How to Play Alioth in Marvel Snap
Welcome to another installment in our series where we cover new card releases and how to use them.
Alioth is the first entry to the Spotlight Cache in September, and its been quite polarizing.
If you’re in a losing position going into turn 6, Alioth can almost ensure a win for the opponent, or at least turn it into a 50/50. This makes decks that want to flood the board on turn 6 much less attractive to play.
Some will argue that Alioth creates another negative play experience, similar to Galactus, but let’s give it some time to settle.
Let’s get right into the guide.
Alioth Effect
On Reveal: Destroy ALL enemy cards played here this turn. (including unrevealed cards)
Alioth Synergy
Alioth is a card that will popularize deck archetypes that guarantee a win in one location, followed by Alioth on turn 6. Some decks may also want to cheat Alioth out early in combination with a card like Daredevil.
In any case, this type of deck archetype hasn’t been too popular recently, but with Alioth in the game, we may see a comeback.
Galactus
Let’s get the big bad out of the way. Galactus is the first syenrgy that popped into everyone’s head when Alioth was datamined. If your opponent is able to play Galactus and resolve Galactus on turn 5, Alioth makes the game an auto win.
It’s similar to how before, people could play Galactus on 4 (with Wave), and Spider-Man on 5, almost ensuring a win. With the change to Spider-Man, that was no longer the case. However, with Alioth, you can still do the same thing, just slightly different. Alioth is arguably better then Spider-Man, as you can play Galactus on turn 5 with Wave or Electro.
The main drawback of Galactus is getting his effect off. However, it’s still very doable with cards like Green Goblin or Hobgoblin.
Professor X
Galactus isn’t the only way you can play Alioth. You can also look to utilize location control as well. These decks want to lock down a lane with Professor X, and look to win another lane with Alioth on turn 6. The caveat is that the 5 Power from Alioth needs to be able to win the final lane after destroying enemy cards.
In a deck like this, you’ll also want to play cards like Storm, Nebula, Jeff, etc to play with this location style.
Odin
To a lesser extent, Odin also can synergize with Alioth. If you can play Alioth on turn 5, (through Wave or Electro) you can destroy enemy cards two turns in a row. You still need to win another lane somehow, but I thought I would share this as well.
Alioth Decks
For this section, I’ll be mainly going over some decks that synergize with Alioth.
Keep in mind that these decks are all first impressions, so things can definitely change rapidly. As new discoveries are made with Alioth, I will be updating our Full Tier List, rather than update this article.
Overall, all the synergies with Alioth are pointing toward a Galactus or Electro archetype. While a Location Lockdown deck is possible with Alioth, it’s much harder to succeed with that kind of deck than Galactus.
Previously, we saw Electro Ramp decks fit in Black Panther as an alternate win condition, but Alioth now seems to be better. Sandman also looks to be on the chopping block as there are simply better cards to run, and the meta isn’t filled with swarming decks.
Electro Alioth Deck
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This Galactus deck is likely the starting point for a lot of players. It fits in perfectly, and the deck has access to a lot of alternate play patterns than simply winning with Alioth. If you want a more Galactus specific deck, you can still look to run cards like Knull or Wolverine, but the Electro shell gives you more options. This is especially important for modes like Conquest.
Galactus Alioth Deck
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This version of Alioth looks to go all in on the Galactus plan. This type of deck is much more suited for the regular game mode, as you can retreat as much as you like without too much drawback.
Alioth Counters
Alioth is a very strong card, but there definitely are some counters to him. While these won’t always succeed in stopping Alioth, it can definitely help.
Armor / Cosmo
Since Alioth is a destroy card, cards like Armor and Cosmo will stop his effect. Cosmo will also stop Galactus if you’re able to play it with priority before Galactus goes off. Not every deck can easily fit in Armor and Cosmo, but if you see tons of Galactus/Alioth, these cards can help.
Doctor Doom
Some decks will want to run Alioth as a tech card instead of going all in into Electro or Galactus. In these games, Doctor Doom can help counter Alioth, as you are able to add Power to a location without playing there. With Doctor Doom, you have two locations to play him without being destroyed by Alioth.
To a lesser extent, move cards like Jeff and Silk can also help counter Alioth by moving into the location without needing to be played there.
Conclusion
Overall, Alioth is breathing some life into the Galactus/Electro archetype that has seen less popularity in recent times. Whether or not that’s a good thing is up to you.
Hope this guide helped you out a bit, good luck in your games, and snap away!
Be sure to check out our Tier Lists for out current rankings on Marvel Snap decks and cards.
- Best Decks Tier List
- Series 4/5 Tier List
Good luck in your games, and thanks for reading!
