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Snapping and Retreating in Marvel SNAP
The game is called Marvel Snap for a reason. "Snapping" is the core mechanic of the game, and identifying when to snap and when to retreat is arguably a more important skill than any element of actual card play. The overarching objective of the game is to gain as many cubes as you can, and a good snapping strategy makes this much easier. To become a good player you will need to understand how this central gameplay system works.
What is Snapping?
The core premise is simple. At any point during a match, you can press the big cosmic cube at the top of the screen (to the right on PC) to double the stakes and increase the number of cubes you will win or lose at the end of the game. This allows you to try and take more of your opponent's cubes if you feel confident that you will win. If your opponent doesn't feel confident in their hand they can hit the retreat button to cut their losses and leave before the stakes increase. This can be seen as a simple betting system descended from those in card games like poker. Snapping increases risk and reward, and when done well allows you to climb the ladder much faster than otherwise possible.
Cube Mechanics
Each game starts with 1 cube at stake. No matter what, the winner will always take at least 1 cube from the loser. After the end of the final turn of the game (usually turn 6) the stakes will double automatically. This means that in a normal game with no snapping or retreating the winner takes 2 cubes from the loser.
Each player can snap once per game to manually increase the stakes. When a player snaps, the cubes up for grabs will be doubled at the end of the turn. Their opponent is given an opportunity to retreat and take the current loss before the stakes double the next turn.
A game can therefore have stakes of 1, 2, 4, or 8 cubes, depending on how the players snap and retreat.
Some Important Things to be Aware of
- It's worth keeping in mind that a single 8-cube loss is the equivalent of retreating 8 times. That can be a lot of progress lost in one go, so be careful.
- In the event of a tie, no player gains or loses any cubes.
- Note that the cube rules for battle mode and conquest are slightly different from ladder. See Friendly Battles for more details.
- If you snap, you will not be able to retreat until the current turn ends and the stakes increase. This is to ensure that if a player's bluff snaps, they can't retreat without penalty if it doesn't work. However, if your opponent snaps after you during the same turn, the stakes will immediately double and you will regain the ability to retreat before they double again at the end of the turn.
Strategy
Knowing how snapping and retreating works is only the first step. One of the biggest differentiators between a good player and a bad player is how well they can identify when to snap and when to retreat. A good player can increase their total cubes even with a deck that loses more than 50% of the time. Listed below are a few tips to help you take your snapping to the next level.
Tip 1: Retreating is not losing
Retreating is very different from a real loss. When you retreat you save yourself from losing twice as many cubes when the game ends, which means that correctly identifying a losing position is a victory in its own right. In Snap, cube rate is more important than win rate, and retreating means that you have successfully escaped with more of your valuable cubes; there is a reason that the retreat screen doesn’t say “Defeat”. Think of games you lose as times that you should have retreated but failed to do so. Analyzing your losses to understand what you failed to predict is a valuable opportunity for learning. Recognizing the difference between retreating and losing is crucial if you want to improve your skill and cube rate.
Tip 2: Learn to snap at the correct time
Mastering snap timing is essential; it's important to choose the right moment. If it becomes blatantly obvious that you will win the match then your opponent has no reason to stay when you snap. You should ideally snap after you become confident you will win, but before your opponent realizes that they are losing. This can be a tricky balancing act, but generally means you should be snapping on turn 3-5 before the board is too developed.
Tip 3: Understand your deck's win conditions
In order to identify the right time to snap, it is extremely important to understand your deck's win conditions, which are the strategies and scenarios that your deck can leverage to win. For example, a win condition for a standard Living Tribunal deck is Wave + Onslaught + Iron Man + Living Tribunal. This is the combo the deck revolves around, and being able to play these cards in this order often ensures a win. Generally, when the cards you need have been drawn in time for you to execute your combo, you should snap. Learning the win conditions for your deck will greatly improve your cube rate with that deck.
Tip 4: Take advantage of good luck
Snap is a game filled with randomness. Your card draw is random, your opponent’s card draw is random, location draw is random, and many cards and locations have abilities with random outcomes. A key element of good snapping and retreating strategy is identifying when Snap’s randomness has led to one player being favored to win. An early win condition in your hand, an opponent with a weak curve, or good locations for your deck are all excellent opportunities to snap. Consider also that even generally disliked locations such as Subterranea, Dream Dimension, Worldship, or The Great Web exist for a reason. While they may be disruptive and frustrating to face, it’s important to understand that they are also disruptive for your opponent. Identifying that your opponent is struggling against the RNG more than you is a core skill for you to develop. In many ways, Snap is a risk management game pretending to be a card game; you should be continuously evaluating which player has the highest probability of winning, and snapping when you’re confident it’s you.
Tip 5: Analyze why your opponent is snapping
When your opponent snaps, they are doing so for a reason. Check the cards they have on board and review their graveyards (discarded and destroyed cards) to identify your opponent’s plan. For example, if your opponent played several discard cards that hit big targets, they are likely snapping because they drew Hela. If your opponent played ramp into Hobgoblin, they're probably snapping on Galactus. Learning the cards and the meta will help you to identify your opponents’ decks, allowing you to identify their most likely strategy and calculate their potential output. Based on this prediction you can retreat if you are likely to lose, or stay in if you remain confident.
Additional Resources
About this article
This article was written by several contributors from the Marvel SNAP’s Official Discord Wiki Team. The Wiki Team is a group of community members who work on and contribute articles to Marvel SNAP’s Discord Wiki. Learn more about this program.
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