Best Black Swan Decks in Marvel Snap

The Black Order season of Marvel Snap has taken things to another level. Headlining the outing is Black Swan, the season pass card, and she’s definitely going to shake up the meta. Let’s take a look at the best Black Swan decks in Marvel Snap.

How Black Swan Works in Marvel Snap

At a premium 3-cost, 5-power, Black Swan has an ability that reads: “On Reveal: Until the end of your next turn, your 1-cost cards cost 0.” Any time a card reduces the cost of other cards, you should take notice – even more so when the card makes them free to play.

Black Swan’s effect isn’t complicated. After she’s played, you’ll be able to play any 1-cost cards in your hand on the next turn for free. While 1-cost cards themselves aren’t powerful, you can now, for example, play several Infinity Stones alongside a fully powered-up Thanos.

She does not reduce the cost of cards that have been reduced in another way. For example, Stature’s effect or cards reduced down to 1 by Beast will not lower further. They have to be an actual 1-cost card.

Best Black Swan Decks in Marvel Snap

In terms of the best Marvel Snap decks for this card, as you can imagine, decks full of 1-cost cards work very well with Black Swan. She fits right into decks featuring her meta-dominating boss Thanos. Here’s an Ongoing zoo-themed list that you’ll likely see a lot of early on in 2024:

• Ant-Man
• Nico Minoru
• Snowguard
• Caiera
• Black Swan
• Ka-Zar
• Blue Marvel
• Iron Man
• Professor X
• Devil Dinosaur
• Spectrum
• Thanos

While this grouping may not oust the Lockjaw and Blob Thanos list from its top spot, this is a tried-and-true list that has always flirted with being great, and Black Swan may just make it so. As usual, you’ll want to ramp into one of your five drop cards, particularly Professor X, on turn 3. However, you can now play Black Swan on turn 4, making all your 1-cost cards free to play alongside Professor X.

Snowguard makes this list to help out Devil Dinosaur, which, if you end up dumping all the Infinity Stones and other 1-cost cards, she can refill your hand. Snowguard also provides great utility as the Hawk card can end pesky Limbo matches early or help you sneak into certain locations. Finally, cards like Caiera keep your Stones alive, and Spectrum can buff up the multiple Ongoing effects – particularly Iron Man – to ridiculous heights.

Next, the card that looks to benefit most from being part of the best Marvel Snap Black Swan decks isn’t Thanos but Hit Monkey. With a handful of 1-cost cards, Hit Monkey can reach insane levels of power that your opponent will have a hard time tracking with a Black Swan played on turn 5. Here’s a Hit Monkey list featuring Moon Girl:

• The Hood
• Bast
• Forge
• Spider-Ham
• Nico Minoru
• Falcon
• Mysterio
• Bishop
• Hit Monkey
• Beast
• Black Swan
• Moon Girl

While this list may take some experience to pilot efficiently due to hand-size management, it has an insane power output if Moon Girl hits several 1 drops and Hit Monkey along with it. Either whisk all your 1 drop cards back to your hand with Falcon or Beast on turn 4 or duplicate what you have with Moon Girl, play Black Swan on turn 5, and drop them beside a Mysterio and a Hit Monkey or two on turn 6, and you’re almost guaranteed to win the game as you likely won’t have priority, thus dodging common counters like Shang-Chi and Shadow King.

Related: Best Beta Ray Bill Decks in Marvel Snap

Black Swan Counters in Marvel Snap

Black Swan’s primary counter, other than Cosmo stopping her On Reveal effect, is Mobius M. Mobius, which negates all cost decreases. After being nerfed and buffed up again, Mobius has seen a lot of play recently, so it’s important not to rely entirely on Black Swan for your game plan. Furthermore, a late-game Killmonger without a Caiera on board will make short work of any 1 drops, and Sandman will also block any positive effect Black Swan might’ve had.

Who Is Black Swan?

While she didn’t make the cut for Thanos’ Black Order in the movies, Black Swan – born as Yabbot Ummon Tarru – is a prominent member of it in the comics. She was originally a princess of an alternate and doomed Earth, escaping it and being raised by an order that shares her moniker, the Black Swans. She eventually made her way to Earth-616, the main universe in the comics, and battled against Black Panther. Later, she would team up with Thanos after he set her free from imprisonment by the Illuminati.

Does Black Swan Make It Worth Purchasing the Season Pass?

Yes, in her current form, Black Swan is definitely worth purchasing the Black Order season pass for, given that it also comes with plenty of gold, credits, and variants. Because of her powerful effect, she’s likely to become a staple card in many decks; however, since it’s so powerful, she’s also ripe for a nerf. It wouldn’t be the first time Second Dinner nerfed a season pass card. Still, they do a good job at keeping them meta-relevant – usually. Elsa Bloodstone hasn’t recovered from her nerf, so there’s always some risk.

And those are the best Black Swan decks in Marvel Snap.

Marvel Snap is available now on mobile and PC.