Marvel Snap Tier List: Best Series 5 Cards
Welcome to our Marvel Snap Series 5 Tier List! New cards are constantly being added to the Spotlight Caches, and it can be difficult to decide what to open. Also be sure to check out our Series 4 Tier List to get our rankings on those cards as well.
I’ll be giving each card in Series 5 a rating based on a combination of strength and value. Series 5 cards are almost always present in the top meta decks, but some can be used in a variety of decks. Others are so strong that they define the meta. I’ll try to factor in many variables when tiering cards.
In general, Series 5 cards are what you should prioritize in Spotlight Caches. Series 4 cards can be purchased for 3000 Collector’s Tokens compared to 6000 for Series 5. Because of this, you should really plan out what Series 5 cards you want from Caches.
Marvel Snap Series 5 Tier List
Note: The Tier List is not ordered within tiers, so don’t pay mind to the order of cards.
| Tier | Series 5 Card Tier List |
|---|---|
| S | Alioth, Blob, Cull Obsidian, Gladiator, Jeff, Loki, Mockingbird, Nico Minoru, Proxima Midnight, Thanos |
| A | Annihilus, Elsa Bloodstone, High Evolutionary, Iron Lad, Ms. Marvel, Nebula, Sebastian Stan, The Living Tribunal, X-23 |
| B | Beta Ray Bill, Black Knight, Caiera, Cannonball, Corvus Glaive, Galactus, Hercules, Pixie, Silk, War Machine, Werewolf by Night |
| C | Black Swan, Grand Master, Jean Gray, Selene, Skaar, Supergiant |
| F | Kang |
Card Commentary – Series 5
There is quite a lot of variety in the Series 5 cards. There are archetype defining cards like Thanos or Alioth, or very powerful supporting cards like Iron Lad or Caiera. The difference from S to A tier can be quite marginal, but there definitely is a dropoff into B and C tier.
Let’s run through each tier and talk about our reasonings.
S-Tier: Best of the Best
For the S-tier, we have cards that are either extremely powerful, deck defining, or very flexible. You really can’t go wrong with these cards, and every account looking to climb should really consider getting these cards.
Alioth
Alioth was nerfed quite heavily when they changed the effect to only work on unrevealed cards. This means you will need priority going into turn 6 in order to effectively use Alioth as your win condition. There are cards that facilitate this effect such as Supergiant, but overall, priority is the main way.
Even still, Alioth is still a mainstay in many control style decks, with Thanos leading the pack.
Blob
Blob is a key player in the strength of Thanos decks. While Blob is a big upgrade for Thanos decks, the card by himself doesn’t provide as much as Thanos does. You also don’t really see Blob outside of Thanos decks too much. Blob’s high rating is largely due to how meta prevalent Thanos is.
Cull Obsidian
Like Blob, Cull Obsidian is another role player for Thanos decks. However, there is definitely potential for Cull to be played in other decks like Bounce or Zoo. Because of this, Cull is a very impactful card to have.
Gladiator
Gladiator is a big reason why “midrange” decks can exist. Generally, Midrange decks don’t use the whole deck to synergize like how Destroy or Discard decks work. Instead, these decks use cards that are efficient on their own or with few synergy pieces and fill the extra slots with things like tech cards.
Gladiator being a 3/8 by himself is huge. His downside is also naturally mitigated through the snap and retreat system. If he pulls out a high Power card for your opponent, you can simply retreat and hop in another game.
Jeff
There isn’t too much to say about Jeff. He’s one of the best 2-Cost cards in the game. While 2/3 isn’t amazing stats, being able to be played anywhere and move once just provides a ton of flexibility.
If any deck needs a solid 2-Cost card, you really can’t go wrong with Jeff. (Unless you’re playing a heavy synergy deck like Destroy/Discard)
Loki
Loki has definitely fallen off after The Collector nerf, but he’s still a strong deck. He also provides a very unique play experience, being able to copy your opponent’s cards. Loki can also be pretty budget friendly. You can simply run card generators like Agent 13 or Agent Coulson along with Devil Dinosaur to good success.
Mockingbird
The release of Mockingbird thrust Thanos decks to the forefront right after the nerf to Lockjaw. She can easily become a 0/9 in Thanos decks, which is absurd.
Not only that, but she can be played in many other archetypes like Patriot, Zoo, etc. Almost every deck has started to run Mobius in order to combat the power of Mockingbird in the current meta.
Nico Minoru
Nico Minoru is another very powerful card in certain archetypes, mainly Destroy and Thanos. She has a lot of powerful effects like copying a card, drawing two cards, etc. At worst, she can usually still be a 1/4, which is still a solid stat line.
Proxima Midnight
Proxima was a huge upgrade for the Discard archetype. While many didn’t expect this to move the needle too much (myself included), the deck isn’t vulnerable to Shang-Chi and other decks like Lockjaw/Hela were nerfed, making the power of Discard quite competitive.
Thanos
Thanos has been one of the most impactful cards in the game since he released. There’s a large variety of archetypes you can play with Thanos such as Destroy, Ongoing, Lockjaw, etc.
Even with the Lockjaw nerf, Thanos has adapted to playing cards like Cull Obsidian and Mockingbird to output just as much power as other decks while still running tech cards.
A-Tier: Great Cards
In the A-tier, we have cards that are still quite good, but just not on the same level as S-tier cards. Even still, A-tier cards are very solid value and have a solid role in the meta.
Annihilus
Annihilus along with Sentry and The Hood combine to make a very powerful engine of 3 cards that can slot into a lot of decks. While Bounce is his most popular archetype, you can definitely throw him into a variety of midrange style decks and do well.
Elsa Bloodstone
Elsa was changed to be a 3/3, and she’s finally seen a resurgence in play. The main deck that utilizes her well is Loki, but other decks can as well. Loki is just the most competitive shell she finds a home in right now.
High Evolutionary
High Evolutionary was very hyped when he was revealed, and while he definitely impacted the meta on release, he has definitely cooled down quite a bit. The High Evo shell with Hulk and things like Sunspot/Nebula are quite potent.
Furthermore, I rate High Evolutionary high for other value reasons. High Evo does provide a solid variety of decks to play such as SheNaut or Minus Power with things like Abomination. These decks are also fairly budget friendly. Once you have High Evo, you don’t really need too many other Series 4 or 5 cards to have a strong deck.
Iron Lad
Iron Lad has definitely seen a drop off in play due to Zabu being less popular. Hope Summers has become the new flavor of the month, replacing the Zabu engine of many decks.
However, Iron Lad still sees play in many combo style decks like Tribunal, not just Zabu midrange decks. He’s always been a solid card, and will likely remain one for a long time.
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel has seen a drop off in play in the recent meta. Zabu has become less popular with Mobius everywhere, cutting one reason to play Ms. Marvel. Furthermore, other synergy decks like Discard and Destroy are taking up more of the meta, and Ms. Marvel is more of a midrange card.
Even still, she’s a powerful card that provides a lot of Power when you fulfill her conditions.
Nebula
Nebula is one of the best 1-Cost cards in the game. She’s a very core card to Control decks or even High Evo decks. She can arguably be S-tier, but I find her just a tad bit less impactful compared to the other S-tier cards.
Sebastian Stan
Sebastian Stan doesn’t see much play outside of Surfer decks, and Surfer decks are on the rise right now. Hope Summers has allowed Surfer decks to have more explosive final turns.
Sebastian is a key piece for gaining Power in Surfer decks, so I’m giving him a solid rating at the moment. His one drawback is that he’s only played in Silver Surfer.
The Living Tribunal
Tribunal is a tough card to rate. Tribunal combo decks or Hela decks can utilize The Living Tribunal very well. Against some decks, this combo is basically unstoppable. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to run into Enchantress or Rogue, which can be difficult for these decks to succeed.
X-23
X-23 is a key role player for the Destroy archetype. If you destroy her with Carnage or Venom, she becomes at least a 1/4 that grants an additional Energy. That’s pretty good.
B-Tier: Niche Cards
For the B-tier, these cards have some application, but aren’t necessary for most top meta decks. They can definitely be used to great success, but should be considered more like bonuses when opening Spotlight Caches rather than the main target.
Beta Ray Bill
Beta Ray Bill is a solid card that further enables the Thor + Jane Foster engine. You can play him in Lockjaw decks with Pixie or in a standard midrange shell. Both of these decks aren’t top meta picks, but they’re solid.
Black Knight
With the nerf to Lockjaw, Black Knight and Hela decks have split. Black Knight decks nowadays generally use Zabu and are more midrange style with a bit of Junk/Annihilus.
Overall, the archetype is solid, but it’s not a top meta deck, making it hard to justify opening caches for Black Knight. If the meta shifts, we may see Black Knight move up in the tier list.
Caiera
Caiera was an instant staple when she came out. She was run in High Evo decks, Thanos decks, and more. However, as time passed, more and more players began to cut her from decks.
There was simply too much of a drawback to play her on turn 3 for some decks. There are just more powerful options to play. She’s not a bad card, but is by no means a necessary pick up.
Corvus Glaive
Corvus Glaive didn’t have high expectation, but became a meta card in the Lockjaw meta. With Lockjaw nerfed, Corvus only sees niche play in Hela or Agatha decks.
Galactus
Galactus used to be lower, but there are the Selene Goblin decks that can do decently well. There isn’t a lot of Galactus hate in the meta, but Galactus is just very predictable, making it hard to gain cubes effectively.
Hercules
Hercules is a very niche card, as the Move archetype doesn’t see much play. However, he does fit into some midrange Move decks that can work.
Pixie
Pixie was a very exciting card when she was datamined, but she hasn’t made a splash meta wise. She sees the most play in High Evo decks to raise the variance a bit. While she’s a very fun card to play, she’s not particularly meta defining or powerful.
Silk
Silk is a very solid card, but her Move effect isn’t as impactful as one would like currently. 2/5 is still a very strong stat line, so she’s not bad.
War Machine
I was very high on War Machine when he was revealed, but he has been lackluster so far. You can do some cute things like play Ebony Maw/The Infinaut on turn 6 without restriction, but that’s unfortunately not enough in the current meta.
He still is a solid card that can do some very powerful things, it’s just not powerful enough at the moment.
Werewolf by Night
Werewolf used to be one of the strongest cards in the meta, but the nerf to being a 4/4 severely hurts the card. Bounce decks still utilize Werewolf very well, but I wouldn’t consider Werewolf a priority at this point.
C-Tier: Meme-Tier
Moving onto C-tier, these are cards that you can generally avoid buying or opening caches for. Even still, they do have some application in some decks, so they’re not F-tier. It’s just that those decks generally are on the weaker side or these cards can be replaced with alternatives.
Black Swan
Black Swan was the February Season Pass card, and she unfortunately didn’t make too much of a splash. Even now, there isn’t really much of a home for her in terms of decks. Zoo decks don’t need the energy cheating, and Mobius completely counters her.
There are some niche archetypes like Move Bounce or Zoo that can play her, but she’s not even mandatory for those decks. You can argue she’s not optimal either.
Grand Master
Grand Master has a very unique effect, but he hasn’t really found a home yet. Decks like Control don’t really need him, and he hasn’t found an OP combo to make him meta. Cerebro 3 with Ravonna can be interesting, but it’s not amazing.
Jean Gray
Jean Gray is another niche card that can look to disrupt your opponent. Unfortunately, lots of decks can play around her effect easily, making her a subpar disruption tool.
Selene
Selene is somewhat of a role player in Junk or Galactus deck. However, neither of those decks are particularly meta and I don’t believe she’s necessary in those archetypes either.
Skaar
After the Lockjaw nerfs, Skaar fell off a cliff in play. Not many decks can fulfill his condition, and there are simply other 6-cost cards worth playing like Magneto, Blob, etc.
Supergiant
Supergiant is another niche card that can sometimes see play in Alioth decks or even Hela decks that use Modok instead of Lockjaw. Another niche role player card that hasn’t had a major impact on the meta yet.
F-Tier
Moving onto the final section, we have the F-tier cards. To be frank, these cards are simply bad. While C-tier meme cards can still reach Infinite, F-tier cards simply are bad. I think that adding these cards to your deck very substantially lowers your odds of winning.
Kang
The only card I’m putting in F tier is Kang. You can argue that some of the C-tier cards can go in F-tier, but at least those cards do have some use cases, even if they’re weak. Unfortunately for Kang, you’re almost always making your deck worse by putting him in.
In an average game of Marvel Snap, you will only get to see 9 cards. If you play Kang, you’re essentially reducing that number down to 8 cards. While you can get information from your opponent, it often doesn’t help you because you simply have 1 less card to play.
Basically, it’s better to predict what your opponent can do and play accordingly. Your deck will be more consistent, and you will become a better player by simply not playing Kang.
Conclusion
This wraps up our tier list on all of Marvel Snap’s Series 5 cards. These cards can only be acquired with Collector’s Tokens or through the new Spotlight Cache system. These are both valuable resources, so think carefully about what you want to unlock.
While some cards are stronger than others, you should ultimately purchase/open the card you want to play with. These tiers and analysis are only here to help you make a decision.
Good luck snapping, and hope this article helped you in your journey.
If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out our other resources for Marvel Snap.
- Best Decks Tier List
- Upcoming Spotlight Cache Review
- Series 4 Tier List
Good luck in your games, and thanks for reading!
