Discard is a very unique playstyle in Marvel Snap. There are decks that destroy cards, decks that ramp into big cards, and decks that generate cards. Discard, on the other hand, discards cards from your hand. It’s definitely not for everyone, but playing the discard playstyle is very satisfying and allows for a multitude of cards to be used in each deck.
On top of that, there are at least two main ways of playing discard, with one being the classic discard, where your priority is making cards like Morbius and The Collector stronger, or the other play style, Hela. Hela brings cards that have been discarded back and onto the board, making her play completely different from the more standard, classic way.
These, though, are the best discard decks to try out. Whether you prefer classics or like messing with the goddess of death itself, there’s still room to improvise and climb to the top. Trust me, these decks are a lot better than Morbius’ own movie.
5. Gambit Nuke
Gambit Nuke is a very funny deck to run, but it is also one of the most satisfying. Gambit Nuke is a deck that revolves all around our favorite card thrower, Gambit. His ability to destroy a random card as long as he discards something proves to be quite useful if given some extra juice. Wong, Odin, and Mystique are here to make sure that happens.
Ultimately, your goal is to have Wong and hopefully Mystique down to quadruple how many on-reveal effects are going to happen. Then also make sure you have Swarm and Apocalypse in your hand so you have something to continue to discard. Then put Gambit down onto your Wong lane and watch as your opponent’s cards get destroyed one by one until there’s nothing left. This deck does a great job at just removing their cards, so there’s nothing to contest, and if pulled off well, it feels amazing to watch it unfold. Gambit becomes a menace in this deck, and you should definitely remember his name.
Gambit Nuke strengths:
- Destroys their cards: Gambit makes it so you aren’t really worried about what your opponent plays since he will be destroying that anyways, unless there's an Armor. Throw card, kill card—both simple and pretty hilarious to watch.
- More ways to win: This deck also includes Morbius and Dracula, giving you a backup way to win by buffing those two in case the Gambit Nuke strategy doesn’t come to fruition.
- Unique playstyle: There’s not another deck like Gambit Nuke, so it fulfills a need to destroy the opponent’s cards. There are also other cards in this deck to make sure you get the combo off easier, like Magik and Crystal.
- Location changing: Magik is in the deck, which means you have a way to change a bad location if you need to.
Gambit Nuke cards:
- Blade (1 cost)
- Morbius (2 cost)
- Swarm (2 cost)
- Colleen Wing (2 cost)
- Mystique (3 cost)
- Magik (3 cost)
- Crystal (3 cost)
- Gambit (3 cost)
- Dracula (4 cost)
- Wong (4 cost)
- Apocalypse (6 cost)
- Odin (6 cost)
Other Great substitutes:
- Miek (1 cost)
- Wolverine (2 cost)
- Corvus Glaive (3 cost)
- Absorbing Man (4 cost)
- Proxima Midnight (4 cost)
4. Dracula Dump
Dracula Dump isn’t exactly like any traditional discard deck; it only has two ways to discard: Blade and Dracula. But it had to be included here since Dracula is the MVP of this deck, as well as another underused card, Strong Guy. Dracula Dump is all about, well, dumping your hand. You want to get rid of as many cards as you can, so Strong Guy gets his bonus and Dracula discards The Infinaut or Destroyer.
Cosmo is here as well, just in case you don’t want to use cards like Zero or Blade and can win without them. Speaking of Zero, he gets rid of the effects of Titania and Destroyer, allowing them to be played without their downsides. Black Swan is also key to this deck, as she allows you to get rid of all your 1 costs on the last turn. If everything goes right, then you have a hefty amount of power from Dracula and Strong Guy and a ton of other 1 costs all across the board.
Dracula Dump's strengths:
- Tech options: Unlike most discard decks, Dracula Dump has room for tech options. In this list, there is Armor and Cosmo, which are fantastic tech options to help counter your opponent.
- Surprise factor: Nobody really plays Strong Guy, so most opponents will not expect his huge statline. The same goes for Dracula if he discards The Infinaut. The explosion of one-cost cards across the board is also something your opponent won’t see coming.
- A lot of 1 costs: This deck is almost half 1 costs, meaning you always have a card to play every turn. You can also save them until the last turn thanks to Black Swan who makes them cost 0.
Dracula Dump cards:
- Sunspot (1 cost)
- Ant-Man (1 cost)
- Blade (1 cost)
- Zero (1 cost)
- Titania (1 cost)
- Armor (2 cost)
- Cosmo (3 cost)
- Strong Guy (3 cost)
- Black Swan (3 cost)
- Dracula (4 cost)
- Destroyer (6 cost)
- The Infinaut (6 cost)
Other Great substitutes:
- Nebula (1 cost)
- Rocket Racoon (1 cost)
- Nightcrawler (1 cost)
- Jeff the Baby Land Shark (2 cost)
- Red Hulk (6 cost)
3. Classic Discard
The classic discard deck used to be one of the most consistent decks in the whole game. America Chavez was a wonder in that deck, but after her nerf, it is no more. However, since then, new cards have been added, like Miek, Corvus Glaive, and Proxima Midnight, allowing for a new age of classic discard. This one has all the tools of the original, but with new cards, a lack of Dracula, and the additions of The Collector and Helicarrier.
Now the deck has three ways to build up power, and it is still as satisfying as ever. You want to get Miek, Morbius, and The Collector down as soon as possible and then hope you have a good hand. A perfect hand in this situation would be Swarm, Apocalypse, M.O.D.O.K., and Helicarrier. Then discard your hand with M.O.D.O.K. and watch your cards spike in power. It’s still as consistent as the original deck was, and it's still as fun as ever to play.
Classic discard strengths:
- Constantly growing cards: Miek, Morbius, and The Collector all do not stay at base power and will constantly grow throughout the match. Meaning you always have a consistently growing power source.
- Revolves around discarding, not playing: Playing this deck means that some of your cards do not need to be played and are thus not restricted by energy cost. Proxima and Swarm, for example, are designed to be discarded, not played. At least not until maybe that last turn.
- Adaptability: Miek can move, meaning he can get out of a tough situation or move to a location that you are losing. Helicarrier also gives you random cards. Which could possibly give you a card to counter your opponent.
Classic discard cards:
- Miek (1 cost)
- Blade (1 cost)
- Morbius (2 cost)
- The Collector (2 cost)
- Swarm (2 cost)
- Colleen Wing (2 cost)
- Lady Sif (3 cost)
- Corvus Glaive (3 cost)
- Proxima Midnight (4 cost)
- M.O.D.O.K. (5 cost)
- Apocalypse (6 cost)
- Helicarrier (6 cost)
Other Great substitutes:
- Nebula (1 cost)
- Sword Master (3 cost)
- Daken (3 cost)
- Hell Cow (4 cost)
- Dracula (4 cost)
2. Hela Tribunal
Now we’re onto our top two, which are both Hela decks, as she is still one of, if not the best, card in the game. Hela Tribunal was the first real Hela deck made, and it’s still just as good as ever due to the shocking amount of power it puts down. Hela’s ability to bring cards back that have been discarded, allows for some heavy surprises for your opponent that won’t see enter the board until that final turn.
This deck only works because of Invisible Woman and Supergiant. Invisible Woman allows you to play M.O.D.O.K. on turn five and the Hela on turn six. Honestly, with those three cards, it might be all you have to play to win; the deck is just that strong. Supergiant is also a backup to that since you can play her on turn five and Hela on turn 6. With Magik’s help, you have a turn 7 to play M.O.D.O.K. The Living Tribunal is one of the cards you may discard with M.O.D.O.K. You want to bring him and a ton of big cards back, which avoids Hela’s random placement of cards since Tribunal will spread the power evenly no matter where she puts the cards. He’s perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
Hela Tribunal strengths:
- Evenly spread locations: Tribunal spreads the power among all three locations, so locations that prohibit you from playing cards are something you will not care about and are very easy to win.
- Simple to play: All you really need are a few cards to place in order to win, so it’s a very easy deck to learn and pick up to play.
- Living Tribunal backup: If the Hela line-up doesn’t work, you still have the simple Iron Man, Onslaught, and Living Tribunal combo to play in order to win.
- Big cards: All the cards in this deck have very high power, meaning it’s pretty easy to win locations due to their statlines. Screw math, just slam down big numbers!
Hela Tribunal cards:
- Invisible Woman (2 cost)
- Magik (3 cost)
- Crystal (3 cost)
- Supergiant (4 cost)
- Iron Lad (4 cost)
- Iron Man (5 cost)
- M.O.D.O.K. (5 cost)
- Hela (6 cost)
- Onslaught (6 cost)
- Red Hulk (6 cost)
- The Living Tribunal (6 cost)
- The Infinaut (6 cost)
Other great substitutes:
- Nebula (1 cost)
- Blade (1 cost)
- Lady Sif (3 cost)
- Corvus Glaive (3 cost)
- Magneto (6 cost)
- Death (8 cost)
1. Hela Black Knight
Hela Black Knight was kind of an obvious number one. It is not only the best discard deck, but the best deck in the whole game right now. Hela is an unstoppable threat, and paired with Black Knight, they become a deck that is near impossible to counter. It plays like every other Hela deck, but Black Knight’s ability is just a cherry on top for creating not only a dependable deck but a very powerful one as well.
This deck’s only ways of discarding are Blade, Corvus Glaive, and Lady Sif, but that’s all you’re going to need. You end up taking four big cards, like Red Hulk or Magneto, as examples, and you want to discard them. If you have Black Knight down on the board, discarding a Magneto gives you a 4/12 card that cannot be destroyed. You will usually just win off of the Ebony Blade alone, but on top of all that, you have Hela to bring back any card discarded. It’s just so much power with so few cards played, making it the supreme discard deck.
Hela Black Knight strengths:
- Black Knight: The Ebony Blade is an unkillable card. Meaning you can get a high-powered card that cannot be killed by Shang-Chi. It can also be played on destruction locations like Death’s Domain or Altar of Death, and well, it won’t be destroyed. He also looks cool
- Getting big cards out early: Jubilee and Blink are both supportive cards that help get your big six-cost cards out onto the board early. Getting high power on the board pretty quickly could overwhelm your opponent.
- High pressure: Red Hulk pressures your opponent to use all their energy, or else he will grow in strength. On top of that, discarding cards will put pressure on your opponent and make them begin to fear Hela and where she will end up placing your discarded cards.
Hela Black Knight cards:
- Black Knight (1 cost)
- Blade (1 cost)
- Corvus Glaive (3 cost)
- Lady Sif (3 cost)
- Jubilee (4 cost)
- Black Cat (4 cost)
- Blink (5 cost)
- Hela (6 cost)
- Red Hulk (6 cost)
- Magneto (6 cost)
- The Infinaut (6 cost)
- Death (8 cost)
Other Great substitutes:
- Colleen Wing (2 cost)
- Ghost Rider (4 cost)
- Dracula (4 cost)
- Skaar (6 cost)
- Giganto (6 cost)
