This article is part of a directory: Marvel Snap: Complete Guide (Best Decks, Best Cards, Tips, & Tricks)
Table of contents

Within the grand card game that is Marvel Snap, there are plenty of cards with all kinds of variations. From power, cost, and ability, to simple character favoritism, there are all sorts of reasons why a player should choose a card for their deck. Some of the most important cards, one-Cost cards, have a large variety of uses within a match.

RELATED: Marvel Snap: Best Pool 3 Cards

There are one-Cost cards that are driven to discard or destroy, move or be moved and cards that are simply lacking an ability. Whatever the case, the player must choose one-Cost cards that are of much benefit to their deck, and arguably, some one-Cost cards are simply better than others. The best cards in Marvel Snap can sew victory from one-Cost cards, should the best not be the one-Cost cards themselves.

Updated September 8th, 2023, by Kai Adler: Marvel Snap officially released in October of 2022, almost a year since the time of writing. Since then, the card-collecting game has revealed countless new cards for fans to collect throughout the progressing Series/Pools. With each month showcasing a new Season Pass, comes new cards, such as Loki, Jean Grey, Daken, and so many more. There have also been many new entries toward the one Energy group of cards, which means some of the older 1-Cost cards are getting left in the dust (in regard to Marvel Snap's meta). With flexible cards like Kitty Pryde, and disruptive characters like Echo, one-Cost meta cards look a lot different than they did before.

10 Kitty Pryde

Kitty Pryde's card

After being taken out of the game due to a plentiful amount of bugs, Kitty Pryde returned with fixes that made her one of the best cards in Marvel Snap. As a one-Cost card, players look for strategy rather than Power, but Kitty Pryde makes sure to revel in both areas.

With two Power, Kitty Pryde already stands above many cards that cost one or less Energy, but her ability, which states that she gains +1 Power when she returns to the player's hand while also returning to the player's hand at the end of each turn, ensures that Kitty Pryde builds up enough Power to overpower opposing cards at a specific location. With cards like The Collector, Kitty Pryde has great utilization for fans looking for an easy meta-efficient deck.

9 Ghost-Spider

Spider-Gwen and Ghost Spider card

The June 2023 Season Pass (Spider-Versus) brought many new Spider-Verse cards that players could use in Marvel Snap. Ghost-Spider was the featured character during Spider-Versus' Season and brought a movement mechanic that boosted the efficiency of movement-themed decks.

Ghost-Spider, who has two Power of her own, has the On Reveal ability that moves the last friendly card played to Ghost-Spider's current location. This card has great usage with characters that need to be swapped around (Miles Morales, Multiple Man, Human Torch, etc.). Ghost-Spider even pairs wonderfully with other Spider-Verse cards, like Spider-Man 2099.

8 Human Torch

human torch marvel snap card

Like Ghost-Spider, Human Torch is a one-Cost movement-based card. But, unlike Ghost-Spider, Human Torch actually requires to be moved rather than having the capability of moving another character. Human Torch's unique ability states that his current Power doubles whenever his card is moved.

At two Power, moving once will double it to four. Since most movement-themed decks generally move cards around at least three times, Human Torch is more than capable of withholding eight or more Power. Add cards like Hulk-Buster and Phoenix Force into a Human Torch deck, and players will be unstoppable.

7 Nova

Nova's card

Nova has been a mainstay one-Cost card for many gamers' decks in Marvel Snap. That's due to his grand ability that is more than efficient with any deck that uses Killmonger for counter or friendly uses.

Nova may have only one Power, but fans don't need to focus on that, rather than Nova's ability that states that once his card is destroyed, all friendly cards gain +1 Power. While excellent in a destruction-themed deck, Nova is a great card to have in any 'generalized' deck, even Silver Surfer combinations that use Killmonger (Killmonger destroys all one-Cost cards).

6 Echo

echo's card

Series 5 cards were all collectible in Marvel Snap a while after the game's official release, and Echo is one of those. Echo, who was introduced as a part of the Rise of the Phoenix Season Pass (July 2023), was one of the cards many fans were most excited for.

RELATED: Best Recent Deck-Builder Games, Ranked

Alongside her two Power, Echo also has the unique ability to counter-attack opposing Ongoing cards. That's because her card description reads that if the opponent plays an Ongoing card at Echo's location, she removes its abilities. This ability makes Echo an excellent counter card for decks that use Ka-Zar, Mystique, Iron Man, and especially Wong.

5 Nebula

image showing the nebula card in marvel snap.

Nebula is one of the best Guardians of the Galaxy cards in Marvel Snap, thanks to her fantastic value and excellent ability. As a one-Cost card with only one Power, fans may disregard Nebula as a 'weak' card. But, her ability allows her to gain +2 Power if the opponent doesn't play a card at her location.

This is a great card to use in a variation of situations, especially ones in which the opponent is somehow unable to play any cards at Nebula's location. When paired with controlling cards like Professor X and Spider-Man, Nebula is an exceptional asset.

4 X-23

X-23's card in Marvel Snap

X-23 stands out as one of the greatest discard and destruction cards out there for gamers to collect and utilize in various decks respective to her grand ability. X-23 has the ability to regenerate at a random location after being discarded or destroyed (much like Wolverine's card), as well as give the player +1 Energy during their next turn.

Since she only costs one Energy, X-23 is a special way for fans to have extra Energy, as well as discard or destroy in consideration to cards that require such tactics (Morbius and Knull). X-23, like many other Marvel Snap cards that joined the party a time after Marvel Snap's official release, can be found in Pool five, or randomly in the Token Shop.

3 Deadpool

Marvel Snap Venomized Deadpool

Deadpool has been a highly appraised one-Cost card since the beginning of Marvel Snap, as he has been included in just about every destruction deck that combines after players get into Pool 3. Deadpool, with his one Power, has the ability to regenerate into the player's hand after being destroyed.

Destroying Deadpool also doubles his Power. Because of his Cost and ability, Deadpool is a more than capable card for players to include in their Death or Knull decks, as the Merc with a Mouth requires being destroyed over and over again to prove his usefulness.

2 Snowguard

Snowguard in marvel snap

Snowguard is one of the few characters that fans can find hiding throughout Pool four of Marvel Snap. As one of the best Pool 4 cards, Snowguard not only has two Power to provide onto a location but also has the On Reveal ability to add a Hawk and Bear cards into the player's hand.

Each one of the Snowguard animal cards has a differing ability, both of which make use of a location (both cards cost 2 Energy and have 3 Power). The Snowguard Hawk has the On Reveal ability that reads, "Ignore all location abilities until the end of the next turn." Snowguard Bear has the On Reveal ability that triggers the effect of the location it was played upon.

1 Sunspot

Sunspot's card

Hailed as the best one-Cost card since the beginning of Marvel Snap's time, is the famous Sunspot. Though Sunspot has been thrown under a pile of one-Cost cards since the game's release, he still finds use in many decks as a highly acclaimed asset. Sunspot initially has zero Power, but his unique ability grants him more Power equal to the amount of unspent Energy by the player each turn.

This incredible mechanic synergizes beautifully with cards that benefit from skipping turns, or at least off of players not spending all of their maximum Energy. Infinaut, She-Hulk, Jubilee, and many other cards have synergistic feats that make a deck more than incapable of charging through Marvel Snap's meta.

Marvel Snap is available on Android, iOS, and PC.

MORE: Marvel Snap: Cards You Should Remove From Your Deck