Marvel Snap continues to keep its gameplay fresh thanks largely to monthly season pass updates that introduce new cards and encourage changes to the meta. These season passes have been running consistently since June 2022, back when Marvel Snap was in its beta testing phase.
Every season comes with a theme that generally fits and supports the cards and variants it introduces, but some are certainly more exciting than others, especially if they coincide with a new MCU or other Marvel release. With every season, there is always a season pass card that players can grab immediately if they pay for it. Most of these season pass cards have been buffed and nerfed since their respective releases, and many have now found their place in powerful Marvel Snap decks.
14 Miles Morales
October 2022 – Symbiote Invasion
At face value, Miles Morales appears to belong in the movement archetype alongside many of the other Spider-Man cards. His card goes from costing 4 Energy to 1 just if any card moved on the previous turn. This means that Miles can essentially be a 1-Cost 5-Power card, which is an exciting prospect in itself.
However, the requirement of a card moving doesn’t limit it to move decks. Cards like Jeff and Nightcrawler can move themselves, while Polaris, Aero, and Juggernaut are just a few examples of disruptive cards that move opposing cards around. Miles is a decent card as long as the cost reduction is triggered by cards moving on either side of the board, but this also makes it quite situational.
13 Black Panther
November 2022 – Warriors of Wakanda
Black Panther led the way for the Warriors of Wakanda season in November 2022, as he should have. This 5-Cost 4-Power card immediately doubles his own Power thanks to an On Reveal ability, which can naturally be manipulated further by cards like Odin and Arnim Zola. However, while there is serious potential in spreading out 16-Power+ across multiple locations, it quickly became too predictable.
Opponents would see a Black Panther and recognize that an Arnim Zola or Odin would be coming next, so they would play a Cosmo or plan accordingly. But with the recent addition of Conquest Mode, if an opponent doesn’t have the necessary counters for Black Panther strategies, then there is little they can do to resist it. Black Panther is a strong Marvel Snap card as essentially a 5-Cost 8-Power, but it will never be considered one of the very best.
12 Thor
July 2022 – Love and Thunder
For one of the MCU’s most iconic superheroes, Thor’s Marvel Snap card lacks a certain gravitas at first glance. The Love and Thunder season coincided with the release of Thor: Love and Thunder, and naturally, Thor led the way as the season pass card. As a 3-Cost 4-Power card, Thor’s true power and potential is awoken once Mjolnir is in-play. Thor’s On Reveal ability summons a 0-Cost Mjolnir into the player’s deck, but the player still needs to it to arrive in their hand before it can be played to give Thor +6 Power.
For guaranteed Power boosts, Thor needs Jane Foster to also be in the same deck, as she summons all 0-Cost cards in the player’s deck into their hand, ready to play. Thor relies heavily on Mjolnir, but this Power buff can be improved further if Mjolnir is played multiple times or duplicated, making for some interesting deck constructions.
11 Nimrod
March 2023 – Days of Future Past
Nimrod is another season pass card that didn’t receive too much love until it was buffed. Nimrod arrived during the March 2023 Days of Future Past season as a 5-Cost 5-Power card that adds a copy to the other locations when destroyed. It has since been improved to 6 Power.
Nimrod isn’t always seen as a crucial part of destroy decks, mainly due to its steep price of 5 Energy. However, destroying it with cards like Galactus, Deathlok, Venom, Carnage, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and many others, can help to fill locations with its copies. Players are still trying to find inventive ways to get the best out of Nimrod, but it still remains a solid season pass card.
10 Ghost-Spider
June 2023 – Spider-Versus
Spider-Versus was a fun season of Marvel Snap, as it capitalized on the June 2023 hype surrounding Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Ghost-Spider led the way as the season pass card, and was arguably the best of this web-slinging bunch. Ghost-Spider moves the last card played to its location, sort of like a reverse Iron Fist.
Ghost-Spider can not only trigger boosts for cards like Human Torch and Vulture, but it can also move other cards to safety away from the likes of Shang-Chi and Enchantress. Ghost-Spider is a solid season pass card that can find its way into most decks, but it is by no means one of the most revolutionary cards in Marvel Snap.
9 Nebula
May 2023 – Guardians’ Greatest Hits
Marvel Snap has really capitalized on MCU movie releases in 2023, and the Guardians’ Greatest Hits season accompanied Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in May 2023. Guardians’ Greatest Hits is easily the best Marvel Snap season so far in terms of the new cards it introduced, as High Evolutionary, Iron Lad, The Living Tribunal, and Howard the Duck all drastically changed the meta. But Nebula was another solid introduction as the season pass card.
Nebula is a 1-Cost 1-Power card that gains +2 Power for every turn that the opponent doesn’t play a card at its location. This means that Nebula can be protected by cards like Storm, Juggernaut, and Spider-Man for guaranteed Power, or it can distract the opponent’s attention from the other locations. Nebula is easily one of the best 1-Cost cards in Marvel Snap.
8 Phoenix Force
July 2023 – Rise of the Phoenix
The Rise of the Phoenix season is very much based around Phoenix Force, the season pass card. Phoenix Force is a fascinating card that revives a destroyed card, merges with it, and can then be moved on subsequent turns. The 6-Power boost can improve any revived card in Marvel Snap, and this has thrown up some fun and exciting new strategies.
Phoenix Force can make movement cards like Human Torch and Multiple Man more viable, as it provides the Power boost and then allows them to move themselves rather relying on other enablers. It remains to be seen if Phoenix Force will remain in the Marvel Snap meta after its July season is over, but the potential is certainly there. Regardless, this 5-Cost 6-Power card is one of the most interesting season pass cards in Marvel Snap.
7 M.O.D.O.K.
February 2023 – Into the Quantum Realm
M.O.D.O.K. arrived as the Into the Quantum Realm season pass card, which coincided with the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Casual Marvel fans got to experience M.O.D.O.K. for the first time in two mediums, but this card changed the Marvel Snap discard archetype forever. M.O.D.O.K.’s On Reveal ability discards the player’s entire hand, which can be a serious weapon with the correct planning.
M.O.D.O.K.’s destruction can be the central piece for many different strategies. It can discard high-Power cards for Hela or Ghost Rider to resurrect later on, it can purposely boost cards like Morbius and Apocalypse, or it can target allied Swarm cards to make more free copies of them. M.O.D.O.K. is generally limited to the discard archetype, but with 8 Power of its own, it really is a formidable weapon to face off against.
6 Nick Fury
September 2022 – Sword and Shield
As the former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, Nick Fury has been a consistent presence throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He could therefore have headed pretty much any Marvel Snap season, given his importance. Fury was the season pass card for Sword and Shield back in September 2022, but was barely viable until recently.
Nick Fury has always summoned three 6-Cost cards to the player’s hand, but his previous cost of 5 Energy limited his worth to just being a turn 5 card. Thanks to a recent buff however, Fury is now a 4-Cost card. This means that with the help of Quinjet’s cost reduction for cards not in the player’s deck, two of Fury’s three 6-Cost cards can be played in the later turns. Cards like Fury and Coulson add a fun element of unpredictability to Marvel Snap, as well as a considerable boost to The Collector.
5 Daredevil
August 2022 – Heroes for Hire
It took players a long time to understand and appreciate Daredevil’s true worth in Marvel Snap, but now it is seen as one of the best 2-Cost cards in the game. Daredevil can be played on any round, but it kicks into action on turn 5 by allowing the player to see their opponent’s moves before committing to their own.
Because of this, Daredevil has a natural synergy with Professor X, as Daredevil can scout out the locations available for the taking, and Professor X can lock them down for good. Too many players sleep on Daredevil’s true value, as it can switch the momentum of a battle in an instant, just in time for the final turn. Daredevil was featured in the Heroes for Hire season in August 2022 and still holds up as a top cheap card in Marvel Snap.
4 Silver Surfer
December 2022 – The Power Cosmic
Many players will see the 3 Energy and 2 Power of Silver Surfer and immediately look elsewhere for more obviously dominant cards. But Silver Surfer is actually well worth building decks around. Silver Surfer was the season pass card for The Power Cosmic season and remains one of the best season pass cards of the game’s lifespan. It grants all other 3-Cost cards +2 Power, which is exceptional when considering what cards are included in this.
Silver Surfer’s On Reveal ability can boost cards that generally focus on disrupting opponents, from Juggernaut and Storm to Cosmo and Killmonger. Just as Zabu makes 4-Cost cards more viable and intimidating, Silver Surfer significantly improves the value on all 3-cost cards. Players should do everything they can to get a hold of one of the best cards in Marvel Snap.
3 Hit-Monkey
April 2023 – Animals Assemble
Hit-Monkey is proof that just because a card has 0 base Power doesn’t mean that it can’t cause some serious destruction. Hit-Monkey gains +2 Power for each allied card played on the same turn, which can rack up some serious Power when played alongside other cheap cards or in Sera Control and Bounce decks.
Hit-Monkey nets 6 Power from Mysterio alone, meaning that Sera or Beast-reduced cards can push this up into double figures. Hit-Monkey is a cheap season pass card, but this doesn’t stop it from being one of the very best. While Snowguard and Stegron were disappointing releases from the April 2023 Animals Assemble season, Hit-Monkey and Jeff made a lasting impression and will not be leaving the Marvel Snap meta for a long time.
2 Wave
June 2022 – Atlantis Beach Club
Not every Marvel Snap player has been here since the very beginning of beta testing, so not many know that Wave was actually the first season pass card of the entire game. Wave headed the Atlantis Beach Club season and quickly established itself as a formidable card, with an On Reveal ability that makes every card cost 4 Energy on the next turn.
Wave was initially used alongside cards like Death that could bypass the cost restriction, but Second Dinner eventually got round to nerfing it and making the ability affect all cards the same. Now, Wave can not only be used to make high-power cards cheaper but also to disrupt an opponent’s flow, limiting them to only playing one card on the following turn. This is especially useful when played on turn five against players who prioritize decks like Sera Control or Bounce. Wave’s “nerf” quickly turned into a newfound versatility that has molded it into one of the best Marvel Snap cards.
1 Zabu
January 2023 – Savage Land
Marvel Snap started off 2023 with a bang, as Zabu was introduced as the season pass card for Savage Land. Zabu is easily one of the top cards in the current state of Marvel Snap, even after it was nerfed. Zabu’s Ongoing ability reduces 4-Cost cards by 1 Energy, meaning that at the very least, multiple 4-Cost cards can be played on the final turn.
The selection of 4-Cost cards wasn’t too impressive upon Zabu’s initial release, but now it includes cards like Shang-Chi, Darkhawk, Rockslide, Shuri, and Nick Fury. Players are finding out how good the cost reductions of Zabu, Quinjet, and Sera are, as they ultimately allow impactful cards to be played before their intended turn. Zabu’s own Power output of 2 may not be too exciting, but it remains an exceptional card.