The Grandmaster has joined Marvel Snap, so we’re breaking down the best decks for what just might be one of the game’s strongest and most useful cards.
How Grandmaster Works in Marvel Snap
While the long textbox may make the Grandmaster seem overly complicated, his ability is rather straightforward. A 2-Cost, 0-Energy card, his ability reads: “On Reveal: Move one of your other On Reveal cards here to the middle location. Its ability happens again.”
Yes, you have to have room in the middle location for Grandmaster’s ability to trigger and push a card from the location you played him in. Furthermore, the On Reveal card in this area he pushes over is entirely random.
Best Grandmaster Decks in Marvel Snap
Where to even begin when it comes to the best decks in Marvel Snap for Grandmaster? His ability may be straightforward, but Marvel Snap hasn’t seen a card this combo-heavy before — the possibilities are endless. Still, there are two standout decks that the Grandmaster will fit well into: Discard and Silver Surfer. Here’s our pick for the best Discard deck featuring Grandmaster in Marvel Snap.
- Miek
- Blade
- Grandmaster
- Morbius
- Swarm
- Colleen Wing
- Gambit
- Daken
- Lady Sif
- Dracula
- MODOK
- Apocalypse
This deck slots the Grandmaster into an honest Discard list that includes fellow January card Miek, though Wolverine is a good replacement if you don’t have the little insectoid warrior. Here, the Grandmaster can single-handedly win games by pushing and retriggering a MODOK with an Apocalypse in hand, increasing both Morbius and Apocalypse to massive power levels. Even without that end-game combo, the Grandmaster can retrigger plenty of discard effects like Lady Sif and Gambit to give you a little more consistency. Expect to see a lot of experimentation with the Grandmaster and Discard going forward.
Silver Surfer, on the other hand, has been up-and-down in popularity; until Blob’s nerf, going wide and trying to win every lane was a difficult strategy to pull off. However, after his nerf, the spacefaring monochrome man’s stocks are on the rise — even more so with the Grandmaster’s release. Here’s our pick for the best Silver Surfer deck in Marvel Snap with Grandmaster in it:
- Forge
- Nova
- Grandmaster
- Goose
- Brood
- Silver Surfer
- Killmonger
- Sebastian Shaw
- Polaris
- Spider-Man
- Gladiator
- Sera
The difficulty with this list, given the prominence of so many On Reveal effects, comes from getting the Grandmaster to nab and replay Silver Surfer with other On Reveal cards in the location; however, if the Grandmaster pulls another card such as Brood, Forge, or Daken at the right time during the match, he can pull off some great value plays regardless.
There are plenty of other decks that the Grandmaster fits into: Move lists, Mr. Negative Lists, destroy :ists, disruption Darkhawk Lists, and more. Pretty much anything with powerful On Reveal effects you’d want to trigger more than once, but don’t want to spend 4-Energy on a vulnerable Wong for. That makes Grandmaster one of the better options when creating the best possible deck in Marvel Snap.
Grandmaster Counters in Marvel Snap
Cosmo remains the best counter for On Reveal abilities. As the Grandmaster must be played in the middle lane for his ability to work, simply plop down a Cosmo there either before or after he’s played to completely negate his effect. Cosmo will hit the card he pulls as well. Furthermore, movement effects such as Polaris and Spider-Man can yank him out of the middle, too. And most annoyingly, he may pull cards like Green Goblin. Consider playing a Junk deck that clogs up the middle lane if you’re running into a lot of the Grandmaster.
Who Is Grandmaster?
Most famously portrayed by Ian Malcolm himself (Jeff Goldblum) in the MCU, the Grandmaster is an immortal “Elder of the Universe” that earned mastery over countless games in an effort to stave off the boredom of eternity. Most notably, he has frequently kidnapped or forced the Avengers to participate in his high-stakes shenanigans.
Is Grandmaster Worth Your Spotlight Keys or Collector’s Tokens?
Most certainly yes. Few Marvel Snap cards have had as much potential as Grandmaster, and he’s only going to get better with time — if Second Dinner doesn’t nerf him, that is. While 6,000 Collector’s Tokens is a high ask for any card, his Spotlight week pairs him with Loki and Hit Monkey, both of which are cards that have taken a couple of nerfs but still see play. Regardless, Grandmaster is definitely a card you’ll want to pick up, as he has the potential to become a staple in a ton of decks.
And those are our picks for the best decks featuring Grandmaster in Marvel Snap. The game is available now on mobile and PC.
