While Marvel Snap's gameplay is great, what I really love about Snap and other card games is the process of deck-building. I love finding ways to piece together different synergistic packages and interactive pieces to make a cohesive whole. Similar to sequencing or metagame knowledge, deck-building is a skill that requires mindful practice to level up. I've asked master deck-crafter Smlz, of the Snap Academy YouTube channel, to work with me to put together a set of tips and advice to help supercharge deck-building skill.
I started by asking him about his approach and philosophy when deck-building and I've distilled down some useful takeaways. We've also been working on a special project that you're definitely going to want to read to the end to see!
Master Deck-Building tips with Smlz
What is your deck-building process? Where do you start? Do you start by thinking about the meta or with what you want to play and then adapt it to the meta?
When I start to build a new deck in Snap, I first ask myself: “What style of deck do I want to play?” or “What card is really good right now?” For example, last week I wanted to play some Nimrod, for multiple reasons. First, I thought the popular Kid Omega Nimrod decks could use some improvement, and second, I thought that Nimrod was pretty good into the meta, due to the best interaction piece against it, Stardust, being non-existent. I also noticed that the original Nimrod deck felt too reliant on drawing Nimrod, and that the Black Panther lines weren’t my favorites to play with. To combat this, I added a Phoenix Force move package, originally with Human Torch, but after some testing, I decided to swap to Multiple Man, and the deck began performing very well and I had a lot of fun playing it! You can always adapt your deck to the meta, but I don’t think there’s much use playing a “good” deck if it’s not fun for you. I always play better when I’m having fun.
Smlz's Nimgod
What do you think are the most common deck-building mistakes?
First, tunnel vision. People go so all-in on one gameplan, or one specific draw, that they fail to include reasonable backup gameplans. For a deck like Mr. Negative, whose main gameplan is so powerful and hard to interact with (Mobius is the only great counter) that it can justify being heavily reliant on one draw, it’s fine to have weak backup plans (Esme, Gorr, and Mystique). For your average deck, which has a main gameplan that isn’t getting 60 Power in two lanes, you need more backup gameplans and/or generically powerful cards in your deck so that you aren’t just losing because you didn’t have your combo half the time. I also think the second most common mistake is how people include tech cards in their decks. In most cases you shouldn’t have more than 2 or 3 tech cards in a deck, and those tech cards should be very well suited to the meta. As I’m writing this, cards like Red Guardian, Shadow King, and Cosmic Ghost Rider are great, while a card like Shang Chi has virtually zero good meta hits. Unless you’re playing something like a Knull build of Mr. Negative, I don’t think Shang should be in many decks.
Do you ever play a sub-optimal card just because it's fun? Like if you feel like playing some Quake or got a cool new Nocturne variant, is that a consideration for you or do you make choices exclusively based on what will help you win?
All the time! I recently made a Jocasta-Zombies hybrid deck with Echo as one of the tech cards. Is she the best tech card in that slot? Probably not, but I think she has the best variant in the game, and I will use it any time I can justify her in a deck. As someone who plays a lot on the post-infinite ladder, I do try to win in my games, but I also want to have fun, and use some of my cool new variants and favorite strategies. You’ll also catch me on Living Tribunal sometimes as well. It’s one of my favorite decks to play in the game. I play what’s fun for me specifically first, and then I move to how I can make the deck I find fun better.
What can I do if I'm not collection-complete? Can I be competitive at the highest levels? How can I approach substitutions?
I’m not collection-complete either (albeit I am close)! In fact, in my most successful season this year on ladder, I was missing like ten newer cards I wanted after coming back from a multiple month break from Snap. You absolutely can be competitive at the highest levels, it’s just slightly trickier than normal. You want to start by finding a deck that you really enjoy, then tailoring it to the meta. For example, earlier this year I played a Silver Surfer tech list to a very high rank. I took a shell I was familiar with and enjoyed playing and then I tailored it to the current meta by running cards like Mobius to counter the extremely high rate of Negative, and cards like Killmonger to counter Victoria Hand, which was the other main meta presence at that time. If you’re going to try to climb without being able to play the “top decks” in the metagame, start by trying to identify what combination of tech cards or which combo is best positioned into the meta at your rank. Currently, something like Bullseye/Daken is very well positioned and I’m surprised more people aren’t playing it.
I advise playing your own decks where you don’t need to make substitutions, but it’s absolutely fine to substitute the 11th or 12th card of a deck. Instead of replacing the core pieces of a deck, it’s better to create your own deck that is better suited to your collection. Don't spend tokens on a card that can be easily substituted. For example, with the Nimrod list I was speaking of earlier, Elixir is the 12th card and can be easily substituted. You don’t need to buy Elixir to play the deck, and in fact, he can be substituted for Ghost Spider for probably a small decline in performance, but the deck will be running at 95% of the same power level. However, if you need to replace Kid Omega, it’s probably best to play a different deck.
Here is a relatively stock Victoria Hand deck with the highest game count over the past month or so. How would you adapt this to the current metagame?
Stock Hand
First, the curve is off in this deck. I have played quite a lot of Moon Girl V-Hand lists, and we want to swap one of the 3-Costs for a 2-Cost. We have enough hand generators in the deck, so we’re looking for some points on our 2-Cost card. As for which 2-Cost card, it comes down to 3 choices. The first candidate is Surge, who is the generic answer to a lot of “12th card in this deck” questions. However, I would not play surge here. First, this deck is going to want some extra points to compete, and as a deck that wants board space, the 2/1 Surge isn’t cutting it, although it being able to be Misery-ed is a point in her favor. It’s not a bad choice. The next 2-Cost I suggest is Scarlet Witch, because surprise location control is extremely valuable in this game. Face-down location control cards like Scarlet Witch and Legion are extremely powerful, as your opponent often does not have the time to plan and play around them. Also, as a 2/3, it’s got pretty decent stats for the cost and it adds a lot of cube equity to your deck, as in, you’re going to be winning games for 4 or 8 cubes more often, as opposed to games for 1 or 2 cubes. The final 2-Cost, and the one I would personally run, is Invisible Woman. As a 2/4, she has premier stats for a 2-Cost card, and she synergizes with one of our tech cards, Shadow King. She is also a cube stealer, as playing Invisible Woman into a Shadow King with priority, can lull your opponent into a false sense of security with their Zombie Horde or Zombie Giant-Man. I enjoy playing IW in a lot of my V-Hand lists, and I don’t see much Alioth, so it’s not a liability most of the time. You can also use it for the purpose of hiding Demons from Killmonger.
Next are the tech cards in the deck. I recommend cutting Mobius for the previously mentioned 2-Cost card, but if you’re seeing a lot of decks that lose to Mobius instead of Shadow King, you can always swap out Shadow King and use Scarlet Witch instead of Invisible Woman in the 2-Cost slot. I would cut Mobius instead of Shadow King because I see myself wishing that I had a Shadow King instead of a Mobius in more matchups. If you notice the inverse in your games, feel free to swap out the Shadow King! Mercury is also a consideration to combat the Move and Werewolf by Night decks in the metagame, and a movable 2-Cost can often be helpful as a baseline.
My favorite archetype to play is control with lockdown elements. I used to play a ton of Storm/Juggernaut/Magneto type stuff in the very early days of the game. The archetype has fallen on some hard times. Can you help me build a modern list that will scratch that same itch for me?
It’s funny that you ask this, because I was going through the same dilemma myself not too long ago. I used to absolutely love Professor X decks and, after the recent change to Professor X, I was finally able to make a Prof deck that scratched the same itch that I was looking for.
Smlz Prof Lockdown
What I like the most about this deck is that it fulfills the same lockdown plan that I’ve been looking for. Unfortunately I think Storm has largely become solely correlated to War Machine and Cerebro 2 decks, but Prof is still doing well for me! The principle of this deck is to play Prof and use Werewolf, Polymorph, or Ms. Marvel to win that lane, and win the other lane with Alioth or Cannonball/Mercury with Demon or Nebula as support where needed. The draws can feel a little inconsistent and although it is tricky to play, it is consistently winning for me, and I am really enjoying the lockdown strategy again.
Here are some tips for playing this deck. First, you are always playing around your Prof X lines. They are your strongest lines, and largely how you are going to win your games. If you do not draw Prof X, your Werewolf lines also scale high with Merlin. Merlin is a key piece in this deck and he is almost always your best turn two play (the major exception being Mercury vs a Move deck). Also, play the priority game based on if your finisher is Alioth or Mercury/Cannonball. Ms. Marvel can be a strong surprise card as well on turn 6, but don’t feel bad about curving her out on turn 4 or 5 if it’s better for your priority gameplan.
Keys to Deck-building Success
- Play what you enjoy! You'll play better and have more fun.
- Don’t build your deck around its perfect draws.
- Build around play lines. Envision what your deck's strategy is and how to achieve it.
- Make sure to consider back-up plans and alternative play lines.
- Try to build your own decks that take advantage of your current collection.
- Don't over tech; tailor your tech cards to what you are facing.
- Pay attention to the curve of your deck, that is the costs of your cards in relation to each other and the Energy you will have access to each turn.
- Make sure your cards are inexpensive enough that you can efficiently use your Energy to achieve your deck’s strategy.
- Consider if your deck wants to fight for or throw priority and build with that in mind.
- Think of the role each card is playing in your deck, whether that's interaction, power, synergy, or some other way of advancing your gameplan.
- Map out your win conditions, not just during games, but in the deck-building stage.
Smlz has already given us some amazing tips, but to really gain insight into high-level deck-building it would be best to be a fly on the wall while top players go through the process of actually building a deck. Luckily for you we've arranged a special presentation where you will actually be able to listen in while some of the world's best players discuss deck-building! I've given Smlz some prompts and he's gathered Denish and Xenaid to help him build! Together, they'll be looking at some deck shells I've prepared. You can listen as they discuss their card choices and how they would adapt these decks for the specific metagame we have right now! Take a look at the deck shells yourself and play along! Try to predict what they might do and see how your answers stack up with those of some of the game's strongest players!
You can watch it all here on the Snap Academy YouTube channel, premiering Friday night. If your goal is to level up your game, watching Snap Academy and listening to the 8 Cube Circus is among the very best ways to do that!
Final Thoughts
Whether you're new to the game or a seasoned pro, hopefully you were able to find some valuable insight about deck-building. Please check out Snap Academy and leave a question or comment on their deck-building video! Hit the comments and let me know if you have any questions about deck-building or any advice of your own you'd like to share! A new season is coming and that's always the best time to come up with creative new decks. Let's get cooking!