In the Marvel universe, Celestials are powerful beings who can almost do anything. They can control time, space, and cosmic energy, and can even decide the fate of whole civilizations. Arishem the Judge is the Prime Celestial, and in Marvel Snap, he’s a force to be reckoned with.
Arishem is one of two Celestials with the power to judge whether planets’ civilizations will live or die. He can eradicate entire species all at once, and only other Celestials can match his power. In Marvel Snap, Arishem is a game-changing card with a very impactful ability that can make or break a game. Here are the best Arishem decks in Marvel Snap.
Arishem abilities in Marvel Snap, explained
Arishem is a seven-Cost, seven-Power card with an ability that reads: “At the start of the game, +1 Max Energy. Shuffle 12 random cards into your deck.” It’s a very straightforward ability that can be a game-changer if you end up with cards that synergize well with your deck.
Having said that, Arishem is still a high-risk, high-reward card; you can end up with a useless hand if the cards he shuffles into your deck aren’t powerful, or don’t synergize well. Still, you can use Arishem in a focused deck with the proper supporting cards to bring out his full potential.
Arishem is a series five card, meaning you need to spend 6,000 Tokens to get him from the Token Shop’s rotating card selection.
The best Arishem decks in Marvel Snap
Loki Arishem
Because Arishem adds cards to your deck, combining it with the classic Loki strategy is ideal. It gives you double copies of cards from your opponent’s deck for a cheaper cost. This can potentially let you mimic your opponent’s strategy, but still retains the high-risk, high-reward mantra, since the more cards you have, the less likely you’ll draw your desired combo.
To solve Loki’s inconsistency issue, you should include massive, stable Power sources in the deck. Giving yourself an offensive safety net is especially important in the late-game. These cards include:
- Darkhawk – gains plus two Power for each card in your opponent’s deck.
- Mockingbird – costs one less for each card at your locations that didn’t start in your deck.
- Blob – merges with your cards in your deck until it gains a total of 15 Power.
Quinjet is there to make the cards added by Loki even cheaper, while Mystique can give you a second Darkhawk, since it can copy the Ongoing ability of the last card you played. Use Agent Coulson and Nick Fury to add more cards to your hand.
Top off the deck with Rogue, who steals an Ongoing ability from one of your opponent’s cards at the same location, Shang-Chi, who destroys your opponent’s cards with 10 or more Power at his location, and Gwenpool, who gives +2 Power to a random card in your hand three times.
High Evo Arishem
Arishem also shines with the High Evolutionary package. It works well with the Evolved versions of vanilla cards, where your main offensive engine involves inflicting negative Power on your opponent’s units.
Cyclops and The Thing both give negative Power to your opponent’s cards, while Misty Knight and Hulk generate Power when you have unspent energy. Storm provides a pseudo lockdown strategy on turn three thanks to her ability to flood a location, while Doctor Doom creates two five-Power Doombots on each other location (possibly including the location Storm flooded).
How to counter Arishem decks in Marvel Snap
With the emergence of Arishem decks in the meta, Darkhawk has arisen as their main counter. The extra cards in Arishem decks give Darkhawk lots of Power, since it gains +2 Power for each card in the opponent’s deck. You can even use Mystique as a follow-up to copy Darkhawk’s ability, resulting in two huge Power sources.
Is Arishem worth pulling in Marvel Snap?
Arishem is definitely worth pulling in Marvel Snap. He’s a game-changing card that paved the way for a new archetype making waves in Marvel Snap’s meta. Even if Arishem isn’t a useful draw on his own, his effect of giving you +1 maximum Energy plus a handful of random cards gives you so many more options to win the game.
Arishem opens up lots of possibilities, especially when it comes to adjusting to your opponent’s strategy, making your deck more of a toolbox package in the process.
