The Best Marvel Snap Discard Decks and How to Play Them (MODOK or Not)

Marvel snap‘s February 2023 season meta was dominated by MODOK, meaning discard decks have never been so hot.

Many snap Decks fall into one of three archetypes: advance to a big combo or card on turn five or six, set the pace early to control the pace of the game and lock down some locations, or counter your opponent’s big combos or cards. Discard decks tend to fall into the first – the cards you play usually lead to a massive turn six draw. However, there are a few different variations of discard piles that you should be aware of.

I think the easiest way to break Discard Decks right now is into two categories: “Hela Decks” and “Apocalypse Decks”. Much snap Players are familiar with Apocalypse decks – Apocalypse is a powerful card in Pool 1 and can be a cornerstone for early decks. With the addition of MODOK to the game, Apocalypse has seen a resurgence snap, since the two cards together have a natural synergy. MODOK discards your hand and Apocalypse wants to be discarded, so it’s a great match for a strong sixth round.

Hela is new to many players as the map is fenced behind Pool 3. Hela decks have a higher cap than Apocalypse decks, but a lower tier, due to the inherent randomness of the effect: Hela resurrects every card you discarded that game in a random location. There’s a degree of randomness to what cards you can discard in each game, and then there’s the question of where they’re played. But if you manage to discard a lot of powerful cards before playing Hela, chances are pretty good that you’ll like the end result.

Before we dive into Apocalypse vs. Hela, let’s start with a rundown of some of the best cards to consider in the discard rotation.

Good cards for discard decks in general

• Lady Sif: A three-cost, four-power card, Lady Sif is extremely valuable due to its effect, which discards the highest-cost card from your hand when it’s revealed. By taking out a good bit of the randomness inherent in discard decks, you have more control over your endgame – you can basically guarantee that you’ll discard your Apocalypse or a high-value card you’re trying to revive with Hela with Lady Sif.
• Morbus: Morbius is a two-cost, zero-power card. Each time you discard a card, Morbius gains two power. If you’ve got a deck that’s designed to discard as often as possible, Morbius can be that rare two-cost card that gets you a lane of its own. But fair warning: Morbius’s effect is persistent, meaning it can be negated by Enchantress or stolen by Rogue.
• Dracula: Dracula is a four-cost, zero-power card, and at the end of the game discards a card from your hand and takes its power. One of the best cards in snap, Dracula can easily win a location alone if you have the right deck for it – either by discarding an Apocalypse one last time and taking its power, or by discarding a card like The Infinaut and gaining 20 power without worrying about the ” You cannot play a card in the previous turn” condition. Also in Dracula’s favor: the effect doesn’t last (so he’s immune to Enchantress), and since it occurs at the end of the game, it’s also Shang-Chi safe.
• Swordmaster and Hell Cow: These two aren’t necessarily a combo pack, but they’re good for the same reason – they’re high performance for their cost. Sword Master is a three-cost, six-power card that discards one random card from your hand, while Hell Cow is a four-cost, six-power card that discards two random cards from your hand. In general, I think these cards are better in Hela decks, where you’re trying to discard a lot of cards (while in an Apocalypse deck you’re trying to discard a card repeatedly), but they’re solid in both decks and can help you , win lanes while tracking your ultimate win condition.

Image: Second Dinner/Nuverse

Good cards for Apocalypse decks

• Colleen Wing and Swarm: A combo pack, you’ll definitely want to take these two together if you decide to pick them up. Colleen Wing’s effect is the opposite of Lady Sif’s effect and discards the lowest cost card from your hand when revealed. Swarm, a two-cost, three-power card, creates two cost-neutral duplicates of itself when it’s discarded. So if you play Colleen Wing with Swarm in your hand (if you don’t have any other two-cost or one-cost cards), you’re guaranteed two free cards. It might not sound like much, but it could make all the difference on turn six if you can play a six with a cost and two more cards. These cards don’t lend themselves well to a Hela deck since you’ll want Hela to revive stronger cards.
• Lockjaw: Cards played in the same location as Lockjaw are replaced with another card in your deck. This happens after their “reveal” effect, so you can play lower power cards like Blade, Gambit, and Lady Sif, take advantage of their discard effect, and then also replace them with (hopefully) a higher power card on your board. This works particularly well with Colleen Wing and Swarm as you can also use your free Swarms at the Lockjaw location.

Good cards for Hela decks

• Anniversary: Your Hela deck will have too many powerful cards to play, so consider introducing other ways to put them on the board. Jubilee, playing an extra card from your deck, is a great way to throw in a powerful surprise card and can help you stay competitive if you’re not drawing a Hela.
• wrong way driver: Ghost Rider plays a card you’ve already discarded – think of it as a mini Hela. A great combo is to play Lady Sif on turn three (discarding one of your big cards) and then Ghost Rider on turn four (playing the same discarded card).
• The heavyweights: The most important part of a Hela deck is all those big cards that you want to revive. It’s the usual suspects; Any high-performing card will do: the Infinaut, Giganto, Magneto, Death, and Hulk are all right up your alley. But if you’re looking for something more interesting, Captain Marvel is another fun one to include.
• Invisible Woman: A Hela deck can be easy to read, and once you start discarding a few key cards, a well-placed Cosmo or Shang-Chi can mess up your entire day. Invisible Woman can help you hide this information until it’s too late, leaving you room to play MODOK with Hela, since the effect of MODOK only comes after the game if you play behind Invisible Woman. Even without Modok, you can use Invisible Woman for some of your other discard effects (like Infernal Cow) to ensure you don’t accidentally discard Hela.

The Best Marvel Snap Disc Decks…

…if you have MODOK:

Image: Second Dinner/Nuverse via Polygon

The deck: Morbius, Swarm, Colleen Wing, Lockjaw, Moon Knight, Lady Sif, Sword Master, Dracula, Hell Cow, MODOK, Apocalypse, America Chavez

The goal: Dracula wins a lane by discarding Apocalypse after the game ends, and you win another lane through a combination of Morbius, MODOK, and your other powerful cards. Your third lane is for Lockjaw to play as many discard effects as possible. America Chavez is here as a safety valve, especially if you’re not drawing Apocalypse.

Alternatives worth considering: Gambit, wolverine

…if you don’t have a MODOK:

Image: Second Dinner/Nuverse via Polygon

The deck: Zabu, Lady Sif, Sword Master, Jubilee, Ghost Rider, Hell Cow, Captain Marvel, Magneto, Hela, Giganto, The Infinaut, Death

The goal: Get as many of your giant cards onto the board as possible. Lady Sif and Ghost Rider are a crucial combo, and Jubilee helps too. But the main thing is to discard your big cards with Lady Sif, Sword Master, and Hell Cow so Hela can revive them all at the end. An important word of warning: be careful playing Jubilee before playing Lady Sif or any other discard card unless you already have Ghost Rider in your hand. Drawing Ghost Rider with Jubilee is a surefire way to have a bad time with this deck.

Alternatives worth considering: Morbius, Dracula, Hulk, invisible woman

Finally, here are some beginner discard decks for players who aren’t in Pool 3 yet.

The best Marvel Snap Pool 2 discard deck

Image: Second Dinner/Nuverse via Polygon

The deck: Blade, Iceman, Ant-Man, Nightcrawler, Swarm, Morbius, Wolverine, Sword Master, Bishop, Lady Sif, America Chavez, Apocalypse

The goal: Discard Apocalypse whenever you can, or Wolverine and Swarm if you can’t. Bishop or Morbius can win you your other lane outside of the apocalypse, depending on whether you draw your discard cards or your good one-cost cards.

Alternatives worth considering: Sunspot, Yondu, Angela. If you’re in Pool 1, you’d better wait until you get more checkers before playing a discard deck. Try playing one of these beginners Marvel snap decks instead.

Happy disposal!