In the Marvel universe, the X-Men are comprised of humans with genetically evolved abilities called mutants. Among them is Jean Grey, one of the X-Men’s most powerful heroes, and she’s a highly effective Marvel Snap card that finally joined the game in July.
Jean Grey is still powerful, relevant, and widely played in Marvel Snap‘s meta today, so this article will dive into the most effective decks that use Jean Grey in December 2023.
Marvel Snap Jean Grey abilities, explained
Jean Grey is a three-Cost, three-Power card with an ability that reads “Ongoing: Players must play their first card here each turn (if possible).” Her ability may not seem like much, but it can really put a spanner in the works to disrupt your opponent’s strategy. On top of this, when used correctly, Jean Grey’s control prowess can be a valuable tool to build up Power on your side of one Location.
Jean Grey is a series five card, meaning players can get her by spending 6,000 Tokens in the Weekly Spotlight section of the Token Shop. It’s still not confirmed when will she be dropping down to series four, so you’ll need to spend quite a lot of tokens to get her.
Strategy and best combos for Jean Grey decks in Marvel Snap
On paper, Jean Grey works well in most decks. Her Ongoing ability can force your opponent to play sub-optimally, and although she isn’t part of a combo, certain cards pair excellently with her that are absolutely worth considering. In particular, Silver Surfer works well with Jean Grey as he boosts her Power by plus two. If you’re running lots of other three-Cost cards alongside Jean Grey, then Silver Surfer is a must-include.
You can also include Jean in a Guardians of the Galaxy deck. Most of the Guardians gain Power if a card is played at their Location. With Jean forcing both players to play their first cards at her Location every turn, you can stack your Guardians and potentially gain a ton of Power in the process.
The best Jean Grey decks in Marvel Snap
Sera Surfer
As Jean Grey works so well with Silver Surfer, the best deck for Jean Grey is the Sera Surfer deck. This deck can consistently gain large amounts of Power in the late-game, which makes it an ideal match for Jean’s control ability, especially if you can set up a locked Location while enabling surprise plays in the final turn. Silver Surfer decks become far more powerful with Sera, as she can pave the way for players to execute multiple miracle plays on turn six, including playing three three-Cost cards all on the same turn.
Alongside Jean and Silver Surfer, consider including three-Cost cards like Storm and Juggernaut for lockdown purposes, Polaris for added control, Brood and Maximus for more Power, Spider-Man for movement, and the popular Killmonger combo with Nova for an added Power boost in the late-game.
You should also add Goose, a lockdown card that prevents both players from playing four-Cost or higher cards. 11 of your 12 cards cost three or less, so Goose hinders your opponent far more than it hinders you.
Win conditions
There is no definite game-winner or finisher for this deck, but the following cards are the most important to winning consistently:
- Silver Surfer
- Sera
- Juggernaut
- Polaris
- Goose
Silver Surfer is the heart of the deck, while Sera is the soul. Your potential plays with Sera on turn five are limitless, especially if you know how to use your three-Cost cards to their fullest potential before buffing them with Silver Surfer in the end-game.
On top of this, you can use Juggernaut and Polaris to sabotage your opponent’s setup. As for Goose, pairing her with Jean Grey can prevent the opponent from playing four-cost or higher cards from turn four onwards, completely shutting down certain decks’ win conditions.
Power of the Guardians
Jean Grey can also work wonders in a Guardians deck. Her ability to force both players to play cards to a single Location can potentially boost the Guardians’ Power in the process, possibly guaranteeing you a win at one Location. The best Guardians to use are Rocket Raccoon, Star-Lord, Groot, Drax, and Gamora. Nebula can also force your opponent to play cards at her Location, and she’s great for creating a diversion.
You can also include Kitty Pryde for another alternative Power source, especially if you’re able to spam her bounce and Power-stacking ability. Cap off the deck with a common yet powerful finisher, like Blue Marvel for the stat boost, or the DoomWave and Odin combo.
Win conditions
Just like Sera Surfer decks, there is no definite game-winner, but the following cards will help you get the most Cubes:
- All Guardians cards
- Nebula
- Kitty Pryde
- Wave
- Doctor Doom
- Odin
All the Guardians cards synergize excellently with Jean Grey, and you can use this to guarantee a win at one Location early in the game. Then, Nebula and Kitty Pryde can be your Power boosters in other Locations, especially since both of these cards are cheap.
For the alternative late-game strategy, the DoomWave package helps you spread units across all Locations. This tactic can be great for misdirection, as Jean forces both players to play cards at her Location as long as it isn’t full.
Spectrum Ongoing
Jean Grey’s Ongoing ability makes her a good addition to a Spectrum Ongoing deck. The game plan is simple: Play as many cards with Ongoing abilities as possible, then give them all plus two Power with Spectrum on turn six.
Win conditions
Consider snapping if majority of the following cards appear in your hand:
- Spectrum
- Cosmo
- Mister Fantastic
- Ms. Marvel
- Klaw
- Blue Marvel
- Onslaught
Spectrum is always the desired turn six play in this deck. Not only does she give plus two Power to your cards with Ongoing abilities, but she also has a decent six-Cost, seven-Power stat line that makes her a good Location-booster in the process.
You can use Cosmo’s disruption ability for an offensive strategy, and outplay your opponent by gaining surprise Power with Mister Fantastic, Ms. Marvel, and Klaw. You can even win unplayable Locations. Blue Marvel and Onslaught are the icing on the cake that give your cards even more Power.
How to counter Jean Grey decks
Jean Grey has an Ongoing ability, so the usual suspects to counter her are Enchantress and Rogue, as they either remove or steal Ongoing abilities from opponent’s cards. Additionally, Echo disables the Ongoing abilities of cards your opponent plays to her Location, so be sure to play Jean Grey to a different Location if your opponent drops an Echo.
Jean Grey’s current state in the Marvel Snap meta
Jean Grey most prominently appears in Sera Surfer and Ongoing decks. They may not be considered top meta decks right now, but they’re still reliable engines when it comes to grinding your way to Infinite. The added control Jean Grey provides is great for disrupting opponents and can be incredibly satisfying, especially if you’re facing lots of players whose win conditions rely on cards that cost four or more.
Overall, Sera Surfer and Ongoing decks have been a mainstay in the middle tier of the Marvel Snap meta for a long time thanks to their consistency to create a lot of Power in the late-game, as well as their toolbox strategies that can adapt to various different opposing setups. Ms. Marvel’s recent arrival also gave Ongoing decks more offensive options, too.
