Grand Arena Showdown Guide

An all-new mash-up of Grand Arena and its Champions with Sanctum's scoring is here for a week from reset on July 22 until July 29th. The shop will stay open until the 31st. If you were a fan of Sanctum Showdown Surge, you're going to love this mode. It's a complicated mode with Champions and Skills that start in hand, specific cards that will dominate the mode, and a bunch of pre-cons to choose from alongside the ability to make Custom decks. I'll walk you through everything you need to know.

We're getting another new emote, but this one is nowhere near as enticing as the peace-out Spidey emote, and Spider-Sense, one of the weaker LTGM Series 4 cards we've seen recently. Here is a decklist to try when you unlock Spider-Sense:

Spidey Sense Day One

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How Does the Scoring Work

This is Grand Arena with Sanctum scoring. Like Grand Arena, you'll start with 2 Energy, which dramatically changes the dynamic of the game. It's not based on turns – the first to 16 wins! To refresh, Sanctum scoring is as follows:

• Turn 1: the Sanctum is worth 1 Point 
• Turn 2: the Sanctum is worth 1 Point
• Turn 3+: The Sanctum is worth 3 Points, each player can Snap to add 1 to the Sanctum. Non-Sanctum locations are with 1 Point each 

Grand Arena Heroes and Sanctum All-Stars

You start with 2 Energy and go up from there, which means certain cards are especially good, while 1-Cost cards are generally worse. Cards that cost 2 and 3 will be critical as set-up before the bigger Sanctum scoring comes into play. Some cards interact with Sanctum scoring in a very powerful way. Some past Sanctum darlings like Rocket Raccoon, Werewolf by Night, and First Steps Galactus are thankfully banned, but there are still cards that will rule this mode. Some cards that were too slow for Sanctum Showdown, like Goose and Madame Web, will be great with the extra starting Energy.

Four key card types take on added importance in this mode:

• 2 and 3-Cost set-up cards
• 2 , 3, and 4-Cost Movers
• High-Power/Cost ratio 4 and 5 Cost cards 
• High-Cost enablers or magnifiers

Here are some cards you can expect to see a lot of:

2 and 3-Cost set-up cards

You don't necessarily need to build Power on the first turn, so you do have time to use something like Ravonna to set up later turns. Shanna was solid in Sanctum Showdown Surge and she's even better here. First Steps Mister Fantastic may be unplayable on ladder, but he's really good in this mode.

2 , 3, and 4-Cost Movers

Getting some movers our early to pair with your bigger cards later will be a key strategy. You do have time for low-Power cards like Madame Web, Dolphin Jeff, and Kraven in the early turns. The reworked 2099 is still probably too slow and low-Power to play on the critical Turn 3, but all of the 3-Cost movers will be great on Turn 2 going into more important turns. Grandmaster will be a star once again, as will Doctor Strange.

High-Power/Cost ratio 4 and 5-Cost cards

Miles and Fisk are cheap Power that is easy to access in this mode. Stegron and Vision are among the best cards available for any deck. With and extra Energy and no Enchantress Darkhawk and Ronan can be really beefy Turn 4 plays. You'll notice a lot of the familiar Techno-Organic Virus targets on this list and that will be one of the most played decks.

High-Cost Enablers or Magnifiers

The most recent run of High Voltage was absolutely taken over by big card cheaters like Lockjaw, Jubilee, and Dragon Lord. Expect much of the same in this game mode, where getting a giant card out early on Turn 3 or 4 is critical. I am worried about Black Panther/Zola taking over the mode and wouldn't mind a ban to one of them. Shadow King and Stardust may come in handy.

Other Cards to Keep an Eye On:

Enchantress is banned and more than half the pre-cons rely on cards like Mr. Fantastic, Ms. Marvel, and Klaw. Rogue will account for some game-ending steals. It's not all about mid-cost good ratio cards. Keep cards like Lizard and Hydra Bob in mind, too. I think Caliban is going to be a menace with they way he can hit an opponent's biggest card at the most opportune time.

Rating the Pre-cons and Champions:

Ghost-Spider

• The Pre-Con: 5/5
• Champion + Skill: 4.5/5

This champion and deck are just built for Sanctum scoring more than the others. The skill is expensive, but it can be good late-game Power to seal a win.

Pre-Con Decklist:

• Iron Fist
• Vulture
• Madame Web
• Dagger
• Kraven
• Multiple Man
• Silk
• Spider-Man
• Hercules
• Miles Morales
• Heimdall

Doctor Doom

• The Pre-Con: 4/5
• Champion + Skill: 5/5

The way this deck can spread Power before Turn 4, while dodging Guardians and direct interaction will help it get out of the gates fast. This will likely be the best Champion for Custom decks.

Pre-Con Decklist:

• Squirrel Girl
• Sunspot
• Psylocke
• Forge
• Ironheart
• Mister Fantastic
• Wong
• Absorbing Man
• Klaw
• White Tiger
• Odin

Iron Man

• The Pre-Con: 3/5
• The Champion + Skill: 3.5/5

While this deck certainly has some tricks to spread Power, and Cosmo helps, it's not quite built directly for Sanctum scoring enough. The Skill is awkward with this format, but it is very cheap.

Pre-Con Decklist:

• Ant-Man
• Sunspot
• Armor
• Mister Fantastic
• Mystique
• Cosmo
• Ms. Marvel
• Jessica Jones
• Blue Marvel
• Klaw
• Onslaught

Magneto

• The Pre-Con: 4/5
• Champion + Skill: 3/5

The Champion and Skill are still too slow, even in a format in which they have more utility, but the pre-con deck has some of the best cards in the mode. Nocturne and Jeff will help this deck thrive. While the deck would probably be better without Spider-Sense, it's nice to get to play the card for free.

Pre-Con Decklist:

• Spider-Man: Brand New Day
• Jeff The Baby Dolphin?!
• Kraven
• Spider-Punk
• Prowler
• Nocturne
• Spider-Man 2099
• Gwenpool
• Miles Morales
• Spider-Sense
• Vision

Thanos

• The Pre-Con : 3/5
• Champion + Skill: 2.5/5

Another Champion and Skill that were abysmal in prior runs, but are a bit better in this format (if you get enough turns to play them). This deck will need to rely on getting Mockingbird out by Turn 4 and Cosmo to stop some opposing strategies. Quinjet is a weird inclusion just to make the Skill cheaper and nothing else.

Pre-Con Decklist:

• Quinjet
• Sunspot
• Angela
• Armor
• Bishop
• Cosmo
• Ms. Marvel
• Iron Man
• Blue Marvel
• Devil Dinosaur
• Mockingbird

Mister Fantastic

• The Pre-Con: 2.5/5
• Champion + Skill: 3/5

Yet another deck that relies on spreading Power and the lack of Enchantress in the mode. The Skill has some promise with a Custom deck controlling the targets.

Pre-Con Decklist:

• Ant-Man
• Nebula
• Goliath
• Armor
• Colossus
• Captain America
• Cosmo
• Ms. Marvel
• Iron Man
• Klaw
• Onslaught

Captain America

• The Pre-Con 2.5/5
• Champion + Skill: 3.5/5

This is the only pre-con to include Omega Red, one of my favorite cards from Sanctum Showdown Surge and one I expect to play a lot of here. The rest of the deck doesn't lean into the mode enough, though. The Skill could definitely do some damage in Custom mode with a small pool of powerful targets.

Pre-Con Decklist:

• Nebula
• Quicksilver
• Goliath
• Armor
• Mister Fantastic
• Cosmo
• Speed
• Omega Red
• Iron Man
• Klaw
• Spectrum

Thor

• The Pre-Con: 4/5
• Champion + Skill: 3/5

Thor and Bill can be excellent ways to compete for lanes on turns 4 and 5 by adding hammer Power. This deck is highly dependent, but will slam the door in some matches in a ruthless way. The rest of the deck is just the usual Ongoing cards these pre-cons all seem to rely on.

Pre-Con Decklist:

• Sunspot
• Psylocke
• Forge
• Ironheart
• Mister Fantastic
• Beta Ray Bill
• Wong
• Absorbing Man
• Klaw
• Jane Foster
• Odin

The Banlist

The banlist is extensive and includes the major offenders for both Grand Arena and Sanctum formats. Note: All Prior Champions Appear to be banned. We're not sure if this is intended. We'll keep you posted.

Best Decks

Here are a couple of decks to get you started. You can find additional customs for each Champion at the end of the article (including my favorite deck, using Ghost-Spider, and what I think will be the best deck, with Doom)!

Custom Killer Iron Man

Custom Killer Ghost-Spider

Final Thoughts on the Mode

Just like Sanctum Showdown and Sanctum Showdown Surge, this mode is going to coalesce around one or two linear, high points strategies that the majority of the player-base is going to rely on. However, just like those modes, your enjoyment is going to entirely hinge on how much you're willing to put in. The linear points packages are always eminently beatable in those modes by a mode-tailored deck with a good pilot. However, it's entirely understandable that most players aren't going to get to that level in a ticketed mode. If you're planning to go all-in on the mode and stomp the net-deckers, utilize the lists of cards above and check out my starting points for each custom build below!

Below the paywall, subscribers will find suggested custom decks for each Champion, allowing them to hit the ground running in this complicated mode! Special thanks to Snap.Fan for card and deck art featured in this article.