Sanctum Showdown is back and, personally, it's the game mode whose gameplay I like the most. I'll give you some information about what the shop and rewards are like this time and give you some decks that will help you counter those pesky Guardians and whatever else you might face. Let’s dive into what you need to know about Sanctum Showdown II.
Strategies
Basic deck construction principles
High-stat cards are kings. Snapping and winning big on turn 4 is huge. Big 3s are also incredibly important, but the 4-Cost slot has a lot more options for big power, even more than among 5-Cost cards, surprisingly. Cull has lost Sam Wilson as a partner, but gained Rhino!
Premium is placed on raw power output each turn. Having enough high-power 1s and 2s is also extra important in this mode compared to ladder. Set-up time is short and instant power is the priority. Sam Wilson and Iron Patriot have been nerfed since last Sanctum, but I still expect them to be powerful.
Movement is like free added value. You're not trying to win all three locations, you're trying to burn hard towards a win each turn so you don't need to save your resources or payoffs. Both self-moving cards and cards like Ghost-Spider and Doctor Strange will be useful. It's going to be really interesting if Mercury makes an impact this time around as movement was one of the primary ways to outplay the Guardians decks.
Newcomers
There are quite a few cards that weren't around or relevant last time around. I expect several of these to make an impact this time. Mercury and Hellion could be major factors, which is ironic since these were almost definitely meant to be released via this mode, but came out early as a mistake! Big guys like Starbrand and Ares are going to see play and Infinity Ultron is intriguing as well.
Scosco's Sanctum Showdown Decks
ScoSco Grooves Through The Sanctum
Sanctum Afflict
Werewolf by Sanctum
Sanctum Power
Zanctum
Banned Cards
The banlist is the same as last time, including the cards they banned a few days in.
New Series 4 Card
Sanctum Showdown is running from June 26 to July 3rd with the shop staying open 48 hours after the mode ends.
The new series 4 card available through the mode is Astral Projection. It will cost 2000 charms to get. Because I know everyone is on edge after the Kid Omega fiasco, I've done the math to show what you'll need to do to get the new card from this mode.
Assuming a win rate of 50% and 16 charms per win and 8 charms per loss, it will take you approximately 84 games to get enough Charms to get Astral Projection. These numbers are going to be pretty close for most players, but they are generalized and there will be variance. For example, during the previous Sanctum I averaged more than 16 Charms per win and closer to 9 or 10 Charms per loss. At a rate of 17 Charms per win and 9 per loss with a 55% win rate it will take around 75 games.
A player with a lower win rate who gets blown out a lot could take around 96 games (45% win rate, 16/6 Charms). With a total of 65 free scrolls (12 to start, 11 from rank increases up to Disciple level, and 42 scrolls from the refreshes) the majority of players should be able to earn Astral Projection for free if they choose to engage deeply with the mode
The rest of the shop looks pretty reasonable. You can see below how it compares to last time. Notably, the Series 4/5 slot is gone. It would have been smart to replace that with a Collector's Series 5 Snap Pack for 3000 Charms or so.
Final Thoughts
The gameplay of Sanctum Showdown is fun and dynamic. If you don't, I don't think you need to play a bunch of it just to get Astral Projection. It will be available in Snap Packs on July 23rd. If you don't enjoy this mode, definitely just wait till then. And definitely don't spend Gold on scroll refreshes unless you have to near the very end or just really like the mode and are happy to. If you like this mode, just play it and think of the rewards as a nice bonus.
Casually engaging in the mode should allow you to get you the new card and a couple of fun cosmetics or leave the card till later and get more cosmetics or currency. Be sure to check out the official info about the mode and my full strategy guide.