One of the earliest villains introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is Captain America’s first rival, Red Skull. The menacing villain, who literally has a red skull, is the first boss of the evil organization known as HYDRA, with the aim of dominating the world and eventually bringing back the banished Inhuman, Hive.
In Marvel Snap, Red Skull is a five-cost, 13-power card with an effect that reads: “Ongoing: Enemy cards at this location have +2 Power.” Though this ability can help the opponent to boost their units in a certain location in exchange for Red Skull’s massive power, a deck with the right cards can devastate your opponent.
Here are the best Red Skull decks in Marvel Snap.
Best Red Skull Marvel Snap decks
Red Skull/Shuri/Zero Combo
In reality, a Red Skull deck could be a bit hard to build. Since it has an ability that provides an advantage to your enemy, you have to find the right tools in order to capitalize on its massive stats, especially the 15-point power boost it can provide as early as turn five. Luckily, there is a combo in Marvel Snap that can turn Red Skull into a game-changer without the need of thinking about how to eradicate its ability.
While the fact Red Skull gives your opponent power, a specific card can remove the effect without compromising on the HYDRA man’s power. Zero has the ability to remove the abilities on the next card you play, which can make Red Skull a plain yet menacing force. This can also pave the way for a more powerful card in turn six.
A great addition you can include in this deck is Shuri. Shuri is a four-cost, two-Power card that can double the power of the next card you play. By using it, it can turn Red Skull into a potential power monster and can significantly change the course of the game by having 26 Power points. Even if Zero can’t use its ability on Red Skull, Shuri can still provide a massive advantage for Red Skull. But just imagine the power you can get if you manage to pull off this combo given the right timing—it is really game-changing.
For your early game, Sunspot is a good offensive option since it can gain power equal to your unspent energies per turn. This is feasible since you won’t have that many lower-cost cards in this deck. Armor can provide protection for your cards, especially for Red Skull and Sunspot. Polaris can move a one or two-cost card to the opponent’s side of the location where you played it. Cosmo, on the other hand, prevents your opponent from playing their On Reveal abilities.
As for the other mid to late-game finishers in the deck, you can play Typhoid Mary, who is a four-cost, 10-Power point card that gives minus one-Power to your cards. Another good target is Taskmaster, which can copy the Power of the last card you played upon summoning it, Spider-Woman, which can inflict minus-one Power to the cards in your opponent’s side of the location where you played it, She-Hulk, which can lessen its cost for each unspent energy per turn (good partner for Sunspot), and Arnim Zola, which can summon a copy of card into the other locations.
The key to using this deck is to aim to pull off the Zero/Shuri combo for Red Skull, though if you can’t manage to draw Red Skull, there are still other good targets for Shuri that can provide a massive power boost on your locations.
Also, you should know the right timing of playing the combo, especially to boost Sunspot’s power as well as to lessen She-Hulk’s cost.
Win condition cards for this deck
Aside from Red Skull, the setup you need to have to pull off the late-game combo finisher of this deck requires you to use the following cards:
- Shuri
- Arnim Zola
- Zero
Red Skull is already powerful on its own. But adding Shuri to the picture can really change things since the 30-Power boost can change the flow of the game instantly. Arnim Zola can even pave the way for having two 30-Power Red Skull clones in two locations.
If you aren’t able to play Shuri before Red Skull, playing Aero can be a viable option if you didn’t use it with Ebony Maw. You may not be able to double Red Skull’s Power in the absence of Shuri, but Aero can balance things out since you may not need to worry about the added Power boost Red Skull can originally give your opponent’s cards.
Shuri/Nimrod/Destroyer
The Shuri/Red Skull/Arnim Zola combo heavily relies on these specific cards for success. But you may not be able to draw these three cards every game. That is why another engine, which is the strategy revolving around Shuri, Nimrod, and Destroyer could be another option you can include.
Nimrod has the ability that reads “When this is destroyed, add a copy to each other location.” Using Shuri before Nimrod can make it a 10-Power card, which is also a decent target for Arnim Zola. But the best way you can take advantage of its effect is by using Destroyer, which is a six-cost, 15-Power card that destroys all of your other cards once you play it.
By playing Destroyer, you can have a 10-Power Nimrod clone on two locations, assuming you used Shuri before playing Nimrod. This is a great alternative strategy in case you haven’t drawnShuri, Red Skull, and Arnim Zola in time.
As for the other cards in the deck, you can put in the Red Skull staples like Sunspot, Armor, and Taskmaster. Lizard can be a good filler as a cheap two-cost, five-Power card that has a little downside in case your opponent fills their side of the location with complete cards. Electro can be added for an additional Energy boost per turn. You do have to be careful when playing, though, it since it will restrict you to just playing one card per turn.
Wave changes the cost of cards in your hand to four. Cap off the deck by adding Aero, which can move the last card your opponent played during the same turn you placed it on one of your locations. The key to using this deck is to know which direction you would take as early as turn three or four. Both the Shuri/Red Skull/Arnim Zola and Shuri/Nimrod/Destroyer or Arnim Zola combos require a slow setup to work.
Win condition cards for this deck
Again, the deck’s main offensive engine is the Shuri/Red Skull/Arnim Zola combo. But the other offensive engine of this deck consists of these cards:
- Nimrod
- Destroyer
- Taskmaster
Play Shuri on turn four, followed by Nimrod on five. Destroyer can finish the game on turn six, securing at least ten power points on each location. Taskmaster can also be a substitute for Destroyer in turn six since it can copy Nimrod’s Power, creating a pseudo-Nimrod clone. Arnim Zola can also be played for outplaying your opponent in the late game.
Red Skull deck staple cards
Here are the staple cards you should play in an Apocalypse deck along with their effects:
- Sunspot – At the end of each turn, gain +1 Power for each unspent Energy.
- Armor – Ongoing: Cards at this location can’t be destroyed.
- Shuri – On Reveal: Double the Power of the next card you play.
- Taskmaster – On Reveal: Set this card’s Power equal to that of the last card you played (if that card’s in play)
- Arnim Zola – On Reveal: Destroy a random friendly card here. Add copies of it to the other locations.
How to counter Red Skull decks
The main counter to Red Skull would be Shang-Chi since it has the ability that reads: “On Reveal: Destroy all enemy cards at this location that have 9 or more Power.” This makes Red Skull useless, leaving your side an open spot while suffering a major power setback.
Decks that rely on boosting the field, such as the Patriot or Ka-Zar engine can also benefit from Red Skull’s ability if you can’t manage to remove its effect. This can put your side of the location at a disadvantage since you rely more on one or, at the most, two card drops in the late game with high power boosts compared to the multiple boosted pieces your opponent may have.
