In Marvel Snap, the new Conquest mode took the game by storm when it arrived on June 13. Here, players get to have a chance to prove themselves by facing other players in multiple rounds of play, with the player having more cubes conserved in the end winning the match.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Conquest mode in Marvel Snap, as well as the best meta decks players use in this format for July 2023.
How to play Conquest Mode in Marvel Snap
Conquest mode allows players to play the traditional Friendly Battle mode in Marvel Snap against an opponent assigned by the game’s matchmaking system.
Players cannot change decks while in a match. To win, you need to eliminate all the ten cubes the opponent has through multiple rounds of play.
There are four Conquest levels players can take on progressively. Each win on these tiers gives Conquest medals to players, as well as the ticket required to go on to the next Conquest in every last win for each of those tiers. These are:
- Proving Grounds—One win on this level unlocks the Silver Conquest ticket.
- Silver—Two consecutive wins on this level unlock the Gold Conquest ticket.
- Gold—Three consecutive wins on this level unlock the ticket to the Infinity Conquest.
- Infinity—This tier is only available in the last week of each season. Here, a player must win five consecutive matches. Once this Conquest is done, players will be rewarded with an Infinity border, as well as a ton of Conquest medals, which can be used in the Conquest shop.
The best meta Conquest decks in Marvel Snap (July 2023)
S-Tier (most consistent decks in terms of winning strategy and effectiveness)
Bounce
The deck revolving around the Bounce mechanic is one of the best decks players use in the Conquest meta. The massive Power you can have in the late game can outpower almost any other deck in the current format, especially if you can stack Power to your cards, such as Kitty Pryde, The Collector, Angela, Bishop, and Hit-Monkey.
Also, aside from Kitty Pryde, Bounce enablers such as Beast and Falcon are must-include cards in this deck since they can help you recycle the effect of cards like Iceman, Spider-Ham, and Bast. The main strategy to make this work well is to spread the major Power sources across all the locations while giving the opponent an unpredictable play on turn six.
High Evolutionary Lockjaw
If you want to have a lot of Power in your locations, the classic Lockjaw/Thor/Jane Foster package just got upgraded with the arrival of High Evolutionary. The deck’s gameplay is still similar to the original mechanic of getting high-Powered cards from your deck with Lockjaw’s effect while using Mjolnir as a sacrifice for the card switch and beefing up a lane with Thor and Jane Foster.
But an upgrade for this deck, thanks to High Evolutionary, is the addition of Wasp and Hulk with secret abilities. The former is a great cheap exchange for Lockjaw’s effect while having the ability to deal negative Power twice to your opponent’s cards. The latter, on the other hand, is another massive Power source that can outpower a location instantly.
Sera Control
Still a force to be reckoned with for both the original ladder and Conquest game modes, Sera Control’s consistency as a toolbox deck makes it a counter to almost any deck in the current meta. It has the outplay potential with its control cards while having the cards to gain massive Power in almost all stages of the game.
Sera on turn five is always the ideal play to pave the way for the miracle plays you can do on turn six. Your options for the final turn include the combo of Hit-Monkey and Mysterio, the Killmonger and Nova play, a boosted Kitty Pryde strategy, or using the counter effects of Shang-Chi or Enchantress. Scarlet Witch can also be used to surprise the opponent on turn six, especially if there are locations that prevent you from playing cards there.
A-Tier (consistent decks and has a viable winning setup)
High Evolutionary Control
Another deck where High Evolutionary so-called “creations” can be used is in a Control package. Here, lockdown staples such as Storm, Professor X, and Spider-Man are used to secure a win for your side. That is why Daredevil and Doctor Doom are also included to give you vision and to ensure that added Power can be gained for the Storm location. Some of the High Evolutionary creations you can put in the deck include Wasp, Cyclops, The Thing, and Hulk.
Iron Patriot
The classic Patriot deck is still a consistent deck to play with. It still does the location swarming while giving boosts to your cards, especially Patriot boosting your vanilla cards. A new addition that can make the deck scarier is Iron Lad, which can copy the ability of your deck’s topmost card once you play it. Other additions for this deck include Invisible Woman, which prevents cards like Enchantress from working against Patriot and your other Ongoing cards, and Dazzler, which gains Power for each of your full locations.
Shuri/Sauron
The Shuri nerf on May really affected the Shuri/Red Skull deck, making it a lot weaker compared to what it was since players can now predict the Shuri play most of the time. Still, this deck can do wonders in Conquest, especially with the massive Power totals you can create with this classic combo. It is also an unexpected choice, which can be an advantage all by itself.
B-Tier (other good deck options)
Discard
Another classic deck that is a really good option players can use to climb the ranks in Conquest is the Discard deck. The outpowering potential you can have, especially if you spammed the discard on cards like Apocalypse and Swarm, can make your opponent’s situation hard. You can also include Discard staples such as Morbius, Wolverine, Colleen Wing, Lady Sif, Dracula, and M.O.D.O.K., as well as Sunspot, Nebula, and Storm for lockdown options.
Phoenix Force
July’s season pass card, Phoenix Force, became an instant mega-support for Move and Destroy decks thanks to its ability to revive and merge to another card and allow it to move to another location once per turn. Some of the best targets for Phoenix Force’s effect are Human Torch which can double its Power once it moves, and Multiple Man, which leaves a copy of itself in the original location where it is placed when it also moves. Carnage and Venom are your destruction enablers, while Taskmaster can be added for more Power options in the late game.
Conquest Mode general strategies
In terms of gameplay, Conquest mode is not different from any ordinary Marvel Snap match. One major difference, however, is the cube mechanic wherein a player must consume all the ten cubes of their opponent to win. So, players should know to properly snap since an eight-cube round could quickly put their opponent in a bind.
Also, since players cannot change decks between rounds, they should use the early rounds to figure out the details of the matchup. For example, a Bounce deck is heavily reliant on one-cost cards and is therefore already at a disadvantage against a deck with Killmonger since it can kill all the one-cost cards in the locations. If this is the scenario, then the player should quickly surrender, especially if they are just in the Proving Grounds tier. This can save time for the player with the weaker deck and perhaps avoid getting tilted along the way.
