Marvel Snap’s Avengers vs. X-Men season paved the way for new card debuts based on the characters from these factions. Among them is Cannonball, a powerful mutant.
In the Marvel universe, Cannonball, or Samuel Guthrie, is a mutant who can generate thermochemical energy that he can release to launch himself into the air. He can also use the energy as an incredibly destructive weapon. In Marvel Snap, Cannonball has an ability that’s well-aligned with his abilities as an X-Man. So, here are the best Cannonball decks in Marvel Snap.
Cannonball abilities, explained
Cannonball is a five-Cost, eight-Power card with an ability that reads “On Reveal: Move the highest-Power enemy card here away. If you can’t, destroy it with a Rock.” In theory, this is a powerful ability, since it can get rid of the highest-Power card either by moving it to another location or destroying it. The possible setback, however, is that the targeted card moves to a random location.
You can get Cannonball as a series five card, meaning you need to spend 6,000 Tokens to purchase it from the Weekly Spotlight section of the Token Shop. Cannonball is also available as part of the four-card pool of the Spotlight Cache rotation from March 19 to 26. So, save your Tokens or Credits to add Cannonball to your collection.
Strategy and best combos for Cannonball decks in Marvel Snap
Using Cannonball is a gamble. You can either sabotage the opponent’s setup by destroying the highest-Power card at the location where you play it, or to move it to another location, which can be a help or a hindrance, depending on the game.
So, you have to be strategic to ensure Cannonball’s ability won’t make the board unfavorable for you. One of the best options to destroy the highest-Power card is to fill your opponent’s locations with unnecessary cards, mainly using the Junk strategy. The Goblin duo, Green Goblin and Hobgoblin, can both transfer themselves to your opponent’s locations while having negative Power.
As for Viper and Annihilus, they can both transfer unnecessary units to your opponent’s side. Some of their best targets are The Hood, Sentry’s created Void card with negative 10-Power, Debrii’s rocks, and the card affected by Selene’s ability (inflicted with negative three Power).
Cannonball’s ability to move a card is also beneficial for cards like Kingpin and Miles Morales. The former inflicts the Move card with negative two Power when it is moved in Kingpin’s same location, while the latter costs one when a card moves during the last turn.
Best Cannonball decks to play in Marvel Snap
Pure Junk
As mentioned, Junk strategies help Cannonball activate its effect successfully. So, creating a pure Junk deck can help you maintain your offensive engine, which is to control the opponent’s board by disrupting their possible setups in the mid-to-late game.
You can also use the Hazmat and Luke Cage combo offensively, especially by inflicting negative Power to your opponent’s cards. Carnage can destroy unnecessary cards on your side, while Alioth helps you win the game thanks to its ability to destroy your opponent’s unrevealed cards.
Galactus Junk
Another Junk strategy featuring Cannonball is the Galactus package. Here, there are more win conditions than the pure Junk strategy.
Galactus can destroy the other two locations, assuming it’s your only card at the location you play him, and you have no cards at the other two locations. Using the Junk strategy, especially the abilities of the Goblin duo, can force a solo location battle on turn six where you always have the upper hand.
Black Widow is a great inclusion as she provides more Junk cards (Widow’s Bite). Ravonna Renslayer reduces the Cost of your cards with zero or less Power by one, making the Goblin duo cheaper in the process.
Aggro Move
The Aggro Move deck, on the other hand, focuses more on the possible move mechanic imposed by Cannonball. That said, its ability is more of a bonus effect, and the main offensive engine here relies on the movement of your own cards which can help build the Power of your units.
Angela and Kraven are the main Power sources of the deck. The former gains Power every time you play a card at its location, while the latter stacks Power whenever a card moves there. The main goal here is to play a movable card at Angela’s location and move it to Kraven’s location. By doing this, both cards can gain Power in the process.
The cards you can move include Nightcrawler, Jeff the Baby Land Shark, Silk, and Spider-Man. Elsa Bloodstone adds more Power options thanks to her ability to give bonus Power every time you play a card to fill a location, while Hope Summers helps you gain bonus Energy. Cap off the deck with Magneto, which can possibly disrupt your opponent’s setups with three or four-Cost cards while also contributing 12 Power.
How to counter Cannonball decks
With Cannonball having an On Reveal ability, Cosmo is its main counter, since Cosmo prevents On Reveal effects from happening at its same location. This works when Cosmo is on either side of a location, so always watch out for the disruptive space dog. Using Cannonball at a location with Cosmo just makes it a plain card.
Also, if you aim to move a card rather than destroying it, Professor X also serves as a counter thanks to his ability to shut down a location. Armor prevents cards from being destroyed at its location, which is a great defensive tech card (and can also hinder opposing Destroy decks). Playing Cannonball at a location with Armor prevents the destructive effect from triggering.
Is Cannonball worth pulling?
Yes, Cannonball is worth it. Cannonball is a high risk, high reward card, but its ability is still useful to disrupt opponents’ setups. The destruction and rock replacement ability is the best outcome. Still, its movement effect can serve as a surprise for both players and adds a bit of unpredictability toward the late-game.
