I started playing this little mobile game called Marvel Snap since March 2023 (the Days of Future Past season) and I’ve been quite hooked since! I hit Infinite Rank by my fourth season. I’ve hit Infinite rank multiple times since then, each one with a different deck. Since Marvel Snap is a live service game that is undergoing continuous development, the competition continues to evolve. New cards get introduced in the game, and existing cards can sometimes be changed for better or for worse. As time goes by, these old decks may see significant changes. I’ve decided to write about these decks since I’m a sentimental guy and I want to capture these moments, starting with the version of the Sera Surfer deck that got me into Infinite for the very first time.

 

 

Let’s talk about my old Sera Surfer deck!

 

Deck Details

Infinite Deck Name: Sera Surfer

Season Used: Spider-Versus Season (June 2023)

 

 

Card List: Nova, Goose, Brood, Mister Fantastic, Silver Surfer, Storm, Juggernaut, Killmonger, Shadow King, Polaris, Maximus, Sera

Deck Concept: Since most of your cards are 3-cost, Silver Surfer can buff your entire board on Turn 6.

Card Roles:

1. Nova – +1 Power to your cards if you play Killmonger.
2. Goose – Helps secure one location for you.
3. Brood – One of your main sources of Power. Grows tall with Surfer and Nova buffs.
4. Maximus – Another source of Power.
5. Storm – Helps secure one location for you.
6. Juggernaut – Play in the Flooding location (Storm) to secure that.
7. Mister Fantastic – Helps win Flooded location.
8. Killmonger – For destroying Nova. Also deals with troublesome 1-cost cards.
9. Shadow King – Counter against your opponent’s buffs.
10. Polaris – Disruption tech.
11. Silver Surfer – Adds 2 Power to your 3-costs. Primary win condition.
12. Sera – Allows you to play three 3-cost cards on Turn 6.

 

Key Card Strategies

The Main Combo: This deck’s win condition is to play Sera on Turn 5, which allows you to play three 3-cost cards on Turn 6. If you managed to play 3-cost cards on Turns 3 and 4, you would have around four of them in play once Silver Surfer triggers his On Reveal ability of giving your 3-cost cards +2 Power. You can’t simply win after doing this – you’ll need to set the board up first.

 

 

Location Lockdown: Goose and Storm can secure one location for you in different ways. Goose only allows 1-, 2-, and 3-cost cards to be played in it’s location. Limited to just 3-costs, it’s almost guaranteed for you to win Goose’s location if you manage to play Silver Surfer later in the game. Storm completely locks it down after one more turn, stopping your opponent from playing more cards in it after that turn ends. Juggernaut (the common follow up to Storm) usually ensures that you’ll win Storm’s location.

 

 

The End Game: Once you’re sure that you have one location secured, it’s time to choose another location to contest. Ideally, you’ll want to play Sera on Turn 5. With Sera in play, you’ll have to carefully choose which cards to play on Turn 6. Your main source of power is Brood and Maximus. For tech, Shadow King can wipe any buffs already in place on your opponent’s side. Polaris can pull cards away from your Goose/Storm location. Mr. Fantastic can add a bit of power to your locked location. Nova and Killmonger will boost everything on your side, and Silver Surfer should help get you enough power to win two locations.

 

Deck Evolution

What’s Changed in This Deck? Shadow King was changed to a 2-cost card. While he can still be used for disruption (and I still see a lot of Surfer decks have him), he will no longer get the bonus Power from Silver Surfer. Maximus was also changed to a 2-cost card and Sebastian Shaw is the common replacement.

What’s Changed in the Meta? It’s hard to get through everything that’s changed since it’s already been six months but I’ll try to recall the biggest ones. The meta started leaning heavily towards high power single cards. For a time, the decks at the top of the meta were InSheNaut and Shuri Sauron, which could put so much Power in two different locations easily. InSheNaut could continue to gain Power in locked locations thanks to Sunspot, Misty Knight, and Nebula. Cyclops could keep reducing the Power of your cards in your locked locations.

Changes to Forge and Absorbing Man gave birth to a different breed of Surfer decks, which relied on the Forge >  Brood > Absorbing Man play. But Absorbing Man was quickly nerfed, and Surfer decks dropped off of the top for quite a bit. New 3-cost cards injected in the game like Gladiator, Werewolf by Night, and Sebastian Shaw. There are different variations of the Sera Surfer deck that remain to be good (a Sebastian Shaw variant got be back into the 90s this Dec. 2023 season) but have yet to regain its position as a top meta deck.

 

Conclusion

I wasn’t expecting to hit Infinite that season. I was far from being Series 3 complete and I was still missing a lot of meta cards. Luckily, I unlocked Silver Surfer just before the end of the season. Sera Surfer was a top meta deck during that time and after learning how to play it, I gave it a shot. I wasn’t really trying to make it to Infinite but the deck was clicking for me and on the last day of that season, I hit Infinite for the first time. Being the first deck that got me to Infinite, I have a lot of affection for the Sera Surfer archetype.

In my opinion, it is still a good deck to try out. It’s pretty easily to build a Sera Surfer deck – add Sera, Surfer, and add 3-cost cards. Then tweak according to the decks that you face. With enough skill (and patience), I think people can still get to Infinite using a Sera Surfer deck. I just don’t have the patience for it though.