Now that the full version of Marvel Snap is available, the free-to-play trading card game has already captured a large audience thanks to its gripping gameplay loop.
When starting out, things can get a little overwhelming, especially if you’re new to card games. As part of Pool 1, which represents Collection Levels 18 through 214, there’s no shortage of cards to choose from — especially when you add the default beginner cards everyone unlocks in the first 18 Collection Levels. In this list, we’ll highlight eight essential cards for any Pool 1 deck.
Ant-Man
Ant-Man is a great choice for starting a match, due in part to its powerful ability. This gives it a +3 Power boost once you place three other cards there.
Angela
Serving as another early-match choice, Angela works well when played alongside other cards. Doing so gives you a +2 Power boost. (Try using this with Ant-Man to stack abilities.)
Mister Sinister
The nice thing about Mister Sinister is that it creates a duplicate with the same Power. So, it’s best to use this one when there are already active buffs going on at a particular location.
Wolfsbane
Wolfsbane is fantastic as part of a group, as it gives you +2 Power for each card you have at a location. This is a great mid-match card that will almost always come in handy, regardless of how things unfold.
Jessica Jones
One card that doesn’t work well with others — at least not at first — is Jessica Jones. If on the next turn you don’t play a card where Jones is, it gains +4 Power, which turns the total Power to 8. This can greatly turn the tide of a match. Just don’t forget to continue playing cards at this location after the Power boost triggers.
Iron Man
Ah, good old Iron Man. This card doubles the Power at a location, serving as an effective tactic to dominate an area.
Spider-Woman
We highly recommend using Spider-Woman, as this card’s benefits are twofold. First, it afflicts all enemy cards at this location with -1 Power. But Spider-Woman also has a whopping 7 Power, making it extremely useful.
Hulk
It might be a little cheesy to add Hulk to a deck, but you can’t deny this card’s utility. It costs 6 Energy but has 12 Power, often giving you the push you need to overtake a location. We’ve lost count of how many times Hulk has gotten us out of a bind.
