Weekend Sanctum Decks and Strategy
Sanctum Showdown August 14 - August 17
Sanctum is back and, since you need to hit the ground running in Marvel Snap's sweatiest LTGM, we've compiled the best decks and strategies to help you get those sweet weekend cosmetics in style!
What's Changed
It's been a while since the last run of classic Sanctum Showdown. We had Sanctum Showdown Surge in May and Grand Arena Showdown in July, but the last classic Sanctum run was all the way back in February! A lot has changed since then, especially in the world of high-tempo, good rate cards! We also got a boatload of new movers and move payoffs! Remember, Thanos Fractured Frontier can (sometimes) move, so Sanctum is unlikely to be a respite from him!
Mode-Relevant New Cards
Returning & Buffed Key Cards
A lot of cards that were already good in the mode got direct or indirect buffs!
Sneaky-Good Cards
Don't forget about these cards!
Banned!
Galactus First Steps was added to the ban list last time. Datamines have shown no additional bans, but if there is a surprise we'll be sure to update this list upon mode launch.
| Banned Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Man Spider | Sauron | Annihilus |
| Cannonball | Captain Marvel | Cull Obsidian |
| Dracula | Galactus | Green Goblin |
| Hobgoblin | Invisible Woman | Juggernaut |
| Magik | Makkari | Malekith |
| Martyr | M'Baku | Mysterio |
| Negasonic Teenage Warhead | Quake | Rocket & Groot |
| Rocket Raccoon | Sauron | Scream |
| Storm | Supergiant | Surtur |
| Viper | Werewolf By Night | Galactus First Steps |
More like Same-tum, Slow-down, amirite?
Sanctum has a reputation for being very same-y. This is because ticketing doesn't reward experimentation and skill improvement, and that entry system alongside easy-to-play, "good enough" strategies focused on good Cost/Power ratio cards means most of the player-base coalesces around the same 8-10 cards. I wouldn't blame you for just rocking the most popular cards for easy wins in this short edition of Sanctum. Here are the types of decks you can expect to see a lot of:
Everyone's Ramping
Dragon Lord is a key card in this mode and one you should expect to see in a ton of your matches. This style of deck is likely to be the most popular, give or take a few cards.
Sanctum Doom
This deck included Thanos FF, but he's not the centerpiece. If he's just a Vision+, that's good enough to justify his spot. This general shape of deck is another you should expect to see a lot of, whether it included more low-end or focuses on the top end like this one.
Sanctum ToV
It might seem like there is a bit of anti-synergy with Jeff2 and Vision, but this deck is aiming to end games early. Feel free to infect your movers if it's going to win you the game on the current or following turns. This won't be the exact 12 you see, but you'll see plenty of decks in this general shape.
Sanctum Guardians
Groot and Drax just got buffed, making them significantly better in this mode!
Venus Zoo
Zoo was already incredibly strong and now Venus/Marvel Boy strategies look to take over. Expect plenty of Killmonger and Elektra later in the weekend to emerge as a counter to this type of strategy. There are plenty of other ways to build a Zoo deck for this mode, including utilizing cards like Bast and Bishop or Lockheed and Ikari (see below), but this deck is closer to what I expect you will encounter most often this weekend.
Scamming the Sanctum
But there are other winning strategies that can stomp the above decks... if you're skilled enough or willing to devote the time to learning the play patterns. The bottom line is, Sanctum is as same-y as you allow if to be from your end. We should also note here that the February run was easily the most diverse the mode has seen, so Sanctum is moving in the right direction. These deck are all fun alternatives to crush the most common decks you're likely to see:
Scott's Personal Favorite
I believe Batroc and Stegron to be the two most powerful cards in the mode, and this is an updated version of the primary list I've run for all of the runs of this LTGM. Sadly, reworked 2099 and Ghost Spider are out and Thanos FF and Spider-Man BND fill their shoes. I'll be considering Stardust and Foom in here as the weekend progresses.
The rest of the decks for this weekend are for supporters only. There are some really fun concepts here that can absolutely smash this mode, so if you're looking to spice up your Sanctum experience, join today!
