Phil Coulson is one of the most highly-regarded Agents of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, or S.H.I.E.L.D. A a longtime colleague and partner of Nick Fury, Coulson is also in Marvel Snap, and can be helpful in the right deck.
In Marvel Snap, Agent Coulson has an ability that can greatly boost your card choices, especially in the mid to late game.
Marvel Snap Agent Coulson abilities, explained
Agent Coulson is a three-cost, four-Power card with the ability that reads “On Reveal: Add a random 4-Cost and 5-Cost card to your hand.” Technically speaking, he has an effect that depends on RNG, since the cards he can pull are random. But there are some cards that can greatly benefit from his ability, especially with adding more cards to your hand.
Once you reach at least Collection Level 486, you may have the chance to get Agent Coulson as a series three card. You can also grab him as your free series three card every seasonal rotation, making him a great addition to your decks and collection.
Strategy and best combos for Agent Coulson decks in Marvel Snap
Agent Coulson has a decent stat line for being a three-cost card. His plus four-Power is a good location booster, though his main strength is his ability to add cards to your hand which can be useful in the mid to late game.
Some cards, however, benefit from Agent Coulson’s card addition ability, mainly The Collector and Devil Dinosaur. The former can stack plus one Power every time a card that you did not draw from your deck enters your hand. The latter, on the other hand, has an Ongoing ability to gain plus two Power for each card in your hand.
The cards Agent Coulson can bring to your hand synergize well with Quinjet thanks to its ability to give minus one cost to the cards that did not start in your deck. The cheaper cards can also become even cheaper with Sera since she can lower the cost of all of your cards in the hand by one.
The best Agent Coulson decks in Marvel Snap
Loki for the Win
A current top deck in the meta where Agent Coulson’s effect to provide additional cards to your hand can be used in a deck that focuses on The Collector and Devil Dinosaur as the main offensive options. Agent Coulson is more of a tool in this deck, and the key card to make this strategy work is Loki.
Loki, the season pass card for Marvel Snap’s September season known as “Loki For All Time,” has the ability to transform all of the cards in your hand into random cards from your opponent’s deck. But what makes his ability more tricky and dangerous is the fact that all of the cards you can get from Loki’s effect cost one less, and combining this with Quinjet can even make the cards cheaper.
This can pave the way for some potential multiple plays in a single turn using what were originally high-cost cards from your opponent’s deck.
Aside from Loki and Agent Coulson, the other cards in this deck that can provide additional units to your hand are Snowguard, Mirage, and Nick Fury. They have different desired timings of play, ranging from the early to late game. They can help boost the Power of The Collector and Devil Dinosaur in the process.
Armor is there to secure and protect Quinjet or your massive Power sources from potential destruction from your opponent’s side. As for the disruption duo of Shang-Chi and Enchantress, the former can destroy your opponent’s units with nine or more Power in the same location where you play him, while the latter removes all Ongoing abilities of cards in the location where you place her, regardless which side they are played.
Cap off the deck with Legion for potential location manipulation in the late game, which can be unpredictable for the opponent.
Win condition cards for this deck
The win condition cards for this deck are:
- Loki
- The Collector
- Devil Dinosaur
- Shang-Chi
- Enchantress
- Legion
Loki is the heart and soul of this deck. You should be wise on properly timing his play, and keep track of if you have enough cards in your hand to maximize the Power boost for The Collector and Devil Dinosaur.
As for Shang-Chi and Enchantress, their potential disruption abilities can be converted into offense for your side. Legion is a great surprise factor in the late game, especially if there is a location that you can take advantage of to win the game.
Darkhawk Devil Dinosaur
This deck is more of the same strategy as the Loki deck above. The difference, however, is the addition of another Power source—in the form of Darkhawk, who can be a game-changer in the mid to late game in terms of creating potentially massive Power in one of your locations.
Darkhawk has an Ongoing ability to gain plus two Power for each card in your opponent’s deck. His Power can even grow bigger with the help of the rock-giving duo of Korg and Rock Slide since both of them can put unnecessary rocks in your opponent’s deck to possibly give more Power to Darkhawk in the process.
The rest of the deck is the same as above. But what makes this a consistent and competitive deck is the added offensive option for Darkhawk since the game nowadays relies on playing multiple cards all at once while keeping the desired massive Power for your locations.
Win condition cards for this deck
The win condition cards for this deck are:
- Darkhawk
- The Collector
- Devil Dinosaur
- Legion
- Nick Fury
Darkhawk, The Collector, and Devil Dinosaur are your main Power sources for the deck. Playing them is the top priority to ensure that you can possibly create a ton of Power in at least two of your locations to win the game.
Legion is there to manipulate the locations instantly, while the six-cost card Nick Fury may be your other late-game option to finish with a victory.
How to counter Agent Coulson decks
Cosmo is the best counter to Agent Coulson since the latter has an On Reveal ability. When Cosmo is in a location, all On Reveal abilities won’t work, so it is a must that you should always double-check if there is a Cosmo on either player’s side of the location. Putting Agent Coulson in a Cosmo location would just make him a plain four-Power card in the process.
For both the Loki and Darkhawk/Devil Dinosaur decks, one major counter that recently arrived in the game is Mobius M. Mobius. He has an Ongoing ability to prevent the opponent from decreasing the cost of their cards in any form. So, the discounted cost of cards that can be provided by Loki and Quinjet won’t work if Mobius M. Mobius is being played by the opponent, unless you have cards like Enchantress, Echo, or Rogue which can disrupt Ongoing abilities in an instant.
Agent Coulson decks’ current state in the meta
Agent Coulson serves as more of a tool card rather than a game finisher. However, the decks where he is included have been working really well in the current meta, especially the Loki deck.
Loki became a legit meta game-changer when he arrived at Marvel Snap. His ability to make or break your game has shifted the meta in focusing on strategies that allow you to play multiple cards all at once in a single turn, while also keeping the desired Power for the deck’s Power sources.
As for the Darkhawk and Devil Dinosaur engine, it is not considered a top meta deck at the moment of the writing. Still, it has proven its consistency and stability as a reliable deck, especially if you are able to master the ins and outs of the deck.
