Best Junk (Clutter) decks in Marvel Snap and how to counter them

There are various Marvel Snap strategies players can use to win matches. This includes the standard ways to gain Power, such as swarming the locations with boosted units or playing cards with huge Power points in the mid to late game. But the junk/clutter/clog strategy is becoming more and more popular, and it’s a deck you should consider building.

The junk/clutter/clog strategy evolves around giving useless cards to your opponent. This can disrupt your opponent’s plays which can translate to more Power to your side.

It may not be super straightforward, however, as you will need more creativity using multiple cards for this to work. But once you can master this strategy, it could lead you all the way to Infinite.

Here are the best junk decks in Marvel Snap.

Best Junk Decks in Marvel Snap

Standard Junk

The standard junk deck in Marvel Snap uses multiple cards that can clog opponents’ locations. This can disrupt your opponent’s strategy, especially if they use decks where swarming the locations with multiple units is the main engine.

The key card of a junk deck is Viper. It is a two-cost, three-Power card with the ability: “On Reveal: Your opponent gains control of one of your other cards at this location.” Viper is your main tool to give your opponent a significant junk card, although it targets a random card from one of your locations. So, you must be careful about what junk cards you play before playing Viper and calculate which turn should you transfer a junk unit to your opponent’s side.

As for the cards which can give your opponent junk cards, you can put the likes of Debrii, which adds a rock to each other location for both players, Green Goblin, which is a three-cost, negative-three Power card that transfers itself to an open spot of your opponent’s side of the location where you played it, and Black Widow, which gives the Widow’s Bite to your opponent’s hand. Widow’s Bite is a zero-cost, zero-Power card that prevents your opponent from drawing cards, forcing them to play the card and consume an open space.

The Hood is also a decent target for Viper’s effect since it is a one-cost, negative two-Power card that gives you a one-cost, six-Power Demon card once you play it. As for the cards that can “clean up” your locations in case you will also have a handful of junk cards present, you can use Carnage, which destroys all the cards on the location where you played it and gains plus two Power for each card destroyed in this way, and Killmonger, which destroys all one-cost cards (both yours and your opponent’s).

You can also use Polaris, which is a three-cost, five-Power card that moves an opposing one or two-cost card on your opponent’s side of the location where you played it. Mojo, on the other hand, is a two-cost, two-Power unit that gains plus six Power if both players have four cards on the location where you played it.

Cap off the deck with some of your late-game finishers, such as Doctor Octopus, a five-cost, ten-Power card that pulls up to four random cards on your opponent’s side of the location where you played it, Spider-Woman, which gives minus one-Power to all of your opponent’s cards on the location where it is placed, and Aero, which moves the last enemy card played on the same turn Aero is placed to the same location as her.

The key to using this deck is to prioritize clogging your opponent’s locations with junk cards. Though you should also know the fine line between focusing on clogging your opponent’s locations and when to focus on powering up your locations in the late game.

Win condition cards for this deck

As mentioned, the deck runs multiple cards in order for the junk strategy to work properly. Though, the cards that can define the win condition for this deck are:

• Viper
• Green Goblin
• Debrii
• Doctor Octopus
• Spider-Woman
• Aero

Viper, Green Goblin, and Debrii are your key cards to provide the junk cards your opponent should have for his or her strategy to be disrupted. Always find a way to play those cards, especially in the early game. The more junk cards you can give to your opponent’s side of locations, the more translated Power it can provide to your locations.

As for the late game, Doctor Octopus can seal one of the locations given its Power points and effect. It is a high-risk, high-reward card, so be careful about which clogged location you play it into. Spider-Woman is also another go-to card that has decent Power and a minus Power effect to your opponent which can be converted to more points on your side.

Aero can be used to outplay and disrupt your opponent’s final play, giving you additional Power on one of your locations. Be smart about where and when you play Aero.

Related: Marvel Snap On Reveal deck guide for each pool: Three best On Reveal decks

Darkhawk/Ronan Junk

Another junk deck players may consider creating revolves around powering up two cards, namely Darkhawk and Ronan. Both units have Ongoing abilities that give them more Power depending on the number of your opponent’s cards in their deck and hand. Clogging their hand and deck with useless cards can potentially give you more Power thanks to the two cards mentioned.

Darkhawk is a four-cost, zero-Power card which gains two Power for each card in your opponent’s deck. Ronan, on the other hand, is a five-cost, three-Power card which gains two Power for each card in your opponent’s hand. Both cards can benefit from the clog strategy and can give you more Power for your locations while eventually disrupting your opponent’s strategy by giving them junk cards.

As for the units that can give your opponent the junk cards, you can use Black Widow, Korg, which places a rock into your opponent’s deck, Master Mold, which sends two Sentinel clones to your opponent’s hand, Baron Mordo, which lets your opponent draw a card but makes it a six-cost unit regardless of its original cost, and Rock Slide, which is a four-cost, six-Power card that places two rocks to your opponent’s deck.

You can put Beast in to bounce your units, as well as make them cheaper for you to activate their effects once again. This can lead to more Power boost for Darkhawk and Rock Slide in the process. Zabu and Sera can also be added for cost reduction purposes. The former reduces the cost of four-cost cards by one, eventually helping Darkhawk and Rock Slide to become cheaper. The latter, on the other hand, is a five-cost, four-Power card that reduces the cost of all cards in your hand by one regardless of their original cost.  

Cap off the deck with Iceman, which gives plus one cost to a random card on your opponent’s hand, and Mystique, which copies the Ongoing ability of the last card you played before it. The key to using this deck is to use your units which can clog your opponent’s hand and deck as early as possible. This will lead to boosting your Darkhawk and Ronan’s Power, as well as possibly having a third Power source clone courtesy of Mystique.

Win condition cards for this deck

The win condition cards for this deck are:

• Darkhawk
• Ronan
• Mystique
• Sera
• Zabu

Darkhawk and Ronan are your main Power sources for this deck. The junk strategy is more of your toolbox engine to potentially unlock the potential of both Ongoing cards. So, bringing out either Darkhawk or Ronan is your main priority. Of course, having them both on your locations is the best-case scenario, but using Mystique’s ability to copy either of those cards’ abilities can be more dangerous for your opponent.

Sera and Zabu are also key cards in this deck since they can pave the way for playing multiple cards in the late game.

Related: Best Doctor Doom decks in Marvel Snap and how to counter them

Junk deck staple cards

Here are the staple cards you should play in a junk deck along with their effects:

• Iceman – On Reveal: Give a random card in your opponent’s hand +1 Cost. (maximum 6)
• Black Widow—On Reveal: Add a Widow’s Bite to your opponent’s hand.

How to counter Junk decks

There are various ways to counter junk decks. An example of which is the lockdown strategy where you can prevent your opponent from adding cards to either side of the location. Cards like Professor X, Spider-Man, and Storm can help you accomplish the lockdown method.

Also, rocks can become useful cards thanks to cards like Patriot and Blue Marvel. The former gives plus two Power to all of its user’s cards without abilities, while the latter gives plus one Power to all of its user’s cards.

Cards like Viper, Black Widow, and Green Goblin can easily be countered by Cosmo since it shuts down their On Reveal abilities. As for Darkhawk, Ronan, Sera, and Zabu, these cards with Ongoing abilities can be countered by either Enchantress or Rogue.

Junk decks’ current state in the meta

Junk decks aren’t as competitive and consistent as the top-tier Marvel Snap meta decks like the Shuri/Zero, Thanos/Lockjaw/Death, Patriot, and Sera control decks. The standard junk deck lacks the Power boost needed in the late game since it relies more on multiple junk cards to work, though it can end up being quite pesky.

The Darkhawk/Ronan junk deck, on the other hand, is a more Power-centric Snap deck. Though, it also requires a complex setup for it to function properly.