they’ll likely deliver massive results.
Juggernaut is a surprise option—he’s already a Cube stealer thanks to his unpredictable ability, and if Malekith pulls him for free, it’s usually an instant Snap condition. Given that Juggernaut’s 6.54% Play Rate suggests he’s slowly coming back into the meta as a counter to Surtur decks, he’s one of the few cards for Malekith that wouldn’t feel shoehorned in.
Lastly, Gladiator has a simple purpose: to provide big Power. Cassandra Nova has generally rendered Gladiator obsolete, but since Malekith reveals cards at the end, Cass’s Power output in that scenario would be terrible. Gladiator, on the other hand, remains a 3/8 in all scenarios. On top of that, there’s a good chance your opponents will fill their side of the location, so Gladiator won’t go through the risk of pulling something devastating.
Day 1 Malekith Decks To Get You Started
When it comes to Malekith’s decks, the last thing you want him to do is pull out a card that gets worse the later you play—Cassandra Nova, Nico Minoru, Zabu, and more. Unfortunately, only a few meta-relevant decks are currently full of these proactive cards, limiting Malekith’s overall flexibility. Still, if you want to make him work, there are some options you can consider.
Malekith's Toxic Affliction
This is perhaps the only deck in Marvel Snap with a firm spot in the meta and can work with Malekith. With a solid 0.74 Cube Rate, it can be lethal against Surtur and Bounce, which are also prominent decks in post-infinite matches.
Aside from Silver Sable and Cassandra Nova, almost every card here would benefit from being pulled for free. Additionally, once you get them, you can have a better chance of getting your location-winning cards like Man-Thing and Ajax. There are also ample sub-4-cost cards here, meaning there's always a huge chance you're Malekith will pull out a card before you draw it naturally.
Hela Hell Cow
Hela isn't necessarily too popular in the meta these days, but Malekith may still have a firm spot in her deck. There are a few reasons why Malekith works here, which are as follows:
- By thinning the deck, he makes it more likely to draw Hela.
- He gives Jubilee a better chance to pull out a high-cost card.
- He's a solid Blink target who can use Malekith to pull out Hela or another 6-cost card.
- He can pull out a Luke Cage, which is usually a card the deck must play.
Of course, there are several instances where Malekith might not work. Since the Hela deck only has three cards below 4-cost, there's a likely chance you'll draw all of them before Turn 4. Also, you don't want Blade or Lady Sif pulled by this card, as Hela wouldn't resurrect their targets. Thus, you must be mindful of when you should and shouldn't play Malekith.
Is Malekith Worth It?
Malekith is one of those “big Power” 4-cost cards, but given how clunky and vulnerable he is, he doesn't feel like a strong purchase at the moment. An Alioth, Cosmo, or Echo, can completely shut down any surprise play he may have.
Thus, when you consider that both Cosmo and Alioth are dominant forces in the meta, especially at higher ranks, justifying Malekith becomes even tougher. He just seems disjointed—there’s barely any deck that fully uses him, and most cards are either equally effective or worse when they're revealed at the end of the game.
Looking at the Spotlight week, the only card worth getting is Thena. So, if you have her in your collection, there's little need to spend Spotlight keys on Malekith. Valentina, although somewhat more relevant thanks to Surtur, is still not enticing enough to spend Spotlight keys. All in all, a finicky card in a mediocre Spotlight week is very close to a no-go.
Conclusion
That wraps up my guide on Malekith, where I've detailed how he works, along with some core card and deck synergies you can test out. As mentioned, this card isn't as attractive as the others this season, so it's best to wait and see how he performs if you're low on Spotlight keys or Collector's Tokens.
What are your feelings on Malekith? Is he an underrated card that could sneakily climb the ranks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!