How to Play Sebastian Shaw in Marvel Snap
Sebastian Shaw is the Season Pass card for December, and he’s looking to be quite promising. He’s another card that scales in Power through his effect, much like Werewolf by Night. Will he be better than Werewolf? Only time will tell.
Shaw likely will find a home in a few decks, allowing for more archetypes to be played in the meta. I expect him to be a strong card, but I don’t think he will change the meta dramatically.
Let’s get right into the guide.
Sebastian Shaw Effect
When this card permanently gains Power, gain +2 more Power. (wherever this is)
Sebastian Shaw Analysis
Looking at his effect, we see that Shaw is very similar to Werewolf by Night. By fulfilling some condition, he grows further in Power. There’s a multitude of buffing effects in the game, so there will be no shortage of ways to scale him up.
Most interestingly, his effect works regardless of where he is. This means that cards that can buff him up while he’s in the deck will work as well.
Overall, Shaw looks to be quite powerful, but he’s more restrictive than Werewolf, can’t move, and gains less Power. I don’t imagine Shaw will overtake Werewolf, but he’s a nice option that is more accessible.
Sebastian Shaw Synergies
Let’s cover some cards that will work well with Sebastian Shaw.
America Chavez
On Reveal: The top card of your deck gets +2 Power.
The December patch brought a substantial amount of card changes. One of these was changing how America Chavez works. She now fulfills a completely different role in the game.
While you can’t guarantee that her ability will land on Sebastian Shaw, she’s still representing 2/5 worth of Power, which is quite solid. The only caveat is that you have to play the next card you draw at some point in the game.
Silver Surfer
On Reveal: Give your other 3-Cost cards +2 Power.
The first synergy on everyone’s mind is Silver Surfer. Sebastian Shaw is 3-Cost, meaning he will likely find a home in Silver Surfer decks. These decks recently moved away from engines like Brood to play more toward Werewolf.
With Shaw, we may see Surfer decks go back to a Brood Sera engine to make use of buffing cards. Surfer decks also have other ways to buff up Shaw.
- Nakia: On Reveal: Give all cards in your hand +1 Power.
- Ironheart: On Reveal: Give 3 other friendly cards +2 Power.
- Nova + Killmonger:
When this is destroyed, give your cards +1 Power
On Reveal: Destroy ALL 1-Cost cards.
All these things considered, we’ll likely see Surfer be the most popular deck once Sebastian Shaw releases.
Forge
On Reveal: Give the next card you play +2 Power.
While Forge isn’t a 3-cost card, he does synergize in Surfer decks. If you can’t draw Sebastian Shaw, playing Forge into Brood is also a respectable Power play.
Outside of Forge, the only other ways I can think of to buff up Shaw are through these cards:
- Okoye: On Reveal: Give every card in your deck +1 Power.
- Shuri: On Reveal: If you play your next card at this location, double its Power.
Okoye may see some play as it also does synergize with Brood, but Shuri definitely won’t see play with Shaw.
Sebastian Shaw Locations
After exploring cards that synergize with Shaw, let’s delve into locations that complement him as well.
Power Buffing Locations
Much like the synergy cards, any location that provides a permanent buff will grow Sebastian Shaw immensely. Since he’s 3-cost, you’ll likely have full information on Locations, so you can see what suits him best.
Here’s a list of good locations:
- Muir Island: After each turn, give cards here +1 Power.
- Shuri’s Lab: After you play a card here, double its Power.
- Stark Tower: After turn 5, give all cards here +2 Power.
- Wakandan Embassy: Give +2 Power to cards in players’ hands.
Sebastian Shaw Decks
For this section, I’ll be mainly going over some decks that synergize with Sebastian Shaw.
Keep in mind that these decks are all first impressions, so things can definitely change rapidly. As new discoveries are made, I will be updating our Full Tier List, rather than update this article.
Be sure to check it out to see what the best decks are.
Surfer Patriot Shaw Deck
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This first deck is what I expect to be one of the strongest Shaw decks. The combo of Brood, Absorbing Man, and Forge was nerfed in the past, but the deck may have enough to compete with the addition of Shaw.
The deck also has a lot of ways to utilize Invisible Woman as well. She can protect Patriot from Rogue or Enchanctress, and you can put Absorbing Man behind her to double up on powerful effects like Doctor Doom or Silver Surfer.
Sera Surfer Shaw Deck
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This second deck is similar to the first, except instead of running more Patriot cards, it uses Sera along with more 3-cost cards like Storm and Juggernaut. I don’t personally think this version will be stronger, but maybe with some optimization it can get there.
Sebastian Shaw Counters
Shadow King / Shang-Chi
Shadow King is everywhere in the current meta. Many of the top decks buff cards like Collector, Werewolf, Deadpool, etc. As such, expect to see a ton of Shadow King.
Shang-Chi can also be a counter for Shaw, but it depends how large he already is, whether or not you have priority, etc. Shadow King will likely be more prevalent in the meta.
You can try to find space in your Sebastian Shaw deck for Luke Cage, and that may end up being the correct call for the deck.
Conclusion
Overall, Sebastian Shaw is breathing more life into the Surfer archetype, or maybe he will create his own archetype altogether. Werewolf already sees play in Surfer decks, so it will be interesting to see how Sebastian Shaw can carve out a place in the meta.
Overall, I think Shaw will be a strong card, but his decks seem to be somewhat limited compared to previous Season Pass cards.
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!
