In Marvel Snap, there are three ability types that can be seen on the cards’ text. You have the plain text effects where the card ability triggers during the specific time mentioned. There are also the Ongoing abilities that stay in effect as long as it is on a location.
But what you should be most cautious about in terms of the timing of activation are the On Reveal abilities.
On Reveal abilities activate during the time you played the card with that effect. These are one-time effects that trigger once unless there are effects from cards or locations that can re-activate them again. Decks that center around On Reveal could be something you might consider building thanks to the impact their effects can bring.
Best On Reveal decks in Marvel Snap
The best On Reveal deck in Marvel Snap in July 2023
| Wasp | Lockjaw | Wave | Thor | Jubilee | High Evolutionary |
| Jane Foster | Doctor Doom | Odin | America Chavez | Hulk | Magneto |
The current most popular On Reveal-style deck right now is unsurprisingly based on High Evolutionary and combined with Lockjaw. Since Lockjaw allows cards to potentially use their On Reveal ability twice, he’s a great complement to several cards.
Your goal is to play Lockjaw on turn three and use his lane to cycle in your big cards and their strong On Reveal abilities, like Doctor Doom, Odin, Magneto, and Wave. If you don’t have the energy to play a hand filled with big cards, simply save up your energy and use them to power up your Hulk using High Evolutionary’s evolved ability for the big green guy.
Win condition cards for this deck
The win condition cards for this deck are:
- Lockjaw
- Thor
- Jane Foster
- Wasp
- Hulk
If you’re able to play Wasp twice into Lockjaw’s lane, you’re going to be pulling some big power and some strong On Reveal abilities that can stack. If not, you can use your On Reveal cards to hopefully try and pull them once again later on.
Snapping early may be difficult with this deck if you’re leaning into Lockjaw too much because it’s random which card will be pulled. But keep an eye on your hand to know who’s in your deck to see if it’s worth rolling the dice.
On Reveal deck for series one
Since the series one collection (including starter cards, recruit season cards, and cards from Collection Level 1-14) is 72 cards, there are still limited choices when it comes to building an On Reveal deck. But if you are eager to do so, there are viable options you can consider including in this deck, which will primarily center around Odin.
Odin is one of the cards you can get upon upgrading the first 14 ranks of your Collection Level. It is a six-cost, eight-Power card that has the effect to re-activate the On Reveal abilities of your other cards on the location where you played it.
So, it is best to play other On Reveal cards on the location where you’ll play Odin before turn six to activate those for a second time.
Some of the five-cost or lower cards with On Reveal effects you can use in the deck include Medusa, which gains plus two Power if it is in the middle location when you played it, Ironheart, which gives plus two Power to three random cards you have on your locations, Wolfsbane, which gains plus two Power for each card you have on the location where you played it before placing it, Spider-Woman, which gives minus one Power to all of your enemy cards on the location where you played it, and White Tiger, which adds a seven-Power tiger clone to a random location.
The key to using this deck is to take advantage of your On Reveal effects as soon as possible while filling up your locations with units in the early game. This is where cards like Yondu, Rocket Raccoon, Cable, and Sentinel can be useful.
Win condition cards for this deck
The win condition cards for this deck are:
- Odin
- Spider-Woman
- Wolfsbane
- White Tiger
Odin is the main key card in this deck, or mostly in any On Reveal deck. The re-activation of On Reveal effects is the primary plan, so prioritizing to play Odin on turn six is the way to inflict damage to your opponent—may it be through swarming the locations with more units, inflicting negative Power to your opponent’s units, or gaining more Power for your side.
Spider-Woman, Wolfsbane, and White Tiger should be your priority targets for Odin’ effect. You can target the first two cards if you are sure you can win at least two locations by turn five. White Tiger, on the other hand, can be your target if you are behind your opponent’s Power by turn five and would want to swarm locations with more tiger clones.
On Reveal deck for series two
The majority of the cards from the series one On Reveal deck are retained in the series two version. The core cards like Odin, Spider-Woman, White Tiger, White Queen, Wolfsbane, Sentinel, Medusa, and Yondu are all part of this deck.
But some upgrades from the series two collection can make the On Reveal deck stronger and more consistent. This includes Sunspot, which gains Power equal to your unspent energy per turn. Jubilee is also another series two addition since it can call a random card upon playing, ignoring its cost and summoning conditions.
The Infinaut, which is a six-cost, 20-Power card that requires you to skip a turn before playing it, can be one of Jubilee’s targets to further bolster one of your location’s Power. Cap off the deck with America Chavez, which is a six-cost, nine-Power card you will always draw on turn six for more potential Jubilee targets.
The key to using this deck is to control your Power on your locations. This will allow you to know if that would be your priority in the late game, especially if you are behind your opponent’s Power before turn six.
Win condition cards for this deck
The win condition cards for this deck are:
- Odin
- Jubilee
- The Infinaut
- America Chavez
- White Tiger
- Spider-Woman
If you are confident you have already secured a lane as early as turn four or five, the ideal sequential play would be Jubilee on turn four or five, then Odin on turn six. This will create a four-card lane with at least nine Power on turn six. And when the RNG favors your side, calling The Infinaut, America Chavez, or Spider-Woman can give you a big chance to dominate that location.
Again, like the first deck, Spider-Woman and White Tiger can also be good targets for Odin’s effect. Just keep in mind your current situation before going to turn five to know which effect you need to activate and potentially re-activate, as well as how much Power you still need to have in order to win at least two of the locations.
On Reveal deck for series three and beyond
| Sunspot | Yondu | Sentinel | Psylocke | Mystique | Gambit |
| Wave | Ironheart | Wong | White Tiger | Doctor Doom | Odin |
Most of the cards in the series three On Reveal deck are different from the series one and two versions of it. Among the three, this is the best version. This On Reveal deck has more strategies and win conditions towards the end game which can potentially secure you a win on at least two locations.
Odin, White Tiger, Ironheart, Sunspot, Yondu, and Sentinel are the only cards you will need to include in this which come from series one or two. The deck’s main strategy revolves around the re-activation of On Reveal effects aside from Odin’s ability. And this is where Wong and Mystique can be dangerous.
Wong is a four-cost, two-Power card with the ability that reads “Ongoing: Your On Reveal abilities at this location happen twice.” This ability is like Odin’s, though, you can already set this up as early as turn three (with the help of Psylocke which provides an additional Energy on the turn after you play it). Follow up with Mystique which can copy the Ongoing ability of the last card you played before it to have more re-activations of On Reveal effects.
Once your Wong and Mystique setup is complete, some of the On Reveal effects you can reactivate come from White Tiger to fill up your locations with multiple seven-Power tiger clones, Ironheart to boost your units’ Power multiple times, Doctor Doom, which summons a five-Power DoomBot to each other location upon playing, and Gambit, which destroys a random card from any of your opponent’s locations.
Cap off the deck with Wave, which turns all cards from your and your opponent’s hand to four-costs regardless of their original costs. The key to using this deck is to always prioritize the Wong and Mystique setup. Also, you should know as early as turn three (if possible) which strategy you should use with the Wong/Mystique/Odin engine in the late game.
Win condition cards for this deck
The win condition cards for this deck are:
- Odin
- Wong
- Mystique
- White Tiger
- Ironheart
- Gambit
- Doctor Doom
If you are going with the White Tiger, Ironheart, or Hazmat strategy, the ideal sequential play for this deck would be Psylocke on turn two, Wong on turn three, Mystique on turn four, Gambit/Ironheart/White Tiger on turn five, and Odin on turn six. Always remember Wong, Mystique, and Odin should only be played in one location, alongside the main On Reveal card.
As for the Doctor Doom play, the ideal sequential play for this strategy would be Psylocke on turn two, Wong on turn three, Wave on turn four, Doctor Doom on turn five, and Odin on turn six. This will fill your two locations with five-Power DoomBots.
On Reveal deck staple cards in Marvel Snap
Here are the staple cards you should play in an On Reveal deck:
- Sunspot – At the end of each turn, gain +1 Power for each unspent Energy.
- Ironheart – On Reveal: Give 3 other friendly cards +2 Power.
- White Tiger – Add a 7-Power tiger to another location.
- Odin – On Reveal: Activate the On Reveal abilities of your other cards at this location.
How to counter On Reveal decks in Marvel Snap
Since On Reveal decks heavily rely on the activation and benefits of On Reveal effects from its cards, the biggest and most direct counter to this strategy is Cosmo. It completely shuts down all On Reveal effects from happening on the location where it is placed, may it be from its user or from the opponent.
For the Wong/Mystique strategy, Enchantress can counter this strategy. It prevents Ongoing abilities from being activated once you play it. Also, lockdown decks that prevent you from playing cards at a location can disrupt your setup, such as Prof. X, Spider-Man, and Storm.
On Reveal decks’ current state in the meta in Marvel Snap
The series one and two On Reveal decks mainly work as an effective deck for players who are below Collection Level 500. Those who have a higher Collection Level may find it hard to use these decks since the effects you can use here are somewhat limited and may not be that powerful compared to rarer cards. Even more recently, On Reveal decks have almost gone the way of the Dodo bird in the summer of 2023.
As for the Wong/Mystique deck, it is a decent contender in the current general meta of Marvel Snap. It may, however, be easy for its user’s opponent to read the deck since it will require a long setup to do its core strategy.
Decks that tech Cosmo or Enchantress may give Wong/Mystique a hard time.
