Marvel Snap’s April season, Thunderbolts, featured new cards based on characters from Bucky Barnes’ renowned faction. One of them is the Red Guardian.
In the Marvel universe, he’s a master pilot and an expert in hand-to-hand combat. In Marvel Snap, he has a good support ability that converts control-based effects into offense. Here are the best Red Guardian decks in Marvel Snap.
Red Guardian Marvel Snap abilities, explained
Red Guardian is a three-Cost, three-Power card with the ability that reads “On Reveal: Afflict the lowest-Power enemy card here with -2 Power and remove its text.” On paper, it’s not a game-changing ability and is better as a tool to damage to one of your opponent’s units. Still, it can help you win games during crucial matches, especially if the Power difference between locations is very close.
You can get Red Guardian as a series five card, meaning you need to spend 6,000 tokens to purchase it from the Token Shop.
Strategy and best combos for Red Guardian decks in Marvel Snap
Red Guardian is a decent card when it comes to giving negative Power to an opponent’s units. There are other cards that bring out the best of the newest Thunderbolt addition to Marvel Snap, so let’s dive in.
Wong synergizes well with Red Guardian thanks to its ability to double all On Reveal effects of cards played at the same location. This takes Red Guardian’s damage up to four, but using Mystique to copy Wong’s Ongoing ability can double the damage again to eight.
Odin is also a good card to pair with Red Guardian, since it reactivates all On Reveal abilities of cards already placed at the same location. Using Odin with a Red Guardian, Wong, and Mystique setup can inflict even more negative Power.
Red Guardian also helps the evolved version of Abomination reduce its cost, assuming the former has inflicted negative Power to one of your opponent’s units, while Silver Surfer gives plus two Power to all three-Cost cards you have in play, giving Red Guardian a boost.
Best Red Guardian decks to play in Marvel Snap
Sera Surfer
As mentioned, Red Guardian can take advantage of the Power boost to three-Cost cards provided by Silver Surfer. Building a deck around Silver Surfer is one of the best ways to use Red Guardian, especially with the help of Sera, who can lower the Cost of cards in your hand by one. This can pave the way for you to play up to three three-Cost cards on your final turn.
Aside from Red Guardian and Silver Surfer, the other three-Cost cards you can use in this deck are Ironheart (for the added Power boost), Hope Summers (to potentially gain bonus Energy), Sebastian Shaw (to stack Power every time it gains permanent Power), and Gladiator (for its high Power, but remember its drawback).
Absorbing Man is there to copy any On Reveal ability from your cards, while Forge gives a permanent Power boost to the next card you will play.
Toxic
Another deck that makes great use of Red Guardian is a Toxic deck. This strategy focuses on inflicting negative Power to your opponent’s units while also gaining Power for yours.
Aside from Red Guardian, the combo of Hazmat and Luke Cage inflicts more negative Power to all units while also protecting your cards from the Hazmat effect. Debrii creates unnecessary rocks on your opponent’s side that are great targets for the negative Power your cards inflict.
Nebula is another great option to create Power for your side, especially in the early game. Magik, on the other hand, turns a location into Limbo and extends the game to turn seven, which is ideal when you need more time to set up the Wong and Mystique strategy.
Negative High Evolution
High Evolutionary’s creations that focus on inflicting negative Power to your opponent are also good units to cater to Red Guardian’s ability. Energy conservation is another mechanic that helps you create potential huge Power in the late-game.
The cards in this deck that inflict negative Power are the evolved versions of Wasp, Misty Knight, Cyclops, and The Thing, as well as Scorpion, U.S. Agent, and Man-Thing. Hulk is there to stack Power every time you end your turn with unspent Energy as long as it’s in your hand or in play.
Misty Knight adds another layer of offense, since it can give plus one Power to one of your other units whenever you won’t spend all your Energy in a turn.
How to counter Red Guardian decks in Marvel Snap
Red Guardian has an On Reveal ability, making it a target for Cosmo since the latter can prevent On Reveal abilities from happening at its location for both players. Always be cautious if the space dog is in play.
Luke Cage is also a counter to Red Guardian because of its Ongoing ability to prevent cards from receiving negative Power in any form. Ongoing disruption cards like Enchantress, Rogue, and Echo can help you get rid of Luke Cage in case your opponent uses it.
Red Guardian decks’ current state in the Marvel Snap meta
Red Guardian decks are considered meta staples, especially the Toxic deck that’s making waves right now. It’s one of the most reliable offensive and control engines in Marvel Snap today despite being so predictable, since you need to set up the necessary cards to make the deck work. Still, it proves very effective when used correctly.
As for the Sera Surfer and Negative High Evolution decks, both are very strong thanks to their ability to inflict negative Power to your opponent’s units while also creating potential huge Power on your side.
Is Red Guardian worth pulling in Marvel Snap?
Unless you have lots of tokens or Spotlight Keys, or really like the playstyle of Red Guardian decks, the card isn’t worth pulling. Red Guardian is not worth your tokens or Spotlight Keys, especially if you have only a few. Despite being a decent support card for decks that revolve around inflicting negative Power, there isn’t much use for Red Guardian in most decks, especially those that dominate the current meta.
Still, if you have spare tokens or Spotlight Keys to use, then Red Guardian could still be a good addition to your collection. But if you don’t have abundant resources, you’re better off saving them for more impactful cards in the future.
