4 card games you should play if you’re hooked on Marvel Snap
Even more multiverse.
Marvel Snap – a new digital card game based on the Marvel comic book universe – has taken the world by storm since its release earlier this in 2022. Featuring fast-paced gameplay and a roster of recognisable heroes and villains, it’s no wonder that players have gotten hooked onto Marvel Snap. From the majestic Captain Marvel to the mischievous Rocket Raccoon, the video game definitely has brand recognition on its side - not to mention serving as a more accessible alternative to the likes of Hearthstone and Gwent.
However, there’s still nothing quite like sitting down to play a physical card game and there are plenty out there that are sure to appeal to a Marvel Snap fanatic. Whether you’re attached to the many beloved characters of the Marvel comic book universe, enjoy creating your own decks or crave speedy cardplay, there is a whole range of fun and addictive card games that can scratch at least one of these particular itches.
- Marvel Champions: The Card Game
- Smash Up: Marvel
- Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game
- 5-Minute Marvel
Switch your mobile/tablet/PC/games console off, invite your friends over and get stuck into some fantastic card games that you should be playing if you’re hooked on Marvel Snap.
1. Marvel Champions: The Card Game
Team-up with Iron Man, Black Panther and more to fight a rogues’ gallery of supervillains
Using the living card game system created by Fantasy Flight Games, Marvel Champions: The Card Game offers Marvel Snap players a challenge that they can tackle together. When we say challenge, we mean challenge – as Marvel Champions certainly does hold back when it comes to difficulty. This entry is definitely designed for Marvel Snap players who are craving the kind of challenge they’ve experienced battling higher-ranked opponents in a co-op card game format.
Similarly to Marvel Snap, players will need to construct their own decks before they actually play Marvel Champions. However, this differs from the video game in that each deck is themed around a specific superhero rather than a certain gameplay mechanic or theme. From Spider-Man to Black Panther, each of the decks in Marvel Champions will have their own overall vibe – such as damage-dealing or support – as well as their own little quirks that make them unique. You’ll be able to customise this somewhat by swapping in particular cards to suit your strategies, depending on which characters your fellow players are controlling and which villain you’re facing.
The real challenge of Marvel Champions comes from its villains and what difficulty players choose. At the end of every player round – which may have them attacking minions, summoning allies or dealing damage to the villain – it’s time for the villain to target the player heroes, threatening death or an advance to their villainous plan. Player character death and the completion of the masterplan both result in a failure, meaning that players will need to balance their priorities and work together. Those Marvel Snap players who thrive on desperate odds will love Marvel Champions.
Marvel Champions: The Card Game is available from Amazon UK and Fantasy Flight Games.
2. Smash Up: Marvel
A chaotic and fast-moving card game that sees unlikely heroes working together
The Smash Up series has a reputation for providing players with a fun and charming card game experience, having players combine two very different decks together to make all sorts of strange combinations. Given the popularity of the comic books and movies, it was only a matter of time before the series produced a Marvel entry. Smash Up: Marvel offers Marvel Snap players a simultaneously simpler and more complicated experience, making the gameplay a bit more straightforward but increasing the number of cards players can expect to use.
The Marvel card game has players competing against each other for superhero supremacy, using their decks to secure various locations from across the Marvel comic book universe for themselves. Whilst Marvel Snap enables players to craft their decks using whatever cards they have available to them, Smash Up: Marvel features a collection of premade decks that players can then combine with others to make a complete deck. Each deck type in Smash Up: Marvel is based on a different faction or group of characters, whether they’re the classic Avengers, characters from the Spider-Verse, members of Hydra or the Sinister Six. This means that players could have Spider-Man working with the Green Goblin.
Every combination of decks that players could make provide their own unique gameplay style, as well as advantages and disadvantages. As an area-control card game, Smash Up: Marvel is more about being able to advance your position and hold each location, rather than just outright knocking out your opponent – similarly to that of Marvel Snap. Take your Marvel Snap tactics onto the tabletop with this silly and stylish card game.
Smash Up: Marvel is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.
3. Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game
An epic battle to save the world from the clutches of an evil mastermind
Whilst Marvel Snap has players creating their decks before they commence a match, Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game sees players creating their decks during the game itself. As a deckbuilding game, the tabletop title challenges players to adapt to the new threats and obstacles that pop up, crafting a deck using the best cards they can get. The challenges players face during Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game will depend on whichever mastermind villain they decide to face-off against, with potential options including Magneto, Loki and Dr Doom.
Once they’ve chosen their villain, players can then pick which decks to place into their reserve. The reserve is where players can purchase cards from during the turns, gradually shaping their decks into a weapon capable of defeating their chosen mastermind. Every deck will offer their own specific advantages, whether players decide to recruit from Gambit, Spider-Man, Nick Fury, Hulk or another one of the character decks available. As players add to their decks they’ll open up new options, enabling them to defeat more dangerous henchpeople and rescue innocent people.
Eventually, players will want to gear up to start attacking the mastermind themselves. Stalling for time is not enough when it gives the villain a chance to carry out their ultimate plan, whether that’s helping their allies to escape or dealing enough wounds to the player characters. Carrying out successful attacks on the mastermind will grant players an attack card, with the main goal being to eventually draw all of the villain attack cards. Work together to save the world in this intense co-op card game that’s a great title to play after Marvel Snap.
Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game is available from Zatu and Amazon US.
4. 5-Minute Marvel
Fast paced and frantic, this card game provides the perfect respite to Marvel Snap players
If the intensity of Marvel Snap is every getting to, you then dipping into something light and fun like 5 Minute Marvel could really help with cooling down. Though 5-Minute Marvel isn’t the calmest gameplay experience, it’s definitely an extremely accessible and quick-to-play party card game that’s sure to be a great way to blow off some steam. Part of the 5 Minute Dungeon series, 5-Minute Marvel has players taking the mantel of a collection of classic Marvel superheroes as they attempt to work their way through a gauntlet of villains.
In the game, players can choose from the likes of more well-known characters like Spider-Man, Captain America and Iron Man, as well as more deep-cut heroes such as Squirrel Girl and Medusa. Each playable hero has their own deck of cards that offer special abilities, alongside having their own specific power that they can whip out to aid themselves and/or their fellow heroes. Before the game can actually start, players will want to set up the 5 Minute Marvel app in order to start a countdown – which is read out by Jarvis himself – of, you guessed it, exactly five minutes. Players will need to reach the boss and defeat them within those five minutes in order to win the game.
All players will be working through a single deck containing the various enemies and obstacles they’ll need to overcome in order to get to the boss. Every card that players reveal will require a combination of icons to be bested, which players will need to make up using the various cards within their hand. Time is of the essence in 5 Minute Marvel, meaning that players have to work quickly to move through the deck and eventually reach whichever villain they’ve chosen to face. Successfully take out the villain within the time limit and the heroes win the day. Take a moment to destress and enjoy some chaos with 5-Minute Marvel.
5-Minute Marvel is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.