The second Golden Gauntlet Qualifier is behind us. Over 700 players and 73 finished with a high enough score to secure their invite to November’s World tournament. After a cut to top 16, we were left with one winner with a very familiar and comfortable deck. Electricflame took the crown piloting a classic Apocalypse Khonshu Discard deck!
Discard is a fan favourite. It’s a staple archetype that continues to receive support, whether that’s by new cards releasing or new locations. My first ever infinite season was the release of MODOK which really solidified the deck as a playable archetype. We can see now, all those years later, that the core of the deck hasn’t changed all that much.
Electricflame took a deck that many see as a starter deck and ran through the tourney with it, only losing once in the swiss rounds. I had to take the opportunity to get their perspective on Discard and the Golden Gauntlet itself.
Electricflame, how long have you been playing Marvel Snap and do you have experience with other competitive card games?
I have been playing Marvel Snap since its open beta in October of 2022. I took about a 6 month break from the game in 2023 but have played relatively consistently since then. There has been the occasional season where I haven’t played much due to lack of interest in the meta or other things in life taking priority.
I have experience with other card games such as MtG (not arena, I play paper) particularly the Commander format in its competitive form CEDH. I also played Legends of Runeterra for a long time when it was still supported, frequently hitting masters rank but not quite achieving a high enough ladder rank to make into regional qualifying tournaments.
What rank do you typically hit in Marvel Snap seasons? What’s your highest rank? What’s your collection level. Basically I’m asking, how do you play Marvel Snap?
I usually end my seasons in the 80 to 90 range, though I have been Infinite in 4 or 5 different seasons. As far as post infinite, I believe my max rank was somewhere in the 7000s. In the seasons that I don’t hit infinite it’s usually due to time constraints that prevent me from grinding all the way. My collection level is currently just under 14k. I have slightly accelerated that with money but it’s mostly just from playing the game as long as I have.
Are you “Collection Complete?” How do you find keeping up with the increase of new cards and the shifting metagames?
I am actually not Collection Complete. As of the date of the tournament, I am missing 53 snap cards, mostly series 5 with a handful of series 4. Keeping up with releasing cards is very challenging, especially as someone who doesn’t spend much money on Marvel Snap. However, with good gameplay and use of the snap mechanic, it is totally possible to climb in Marvel Snap without having the best cards. Usually if I don’t have a card, I will try to substitute a card that I do have that may be slightly worse but still functional.
What kind of preparation did you do leading up to the Golden Gauntlet?
Honestly not all that much. Just tested a few decks in conquest mode to see how they would perform. I found out about the tournament due to an in-game announcement a little over a week beforehand and made the snap decision to sign up. That didn’t leave much time for preparation. To be completely honest, when I saw I could register for the tournament my only thought was that I was pretty sure I could do well and make it to worlds. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I was going to win the whole thing.
The Deck
A classic. A fine wine. Apocalypse Discard. Tell us how you decided to land on this deck for the tourney.
Dracula was one of the first cards I unlocked when I hit series 3 for the first time back in 2023 and I immediately fell in love. At the time, Drac + Apoc was very strong for the simple reason there was no way to interact with it, as in this period of the games life cycle the really only relevant tech cards were Shang Chi, Cosmo, and Enchantress. None of these do anything to Dracula even though cosmo can stop a discard or two if played effectively.
In 2025, there are more options for dealing with the deck, but due to new toys over the years like M.O.D.O.K., Scorn, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, and most recently Khonshu, the deck has a lot of flexibility and resilience towards the best tech pieces in the game. It also is very resilient to bad locations due to cards like Khonshu and Proxima Midnight being able to access difficult locations, as well as Morbius and Dracula being able to carry locations with negative power where playing multiple cards significantly hurt power output.
As I got ready for the tournament I actually originally wasn’t going to play discard. I had thrown together a ragtag Arishem list with the thought process being if everyone can see my list I want to be able to surprise them with cards they don’t know about. On initial testing in conquest, the deck actually performed relatively well. The more I played it however, the more I started to struggle. About two hours before the decklist submission deadline, I decided to switch to my discard deck. I realized I wasn’t familiar enough with Arishem to be able to play it at a tournament level, and while discard lacks interaction for opponents, it performs incredibly consistently. I have a ton of experience playing the deck which is why I eventually chose to play it, and I’m incredibly glad I did!
Let’s talk about Khonshu. Would you say he’s an equal star with Apocalypse at the top end or is he a replaceable piece that you enjoyed playing?
Khonshu is not quite at the star level as Apocalypse, but what he does do is tap into one of discard archetype’s greatest strengths, consistency. Khonshu gives you the freedom to play Corvus and Gambit even if Dracula and Morbius are in hand due to his ability to bring your power pieces back. You can also intentionally hide Dracula and Morbius inside Khonsu to protect them from interaction until turn six.
The final point for Khonshu is the sheer power potential he brings to the table. The potential for 24 power on turn 6 or more if you bring back Dracula or Morbius cannot be overstated. Not to mention it can swing even harder if Dracula has been played on a previous turn.
The one downside for Khonshu that may result in his eventual removal from the deck is Stardust. Depending on how high Stardust’s playrate is will determine Khonshu’s continued viability. However, Stardust also stops Proxima, so it may just be a situation of if Stardust is everywhere, this version of discard won’t be viable.
The biggest exclusion from this list would be Swarm. How come they didn’t make the cut?
I personally am not a big fan of Swarm for a variety of reasons. For one, I have had a topdeck Swarm when I plan to play M.O.D.O.K on turn six screw up a Dracula into Apocalypse one too many times. Granted, Corvus somewhat alleviates this problem in the deck, but if you don’t draw him, you can run into problems on turn 6. I am a fairly aggressive snapper, so I don’t like surprises that late in the game.
Additionally, I feel Swarm has just become a much worse card since released. 3 power is not all that much in today’s landscape of cards. Its 0 energy for 6 power can be strong, but with locations like The Sandbar and cards like Gorgon and especially Mobius completely shuts the card down and turns into a problem for the deck rather than a help. The final point against Swarm is that it does not regenerate; it adds copies to your hand. This means Khonshu could potentially bring Swarm back instead of the card you actually want to bring back, lowering the deck’s consistency.
Finals
How did you feel about your matchup into the Morgan deck? The Air Walker Morgan Combo is relatively new. Did you have any prior experience playing against it?
I had literally no experience playing against the Morgan deck, not even on ladder. I could get a sense for what it did from the list but not really get a true understanding of the deck’s strengths, weaknesses, and power ceiling. However, I am very familiar with destroy in general and felt that I could win on power considering neither deck really interacted with each other.
The first major cube blow was you losing 4 cubes. You knew your Dracula was going to be 22 Power, but that didn’t leave much in the other locations? What was the thought process behind staying here?
The short answer is I like to take risks, and not having played against a Morgan deck, I was not aware of the sheer power that the deck can drop out of nowhere. As such I thought 17 power might be enough to hold left with him having no cards there at the time. If I was in the same situation knowing what I know now, I’d probably retreat.
The reason I am willing to take such a risky play and lose four cubes is in conquest, I treat cubes like a resource. I think this habit comes somewhat from my experience in competitive commander where I like to play decks using cards like Ad Nauseum that use my life total as a resource. To summarize, losing four cubes in this situation is worth gaining the information about the power level of my opponent’s deck. Sure it puts me behind, but it doesn’t lose me the game and gives me the most important resource of all: knowledge.
With the Nexus game, were you worried about Nico Minoru’s location changing ability? That would be a devastating loss at that point. Morgan just brought Nico back to hand. What was the game plan for this turn 6 if they didn’t retreat?
To be totally honest, I didn’t even think about Nico’s ability to change locations. Call it tournament pressure or nerves, but in the heat of the moment it didn’t cross my mind. Even if I thought about Nico’s ability, probably the only difference in my gameplay would have been holding my snap. I think it’s objectively wrong to play around a 1 in 7 chance of Nico rolling location changing. If it happened and I had lost it is what it is; that’s just the nature of card games. Considering that Nico changing Nexus was literally his only way to win that match, I’ll take those odds any day of the week.
You presented them with a classic game of “Guess where the Apoc goes.” Watching it live many were screaming to play Apoc mid. You played it right and completely outplayed not just the opponent but all of us watching. Talk to us about that decision.
So this outplay comes from a thought process that I commonly employ to great success on the ranked ladder. In situations such as this, I don’t think about what my opponent is going to do. Instead, I try to predict what my opponent thinks I am going to do, and then just do the opposite.
Specifically for this scenario, the power disparity after turn 5 was greater on the right than the middle. Left was won because no one in their right mind challenges a Khonshu buffed Morbius and a Dracula sitting in the same lane. As such, most players would throw their biggest unit (Apoc in this case) in the middle because it’s the closest in power so therefore easier to win. Knowing that Canadian Alfredo would probably think this, I go for the “wrong play” because he’s going to counter my “correct play” with Death and other units.
In the last game, Machineworld as the contested location could have caused some trouble with your Dracula needing to discard the right thing. Did you consider retreating or did drawing Morbius seal the deal for you?
I would never retreat in this scenario simply because I had 3 cubes and Canadian Alfredo had 2. If I retreat, I lose those 2 which is exactly what would also happen if I just lose normally at this stage of the match. Not to mention discard is my favorite deck, I have eternal faith in boy Apoc.
The top deck Morbius was insane though, and I reacted as much when I saw it saying to myself, there is no way he can put 20 power here in one turn without Death. Death would have cost 5 or 6 because he didn’t destroy any cards on turns 1 - 3, so I was confident he could not generate enough power mid.
I was also confident that Dracula, no matter what he discarded, could carry right because the Morgan deck plays a bunch of cheap cards at once, which means Negative Zone hurts that deck way more than it hurts me.
The third and final Golden Gauntlet Qualifier is coming up on October 11. What advice do you have for players of any skill level for competing in the qualifier?
Play a deck you are familiar with, don't necessarily just go for what may have the best numbers or win percentages in the current meta game. As good as those decks can be, at the end of the day, nothing beats your experience of what you bring to the table as a pilot and a person. Also, GLHF!!
MY Golden Gauntlet Run
Another Golden Gauntlet, another chance for a World’s invite. Unfortunately for me I wasn’t able to get it but I still had some good games. I went in using the deck that got me to Infinite this season, a variation on Victoria Hand decks which features some a couple tech cards others don’t use. This deck was suggested by F0x (the previous Golden Gauntlet winner).
My first loss was in round 1 of all places! This deck was made by ImJosh and wow was it spicy. Fusing the Wiccan Quicksilver Domino package with Darkhawk has been seen before, but this version offered a fun twist: Dracula. By adding Dracula, Galactus First Steps, and Giganto they were able to apply high power pressure across multiple lanes. I was not prepared for something like this!
My second loss, the one that knocked me out of contention for a World’s Invite, was in round 5 and was none other than Nimrod Destroy! Sometimes a combo deck is the play. In a mode like Conquest if you can retreat enough small 1 cube losses, but make them up with combo wins you can get ahead and win. I had absolutely no way to deal with Symbiote Spider-Man and Nimrod, which is funny because I had thought about including Stardust the night prior! The best part is that my opponent, LadyDaimana, was under 3000 Collection Level. That’s the crazy thing about tournaments, anyone can come in and with the right angle do well.
The third and final chance for me and anyone else to qualify for World’s is on October 11. Are you going to compete? I know I am. If we’ve learned anything from Electricflame’s win it’s that you don’t have to be a top100 ladder grinder in order to win. Anyone can be a Golden Gauntlet Champion!
What are your thoughts on Golden Gauntlet? Have you been a competitor? Are you watching them live? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the buzz this is creating around the Snap community.
Giveaway
To celebrate Golden Gauntlet we’re giving away 1 Visions of the Future Season Pass! To enter for the random giveaway, do one of these two things:
Comment below with your discord name and what you thought about this recent Golden Gauntlet tournament
Like and Comment on the X post with what you thought about this recent Golden Gauntlet tournament
The winner will be randomly selected and chosen on Wednesday September 10 at daily reset. Good luck!