Marvel Snap's Rise of the Phoenix season is underway and has already brought some big changes to the game, including the powerful new Phoenix Force card. While many players have had the chance to test out Phoenix Force's potential within move/destroy hybrid decks, the newest Marvel Snap card is set to be one of the lockdown archetype's most useful tools. The X-Men's Jean Grey is joining the game at the perfect time as lockdown decks can be a great counter to both move and destroy decks which have risen in popularity since the addition of Phoenix Force.
As one of the X-Men's most iconic characters, it's surprising that it has taken this long for Jean Grey to join Marvel Snap's roster. Now that she is being added to the game, it seems like the wait will be well worth it as her ability has the potential to synergize quite well with the lockdown deck archetype. Marvel Snap has been giving some much-needed love to the X-Men over the past few seasons with Cyclops getting a buff from the addition of High Evolutionary, and now Jean Grey is in position to become a new meta card.
Marvel Snap’s Jean Grey is a Must-Use Card for Lockdown Control Decks
Jean Grey is a 3-Cost/3-Power card with the Ongoing ability that forces players to play their first card at her location each turn. This effect works fantastic in lockdown decks as the goal of these deck types is to control where opponents can and can't play cards. By forcing an opponent to play their first card at a location each turn, players can effectively shut down a lot of decks that rely on a curve to play increasingly stronger cards spread across different locations, creating another effective counter to Marvel Snap's Galactus in the process.
The typical lockdown control deck strategy is to stack one lane to ensure the player is ahead there by turn five, then drop Professor X or Spider-Man on an open lane to prevent an opponent from playing there on the final turn. Jean Grey throws a twist on this strategy by creating a situation where players will know exactly where an opponent is going to play their first card each turn and can adapt accordingly. This makes for great synergy with the Guardians of the Galaxy cards as each one gains a Power boost if the opponent plays a card there on the same turn, and Nebula can be played at an off location to ensure she reaps the benefits of her ability.
One caveat of Jean Grey's ability is that players are only forced to play their first card at that location if possible, meaning it won't work if a lane is full. Players can use this to their advantage and fill up her lane early, followed by dropping Professor X at an open lane on turn five when the opponent is still stuck playing into Jean Grey's lane. As an Ongoing card in Marvel Snap, Jean Grey players will need to be careful of opponents using Enchantress to neutralize her ability, meaning Jean Grey pairs well in a lane with Cosmo who can prevent On Reveal abilities while opponents are being forced to play cards there.
The addition of Jean Grey is also significant because she comes along with the debut of Marvel Snap's new Spotlight Cache system for obtaining Series 4 and 5 cards. This week will feature Jean Grey as one of the cards in the spotlight, so players will have the chance of pulling her once every 10 Collector's Reserves. It has yet to be seen if this new system will make collecting newly released cards easier, but players will likely want to test it out if only for the chance of pulling Jean Grey.
Marvel Snap is available for PC and mobile devices.