The Marvel universe is known for its plethora of powerful, Hulk-like characters, and the latest addition to *Marvel Snap* is no exception: Starbrand. Here, we'll delve into the best Starbrand decks to help you dominate the game.
Jump To:
- How Starbrand Works in Marvel Snap
- Best Day One Starbrand Decks in Marvel Snap
- Should You Use Spotlight Cache Keys or Collector’s Tokens on Starbrand?
How Starbrand Works in Marvel Snap
Starbrand is a 3-cost, 10-power card with an ongoing ability that reads: “Ongoing: Your opponent has +3 Power at each other location.” Unlike Mister Fantastic, whose effect is limited to adjacent locations, Starbrand's power boost affects all locations except the one where he is played. To counter this drawback, decks featuring Starbrand often include cards like Zero, Sauron, and Enchantress to mitigate the effect.
While Starbrand is vulnerable to Shang-Chi, he synergizes well with cards like Surtur. However, fitting him into a deck can be challenging due to competition at the 3-cost slot from other powerful cards like Surtur and Sauron.
Best Day One Starbrand Decks in Marvel Snap
Starbrand fits seamlessly into a couple of existing deck archetypes: Shuri Sauron and Surtur. Here's a look at these decks and how Starbrand can breathe new life into them:
Shuri Sauron Deck
- Zabu
- Zero
- Armor
- Lizard
- Sauron
- Starbrand
- Shuri
- Ares
- Enchantress
- Typhoid Mary
- Red Skull
- Taskmaster
Click here to copy this list from Untapped.
This budget-friendly deck features only one Series 5 card, Ares, which can be swapped out for Vision if needed. The strategy revolves around using Zero, Sauron, and Enchantress to negate the negative effects of your Ongoing cards, while Shuri buffs another lane, often into Red Skull. Taskmaster then copies this massive power to secure a location.
With Taskmaster's recent nerf to 6 cost, Zabu becomes crucial, allowing you to play Shuri alongside Starbrand or Ares on the final turns for surprise power spikes. Starbrand's drawback is less impactful when going tall with Shuri, and Enchantress can cancel it out while potentially hitting an opponent's Ongoing card.
Surtur Deck
- Zabu
- Zero
- Armor
- Sam Wilson
- Captain America
- Cosmo
- Surtur
- Starbrand
- Ares
- Attuma
- Crossbones
- Cull Obsidian
- Skaar
Click here to copy this list from Untapped.
This deck is more expensive, featuring four Series 5 cards. The synergy between Sam Wilson and Cull Obsidian, combined with the high-level play of Surtur and Ares, makes this deck formidable. Starbrand allows you to reduce Skaar's cost to 1 by playing him into two of Ares, Attuma, and Crossbones on turns 4 and 5. Zero helps mitigate the downsides of Starbrand and Attuma, though careful timing is needed to avoid negating your own Surtur or Ares.
The key to success with this deck is knowing when to play Starbrand, ideally after Surtur and on the final turn with Zero and Skaar, though this may require some trial and error.
Should You Use Spotlight Cache Keys or Collector’s Tokens on Starbrand?
Starbrand is a "wait and see" card, especially with recent meta shifts due to cards like Agamotto and Eson. The viability of Shuri Sauron and Surtur decks remains uncertain, and it's worth observing how the meta evolves before investing resources in Starbrand.
And those are the best Starbrand decks in Marvel Snap.
Marvel Snap is available to play now.
