Rise of The Silver Surfer: Something of a Scientist
The new patch has been out for about a week now...
...and with it came the stumble of High Evo Lockjaw, the absolute dominance of Bounce, and the Rise of The Silver Surfer. Of course, more has happened than just those three decks of note, as Patriot Lad is still putting up massive numbers and Destroy is seemingly ramping up in appearance percentage as we approach the Destroy season next month. As always, there are plenty of decks to play with and climb effectively on Ladder or collect tickets in Conquest, but today we want to shift focus towards a particular deck to showcase this new meta. Initially, that deck was going to be Bounce, as it’s the clear front runner for best deck in the game for both Ladder and Conquest; but with an OTA on the way that is very, very likely to aim its sights on Bounce, Surfer was the next choice to focus on.
The week of the new patch brought three new players for Surfer decks to test and figure out how they work, starting with the new release Jean Grey and then the buffs to both Nakia and Gambit. Yes, I’m calling the Gambit change an overall buff, especially when looking at what some fellow content creators have cooked up already. But let’s break down the new cards:
Jean Grey was the first big boon for Surfer in a while, with its pre-release hype reaching heights we haven’t seen since Nebula as far as “is this going to be broken?” posts being made in anticipation. Well, alas, just like Nebula, Jean Grey is not broken. Like Nebula, however, she is indeed a very strong card that will certainly find itself in many homes as people experiment more with her. For now, she’s slotted in nicely into Silver Surfer, providing a nice bit of disruption the deck hasn’t really had a whole lot of access to besides perhaps Juggernaut. Being able to fill a lane instantaneously with a Brood that you inevitably hit with Surfer is simply a match made in heaven. Speaking of Broods Soulmates…
Nakia joins the fray as the most adjusted card in all of Snap's history, but this change was worth the wait and all the adjustments she had to go through to get here. Now acting as a blanket Nova effect for your hand, Nakia provides another axis upon which you spread out your power in Surfer, now giving what I feel Surfer has been missing (since its initial nerf) to stand up along with the best of the best of the meta: The Rule of Threes.
Quick Tangent: The Rule of Threes
"The Rule of Threes" is a philosophy I have coined in numerous videos, podcast appearances, and overall deck discussions when it comes to Marvel Snap. It is the very philosophy I and everyone else should look for when trying to determine if a deck is worthy of being extremely powerful. What is the deck's game plan? And are there at least three ways to truly execute that game plan?
Take classic Shuri, for example.
The deck is good at what it does because it can generate exorbitant amounts of power that are able to outweigh the downsides of the cards that allow that power to exist. Cards like Red Skull and Typhoid Mary are able to outshine their own flaws due to their negative abilities thanks to being able to:
- Double their power with Shuri
- Silence them with Zero
- Silence them with Sauron
It is the rule of threes, ensuring you have multiple ways to accomplish a goal set forth, giving ways to outweigh these high-powered cards’ negative abilities.
Another example would be Bounce...
...which is actually a reason the deck is in need of some adjustments because it is currently operating beyond the rule of threes. The three simple enablers of its gameplan are:
- Kitty Pryde
- Beast
- Falcon (if playing that version)
But that’s purely in just the Bounce name only, now what about Power output?
- Kitty (again)
- Bast
- Angela/Bishop
- Mysterio
- Hit Monkey
Not only does the deck have nearly every single card working perfectly towards its own goal of swarming the board, picking things up, and repeating, but each of these cards is either pulling their own weight, or flat out punching above it in terms of their power level in a vacuum. It is truly impressive the things this deck is currently capable of doing, especially when considering that the best counter to this deck's ability to not only generate power but also avoid the consequences by dodging initiative is to play Invisible Woman and hide your Killmonger or Shadowking behind her for the endgame hits. In my opinion, when you need to resort to these types of plays in a card game in most decks to counteract a single deck, that is a problem.
But anyway, Surfer I feel now has access to this rule in terms of spreading additional power on the board with the likes of
- Surfer
- Killmonger/Nova
- Nakia
Yes, I know this is technically a rule of FOUR because Nova needs Killmonger, but the pair is such a tightly entwined duo that this is my only exception to the rule. Of course, once another card comes out that is a three-drop and does the job of the Killmonger/Nova package on its own, it will surely replace that package.
*Gasp*
Wooh okay! Now that I've got that out of my system, let's move on to our third addition: Gambit. Yes, he no longer can go full Exodia and completely obliterate our opponent's board without cards to throw from hand, but his power buff alone in addition to removal being available to the deck makes him a very intriguing option. So much so that our good friend Lamby went ahead and cooked something up with him.Wooh okay! Now that I've got that out of my system, let's move on to our third addition: Gambit. Yes, he no longer can go full Exodia and completely obliterate our opponent's board without cards to throw from hand, but his power buff alone, in addition to removal being available to the deck, makes him a very intriguing option. so much so that our good friend Lamby went ahead and cooked something up with him.
Version 1
This deck is quite the sight to behold—finally a reason to brush off the dust of my Robbie Reyes Ghost Rider! Lamby is one of, if not the best, minds in Snap, so finding a way to utilize the raw power of some of our 3 drops like Black Cat is absolutely wonderful. Now that Gambit gives us enough power and potential removal, it gives us a reason to try out this nice little discard engine with Ghost Rider. These types of deck construction are my favorite aspects of Snap and something I’ve been begging the community to give us more of, just like the Stature/Black Bolt engine in one of the Darkhawk decks. Thankfully, Lamby has delivered on that request.
Looking at additional builds of Surfer, lets try and deconstruct the curve of a typical stock list and see what other direction we can go in. Better yet, let's look ahead and imagine a world in the not so distant OTA future where Bounce has been brought back to earth a bit, and build for that Meta. Looking at additional builds of Surfer, let's try and deconstruct the curve of a typical stock list and see what other directions we can go in. Better yet, let's look ahead and imagine a world in the not-so-distant OTA future where Bounce has been brought back to earth a bit, and build for that meta.
Version 2
Okay, so I’m going to start this off with a potentially hot take. We cut the Storm/Jugg package. Since we’re looking to at least bring in Jean Grey, I’m no longer interested in the seemingly conflicting Storm package that will likely hurt us just as often as it helps. So let's take those two slots and bring in Nakia and Jean.
Remember how I said I thought the invisible woman tech to deal with bounce was ultimately bad for the game? Well, let's cut her too, in favor of another two-drop that will work perfectly with Jean: Mojo! Being able to have a 2/8 fairly often in tandem with Jean makes for lanes we find hard to lose. Shadow King is great in the deck, but remember, I’m looking ahead at what Surfer could look like once Bounce is no longer at the power level it currently resides at, so let's cut him. Instead, I’m bringing in Dazzler to further emphasize the all-in-two-lane gameplan that Jean, Mojo, and Brood help us accomplish.
Honestly, I like the rest of the deck so I’ll be right back to let you know how it runs!
Version 3
So after a couple hours of playtesting, I have come to really like this list so far. The ability to fill a couple of lanes is far easier than I initially thought with this list, and Dazzler has consistently been a 3/6 prior to any additional buffs. Nakia into Brood is as good as you expect, while the Killmonger Nova package still serves double duty as an additional means of buffing and counterplaying pesky 1-drops. Jean Grey is solid, but my tip would be to get plenty of reps in with the deck to better understand when she is valuable or not. I made the mistake of playing her out on 3 when it wasn’t the optimal play in hindsight, just because I felt a sort of obligation to try it. So don’t overwork her; let her act as a cog in the gears of the deck and use her when it makes the most sense. Mojo felt great at times, though it could be one of the first cuts. I’d have to play a bit more to make that decision for sure. Oh, and I didn’t miss the Storm/Jugg package at all.