Marvel Snap: Arana Guide (Deck, Strategy, Counter)

Marvel Snap: Arana Guide (Deck, Strategy, Counter)

As someone who’s spent countless hours dueling in the Marvel Snap universe, I can confidently say that Arana is a game-changer—especially for those daring souls who dare to venture into the treacherous world of movement decks. With her powerhouse abilities, she’s like the secret sauce that elevates your strategy from mediocre to mouthwatering.


The September 17 launch of Marvel Snap unveiled Arana (pronounced: ah-RAH-nyah), a Series Five Activate card, which enhances and shifts the next card you put into play. This newcomer to the game, with a Cost and Power of one, is the latest character who facilitates movement in the game, following the release of Madame Web.

Before her debut, Arana was anticipated to be a card inspired by Forge with additional advantages, notably her mobility feature. However, after testing by Marvel Snap gamers, it was found that Arana’s text is somewhat intricate and does not deliver the cooperative effects many players expected. This complexity has made it slightly difficult to craft an optimal deck centered around her.

Arana (1–1)

Activate
: Give the next card you play +2 Power and move it to the right.

Series
: Five (Ultra Rare)

Release Date
: Sep 17, 2024

Season
:
The Amazing Spider-Season

The Best Deck for Arana

Marvel Snap: Arana Guide (Deck, Strategy, Counter)

As a gamer, I’d build a reliable setup for Arana by crafting a team featuring Beast, Madame Web, The Living Tribunal, and myself as the win condition. To achieve this synergy, gather these cards: Forge, Vulture, Dagger, Hercules, Ghost-Spider, Human Torch, Doctor Strange, and Iron Fist. This combination should create a strong and balanced deck for Arana.

CardCostPower
Arana11
Madame Web21
Beast35
Human Torch13
Vulture33
Doctor Strange23
Dagger20
Iron Fist12
Ghost-Spider12
Hercules34
The Living Tribunal65
Forge22

The problem where Ghost-Spider couldn’t hit moving targets following Arana’s influence has been resolved. This issue was tackled and a fix was implemented in the Over-The-Air (OTA) update that went live on September 20th.

The Synergies in Arana’s Deck

  • Arana and Forge are buff providers, ideally targeting one of the move cards: Human Torch, Vulture, or Dagger.
  • Madame Web, Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Hercules, and Ghost-Spider are movement activators.
  • Beast is a joker card, allowing you to recollect and replay cards at a lower cost.
  • The Living Tribunal is a win condition, distributing the stats from one overpowered lane across all other locations.

How Arana’s Effect Works

Arana’s Activate function resembles Aunt May’s. Once triggered, when you play a new card, Arana boosts that card with +2 Power and moves it to the right side. However, her effect doesn’t activate immediately; instead, she waits until you’ve played the card before enhancing it and moving it. If the targeted card has an ability of its own, Arana will allow it to be used first before applying her buff and relocation.

To demonstrate Arana’s influence, consider a scenario where you aim to produce two four-Power Broodling creatures immediately after playing Brood. Regrettably, this won’t occur due to how Brood functions initially: it generates two two-Power Broodling cards first, and then undergoes the impact of Arana. Arana will only boost the base card’s power level, not the spawned Broodlings.

Developers have pointed out that Arana’s card description might be confusing because it doesn’t clearly state that her buff and movement activate following the target’s skill activation. As a result, they might adjust the wording on the card during future updates.

How to Play Arana Effectively

Marvel Snap: Arana Guide (Deck, Strategy, Counter)

Utilize Arana’s ability to enhance cards that boost their Power through relocation. For instance, Human Torch is an excellent choice; once struck by Arana, he starts as a card with eight Power – the +2 Power bonus raises his Power to four, and the subsequent displacement doubles it to eight, making him a great fit for a strategy focusing on movement.

Here are some key points to keep in mind when playing Arana:

  • Drop her early. Having Arana on the board is more beneficial than harmful. Play her in the early rounds to set up potential combos. As prominent Marvel Snap player Alex Coccia noted, “[Arana] is a very confident play on turn one and in the early game as a whole.” Take advantage of this.
  • Keep the middle and right lanes clear. Since Arana can only move cards to the right, ensure the other two lanes are empty to allow her effect to trigger without issues.
  • Avoid synergizing based on On Reveal abilities. Remember that the target will reveal its ability before Arana activates. So, combos like Arana + Brood won’t yield the desired results.

How to Counter Arana

Currently, there are no direct Cosmo-like counters for Activate cards. However, you can counter Arana using Shadow King, Red Guardian, Kraven, and Kingpin. Here’s how each of these counters works:

  • Shadow King: Reverts Arana’s buff and resets all cards in the lane to their base stats.
  • Red Guardian: Can remove Arana’s text before she unleashes her Activate effect.
  • Kraven: Gains benefits from the movement caused by Arana and other movement cards.
  • Kingpin: Punishes the moved cards by inflicting them with -2 Power.

Is Arana Worth It?

Marvel Snap: Arana Guide (Deck, Strategy, Counter)

As a gamer, I can vouch that Arana is an invaluable, instant-play asset for movement decks. Her worth is justified without a doubt. Even when her boost and movement aren’t perfectly synchronized, she significantly improves the game board.

Power and agility.” Generally, Arana has received favorable responses from her community, but one common complaint is that she doesn’t work well with cards like Brood.

Read More

2024-09-27 04:04