Marvel Snap has a wide variety of cards with differing costs, power, and most importantly, abilities. While there are some cards such as The Hulk which are just high costed for high power cards, others can flip the equation on it’s head with the ability to destroy your opponent’s cards, power up your own cards, or even change a location entirely! If you want to master Snap, you need to have a handle on what sort of abilities to expect from your opponent’s deck! Lets take a look at some of the different types and different themes that card abilities fall into.
The abilities on cards can be boiled down to three different categories for the most part. There are On Reveal abilities that happen when the card is revealed for the round, Ongoing abilities that take effect when the card is revealed, and persist unless something stops them, and general abilities that can trigger from other effects.
On Reveal
On reveal abilities are multifaceted and a lot less one-dimensional than the name may imply. Some cards like Star Lord require you to have a bit of insight into your opponent’s intentions, as he gains THREE power if your opponent played a card in the location he is in on reveal. There are cards that set up effects for later turns such as Hawkweye, who is a one cost one power card, but if you play a card in the same location next round, he gains two power, making him a one cost three power, which is well above the average rate.
Other cards are more immediately impactful, such as Spiderwoman, who on reveal lowers the power of every card your opponent has in the location by one, meaning you want to play her later on, even though she is a four cost card. Some on-reveal cards fall into synergies such as destroying, and discarding. A good example of this is Venom, a three cost one power card that on reveal destroys your other cards at his location, adding their power to his own! As each location has a limit of four cards, this allows you to further develop without losing power at a location, when paired with other cards such as Wolverine who plays himself at a random location when discarded or destroyed, it can set up huge power swings and great combos!
One of the biggest payoffs for big On-Reveal strategies is Odin, a six cost eight power card that, on reveal, re-activates the on-reveals at his current location! This in conjunction with some locations that benefit on-reveals can flip a game on its head in one round.
Ongoing
As the name implies, ongoing effects keep going or checking for conditions after a card is revealed, making for powerful static effects. These can be immediately impactful such as Iron Man, a five cost zero power unit that DOUBLES your overall power at his location. This takes future cards into consideration, turning a Hulk from a +11 into a +22 for a final punch! Devil Dinosaur for instance is a three cost zero power card that gets +2 power for each card in your hand, meaning he can be MASSIVE for only three energy if you play your cards right.
Ongoing effects can be more disruptive as well, such as Cosmo, a three cost three power card that stops on-reveal abilities at his location for both sides! Other cards look to interfere with strategies as well, such as Armor, a two cost three power card that stops cards from being destroyed at his location, turning a strategic Venom play into a whole lot of nothing.
There are a few ongoing cards that notably spread their power out among different locations, such as Mister Fantastic, who is a three cost two power card that gives adjacent locations +2 power. On a similar note there is Klaw, a five cost four power card that gives +5 power to the location on his RIGHT. Blue Marvel is a card everyone starts with that is a six cost four power card that gives all your other cards EVERYWHERE +1 power, meaning swarm tactics can be doubly powerful with his effect topping the curve.
General Abilities
These are a lot less tied down to specific categories and can have a lot more interesting effects as a result. Some cards include America Chavez, a six cost 10 power card that’s text reads “You always draw this card on turn 6, and not before”. This means you can have a high power card to drop on turn six without worries of it clogging up your hand before that! This does come at the obvious cost of her power, with her clocking in as one less than the hulk, and slightly below average for a six-drop.
General cards are more known for abilities that can be triggered by other effects, such as Dagger, a two cost one power card that upon moving to a new location, gains two power for each card the opponent has there! This obviously requires some setup or card to move him unless you get lucky with a location that enables him. Deadpool is a card that costs one for a one power unit, but each time it is destroyed, it returns to your hand with DOUBLE the power, stacking up quickly if you have a way to keep popping him.
The general ability six (plus) drops have some of the most powerful synergistic effects as well, such as Apocalypse, which starts as a six cost 8 power card, but each time you discard him, he returns to your hand with +4 power. Death is typically the finisher of the destroy archetype, starting as a NINE cost 12 power card, but they cost one less for each card that is destroyed by any effect over the game, meaning you can drop them alongside other threats later on.
Knowledge is power in Marvel Snap, so making yourself aware of each type of ability, and learning what your opponent is likely to have based on what they’ve played thus far will help you greatly and help you avoid walking into any trap they may be setting!
