Best Cassandra Nova Decks In Marvel Snap

Professor Charles Xavier's "psychic parasite" twin sibling, Cassandra Nova, has become a nightmare for the professor and the rest of the X-Men throughout Marvel Comics. It's quite befitting that the character is the primary antagonist in Marvel Studios' latest film release, Deadpool & Wolverine, that she'll be making her presence felt in Marvel Snap during the current "Maximum Effort" season.

With her deadly psychic abilities, which have destroyed the lives of countless mutants during her comic run, how destructive can she get once players get their hands on this card? This guide will discuss Cassandra Nova's ability and counters while spotlighting a few powerful decks to try if they have enough Tokens or Bubs earned in Marvel Snap.

Marvel Snap Cassandra Nova Card Abilities Explained

It's been around a week since the launch of the limited-time game mode Deadpool's Diner, which is available in Marvel Snap. Players have been actively grinding through the various plates to earn as many Bubs as possible and progress through the rewards tiers to get the season's final card release, Cassandra Nova.

Marvel Snap players who've visited cinemas globally upon the release of Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine, which introduces the eponymous character, will finally get to meet her in Marvel Snap. As she can be obtained from Deadpool's Diner, there's been much hype within the community primarily due to her power-stealing ability and key synergies.

At launch, Cassandra Nova is a three-Cost and one-power card with an On Reveal ability to "steal" one Power from each card within the opponent's deck. Her power can essentially fall off if she's played too early or too late, or the card is countered by Cosmo, Luke Cage, Shang-Chi, or specific locations like Knowhere.

Another thing to remember is their opponent's deck size, for which her best possible starting Power will come on Turn 3. Naturally, Arishem and Thanos decks will significantly increase her power beyond her baseline, but with a smaller deck size, her power isn't strong enough compared to other better three-Cost cards.

For a limited time, her base card can be obtained from the Deadpool's Diner game mode, which unlocks her once players have accumulated 15 million Bubs. Her variant card unlocks at 500 million Bubs, but if players cannot get the card in time, she will be available to purchase from the Token Shop during the week of 13th August 2024, but we have yet to determine her cost.

Best Marvel Snap Cassandra Nova Decks: EVO Nova

One good deck archetype to slot Cassandra Nova with is a High Evolutionary deck, which pairs well with her power-stealing ability. This is mainly due to the inclusion of affliction cards like Abomination, for which players can include other cards that deal affliction to their opponent's deck and hand, like Scorpion, and cards played like Hazmat.

In this Nova-tastic deck from Marvel Snap content creator Safety Blade, this High Evolutionary deck has been repackaged with Misty Knight, Shocker, and The Hulk as Cyclops and The Thing being the cards that will afflict their opponent's cards that have been played. Additionally, this deck includes Armor to safeguard Misty Knight and Sunspot from potentially being destroyed by Killmonger, with the latter helping with early location priority.

As a result of Scopion, Evolved Cyclops and The Thing, and Cassandra Nova, Evolved Abomination will be significantly reduced as it would cost one less for every card that's afflicted, so players could find themselves playing Abomination a few turns early. This can also mean that it will hugely increase Cassandra Nova's power, which would be ideal to play in the later turns if Luke Cage doesn't counter this.

Best Marvel Snap Cassandra Nova Decks: Cassandra After Dark

Another good deck archetype players can consider running Cassandra Nova with, which gained some popularity within the meta following Arishem's release, is the Darkhawk deck. In terms of synergy, she is a great 3-Cost card inclusion, which gives players more flexibility by giving them another option to go tall in locations with other cards, which has proven more successful in countering Arishem.

This deck from Marvel Snap content creator Ankh pairs Darkhawk with Ravonna Renslayer to discount some key cards in this Darkhawk package, like Mystique, Wolfsbane, and Cassandra Nova, with Hit-Monkey and Sage being other good alternatives, with the latter having its cost reduced by Renslayer.

Korg, Rockslide, and Black Widow are included in this deck, giving their opponent a few cards to their deck and hand to increase Darkhawk's power further. Lastly, Absorbing Man and Odin are also factored into this deck, with Absorbing Man copying Cassandra Nova while Odin can be played at the same location as Korg and Rockslide to add more Rocks to their opponent's deck.

Best Marvel Snap Cassandra Nova Decks: Hi-Ajax And Nova

Going back to affliction for our final featured deck follows up on a statement in a previous guide on a recently released card centered around affliction: Ajax. Ajax is perhaps Cassandra Nova's best synergistic card; we've previously explained that Ajax gains Power for every card afflicted, and its Power can now be increased further once Cassandra Nova has been played.

As Cassandra Nova is at her strongest when playing on the Curve (playing key cards on the turn with the energy available), they must play affliction-based cards to ensure that Ajax and Cassandra Nova gain the maximum power possible. This deck from Marvel Snap content creator ReZ Snapper builds this affliction deck centered around these core cards, with Selene, Scorpion, and Hazmat being the best cards to give negative power to their opponent's card in their hand, deck, and those in play.

A handful of tech cards like Echo and Enchantress will remove any potential Ongoing abilities from their opponent's cards that may negate Ajax and Cassandra Nova like Luke Cage, and Rogue can steal an Ongoing ability from their opponent, which is another way of dealing with Luke Cage. Grand Master gets a slot in this deck to trigger Selene, Scorpion, or Hazmat's ability and move them to the middle location, and Absorbing Man would be best played to copy Cassandra Nova's On Reveal ability before Ajax can be played.

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: