There are several popular deck archetypes in the Marvel Snap meta that take advantage of one or more cards' unique gimmicks such as the ability to move locations or discard cards from the player's hand. While these decks typically stand on their own, some have incredible synergy when combined as was shown with one of the top decks this past season. However, with the new season of Marvel Snap introducing the Phoenix Force card, two new deck types that would seemingly clash with each other may be an unlikely candidate for a powerful new hybrid archetype in the upcoming meta.
The July season of Marvel Snap titled Rise of the Phoenix not only features Phoenix Force as the season pass card, but will add a variety of other potentially powerful cards as well. The iconic X-Men character Jean Grey will finally make her debut in the game, along with cards like Echo, Legion, and Mirage. Each of these cards could end up find their own niches within Marvel Snap's meta, but it's the Season Pass card Phoenix Force that has the greatest meta-shaping potential for the new season.
Marvel Snap’s Phoenix Force Card Could Usher in a Rise in Crossover Deck Archetypes
Although High Evolutionary decks continue to dominate the Marvel Snap meta, many players found success this past season using a deck that combined the Silver Surfer archetype with the destroy archetype. These two deck types have a lot of crossover potential with 3-Cost destroy cards like Venom and Deathlok also receiving a buff from Silver Surfer's ability, allowing for a flexible play style that can be adjusted depending on which cards the player draws. The introduction of Phoenix Force as the latest addition to Marvel Snap seems like the perfect card to bridge the gap between other archetypes: movement decks and destroy decks.
Phoenix Force is a 5-Cost/6-Power card with the On Reveal ability to revive one destroyed card a merge with it, allowing the card to then move freely between locations. This ability seems very powerful as it offers a lot of useful effects that seemed designed to fit right at home with both a destroy deck and a move deck in Marvel Snap. Players could potentially use cards like Carnage, Venom, or even Killmonger to destroy cards like Human Torch or Vulture who gain a power boost when moving locations, then play Phoenix Force to revive them and allow them to be freely moved and reap the rewards of their abilities.
It seems like Phoenix Force will act as a stronger version of Hulkbuster, which is common in movement decks as a way to buff Human Torch or Vulture before they move since it also merges with a card when played. Phoenix Force has the added benefit of reviving a destroyed card as well, meaning it can synergize well with cards that benefit when others are destroyed such as Knull or Death. The one draw back is that Phoenix Force has a Cost of 5 which means it likely won't be able to be played until late in the game unless players circumvent that restriction with cards like Marvel Snap's Wave or Electro.
Since Phoenix Force's ability activates on reveal, it can fall prey to opponents using Cosmo in their decks. Luckily, another card coming this season, Echo, can help deal with that threat as she can remove an opposing card's Ongoing ability once it's played. As the Marvel Snap meta continues to evolve, it seems like the door is opening for a new influx of hybrid deck types to take the stage thanks to the potential card combinations and synergies the addition of Phoenix Force will create, hopefully acting as a breath of fresh air in a meta that has been somewhat stagnant in the past few months.
Marvel Snap is available for PC and mobile devices.