This November, Marvel Snap‘s season known as “Higher, Further, Faster” revolves around some of the Marvel universe’s intergalactic characters, perfectly timed with the release of the film The Marvels. One of the cards being released this season is Gladiator, a powerful space creature.
Gladiator, whose given name is Kallark, belongs to the Strontian race. He has purple skin, wears a cape, and flies around the galaxy to battle and take care of business. Gladiator possesses a number of abilities, such as superhuman strength and x-ray vision. These powers can only be used if he is completely devoted to serving a purpose, and they increase or decrease depending on his level of confidence.
In Marvel Snap, his card can either make or break your game. Here are the best Gladiator decks in Marvel Snap.
Marvel Snap Gladiator abilities, explained
Gladiator is a three-cost, seven-Power card with the ability that reads “On Reveal: Add a card from your opponent’s deck to their side of this location. If it has less Power, destroy it.” In terms of stats, Gladiator is definitely a powerhouse since his seven-Power is big for being a three-cost card. The downside, however, is his ability since the opponent’s card is random. If they manage to bring out a card with more Power than Gladiator, then you might have just helped them boost their location for free.
Once Gladiator comes out in Marvel Snap, he will be released as a series five card, meaning players can get him for 6,000 tokens from the Weekly Spotlight section of the Token Shop. He is also up for grabs as part of the four-card pool of the Spotlight Caches rotation from Nov. 14 to 21.
Strategy and best combos for Gladiator decks in Marvel Snap
Gladiator is a card that can work on its own. He doesn’t heavily rely on other cards to perform combos, and his effect is a huge gamble for your side. Still, he can be used in some strategies for a variety of reasons.
With Gladiator being a three-cost card, he can receive the Power boost provided by Silver Surfer, making him a good addition to Sera Surfer decks. His seven-Power stat is huge for the already established deck, potentially gaining another Maximus-like fodder to gain big Power on your locations in the late game as much as possible.
Gladiator’s potential to destroy a card can also be used in a Destroy deck. He can contribute to the effects of both the deck’s main finishers, mainly Knull and Death. The former can gain the total Power of all the cards destroyed in the game from you and your opponent, while the latter is an eight-cost, 12-Power card costing one less for each destroyed card in the game.
The best Gladiator decks in Marvel Snap
Sera Surfer
As mentioned, Gladiator works in a Sera Surfer deck. Here, the main goal of this strategy is to play multiple three-cost cards with various effects that can prevent your opponent from playing cards, swarm the locations, move cards, and more.
Silver Surfer provides the possible massive boost the other three-cost cards can gain in the late game. So, you need to play Sera on turn five to pave the way for a huge turn six play where you can possibly play up to three three-cost cards by lowering the cost of your cards in the hand by one. Not only will you be able to create a lot of Power on your locations, but you can also adapt to the opponent’s setups by using your three-cost cards with different abilities.
Aside from Gladiator, the other three-cost cards you can use in this deck are Brood (for quickly swarming the field with three-cost Broodlings), the combo of Storm and Juggernaut (for creating some sort of a mini lockdown package), Mobius M. Mobius (for ensuring your cards’ cost can’t be increased), Spider-Man (for moving and possibly disrupting your opponent’s setup), and Maximus (for potential massive Power).
Cap off the deck with Forge, who can give plus two Power to the next card you play (best target would be Brood since the Broodlings can also gain the Power boost), and Goose, which can prevent both players from playing cards that cost four or more on the same location as it.
Win condition cards for this deck
The win condition cards for this deck are:
- Silver Surfer
- Sera
- Storm
- Juggernaut
- Brood
- Spider-Man
Silver Surfer and Sera are the heart and soul of this deck. So, playing both of them in the late game should always be your top priority, especially since Sera is the main catalyst of the possible miracle turn six play where you’d play up to three three-cost cards, including Silver Surfer.
The Storm and Juggernaut combo can almost win you a single location because of their pseudo lockdown and control setup. Brood is essential to quickly fill a location with at least three three-cost cards in a single play. Spider-Man’s ability to move a card your opponent played from another location can be game-changing.
Electro Sandman Ramp
Another deck Gladiator can be used in is an Electro Sandman Ramp deck. Here, the goal is to play Sandman as early as possible to limit both players to playing only one card every turn, hindering decks that heavily rely on playing multiple cards in a single turn such as Sera Surfer, Sera Control, Loki Collector, Thor Bloodstone, and more.
Electro is essential in this deck to give you plus one max energy per turn. This ability is needed to give you the chance to play at least three high cost cards in the mid to late game since Sandman’s restriction ability can be impactful for both players. But in case you aren’t able to draw Electro in time, you can use Wave to play Sandman or any high cost card as early as turn four.
The high cost cards you can use in this deck for your mid to late game are Professor X (for locking a location), Vision (for movement), Alioth (for possible destruction and almost ensuring a win in a single location), Doctor Doom (for swarming each other location with five-Power Doombots), and Orka (for possible massive Power).
Nebula is there to build up your early game, making herself a possible power-stacking card and a setup disruptor at the same time. Daredevil is a great combo card with Professor X since he provides vision in turn five. Finish the deck with Jeff the Baby Land Shark, who is unstoppable when it comes to playing or moving him, even in a Professor X location.
Win condition cards for this deck
The win condition cards for this deck are:
- Electro
- Sandman
- Wave
- Professor X
- Alioth
- Doctor Doom
- Orka
- Jeff the Baby Land Shark
The deck’s main strategy revolves around Electro and Sandman, so playing them on turns three and four, respectively, should always be the most ideal scenario for you. Wave is the alternative for Electro if you aren’t able to draw the latter in time.
Professor X’s lockdown ability can be converted as offense for your side, while Alioth has the ability to destroy all cards your opponent plays on the same location and turn as Alioth—a huge help for your side.
Doctor Doom’s ability to create five-Power Doombots can be hard for your opponent, especially if Sandman is already present. Orka, on the other hand, can single-handedly take over and win a location. Jeff the Baby Landshark has an unstoppable ability that can surprise your opponent.
Destroy
Last but not least on this list is the Destroy deck which focuses on one thing—destroying cards. By destroying your own or your opponent’s cards, you can obtain various advantages, such as gaining additional energy, creating potentially huge Power for your cards, lowering the cost of your units, and more.
Aside from Gladiator, the other cards in this deck that enable the destroy mechanic are Carnage, Killmonger, Venom, and Deathlok. All of those cards have certain advantages and conditions on them, so be wise about the timing.
When it comes to cards that benefit from being destroyed, you can use Deadpool, who doubles his current Power every time he’s destroyed, X-23, who generates herself to a random location with plus one energy next turn when you destroy her, and Wolverine, who stacks plus two Power and regenerates himself to a random location once you destroy him.
Forge and Hulk Buster are there to provide additional Power to your cards, especially your destroy targets. Of course, the classic destroy duo of Knull and Death is here since they are your late-game finishers.
Win condition cards for this deck
The win condition cards for this deck are:
- Knull
- Death
- Deadpool
- Wolverine
- Venom
Knull and Death provide the possible massive Power boost you’ll need in the late game. Meanwhile, Deadpool and Wolverine gain potential huge Power when destroyed, especially if they’re boosted by Forge or Hulk Buster beforehand. Venom is another great potential massive Power source if you can destroy cards with great Power.
