Best Ares Decks In Marvel Snap

The Dark Avengers is nearing its end for Marvel Snap's first themed season for the card battler Marvel Snap. Despite the game's temporary ban early this month, which saw its US-based players being blocked from accessing and playing the game, developer Second Dinner has promised all players compensation packages that will be issued shortly, but the show must go on.

The current season welcomes the final card release in the Greek god of war, Ares, as he's looking to assert dominance on the battlefield and overwhelm his opponents. This godly guide discusses what we know about Ares, including its card ability, top counters, best synergies, and some decks to insert the God of War in Marvel Snap!

Marvel Snap Ares Card Abilities Explained

Ares may have secured his place in the Greek pantheon, but within the realms of Marvel Comics, this almighty character "was worshiped as the god of war in both ancient Greece and ancient Rome" until the worshipping of the gods was left to die at the hands of Zeus. This resulted in Ares becoming disgruntled with his father, even attempting to assume Olympus, but was stopped by his half-brother Hercules, who had some help from the Asgardian god of thunder, Thor, and even some of the Avengers.

His encounters with the Avengers aren't his only interactions with other noted Marvel heroes, as Ares crossed paths with the short-lived assemble, the Champions and Ikaris. But life in combat was not all he thought it to be, resulting in Ares retiring before being thrown back into god-like warfare and opting to reside on Earth to raise his son and eventually become an Avenger.

As a Greek god, Ares has had his fair share of being shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the strongest heroes and villains; his card ability reflects that. Ares launches as a Series 5 card with a four-Cost and six Power card with an On Reveal ability that compares the power of three top cards of theirs and their opponent's decks, which, if their total is higher, Ares gains +6 Power.

Snappers want to add yet another godly character to their Collection. Ares can be acquired through the Spotlight Caches system using Spotlight Keys for one week. Additionally, they can spend 6,000 Collector's Tokens to buy the card from the Token Shop in-game.

Best Marvel Snap Ares Decks: It's Milling Time!

Ares' ability will show the Snapper the total power of the top three cards from both decks, which may help them estimate what cards could be in their opponent's deck or what deck they may be running. The card's design is straightforward to understand, and Ares could be comparable to other four-cost power gainers like Rescue and Jessica Jones.

However, as Ares is an On Reveal card, it's susceptible to being countered by Shadow King, Cosmo, and Shang Chi, being the top contenders to neutralize the card. Nevertheless, one of the first deck archetypes that Ares can slot in quite well and gain that +6 Power fairly easily is a Mill deck, like this one from Marvel Snap content creator dddrewsky.

The objective is to deplete their opponent's deck by either drawing cards from their deck with Baron Zemo or pulling to destroy with Yondu and Gladiator. They'll also have a few cards to destroy what's in play with Killmonger, Misery, and Lady Deathstrike, which should help discount Death with Shadow King and Shang-Chi as their tech cards to counter their opponent.

Best Marvel Snap Ares Decks: Locking Down The Machine

Ares can also synergize well with Anti-Ongoing decks using Zero, Sauron, and Enchantress to remove all Ongoing abilities from their cards, but a Lockdown-style deck is perhaps an easier way to prevent being countered by Shang-Chi or any other potential counters from targeting Ares.

This can be achieved by inserting Ares into a Storm Lockdown deck, which can be achieved by Zabu discounting some important four-cost cards like Storm, War Machine, and Ares. This stormy deck from Marvel Snap content creator Bynx Plays includes some early tech cards in Red Guardian and Rocket Raccoon & Groot to turn off card abilities and steal power.

Jeff the Baby Land Shark is featured to swing location priority in their favor while ensuring that Storm and War Machine are played before playing Legion to lock down all locations. This should make it easier through War Machine to play Iron Lad, which may hit Ares before playing Ares itself and The Infinaut to close the game for the win!

Best Marvel Snap Ares Decks: Surtur Hanging With The Gods

Our early preview of Ares had us estimating that Ares would play very well with the Asgardian fiery demon Surtur, and given that Ares likes to hang out with the "big bois," this deck pairs him with some high-powered cards for both cards to gain max power. Several cards can be played with Surtur and likewise with Ares to ensure Ares meets its condition and gains that extra power by pairing it with cards to spread out power, making it harder to counter against.

This god-like deck from Marvel Snap content creator ReZ Snapper is built around Surtur, and building lanes earlier can be achieved with Zabu to discount the four-Cost cards, especially Attuma, in one lane with The Hood to destroy its negative power. Attuma, Crossbones, Black Panther, and Ares can help Surtur gain power while using Aero and Magneto to move away from important locations for priority.

Lastly, Black Swan is added to reduce one-Cost cards to play on the final turn or during the mid-turns to get The Hood's Demon and Martyr on the board with Surtur or Attuma, depending on the turn. All the high-powered cards should make Skaar more accessible, and it can be held back until the last turn for that big play to secure their victory!

For more Marvel Snap news, be sure to check out our dedicated section or take a look at some of our Guides & Tutorials just below: