Marvel Snap surprisingly doesn’t have a ton of cards that add a lot of RNG to the mix, perhaps because the three random locations of each match do so already. However, Nico Minoru is aiming to change that, and we’re breaking down the best decks in Marvel Snap using her, as well as counters and whether she’s worth your Collector’s Tokens and/or Spotlight Cache.
How Nico Minoru Works in Marvel Snap
Nico Minoru is a 1-Cost, 2-Power card with an ability that reads, “On Reveal: After you play your next card, cast a spell. (The spell changes each turn.)” She has seven spells in total, which will have different effects from match-to-match.
Nico Minoru will randomly cycle through spells during the game, whether she’s in your deck or hand. These spells will replace her card text and will not repeat – a maximum of seven turns for seven spells. Here’s the list of them:
- On Reveal: After you play your next card, it becomes a Demon.
- On Reveal: After you play your next card, destroy it and draw two cards.
- On Reveal: After you play your next card, move it one location to the right.
- On Reveal: After you play your next card, give it +2 Power.
- On Reveal: After you play your next card, replace that card’s location.
- On Reveal: After you play your next card, add a copy of it to your hand.
- On Reveal: After you play your next card, double this card’s Power.
If you haven’t heard of Nico Minoru, you may not realize this spell cycling fits her character quite well. As the wielder of the magic Staff of the One, Nico can cast any number of spells by verbalizing them – but only once. Trying to recast the same spell will result in nothing happening or some absurd, random effect, which is clearly where Second Dinner drew inspiration for her card effect. Nico Minoru does not, however, require a blood sacrifice in Marvel Snap like she does in the comics.
Related: I Finally Hit Infinite in Marvel Snap, and All That Effort Wasn’t Worth It
Best Nico Minoru Decks in Marvel Snap
With how random her effects are, and paired with her low cost, Nico Minoru slots into many different archetypes in Marvel Snap; however, at the same time, her randomness makes judging which of those decks will make the greatest use of her difficult. That said, drawing cards in Marvel Snap is a rare and powerful effect, making her destroy spell the most valuable. Slotting her into this Deadpool Destroy deck then makes the most sense:
- Deadpool
- Forge
- Nico Minoru
- X-23
- Carnage
- Wolverine
- Killmonger
- Venom
- Deathlok
- Hulk Buster
- Knull
- Death
The primary win condition of this deck is killing Deadpool over and over, buffing him up with Forge, Hulk Buster, or Nico Minoru’s +2 buff spell, before dropping him on the final turn alongside Death and maybe even Knull with an extra energy from X-23. Destroying Deadpool, X-23, or Wolverine with Nico Minoru’s destroy spell to draw two cards promises to add massive, game winning consistency to this deck. It’s already strong, and Nico Minoru might just bring destroy decks back into the top tiers of the meta.
Another deck, Thanos Control, benefits greatly from Nico Minoru as her spells work well with other low-cost cards, like the Infinity Stones. Giving +2 to a Power Stone or sacrificing replacing a Space Stone with a 6-Power demon adds consistency to both Nico Minoru’s spells and Thanos Control, which has suffered since Spider-Man’s ability changed.
- Nico Minoru
- Elsa Bloodstone
- Psylocke
- Jeff!
- Cosmo/Shang-Chi
- Iron Lad
- Blue Marvel
- Devil Dinosaur
- Professor X
- Vision
- Alioth
- Thanos
As you’re likely aware, using Psylocke or the Time Stone to ramp into a powerful 5-Cost card on turn 4 – preferably Professor X – can quickly steal away games, which is why some Marvel Snap players call this list Scam Thanos. Nico Minoru is there simply to power up the Infinity Stones and does not change how this long-running archetype plays.
How to Counter Nico Minoru in Marvel Snap
Nico Minoru doesn’t really have any direct counters outside of Cosmo given her spells are all On Reveal abilities and have drastically different effects. Killmonger can kill Nico Minoru herself – especially if she’s buffed – or take out the demon she summons; however, as the general, early consensus across Marvel Snap communities seems to be that Nico Minoru fits best in destroy-type decks, slotting Armor into your lists early on after her release will certainly give you a better win rate against them.
Is Nico Minoru Worth Your Collector’s Tokens/Spotlight Cache?
As Nico Minoru is a Series 5 card costing 6000 Collector’s Tokens, she isn’t worth buying outright until it’s more clear how detrimental the random generation of her spells will play out. If players can consistently get the effect they want, she’ll likely become a meta-game staple; that said, with such a low cost, players will definitely continue experimenting with her as more cards release and the meta changes. However, if you do have Spotlight Caches to open, she’s worth it – especially if you don’t have Kitty Pryde or Phoenix Force already.
If you’re looking for more on the game, check out our picks for the best Mobius decks in Marvel Snap.
