Ongoing, On Reveal, Move, Destroy. Cards in Marvel Snap have interesting keywords that affect how they play, but none is more daunting than Discard, a mechanic that’s built around throwing your hard-earned and well-built deck into the garbage.
Sometimes, you’re better off removing a card from your hand entirely, especially if their abilities synergize with the Discard mechanic. Discarding your cards may seem like a waste, but some are built just to be fodder to help other cards get bigger.
Here’s everything you need to know about Discard cards in Marvel Snap, good decks to build around them, and how to counter them.
How does Discard work in Marvel Snap?
It’s all in the name, really. Discarding in Marvel Snap means you get rid of a card completely. Certain cards benefit from this mechanic, and that’s why these decks are fun and successful—let alone playable.
You can find Discard cards in your collection by typing “Discard” into the search function to see which cards have the word in their ability text. This is the easiest way to find cards that synergize with Discarding.
You can build decks entirely around just a few Discard cards and still find a way to dominate your opponents for easy Cubes, especially if they don’t see it coming. Without further ado, here are the best meta Discard decks in Marvel Snap.
Best Discard decks in Marvel Snap (March 2024)
Standard Discard
The Standard Discard deck is the most consistent offensive strategy involving the Discard mechanic. You have a handful of options to create Power at your locations by Discarding cards at all stages of the game.
Your Discard enablers are Blade, Collen Wing, Gambit, Lady Sif, Silver Samurai, and M.O.D.O.K. They all have prescribed timings of play and offer a handful of advantages, especially for controlling which cards you Discard. They’re also crucial components to gradually build up Power at your locations.
Wolverine, Swarm, Daken’s Muramasa Shard, and Apocalypse are your Discard targets. They gain additional Power every time you Discard them, so it’s best to wait until you draw them before you play your Discard enablers. This will help you get maximum value out of their abilities.
Additionally, Morbius has an Ongoing ability to gain plus two Power for each card you Discard. Finish the deck with Dracula, which lets you Discard a card at the end of the game while gaining its Power.
Black Knight Discard
The Black Knight Discard deck mainly revolves around Black Knight’s ability to add the Ebony Blade to your hand when you Discard a card for the first time with Black Knight in play. Ebony Blade is a four-Cost, zero-Power card that gains the Power of the Discarded unit. It cannot be Destroyed, and its Power cannot be reduced, making it immune to disruption cards like Shang-Chi and Shadow King.
Skaar, Magneto, and The Infinaut are the best targets for Black Knight’s effect. So, it’s best to have at least one of those cards in-hand before you play Black Knight, as well as a Discard enabler that can give you Ebony Blade in the process. The deck also runs Discard staples like Blade and Lady Sif.
Additionally, Caeira protects your one and six-Cost cards, while Sera lowers the Cost of cards in your hand by one. Four-Cost cards like Shang-Chi (which destroys your opponent’s cards with ten or more Power at the same location), Ms. Marvel (to give five Power to adjacent locations if they have least two cards with unique Costs), and Ghost Rider (to return a Discarded unit to one of your locations) are also strong inclusions, making Zabu a great pick too—especially since it reduces the Cost of your four-Cost cards by one, including Ebony Blade.
Hela Glaive Ramp
Another powerful Discard deck is the Hela Ramp deck. Here, Corvus Glaive is the key to gain additional maximum Energy on turn three.
Corvus Glaive lets you Discard two cards at once in exchange for gaining plus one maximum Energy per turn. This effect allows you to play more higher Cost cards as early as turn four while also feeding possible targets for Hela’s ability. The deck also includes other Discard enablers like Blade and Lady Sif.
Additionally, Black Knight is a great inclusion as it gives you Ebony Blade. Hela staples like Skaar, Giganto, and The Infinaut are high-Powered Discard targets, while She-Hulk and Skaar are also great picks (as you can reduce their Cost while keeping their high Power), as well as Magneto (to potentially disrupt your opponent’s setup with three or four-Cost cards).
Finish the deck with Sunspot to build Power while you have unspent energy, and Ghost-Rider for an additional Discarded unit pull.
Discard decks’ current state in the meta
Discard decks have been a reliable meta deck for a long time already. Having said that, the newer versions are more popular in the meta thanks to their potential Power explosion in the late game.
The Discard decks with Black Knight are especially dangerous in the meta, since Ebony Blade can be an indestructible force. As for Hela, its one-time big-time effect is exceptionally powerful, since building up Discard targets has become a lot easier thanks to the addition of more Discard enablers.
How to counter Discard decks in Marvel Snap
There are a few cards that are a complete nightmare for Discard decks in Marvel Snap, including:
- Enchantress
- Leech
- Sandman
Enchantress will destroy your Morbius, and Leech will destroy anything you were planning to play on turn six. Sandman is also an effective counter, limiting you to playing just one card after turn four or five, and hampering your ability to play out multiple cards for your endgame win condition.
But even if you’re facing against these particularly destructive cards, there are enough ways to customize your Discard decks in Marvel Snap that you can find and create clever workarounds to ensure victory.
