It’s time for a new card to be added to Marvel Snap. After Sauron last week it’s time to think about the best Shanna decks for those who get the series five card in their next Collector’s Reserves. That leaves just two more cards to go before the end of the Savage Land season.
Shanna card abilities in Marvel Snap, explained
Shanna is a four-cost card with two power. Its effect is as follows: “On Reveal: Add a random 1-Cost card to each location” It is available in series five, accessed from collection level 486 or above. It can also be found in the Marvel Snap Token Shop, as long as the player does not have it in their collection, for 6,000 Collectors Tokens.
Shanna’s skill along with the character’s history makes her a perfect partner for Ka-Zar and his popular Kazoo deck, however, the possibility of adding cards to other locations can also be played in decks with other strategies. It’s going to take a while to figure out just how impactful Shanna will be in the Marvel Snap meta.
Strategy for Shanna decks in Marvel Snap
The first and possibly main strategy to use Shanna in a deck is known as KaZoo, a powerful archetype since the beginning of the game for not requiring very rare cards to work. The goal is to fill the board with one-cost cards so Ka-Zar and other cards like Blue Marvel can power them up. In this sense, Shanna has a role similar to Squirrel Girl, but with the potential to bring better cards than her squirrels.
However, the random nature of her abilities can also bring less interesting cards to the board. Since the objective is to invest points in all locations, this downside may not be so harmful.
In addition to its obvious use, Shanna brings to the game a more impactful way to add cards to locations that have effects that make it difficult or prevent cards from being played. It is possible to use this idea as the engine of a deck that seeks to reach unreachable locations and fill the opponent’s board with undesirable cards at the same time.
A less explicit strategy to use with Shanna is to put her in a deck with Sera. The idea is to play Shanna in the round before Sera. Due to Sera’s flexibility, it is possible to combine Shanna with many cards that can benefit from her effects like Carnage, Mojo, and Nova.
Best combos with Shanna in Marvel Snap
Cards that have the best synergy with Shanna include:
- Ka-Zar
- Zabu
- Blue Marvel
- Storm
- Doctor Doom
Playing Ka-Zar in the same game as Shanna will make the units she brought to the board stronger, and the presence of Zabu allows the player to play both in the same turn, forming a clear and powerful synergy.
Similarly, Shanna will be combined with other cards of this archetype, mainly Blue Marvel, and other one-cost cards, mainly Ant-Man.
Another way to play Shanna is to have her add cards where they can’t normally be played, so she can help beat locations flooded by Storm. The best way to take advantage of this type of interaction is to also play cards like Doctor Doom or the aforementioned Blue Marvel.
The best Shanna decks in Marvel Snap
The decks below are suggestions and should change as players fill their collections and learn the best ways to use Shanna in their decks.
Shanna with Ka-Zar, Dracula
This deck has the classic Ka-Zar interaction, granting bonuses to one-cost cards. Other win conditions include a combo from Zero and Red Skull in turn six, as well as Dracula taking points from either The Infinaut or Red Skull. Adding Shanna not only brings more one-cost cards, but it’s also possible to play Zabu to play more of the three four-cost cards.
Most one-cost cards gain power from Ka-Zar. Armor can both protect them from opposing Killmongers and protect the locations where Red Skull is intended to be played.
Shanna with Ka-Zar and Strong Guy
This version has more focus on using Ka-Zar and Blue Marvel to power up one-cost cards. America Chavez helps play Zabu more often, mainly to make use of the second win condition, which is playing Strong Guy and discarding your whole hand with Hellcow.
An ideal curve is to play Zabu on turn three, two four-cost cards on turn four, Blue Marvel on turn five, and Hellcow and the other four-cost card left on the final turn, discarding America Chavez and another possible previously unplayed card.
Shanna with Storm and Doctor Doom
The main strategy of this deck is to surprise the opponent by playing cards in locations that prevent cards from being played there while filling opponent spaces on the board with cards like Debrii, Green Goblin, Viper sending The Hood, or even one of the Rocks of Debrii.
Blue Marvel can power up every other card and Doctor Doom has a powerful turn six capable of surprising the opponent. Storm and Juggernaut’s combo is also very powerful in its own right.
In addition, it is a deck that can do better than others in locations that prevent cards from being played or staying there.
How to counter Shanna decks in Marvel Snap
Since Shanna’s skill matches Ka-Zar’s perfectly, they end up sharing weaknesses. The biggest danger to any Kazoo deck is Killmonger, which can destroy much of your strategy.
Since the best way to protect against Killmongers is to use Armor, Enchantress’ presence can wipe out the deck’s defenses. Enchantress can also neutralize the deck by removing Ka-Zar’s and Blue Marvel’s abilities, which are cards easily paired with Shanna.
This combination of factors makes Sera decks especially effective against Shanna, as they usually have both Enchantress and Killmonger.
