The card-collecting aspect of Marvel Snap is one that a lot of players love a ton. Not only do we get to play with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but we also get to customize how we want them to look as we play the game. There are some spectacular variants and amazing artists that put so much talent into the art they make of a game.
Not to mention variants become a huge part of flexing on your opponents, whether that be showing off a Spotlight or Super Rare variant or showing off your fantastic inked split with that red crackle effect. We all want our cards to pop out and make your opponent jealous of what you have and they don’t. Plus, who doesn’t love some alternate versions of our favorite Marvel characters?
So many of the variants of the game are incredible that it was very hard to narrow this list to only twenty variants. But it was, in fact, done! These are the best variants in the game, and they truly give you some insanely talented art to show off throughout your battles.
20. Classic Angel
First up, we have a variant that embodies not only the power of the X-Men but also shows off the good they do in the world. This variant is pleasant to look at, displaying Angel saving a mutated, disfigured girl from an army of protestors. They hold signs that say stuff like “Devil” and “Satan’s Children.”.
The people are protesting against mutants, and this variant shows off that aspect of prejudice that the X-Men face. Angel saving this young girl with his wings flowing in the background is not only cinematic but also breathtaking and even inspiring. This artwork by Alex Ross is truly a wonder to behold.
19. Noir Howard the Duck
All of the noir variants are quite stunning. Seeing our favorite Marvel characters in a completely different setting filled with nothing but blacks, whites, and yellows makes for some nice old school detective aesthetics. Howard, however, is the best. Something about seeing this cartoonish character in a more realistic and grounded setting just makes this variant pop out a lot more. Additionally, the duck doesn’t get a lot of play, so it’s nice to give him some love on Marvel Snap.
Not to mention, upon adding animation to this variant via upgrading the variant, it actually adds snow falling throughout the card. This is a gorgeous detail that is very prominent when playing and using this variant. The only red in the image being his eyes is also another nice touch, showing that he isn’t exactly a friendly duck.
18. Rian Gonzales Chibi Lizard
Now this one is just straight-up adorable. The chibi and baby variants in Marvel Snap are genuinely considered some of the weakest variants in the game. However, I’d like to introduce you to the chibi Lizard. This little guy isn’t drawn to be monstrous like the other Lizard variants. His proportions and look of his face are completely changed to make him more gekko-like.
Not to mention Rian’s charm of adding little characters and references across her art, such as the mice around the sewers and, of course, the Spider-Man plush in his hands. Overall, the variant is just adorable and might even give your opponent a disadvantage, since who would want to reduce this Lizard’s power?
17. Kim Jacinto Apocalypse
Kim Jacinto is one of the more prominent and flashy artists for variants in Marvel Snap. His artwork just has a very menacing and metal style to it that just makes his variants look as cool as possible. His Apocalypse is no different. This Apocalypse takes some liberties in changing his design to just make him seem as intimidating as possible.
He’s missing his prominent, bright blue lips, but that’s a good thing. Instead, his face just looks expressionless, like he doesn’t care about the damage he’s doing. Top it all off with the lightning and rocks that, when animated, make him look as vibrant as ever, and you get a pretty terrifying depiction of Apocalypse to play in your discard decks.
16. Hellfire Gala Doctor Doom
Here we have the Doctor himself in an outfit we don’t ever see him in. The Hellfire Gala variants do an excellent job of putting our iconic heroes and villains in stylized suits and fancy clothing. Usually, it might just be a suit or a dress, but Doom here, he went all out.
Doom’s egotistical personality is perfectly displayed in just this image. You can practically feel him picking up the gold and that massive green fur coat just to make himself look better than the rest, and I’d say he succeeded in that. Who wouldn’t want to use this dapper look for Mr. Doom himself?
15. Zombie Blue Marvel
There are surprisingly few zombie variants in the game, despite how well-known Marvel Zombies is. Regardless, the two we have in the game are both excellent for those who like horror or their favorite heroes as undead. Blue Marvel’s stands up above Squirrel Girl's, however, due to its incredible animated effects.
The lightning and magic around his hands flashing around him are animated exceptionally well and make the variant sick in motion. Additionally, we can’t forget about those glowing orange eyes, and those tears in the suit add more to the zombie aspect. Finally, the orange background fills the area around him with dread to show just how horrifying the zombie concept is.
14. Dan Hipp Mobius M. Mobius
There had to be at least one Dan Hipp variant on this list since his variants dominate the rare category, but all of them are so charming and colorful. Mobius M. Mobius’ stands out amongst the rest due to the added additions that Hipp made to reference the Loki TV series. Also, that derpy mouth on him is fantastic.
Crocodile Loki on his back is cute, and there are other cool references, like his TemPad in his right hand. He is also wearing a “Vote Loki” pin on his jacket, which is referencing President Loki. The gold background also makes this card stand out with a gold border and with that gold font color. This Hipp variant proves that not all Hipps are the same and becomes a must-have for anyone playing Mobius M. Mobius.
13. Jim Lee Mystique
Jim Lee’s art is so unique all around the board. He’s been doing comic book art for a while, and he does an excellent job at creating shadows and obscuring features of the characters to make them more mysterious. His art is very old-school and takes us straight back to the 1990s. His Mystique does not stray away from those features that make Lee’s art unique.
The deep and dark shadows around her face and hair, the pupiless eyes, make her seem more intimidating. The smoke coming from the gun is a steller plus and looks incredible when the card is upgraded to be animated. Inking this card is a no-brainer, and unlike most Mystique variants, this one will make the shifter quite threatening.
12. Kael Ngu Sentinel
Where do we even begin with one? Just wow. For a Sentinel variant, it really displays how powerful the sentinels really are. The details in Kael’s art are just stunning; the amount of debris and destruction is impeccable. Obviously, showing Iron Man in the center, defeated and injured, is crucial to why this variant is on this list.
It conveys the Sentinel’s ability to adapt perfectly, as the Sentinel itself not only towers over Iron Man but also seems to have adapted to his technology. The Sentinel has copied Iron Man’s colors one to one, which is probably the biggest reason why Iron Man has lost this fight. This one is for anyone who wants their opponent to fear the mighty Sentinels!
11. Conqueror Carnage
Symbiotes are some of the coolest Marvel characters in the game, and it is a crime that this is the only variant from Kunkka. You won’t find a Carnage variant quite like this; no other variant truly shows off his superiority and chaos. This moment in comics is truly an important one, as it is when Carnage defeated the King in Black himself.
Knull has been completely annihilated by Carnage here, making Carnage the new King in Black and leader of the symbiotes. With that wide mouth open, we can practically hear the loud cackling coming from Carnage. For as insane as the character is, literally, he would be laughing and enjoying every moment of this, just like he will when he kills your own cards.
10. Inkpulp Black Panther
Black Panther’s got a lot of good variants, though this one was tough, it’s going to go to Inkpulp. Inkpulp’s art is very decisive, but this one without a doubt is up there as his best due to the lighting of the art itself. Black Panther’s got so many colors on and around him. The bright orange sun behind him, the blue and black costume, and, of course, those stellar purple highlights around him.
His eyes are completely yellow, seemingly glowing as well, making him seem menacing. The cape is flowing in the wind, and from where he’s positioned on that tree, it can be interpreted that he’s stalking you in a way, hunting his prey. Looking up and seeing that figure looming over you would be an absolutely terrifying situation, and this variant brings it out incredibly well.
9. Flaviano The Living Tribunal
Here’s a shiny variant for the cosmic entity himself, The Living Tribunal. A good Tribunal variant or any variant for a Marvel big bad needs to showcase their power level in a unique and interesting way, and this variant does that. Having the background incorporate planets and show how much bigger he is compared to the planets and the universe itself proves that he’s a cosmic threat.
The blue energy coming from his chest and eyes seems to be so bright that it reflects off his yellow body in an invigorating way. You can even see the other sides of his other faces around his head, but the one staring directly at you is quite frightening. Flaviano just overall blew this variant not only out of the water but out of the stratosphere too.
8. Nicoletta Baldari Storm
This variant is actually the newest variant in Marvel Snap that got put on this list. Storm is especially hard to pick because all of her variants are good, even the pixel! This latest Storm variant, however, strays away from her normal comic appearance and goes for a more stylish/cartoonish approach to the character.
Her hair is massive and seems to be pulled back by the wind or the storm itself she’s creating; it fits right in with her name that there’d be thunder and tornadoes around her. This variant is also very vibrant when upgraded to animated. Her cute expression and posing make her seem excited! Who wouldn’t be when you’re one of the best mutants on the X-Men?
7. Super Rare (Superlog) variant Knull
Knull is another card in Marvel Snap who basically has no bad variants at all and was once again another hard pick. Ultimately, this variant, simply titled “Variant” (when its artist is really Superlog), has Knull depicted as much more sinister and demonlike than his other variants. Knull is normally depicted as humanlike, but this one takes it a whole step further in the symbiote direction.
The mouths and tongues around the art and his body are similar to those of Carnage and Venom, which is referencing how he is the King in Black himself. The logo on his chest is a very bright red, which draws our eyes straight to it. Most of him being black and red makes him much more monstrous and similar to a character right out of a horror flick. His hair being the only thing not white, red, or black is also a stunning final touch.
6. Demonized Shang-Chi
This Shang-Chi being more of a what-if than really appearing in the comics is one of the coolest redesigns of a character to make them more evil in this game. Most of the evil what-if variants are either “venomized” or “knullified,” which means they look more like Venom or Carnage. They’re all great, but the Demonized variants are honestly the best-looking and most unique evil versions of characters. They make all your favorite characters… demons, who would’ve thought.
Shang-Chi himself is barely recognizable in this variant besides the red tunic and the massive name, of course. That flaming head, those horns, and the torn clothing are really bringing out what makes this variant demonized. The ten rings above him give us a glimpse of what a villainous Shang-Chi could look like. Destroying a card with this variant has never felt less satisfying.
5. Fantasy Ghost Rider
Kicking off the top 5 is this ultimate Ghost Rider variant, specifically the Fantasy variant. We get a more traditional version of the Ghost Rider, one where he doesn’t have his motorcycle or his leather jacket. It’s a completely different take on the character that takes the flaming skull into medieval times.
Instead of that black leather, we have black armor. Instead of that iconic motorcycle, we have this massive black flaming horse. The horse has awesome details that make it fit perfectly as the Ghost Rider’s steed. His whip flying off of his arm and flashing around the card and to the foreground is another perfect design choice. This is definitely the ultimate variant worth spending those tokens on.
4. Peach Momoko Daredevil
Peach Momoko is another prominent artist in Marvel Snap. Most of her art consists of blacks and whites, but the overall piece comes together and looks like an oil painting with the way the colors mash. Daredevil’s bad guys can normally only catch his sillheuette, but now it is for us to see too. Are we in trouble?
Daredevil is completely red here, falling in a way that looks similar to Miles Morales’ fall in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, with the back having white specks that could be interpreted as stars. The red flower petals are beautiful on top of all of that. Though this one is cool, it’s more so up here for the art itself, which looks majestic and is a lovely compliment to Daredevil’s variant catalog.
3. Rare (Marc Silvestri) Iron Man
Here he is: Tony Stark, the genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist. This variant is the only Iron Man variant that uses his classic design, and there’s something special about that. This old-school design is a thing of the past, but in this variant, it looks uplifting. His eyes through the helmet make this feel like a last stand; he looks determined, ready to give it his all.
His repulsor being right above the power number is a fantastic frame break, and the missiles around the card show the danger coming towards him, but just that posing the look stated earlier tells us how he knows what he’s getting into. This variant brings out the hero in Iron Man, and trust me, it looks even better inked or gold.
2. Bronze Age High Evolutionary
The comic book cover variants are easily the best in the whole game. They’re a fantastic reference to where the character came from, have some phenomenal Easter eggs, and bring you back to a time when these comic books were on every shelf. This comic book cover variant, however, is different in that it is a “What If” comic cover. The title says, “What if the Avengers Lost the Evolutionary War?” posing a question and showing the High Evolutionary in his prime.
There are so many cool Easter eggs around this card, such as characters like Colossus, Scarlet Witch, and U.S. Agent, all trembling before the might of the High Evolutionary. On the top left, you can see the stamp that the old comic book covers have with their price in cents. The animated version of this variant is also nothing to scoff at, as the background moves around the card like a lightshow. This is quite a strong variant for anyone planning to dominate with the High Evolutionary.
1. Testament Magneto
We’ve made it to the top with probably the card with the deepest lore and the most respect given to a variant. This variant depicts Magneto as a child. For those who don’t know his childhood, we won’t go down that deep trench, but the basics are that he went through a lot of trauma. The young Magneto stares down into a pool of blood on the ground, seemingly lost and depressed, and what does he see in the reflection of that pool?
He sees himself, specifically his future self. It’s quite beautiful to see his child self stare into what he will become—a figure who fights for mutant justice and is a massive improvement from what he is now. The white leaves are also a great addition. On top of all this depth in one variant, there is still one more reason that this is above the others, and that is the splits. Foil and gold splits do not make the card gold or rainbow like other variants; rather, they only make the blood rainbow or gold. Changing the blood pool to gold is such a massive boost in the quality of this variant and well worth the 1200 gold.
