Marvel Snap: 5 Best Discard Decks [Expert’s Take]

Discard decks have always been a popular archetype in Marvel Snap, regularly competing with Destroy and Move. However, with the recent buffs to Black Knight and his Ebony Blade, Discard has reached an upper echelon and now ranks among the best decks in Marvel Snap. Fortunately, many cards fit into this type, so I’m sure you’ll have no trouble assembling the ideal deck for Conquest and Ranked matches.

My Best Discard Decks

Here are my picks for the best discard decks you can make in Marvel Snap:

1. Hellish Blade

This is personally my most reliable and favorite deck as it showcases the brute force of Black Knight and the Ebony Blade. The goal here is to discard high-Power cards to get the Ebony Blade to at least 12 Power potentially. Then, use Hela or Ghost Rider to revive those discarded cards.

Here’s the play I recommend following to get the most out of this deck:

1. Turn 1:
   • Play Black Knight.
   • Play Blade if the rightmost card in your hand is The Infinaut, Magneto, Death, or Giganto.
2. Turn 2:
   • If you played Black Knight last turn, play Blade with the same conditions.
3. Turn 3:
   • Play Lockjaw if you have Jubilee in your hand.
   • Play Lady Sif if you have Death or any 6-Cost card (except Hela) in your hand.
4. Turn 4:
   • Play the Ebony Blade if it has high Power.
   • Play Jubilee if you played Lockjaw last turn.
   • Play Ghost Rider if you discarded a high-Power card (preferably alongside Lockjaw.)
5. Turn 5:
   • If you have high-Power cards on the board, play Caiera.
   • Follow the same procedure as in turn 4.
   • If none of these apply, skip the turn.
6. Turn 6:
   • Play Hela if you’ve discarded high-Power card(s) in any turn.
   • Play any 6-Cost card (and if you skipped turn 5, play The Infinaut.)

2. 4-Cost Access

As highlighted by the name, the main objective of this deck is to make your 4-Cost cards accessible by turning them into 3-Cost cards via Zabu. Additionally, the deck also features 4-Cost cards with unique options depending on what’s on the board, your hand, and possibly your deck. Ultimately, based on stats, this has the highest win rate out of any discard-based deck, so there’s definitely room for competitive play.

With that said, follow my procedure below on how to play each turn:

1. Turn 1:
   • Play Black Knight.
   • Play Blade if the rightmost card in your hand is The Infinaut, Magneto, Skaar, or Apocalypse.
2. Turn 2:
   • Play Zabu.
3. Turn 3:
   • Play Magik if you played Zabu and have several 4-Cost cards in your hand.
   • Play Lady Sif.
4. Turn 4:
   • Play the Ebony Blade if it has high Power.
   • Play Dracula if your hand has several high-power cards (and Jubilee if you have none.)
   • Play Ghost Rider if you discarded any high-power card.
5. Turn 5:
   • Follow the same procedure as in turn 4.
   • Play Shang-Chi if the opponent has an unprotected card with 9+ Power.
6. Turn 6:
   • Play any 6-Cost card (and if you skipped turn 5, play The Infinaut.)
7. Turn 7 (if any):
   • Use your Energy by playing cards that bring the highest Power to the board.

3. Explosive Discard

The key card in this deck is undoubtedly M.O.D.O.K. and his ability to discard every card from your hand. His ability is extremely tough to counter, but he could backfire without the proper setup. M.O.D.O.K. can discard the most cards out of any card in Marvel Snap; thus, the deck I’ve made centers around utilizing his ability to its full extent.

Once you have the cards you need, follow the strategy I’ve listed below:

1. Turn 1:
   • Play Blade if the rightmost card in your hand is Wolverine, Swarm, or Apocalypse.
2. Turn 2:
   • Play Morbius.
   • Play Wolverine if you don’t have M.O.D.O.K., Lady Sif, Blade, Hellcow, or Colleen Wing in your hand.
   • Play America Chavez as a last resort.
3. Turn 3:
   • Play Daken.
   • Play Lady Sif if you have Apocalypse in your hand.
4. Turn 4:
   • If you don’t have M.O.D.O.K. in your hand, play Colleen Wing (priority) or Hellcow (alternative.)
   • Play Dracula.
5. Turn 5:
   • Play M.O.D.O.K.
6. Turn 6:
   • If you’ve played Dracula and M.O.D.O.K., play all your cards except Apocalypse.
   • Otherwise, play Apocalypse and Swarm (if he has 0-Cost.)

4. Invisible M.O.D.O.K.

M.O.D.O.K. and Hela are probably the best high-tier discard card combo in Marvel Snap, but the issue is that the former card is extremely volatile. Thus, I’ve added Invisible Woman to the deck to make him work flawlessly, as she’s a pivotal player in executing the card combo as intended.

Here’s how you should play the deck:

1. Turn 1:
   • Play Blade if the rightmost card in your card is Magneto, Apocalypse, Death, or The Infinaut.
2. Turn 2:
   • Play Invisible Woman (priority) or Morbius (alternative.)
3. Turn 3:
   • Play Lockjaw (priority) or Lady Sif (alternative and if you have Death or three 6-Cost cards in your hand) in a separate lane than Invisible Woman.
4. Turn 4:
   • Play Dracula alongside Invisible Woman.
   • Play anything else alongside Lockjaw.
5. Turn 5:
   • Play M.O.D.O.K. only alongside Invisible Woman.
   • Use your Energy to play Blade and/or Lady Sif under the same conditions mentioned earlier.
6. Turn 6:
   • If you’ve played M.O.D.O.K. or discarded high-Power card(s) in any turn, play Hela.
   • Play any 6-Cost card (and if you skipped turn 5, play The Infinaut.)

5. Wipe The Slate Clean

This is hands-down the most fun Discard deck in Marvel Snap, although it’s not the most practical. The goal is to maximize your ability to repeatedly trigger On-Reveal abilities using Wong, Mystique, and Odin, then play Gambit to eliminate all your opponent’s cards on the board.

Of course, Gambit needs ammunition since he needs to discard one of your cards to destroy an enemy card, which is where Apocalypse and Swarm come into play.

To utilize this deck to its fullest, here are my tips for each turn:

1. Turn 1:
   • Skip the turn.
2. Turn 2:
   • If you have Wong in your hand, play Psylocke.
   • Play Morbius (priority) or Wolverine (alternative.)
3. Turn 3:
   • If you played Psylocke, play Wong.
   • Play Daken if you have Wong and Gambit.
   • Play Magik.
4. Turn 4:
   • Play Mystique alongside Wong if you played him.
5. Turn 5:
   • If you played Wong with Mystique and have Apocalypse in your hand, play Gambit.
   • If you played Wong and Magik, play Mystique now.
   • Otherwise, play Black Panther alongside Wong, if you played him at all.
6. Turn 6:
   • If you played the Wong, Black Panther, and Mystique (optional) combo, play Arnim Zola.
   • If you instead have the same combo but with Gambit instead of Black Panther, play Odin.
7. Turn 7 (if any):
   • Use this turn to complete any of the two play lines you’re following.
   • Play Apocalypse and any 0-Cost Swarm you have.

My Thoughts And Experience With Discard Decks

Since Marvel Snap’s launch, Discard has been a popular but slightly underdeveloped deck since it has a lot of randomness. In my experience, it was above average, but I was usually beaten out by Move, Destroy, and other meta decks when I initially played with it.

Now, with the Black Knight buff and the current state of the meta, Discard has reached a new height, in my opinion. Thanks to the Hellish Ebony deck, I got to Infinite Rank within the first week of the recent seasons. It’s tough to counter, open to customization, and a ton of fun, which is why I recommend using it if you’re struggling in ranked matches. In my eyes, it’s probably one of the top 5 decks right now.

That wraps up my detailed guide on some of the best Discard decks in Marvel Snap. I would suggest consistently using this deck to learn more about their playstyles and how each card works and compliments one another. If you’re looking for some first-hand experience, YouTuber Alexander Coccia dives deep into the Discard meta with more decks for you to try out.

For more meta decks to indulge in, here are some of my On-Reveal decks in Marvel Snap that you can look at. If you want to test some of the newer cards, check out my Havok decks to see if they match your playstyle. And be sure to visit my guide on the best support cards, which can be substituted for almost anything.

Next:

• Marvel Snap: Best Avengers Deck & Strategies
• Marvel Snap: Best Mister Negative Deck
• Marvel Snap: Best Ways To Use Snap
• Marvel Snap: Best Ways To Get Gold & Credits