Best Shadow King decks in Marvel Snap and how to counter them

In Marvel Snap, you can build a deck with 12 different cards, and finding unique synergies will help you win battles easily. Shadow King is one of the most powerful cards in Marvel Snap, and it can easily synergize with various different cards. Shadow essentially allows you to control opponents by setting all cards to their original base power. 

Shadow King is a pool three card that you can acquire after reaching collection level 486. This card has an On Reveal ability that sets all cards at a location to their original power. You can synergize Shadow King with cards like Silver Surfer, Sera, Cerebro, Valkyrie, and Killmonger. When played right, Shadow King can reduce the power of the strongest cards in the game. 

Here are the best Shadow King decks and how to counter them in Marvel Snap.

Best Shadow King decks in Marvel Snap

Shadow King works best when you play it to reduce buffed enemy cards to their base power. Naturally, you need to allow opponents to buff their cards first. If your opponent plays cards like Bast, Patriot, Okoye, Forge, Nova, or Blue Marvel, then you can identify the incoming power buff. Likewise, Shadow King is also brilliant against opponents playing a move-type deck and relocating cards around to increase their power. So the strategy will be to play Shadow King after your opponent has buffed their cards. 

Power Reduction

For a power reduction deck featuring Shadow King, you will need cards like Goose, Brood, Silver Surfer, Polaris, Juggernaut, and Cosmo. This setup allows you to drag the match up to the last turn, by which point your opponent would have buffed most of their cards. The idea is to play Shadow King on the last or second last turn to completely reduce opponent cards that are buffed to their original power. This trick performs brilliantly against cards like Nebula that tend to take advantage of lane control.

To take control of a lane with this deck, you need to play Storm and Juggernaut in succession. The idea is to play Storm at an empty location and follow up with Juggernaut on the next turn to win that lane. Your opponent will most likely play a card at Storm’s location to even out the points, but this is where Juggernaut stops that from happening. Similarly, with Cosmo, you can completely shut down Ongoing abilities at a location, making it impossible for cards like Blue Marvel to buff opponent cards. 

Silver Surfer and Shadow King are cards that you want to save for the final two turns. With Silver Surfer on the field, all your three cost cards will get a +2 power buff. So it is ideal to play the other three cost cards like Maximus, Goose, Killmonger, and Polaris before you bring in Silver Surfer. Playing Sera on turn five sets you up for the proper finisher with Shadow King. We recommend playing Shadow King at the location where your opponent has the maximum number of buffed cards. This completely overturns the game on the last turn, allowing you to take a quick victory.

Power Leech

For the power leech deck, you will need to synergize Shadow King with cards like Silver Surfer and Cerebro. Keep in mind this deck uses cards like Luke Cage and Hazmat to keep your power unchanged while inflicting a power reduction on the opponents’ cards. The trick is to reduce the opponent’s cards’ power to force them into playing stronger options. Naturally, they would look to buff their on-field cards or remove Luke Cage’s Ongoing ability.

When the opportunity comes, you need to play Wave to reduce the power of cards like Magneto and Leech. Keep in mind that you want to save Shadow King for the last two turns, as this makes it most effective in combination with Silver Surfer. If you plan to play Cerebro, make sure to have a few equal power cards at different locations. For instance, you can play Rhino, Cosmo, and Wave at different locations to buff them up with Cerebro at the end.

Win condition for Shadow King decks in Marvel Snap

The conditions for winning with a Shadow King deck are simple, you need to reduce the power of opponent’s cards after they get buffed. Shadow King reduces the power of a card to its base value, reducing additional buffs applied by other cards. You should play this card at a location where the opponent has the most buffed cards. Ideally, you need to play Shadow King during the end game to turn the tide of the match.

How to counter Shadow King decks in Marvel Snap

Shadow King is an On Reveal card, so it is particularly weak against Cosmo decks. But it can be difficult to predict where the opponent plays Shadow King. Ideally, opponents will play it at a location with your most buffed cards. Move-type decks also perform well against Shadow King, as you can easily switch your cards to different locations.

Aero, Sandman, and Kingpin are also great counters for Shadow King, provided you play them on the right turn. With Aero, you can displace Shadow King from a location to completely ruin the opponent’s strategy. Alternatively, you can play Sandman which will force the opponent to play only one card every turn. Kingpin is also another option you can use with Aero to destroy the opponent’s card on the last turn.