Marvel Snap recently saw its full release and has taken the mobile gaming stage by storm. It's seen an injection of dedicated and addicted players who can't get enough of the easy-to-learn and hard-to-master Marvel card game.
The game has received some pushback due to typical gut-wrenching mobile game monetization, but in terms of entertainment and gameplay value, it's been mostly praised on that end, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It allows players to upgrade the visual look of cards and is constantly rewarding investment with incremental progression which unlocks new cards and opportunities to upgrade owned cards.
8 Mystique
The best part about Marvel Snap is that its developers did a great job at finding powers and effects for characters that match the powered-up individuals so perfectly. Mystique, a Pool 3 card, is a perfect example of this. When she is revealed, if the last card that was played had an ongoing ability, Mystique's 3-energy card gains it.
This card would likely be higher on the list if she didn't have a base power of 0, but even then she more than holds her own in capable hands. She also happens to have some variant art cards that make the card even more desirable.
7 Magik
Whenever players get the location called Limbo that adds a seventh turn to a match, it can drastically change the strategy of both players. Magik happens to be the walking playable version of Limbo as she changes whatever location she's played on into Limbo.
Her one drawback is that she can't be played on Turn 6, but at a cost of 5-energy that means that she'll almost always grant the player two turns following her casting. It also helps that she has 3 power as well and isn't relegated to being a sacrificial play that doesn't come imbued with her own value outside of giving an additional turn.
6 Lockjaw
Lockjaw is a perfect example of a card in Marvel Snap that relies on synergistically built decks in order to take full advantage of its potential. When reading that Lockjaw makes it so any card the player plays in the same location as the dog is swapped with a card from the user's deck it feels random and risky.
The truth is there are multiple deck builds out there that are built around Lockjaw and can give players huge drops of powerful cards on early turns. Lockjaw isn't necessarily a newcomer-friendly card, but for those looking to make something spectacularly fun and chaotic, it's worth unlocking the lovable but ferocious canine.
5 Doctor Doom
As fans eagerly await the introduction of Doctor Doom into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, experiencing his power is totally possible in Marvel Snap. At a cost of 6-energy, his 5-power card may seem like a lofty investment, but the fact that he adds a 5-power DoomBot to each other location can drastically change the outcome of matches.
This doesn't include synergistic deck builds like those with cards like Lockjaw that make it so Doctor Doom can hit the board way before Turn 6. It also doesn't hurt that his base card art is pretty stellar and one fans will want to upgrade as soon as possible.
4 Wave
Some cards have multiple uses in terms of whether they can provide defense or offense with the powers they grant inside of Marvel Snap. Wave is a bit of a weird one as this 3-energy card has an On Reveal effect that turns all cards in both players' hands into 4-energy cost cards.
On one hand, this can make one's own expensive cards much cheaper, but on the other end, it can lock an opponent into playing fewer cards. Wave's usefulness is a bit more cumbersome than other Pool 3 cards on this list, but there are deck builds that utilize her specialized power. There's often nothing better than dropping her on the board and ruining the opponents' well-planned out and strategized upcoming turns.
3 Mister Negative
Those who hopped into Insomniac Games' Spider-Man title for the PS4 and PS5 should be familiar with Mister Negative by this point as he served as one of the game's primary antagonists. In the world of Marvel Snap, players will want to get a hold of his Pool 3 card as it can be rather useful.
When his card is revealed it swaps the power and cost of all cards in the casting player's deck. It's easy to see how this can be manipulated with the right deck. Just make sure he isn't played on a location like Kamar-Taj because if his effect is triggered twice it just changes power and energy cost back to their original values and makes him rather pointless.
2 Wong
These days people can't get enough of Wong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it seems he's just as in demand in Marvel Snap. For 4-energy Wong reveals himself with the Ongoing trigger that makes it so On Reveal abilities happen twice at said location. He essentially serves as a playable version of the location Kamar-Taj, which provides the same effect.
This makes sense considering Kamar-Taj is the place that Wong calls home. In essence, if a match is being played with Kamar-Taj as a location, players using Wong can multiply it in a way where On Reveal triggers happen at a multiple of four instead.
1 Sera
Card advantage, not only in hand but on the board, is a big strategic plan players can target when trying to string together wins in Marvel Snap. Sera is a 5-energy cost card that's packed with 5 power but also aids the rest of the cards in one's hand. Her Ongoing effect states that all the cards in the owner's hand cost 1 less energy to cast.
At surface value, this may not seem like a lot, but when needed to make multiple moves on the final turn, having the ability to play a variety of combinations can really increase the probability of having a winning play.
Marvel Snap is available on Android, iOS, and PC.