Marvel Snap tier list April 2023 – the best Pool 1 cards

A Marvel Snap tier list for cards is an interesting prospect, because you’re limited to 12 cards per deck despite the huge number of cards in the game. However, some cards are definitely superior – especially when you’ve got the right decks to back them up.

While our list of the best Marvel Snap decks covers some of the most meta decklists in the popular card game right now, this tier list looks at individual cards and their power by themselves, or perhaps when used in a combo with one or two others. So here’s our Marvel Snap tier list for every card in Pool 1 right now, to give you a head start in one of the best free PC games this year.

Marvel Snap Pool 1 tier list

Pool 1 features some staple cards, and takes place from collection levels 1-218. Completing this set of cards may seem like a mammoth task if you’re new to the game, but when you start earning credits, it goes by quite quickly. If you prioritise the more expensive card upgrades right away, you can climb multiple collection levels at once.

1-cost tier list

Some 1-cost cards are very deck-dependent – you’ll only want to run Iron Fist in a movement deck or Angel in a destroy deck, for example – but others, like those in the S Tier here, are suitable for pretty much any archetype if you’re looking for something solid.

Nightcrawler is possibly the best 1-drop in the game thanks to his ability to change location. Korg’s rock helps to dilute your opponent’s deck, which is vital here since in most games, only a couple of cards are left in each deck by the end, and Ant-Man gets a serious buff if you fill up a location, which is an easy requisite to complete. Elektra was in S Tier, but as the meta is evolving, she’s seeing less play now.

Further down the list features slightly weaker 1-drops that are even more deck-specific, but no matter what, you don’t want to run Quicksilver or Misty Knight. Quicksilver means you’re less likely to draw the combo cards you need to pull off your win condition, while Misty Knight has no abilities and therefore no upside over Nightcrawler, Mantis, Rocket Raccoon, or Korg, all of whom have the same stats and an ability.

2-cost tier list

Multiple Man and Carnage are the stars of the show in movement and destroy decks respectively, both of which are two of the most prominent decks in the meta right now. As a result, they’re highly deserving of their S Tier placements… until a nerf rolls around, anyway. Angela is well placed in kazoo decks but she isn’t imperative to the win condition, while the same goes for Wolverine in destroy decks.

At the other end of the table, Domino has the same issue as Quicksilver in that she takes up a valuable spot for a more important card, and Shocker has no abilities whatsoever. Forge gives the next card you play +2 power but when he only has 1-power himself and there’s usually a more optimal 2-cost card to play, he gets placed in C Tier. Lizard features down there because it’s usually easy to counter, and Mister Sinister might offer 4-power for 2-cost, but spread across two cards, that’s underwhelming and takes up a valuable spot at a location.

3-cost tier list

The earlier you play Hulk Buster, the better, as long as you’ve got a card down you want to merge it with. It retains the abilities of the randomly chosen card it merges with, frees up an extra spot at that location because you only have one card instead of two, and in movement decks especially, playing Multiple Man into Hulk Buster is game-winning. Deathlok does the same in destroy decks, as he can obliterate Bucky Barnes, Wolverine, Nova, and other cards that benefit from self-destruction.

Cyclops has no abilities so picks up the tail end of the list, and while it’s fun to run Ironheart in an Odin deck for multiple buffs, the lack of power and random nature of her selection makes her quite inconsistent. Groot is fine, but Star Lord has the same effect for a cheaper cost, making him a bit more flexible. Meanwhile Morph also suffers from inconsistency, and likely won’t benefit your deck archetype.

4-cost tier list

So far, no 4-drop in Marvel Snap has solidified itself as an S Tier card. Ka-Zar is important for kazoo decks – the archetype is named after him, after all – but if you don’t draw Ka-Zar, Blue Marvel and Captain America can do the legwork so he’s not vital. White Queen is strong with 6-power but has an underwhelming ability, while Enchantress is only useful in On Reveal decks. Miles Morales Spider-Man is cheap if you manage to move one of your cards on the turn before – so combines nicely with Nightcrawler, the best 1-drop – but often you’re just playing him for his original cost.

Moon Girl began on the same tier as Strong Guy, but thanks to the current popularity of Devil Dinosaur (explained in the next section), she soars up to A Tier. Meanwhile, Strong Guy is very situational because it’s hard to get rid of all your cards in your hand to activate the buff, even when you play a kazoo deck with low-cost cards. Also, The Thing has no abilities, so that pick speaks for itself.

5-cost tier list

While White Tiger declines in popularity as you climb the ladder, playing her on turn five into Odin before the game ends is a devastating blow to your opponent, especially if one location is full so you can guarantee where the tiger goes. Meanwhile, Blue Marvel has a relatively low power for the cost, but as long as you’re playing a deck that relies on getting cards down, the resulting buff to all your cards in play is huge. Devil Dinosaur did feature in B Tier initially, but the current meta is very dino heavy, thanks to the Moon Girl into Devil Dino combo.

Spider-Woman and Gamora could arguably be placed in S Tier because their abilities are very powerful, but they’re also slightly more situational and rely on your opponent doing certain things: having lots of cards in one location for Spider-Woman or playing a card in a specific location on the turn you play Gamora. Abomination has no abilities, so becomes bottom tier by default, and Professor X is very situational indeed, as it’s very easy to waste a turn with him defending a location you were bound to win anyway.

6-cost tier list

Odin and Onslaught are like yin and yang, because the former triggers all On Reveal effects again, while the latter doubles the power of Ongoing effects. Both are equally as powerful, as long as you’re playing decks with lots of one effect or the other. Heimdall not being S Tier may surprise some, but there are two main reasons for that. He can certainly win the game from a losing position for a movement deck, but he’s also not essential to the deck, as cards like Cloak can do the same job, albeit not quite as effectively. It’s also incredibly hard to calculate exactly how much power you’ll be left with after playing Heimdall on a busy board, so you often find yourself just playing him in a hail mary fashion rather than working out exactly where he’s best.

Apocalypse and Spectrum are both extremely powerful in their respective decks, and while America Chavez may seem similar to Quicksilver and Domino, because you draw her last, she makes it so you only have a pool of 11 cards to draw from and set up combos. A huge help if the win condition for your deck revolves around lower cost cards. Hulk also has no abilities whatsoever, but rather than being bottom of the barrel material, his 12 power means he can swing a single location your way at the very end of the game, rather than being completely useless.

That’s all you need to know about our Marvel Snap tier list for all the cards in Pool 1. It’s an exciting time to be playing this card game, but if you fancy something else with a similar theme, check out our best superhero games list, or check out some of the other free Steam games we love.