With Morbius and Angela, we’ve seen how powerful and devastating an early-game scaler can get, and Thena is another card making her way to this group. As a 2-Cost and 1-Power card, she’ll gain +3 Power if you play exactly 2 cards each turn. This DOES include the turn you play her, and playing any card that adds further cards to your side of the board counts towards her ability (so playing Mysterio won’t give her +3 Power that turn as it adds 3 cards.)
Cards That Synergize With Thena
Unlike Morbius or Angela, whose ability is triggered fairly easily, Thena feels much more restrictive because you regularly avoid high-cost cards. Therefore, the pairings and cards you should look for should be small but multi-faceted.
Kitty Pryde
Kitty is an obvious choice since you can replay her each turn alongside another card. She’s extremely agile, has minimal requirements, synergizes with many cards that benefit Thena, and even lets you play a 4-Cost or 5-Cost card in later turns.
Angela
Another powerful early-game scaler you should pair with Thena is Angela. She’s a staple in Bounce decks thanks to her latest buff, and like Thena, she can easily reach insane amounts of Power if you play her early. Since your objective in Marvel Snap is to win 2 locations, you can put Angela and Thena on separate lanes and watch as the Power increases tenfold as the match progresses.
Nico Minoru
I always recommend Nico because of her versatility when you’re looking for strong 1-Cost cards. After pairing her with Thena, you can use her spells creatively, like drawing more cards for better curve opportunities or duplicating a Kitty Pryde, Angela, or even Thena herself.
Cull Obsidian
This is just a big brute of power that you can lay down to increase your winning odds in a location drastically. Because Cull’s nature allows him to slot into various low-cost decks, you can often play him on Turn 5 or 6 with at least 1 more card, fulfilling Thena’s criteria. This card is a great addition to Thena decks, where you can effectively use up a fair chunk of Energy in later turns.
Ravonna Renslayer
As a 2/1, Thena falls under Ravonna’s ability to reduce her Cost by 1, making her 50% cheaper. It’s not a massive discount, but Ravonna is usually included in decks with early-game scalers like Havok and Angela, so she can also be a great fit for Thena. Besides, having a 1-Cost card that can go to 10 Power and beyond seems more compelling.
Hope Summers
What is the best way to play out cards? Of course, with extra energy! Hope Summers will allow you to play out the appropriate number of cards to meet Thena's condition and let you sneak out a higher-cost card alongside the low-cost card rather than two lower-cost cards. More energy and more power? Sign me up!
Wasp/Yellowjacket
I leave these two up to the brewers, but there is an obvious synergy between playing a certain number of cards and utilizing cards that cost 0. Could Wasp, Yellowjacket, and Thena fit into a Hit Money package? Potentially, but I leave it to the brewers.
Luke Cage
Ever heard of this guy? It is all fine and dandy putting up big stats with Thena until Shadow King comes to ruin your day. You can fit in Luke Cage while meeting Thena's condition, whether following a more affliction-based strategy or just a tech card in a list predominately with low-cost cards.
Absalon's Day 1 Thena Decks
You’ll usually find Thena as your highest-power card on the board when you’re centering a deck around her. Since the target is to play low-cost cards, you should ideally choose different Bounce decks that utilize small but impactful plays. Another thing to note is that you must play Thena as soon as possible to get the most out of her—playing her on Turn 5 or 6 isn’t worth it.
Bouncing Mayhem
Among the top 30 in popularity, this deck is inspired by one of the most popular Bounce lists in Marvel Snap, featuring several low-cost cards and securing a strong Win Rate of 53.75% and a Cube Rate of 0.36. With Thena in the mix, you have Sage, Angela, and the Demons from The Hood as your backups for strong Power. Bast is another key player to raise your cards’ base Power, so be sure to utilize him when you have a populated hand.
Return To Thanos
If you’re looking for a big, meaty Power that fully utilizes Thena, this is probably your best bet. With Thanos’ stones, you can often play a minimum of 2 cards each turn. In later turns you can use Cull Obsidian and Ms. Marvel alongside an Infinity Stone or Kitty Pryde. And finally, on Turn 6, you can play a Red Hulk or Thanos with Yellowjacket as another dump of Power while boosting Thena.
High Evo’s Company
High Evolutionary LOVES floating Energy, and since you’ll likely have tons of Energy after each turn with Thena, it’ll play in favor of most of your other cards in the deck. This list is already battle-tested with an incredible 58.1% Win Rate and a 0.57 Cube Rate, and having an early-game scaler like Thena, who synergizes well with many High Evo cards, makes for an interesting overall experience.
Quake and Jeff are flexible slots here, but I’ve included them for added versatility. Jeff is just a great card with all the Professor X decks running around in the meta, and Quake is a powerful disruption tool.
Negative Thena
The theme of this deck, like most Mr. Negative decks, is to play Mr. Negative as soon as possible and enjoy the rest of the match with overpowered lost-cost cards. Ravonna and Negative cut Thena’s cost by half, while the rest of the deck comprises mostly 1-Cost and 2-Cost cards you can play on curve. This deck is inspired by a popular Mr. Negative list with an impressive 54.63% Win Rate and 0.55 Cube Rate, making it an attractive deck that’s fun to play.
Variants
Conclusion
That wraps up my guide on Thena in Marvel Snap, where I’ve detailed cards and decks that should synergize with her from the get-go. Thena has a lot of potential, but you shouldn’t expect her to be the next Angela because, as I mentioned, she’s much tougher to play. Her restrictions are significantly more challenging to escape, making her ease-of-use feel between Angela and Havok.
How do you feel about Thena coming to Marvel Snap? Do you think she’s overpowered? Share your thoughts in the comments below!