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You think you can stop this? The Aether can not be destroyed! The ruler of the Dark Elves joins the War of the Nine Realms Season, but is Malekith to be feared?
In the very least, Malekith has been reveled over for its deck-thinning capabilities, but the most ambitious decks have Malekith pulling end game Silver Surfer or Blade. The newest Series 5 card however, seems much more flexible than it first appeared, fitting into multiple unexpected archetypes, including Affliction Archetype and even Wiccan Archetype.
As detailed in our Spotlight Showcase: Malekith, Thena, Valentina article, Malekith's targeted effect allows for planned play lines, removing some of the unpredictability of the ability. Surprisingly, Malekith's best home is Affliction, where a hidden Hazmat, US Agent or Red Guardian can steal the game. The card's early stats are middling, but strong enough to sit it in Tier B of our Card Tier List with a 10.2% play rate at Rank 70 and above. The By the Numbers Article Series dives into the metrics behind the latest card release to help you decide if the new Series 5 card available in this week’s Spotlight Cache is worth your precious resources. Find out the verdict on Malekith below.
We’ll be ranking Malekith based on the following set of parameters:
- We’ll be looking at Malekith's performance at the Rank 70 and above
- We’ll be considering Malekith's overall win percentage in these ranks, but also its average cubes and popularity
- Finally, we'll look at which archetypes Malekith best fits into and how the card performs in the current meta
Our Card Tier List are based on the Average Cubes and Popularity of a card when compared to all other cards in Marvel SNAP.
THE RAW DATA
Malekith has a +0.33 average cube rate at Rank 70 and above, placing it in Tier B on the Card Tier List. The card has a 54.4% winrate, a respectable number, but a testament to the power level of other cards that these metrics relegate Malekith to Tier B. Outside of Affliction, the archetypes Malekith fits into are underperforming. Its high popularity means the metrics may increase as the play rate goes down.
We'll be watching to see if Malekith's performance improves as the limited player experimentation begins to slow down. For now, the card's metrics match the winrates and average cube rates of cards playing in a similar space, like Brood and Kate Bishop.
Remember that these stats will settle over time and this early review consists of 24 hours of data. Be sure to revisit the card stats on our Card Tier List to see where Malekith lands in terms of power level and popularity.
BEST MALEKITH DECKS
With thousands of games already logged by the Untapped Companion at Rank 70 and above since Malekith's release, we have a good picture of which decks are working for the latest Series 5 card and which are not. Here are the best-performing options:
The standout here is an established deck that greatly benefits from both Malekith's deck thinning and delayed reveal effect: Affliction Archetype. By pulling Hazmat, US Agent or Red Guardian, the opponent has to play around a number of end game lines. With a +0.73 average cube rate and 63.6% winrate at Rank 70 and above, the deck is performing well, but the counters are still there - Shadow King, Luke Cage and Cosmo hit critical mass in terms of play rate, each of which ruin the deck's game plan to a certain degree. The deck often plays cards like Cassandra Nova, Man-Thing and Ajax to keep the opponent's power low and capitalize.
Don’t worry if you are missing any of the cards listed, you can always find a deck tailored to your collection on our Marvel SNAP Decks page.
The other top performer is a variation of the Discard Archetype. This version leverages Malekith to guarantee an end game Discard by Blade or Colleen Wing or hide a Morbius or Grand Master. This version, however, is performing worse than the traditional composition.
We also need to not only analyze Malekith's individual power level, but the archetypes utilizing the card best as well. If we look at the current Marvel SNAP meta, the Affliction Archetype is sitting in Tier B with a 57.4% winrate and +0.44 average cube rate using data since the card's release on November 12, 2024 at Rank 70 and above. The most popular deck, however, comes in slightly lower, with a 56.4% winrate and +0.40 cube rate.
AFFLICTION ARCHETYPE
FINAL THOUGHTS
Is Malekith worth your resources? Early Review analysis revolves around two dimensions, the card's immediate power level and how strong its archetype is in the current Marvel SNAP meta within its release window.
The raw data shows Malekith is putting out middling numbers. As popularity lowers in the coming weeks, these metrics should only increase as the card is played less for experimentation and by a more skilled class of player. Outside of Affliction, decks utilizing Malekith's ability seem to be better off without the card, despite its standing on the rankings. On an archetype level, the Affliction Archetype is sitting in Tier B since its release.
What do you think? Has Malekith's just not found its footing? How is the card performing for you? Let us know your thoughts over at @UntappedSNAP on Twitter/X. Alternatively, come and chat with the wider Marvel SNAP Community on our Discord Server!
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