The third card release in Marvel Snap this December is Havok, one of the most head-scratching cards we’ve seen. If you, unfortunately, pulled Havok from a Spotlight or – for some reason – spent your Collector’s Tokens, this guide still covers how to make the best Marvel Snap deck with him in it.
How Havok Works in Marvel Snap
Havok is a 2 energy, 0 power card with an ability that reads: “After each turn, you lose 1 Max Energy and this gains +4 Power.” Yes, you read that correctly – you lose energy each turn playing Havok.
Note that Havok’s ability is neither an On Reveal or Ongoing effect. Much like The Collector or Dracula, typical counter cards like Cosmo or Enchantress won’t affect him.
If you play Havok immediately on turn 2, he’ll scale to 20 power by the end of the game. Enough to win that lane? Sure – but you’ll also only have 2 energy for each turn afterward. He’s a bit better late in the game on turn 5, making him a 2 cost 9 cost card that isn’t too detrimental. You can play him with Electro to gain that energy back, but that seems like extra steps toward losing the match. That’s about all there is to him, though there is some fringe meme-worthy playability with his effect.
Best Havok Decks in Marvel Snap
Usually, we provide at least two decks for each new card release, but Havok, at the moment, only really works in one archetype, and it’s a mostly meme-worthy one at that. It involves Annihilus and the junk package that goes along with him:
- The Hood
- Nebula
- Carnage
- Viper
- Shadow King
- Havok
- Green Goblin
- Man-Thing
- Shang-Chi
- Sentry
- Annihilus
- Alioth
You’ve likely seen variations of this best deck for Havok in Marvel Snap in the last month or so, and this one plays similarly: send the likes of The Hood and Sentry’s Void over with The Viper and Annihilus. If you’re unable to, Carnage can clean them up for you. Where Havok comes in, as you may have already guessed, is playing him alongside Viper on turn 4, which will limit your opponent to only 4 energy for the rest of the game. Afterward, you can snipe him with Shang-Chi or reduce him back to 0 with Shadow King.
Keep in mind that your opponent can retreat for a 1 or 2 cube loss at any time. This is about all Havok is good for at the moment, so even the best decks for him in Marvel Snap aren’t great.
Related: What to Spend Gold on in Marvel Snap
Best Havok Counters in Marvel Snap
Don’t counter Havok. Unless they’re going to send him your way with Viper, let your opponent play him and take the free victory. If you do think a Viper is coming or are seeing a lot of junk decks on the ladder, Cosmo works wonders for stopping both Viper and Annihilus. Otherwise, Havok is incredibly weak to Shadow King and Shang-Chi, which are very common at the moment given the rise of Blob.
Is Havok Worth Your Spotlight Cache Keys or Collector’s Tokens?
No, Havok is not worth your Spotlight Cache Keys or Collector’s Tokens. Unless you want to spend your Spotlight Keys to get Nico Minoru or Legion, great and good cards, respectively, this is a great week to save your Spotlight Keys for upcoming releases – particularly Caiera in early January. While he only costs 3000 Collector’s Tokens as a Series 4 card, it’s best to hold off on Havok to see if he either gets a buff, an entire rework, or complimentary cards that turn his ability from terrible into something workable.
Marvel Snap is available now on mobile and Steam.
