Phastos is an On Reveal card in Marvel Snap, featuring a Cost and Power of three. His unique ability offers a random buff or discount to all cards in your deck. Upon being played, Phastos will either reduce the Cost of all cards in your deck by one or increase their Power by two.

This guide will demonstrate how to leverage Phastos' ability to construct a consistent, competitive deck. Furthermore, it will assess Phastos' overall value, helping players determine whether he is a worthwhile addition to their collection.

makkari variants in marvel snap.
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Best Marvel Snap Deck for Phastos

the best deck for phastos in marvel snap.

Given that he’s a three-Cost card with a Power-buff potential, Phastos works best in a Silver Surfer deck with Okoye and Gilgamesh. Create this setup by uniting the said trio (Silver Surfer, Okoye, Gilgamesh) with Phastos and the following cards: Nakia, Forge, Brood, Magik, Sebastian Shaw, Grand Master, America Chavez, and Hope Summers.

Card

Cost

Power

Phastos

3

3

Silver Surfer

3

2

Gilgamesh

5

9

Okoye

2

2

Nakia

3

3

Forge

2

2

Magik

3

2

Sebastian Shaw

3

4

Grand Master

2

2

Brood

3

2

Hope Summers

3

4

America Chavez

1

2

Here’s how the deck’s synergies work:

  • Phastos, Okoye, and Nakia are the primary buff cards. They ensure the cards in your deck have at least two extra Power points before they’re dropped.
  • Forge and America Chavez are secondary buff options. They target only one card.
  • Silver Surfer is the win condition trigger. His effect turns Gilgamesh into a powerhouse.
  • Sebastian and Gilgamesh are also buff beneficiaries. They grow stronger each time you distribute a buff or play a buffed card.
  • Hope Summers yield more Energy to drop extra cards.
  • Grand Master is a budget Odin. He helps to retrigger an On Reveal effect early on.
  • Magik extends the game so you can play more discounted or buffed cards.
  • Brood provides two additional three-Cost cards that Silver Surfer can buff.

How to Play Phastos

phastos character in marvel comics.

Phastos is an early-round card. You should try to play him as soon as possible. That is because Phastos’ effect drops in value after the fourth round when you have already drawn a good number of the cards in the deck. It’s also important to note that Phastos’ ability is rerolled after each trigger. So, there’s no guarantee that you will get, say, his buff just because the first On Reveal was the discount.

Decks That You Can Insert Phastos Into

thanos card variants in marvel snap.

Besides the Silver Surfer deck, Phastos can also thrive in a Thanos lineup. After the recent rework of Thanos’ Stones, he is once again a good competitive option. And Phastos’ synergy with his cheap Stones makes the two one of the better duos of the current metagame. Sera decks, too, are a proper host for Phastos as both his effects (Cost reduction or Power boost) would bolster the team.

How to Counter Phastos

shadow king in marvel snap.

Since Phastos’ ability affects the cards in the deck, he’s quite hard to counter. However, a tech deck based on Shadow King and Shang-Chi’s abilities could prove useful. Shadow King can remove the extra Power gained from Phastos and Shang-Chi can eliminate any buffed card that has grown bigger than ten Power points. Needless to say, you could also nullify Phastos with Cosmo given that you predict his lane in advance.

Is Phastos Worth It?

a phastos variant in marvel snap.

Phastos has been a controversial release. On the one hand, his rather universal synergy makes Phastos a good fit for most archetypes—because Cost reduction and Power buffs are a welcome addition to most decks. On the other hand, Phastos’ RNG-oriented effect is a nonnegligible downside. You should build a deck that can perform consistently regardless of which effect of Phastos is triggered, which is a tough feat.

Phastos is not a must-have Marvel Snap card—at least not at this stage. However, if you’re a niche player with a specific focus on Cost or Power manipulation decks (like a Sera player), you’d want Phastos to be on your side. Also, Phastos will yield more value after the release of Arishem, as the two cards have excellent synergy. So, if you’re planning on getting Arishem, investing in Phastos wouldn’t be a bad idea.