Quick Links
Marvel SNAP has dozens of powerful cards, but none are arguably as controversial as Leader. The highly intelligent and ruthless archenemy of the Hulk, Leader has proven divisive among Marvel SNAP’s player base, thanks to his ability to copy all cards the opposing player has played that turn on the player’s own side. Creative and strategic players have been taking advantage of the card in order to climb the game’s ranked ladder, to the indignation of other players whose carefully laid plans have been ruined by Leader’s game-changing ability.
As part of a balance patch that also nerfed Marvel SNAP’s Galactus card, Leader had his Power reduced, making him a 6 Cost, 3 Power card. However, his ability remains unchanged, allowing the player to make an incredibly powerful play.
Copying the opponent’s moves means Leader is less dependent on synergy with the rest of the player’s deck. However, using cards to build high amounts of Power in Turns 1 through 5 is a way for the player to improve their chances of victory.
General Tips And Tricks For Using Marvel SNAP’s Leader Card
Generally speaking, Leader fits in well with many different decks and deck archetypes. Players with certain decks, including Discard decks featuring Apocalypse, often use the same cards and strategies, making it easier for the player to spot them and play counter cards. In contrast, it’s usually extremely difficult to identify when another player might use Leader, as their previous cards don’t need to synergize with it.
The player can take advantage of this flexibility, adding Leader into their favorite decks and using him as a surprise card. However, despite this flexibility, the player should avoid the popular Zoo Deck archetype. This involves playing cards such as Ultron or Dr Doom to swarm the board with low Power minion cards that can then be buffed. As Leader copies the opponent and plays their cards on the player’s side, it’s important that there’s actually space at all three locations for cards to be placed. Keeping basic Marvel SNAP deckbuilding principles in mind is also a good idea.
The Leader-Leech Deck
This Leader deck focuses on helping the player build Power while drastically reducing their opponent’s ability to hit back or build momentum. By including Sunspot, who gains Power from unused Energy each turn, the player can ensure that they’re building Power even if they miss a turn. Protecting him with Armor is also a good idea. Other low-cost cards such as Iceman and Scorpion allow the player to restrict how much Power their opponent can build by increasing their card cost and reducing card Power.
The player can also take notes from the ideal Marvel SNAP Black Panther deck by including Dora Milaje warrior Okoye to give cards in their deck extra Power. The player has considerable flexibility here to include a few of their favorite cards.
Maximus is an unusual choice for a Marvel SNAP deck thanks to his ability, which lets the opponent draw two cards. This potentially gives the opponent more high-Power cards to play, which can then be copied by Leader. On top of that, Maximus also synergizes well with Ronan the Accuser, who gains additional Power based on the number of cards in the opponent’s hand.
Most of these cards are in early Pools, so hopefully, the player won’t need to get more Marvel SNAP tokens. Enchantress and Shang-Chi both give the player more options to restrict their opponent’s card abilities or to simply destroy particularly high-Power cards outright. Aero can be particularly useful, as her ability allows the player to move any cards their opponent plays that turn to her location. This gives the player a bit of extra control over locations.
The key to this deck is Leech and Leader. The player can use Leech to remove the abilities from all of the cards in their opponent’s hand. This can cause massive disruption for a wide variety of player strategies and decks, removing Power from many top Pool 1 cards such as Devil Dinosaur, and bringing most opponents to a grinding halt. At this point, the player can put Leader down and score a victory.
|
Card |
Cost |
Power |
Pool |
Ability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sunspot |
1 |
1 |
2 |
At the end of each turn, gain +1 Power for each unspent Energy. |
|
Iceman |
1 |
2 |
2 |
On Reveal: Give a random card in your opponent’s hand +1 Cost. (maximum 6) |
|
Scorpion |
2 |
2 |
2 |
On Reveal: Afflict cards in your opponent’s hand with -1 Power. |
|
Okoye |
2 |
2 |
2 |
On Reveal: Give every card in your deck +1 Power. |
|
Armor |
2 |
3 |
1 |
Ongoing: Cards at this location can’t be destroyed. |
|
Maximus |
3 |
7 |
3 |
On Reveal: Your opponent draws 2 cards. |
|
Shang-Chi |
4 |
3 |
2 |
A notoriously rude Marvel SNAP play. On Reveal: Destroy all enemy cards at this location that have 9 or more Power. |
|
Enchantress |
4 |
4 |
1 |
On Reveal: Remove the abilities from all Ongoing cards at this location. |
|
Ronan The Accuser |
5 |
3 |
3 |
Ongoing: +2 Power for each card in your opponent’s hand. |
|
Leech |
5 |
3 |
2 |
On Reveal: Remove the abilities from all cards in your opponent’s hand. |
|
Aero |
5 |
7 |
3 |
On Reveal: Move all enemy cards played this turn to this location. |
|
Leader |
6 |
3 |
3 |
On Reveal: Copy all cards your opponent played this turn, but on your side. |
The Leader Ramp Deck
The player might also like to try out the Leader Ramp deck. Core cards include top Marvel SNAP Pool 3 Cards Psylocke and Wave, which either grant the player extra Energy or reduces all card costs to 4 respectively. The player can play Wave on Turn 3, reducing the Leader card’s cost to 4. This allows the player to copy their opponent as early as Turn 4.
The player can then play Odin, whose ability reactivates the On Reveal abilities of any cards at his location. This can cause Leader’s ability to trigger again, allowing the player to copy their opponent on two turns rather than one. Adding Jubilee also gives the player a chance to pull out and play high-cost, high-Power cards early. This deck has some top cards from Pool 2 and isn’t too hard to put together.
|
Card |
Cost |
Power |
Pool |
Ability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sunspot |
1 |
1 |
2 |
At the end of each turn, gain +1 Power for each unspent Energy. |
|
Psylocke |
2 |
1 |
3 |
On Reveal: Next turn, you get +1 Energy. |
|
Cloak |
2 |
4 |
2 |
On Reveal: Next turn, both players can move cards to this location. |
|
Wave |
3 |
3 |
3 |
On Reveal: Next turn, cards in both players’ hands cost 4. |
|
Maximus |
3 |
7 |
3 |
On Reveal: Your opponent draws 2 cards. |
|
Jubilee |
4 |
1 |
2 |
On Reveal: Play a card from your deck at this location. |
|
Iron Man |
5 |
0 |
Starter |
Ongoing: Your total Power is doubled at this location. |
|
Leech |
5 |
3 |
2 |
On Reveal: Remove the abilities from all cards in your opponent’s hand. |
|
Captain Marvel |
5 |
6 |
3 |
At the end of the game, move to a location that wins you the game. (If possible) |
|
6 |
8 |
Collection Level 1-14 |
On Reveal: Activate the On Reveal abilities of your other cards at this location. |
|
|
Leader |
6 |
3 |
3 |
On Reveal: Copy all cards your opponent played this turn, but on your side. |
|
America Chavez |
6 |
9 |
1 |
You always draw this card on turn 6, and not before. |
Leader Ramp was cleverly designed by YouTuber Bynx_Plays, who managed to use it to claim a world-record 2,147,483,647 Power. While the player might not find themselves scoring Marvel SNAP world records on a regular basis, this deck in particular highlights the absurd power of Leader, and how he can be used to score victory after victory.
Source: YouTube/Bynx_Plays
-
Marvel SNAP
- Summary:
- Marvel brings its multiversal madness to the digital collectible card game scene with Marvel SNAP, a 1v1 multiplayer Digital TCG on iOS, Android, and PC. In Marvel Snap, players will assemble teams of their favorite heroes and villains as they battle against other players in three-minute games in this high-speed card battler. Animations are dynamic and feature artwork from several artists from Marvel's history, including some new talent - all designing pieces exclusively for the game - with over 150 illustrations at launch. Decks are kept small, and turns are limited to six per player. The game comes from the former Hearthstone CCG director Ben Brode and is free-to-play with monetization elements.
- Franchise:
- Marvel
- Platform:
- iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows
- Released:
- 2022-10-18
- Developer:
- Second Dinner
- Publisher:
- Nuverse
- Genre:
- Digital Card Game
- How Long To Beat:
- 20 hours
