Meta analysis and decks for Valentina
Looking to make use of the latest card added to Marvel Snap? This report takes a data-driven look at Valentina’s usage and effectiveness. We’ve analyzed deck performance data in Infinite to provide you with insights into top-performing decks for this card! The data presented here focuses exclusively on decks that include Valentina, offering a clear view of how this card performs. We will rank the decks according to their power based on their win rate and cube rate and then see what the meta looks like for these decks based on their win rate and frequency. Then, we will list and discuss the decks. We have a detailed explanation of the calculations at the end of the article for those interested!
Snap.Fan Power Rankings
Snap.Fan Power
Infinite
Meta Score
Infinite
Power Ranking Discussion
Oops! All Loki! That about sums things up for Valentina. With six Loki decks making use of her, and one pseudo-Loki deck that doesn’t actually have Loki in it, she has well and truly found her home. Unfortunately, outside of one extremely poor-performing outlier, there is nowhere else for Valentina to go. The recent buff to Angela has also had an impact with 6 lists using the shell of Kitty Pryde, Quinjet, Snowguard, and Angela.
Deck Discussion & Decklists
Loki
We will lump all these Loki decks together because they play basically the same, with only variations of one or two cards between versions. While it has the lowest play rate, the best-performing version is Loki Zemo, containing Baron Zemo, Cable, and Mockingbird. This is the only list to feature Rogue, a powerful tech card in the current meta. Coming in second is Loki MB, featuring Mockingbird and Red Guardian, performing a similar role to Rogue in the top list. The next best list is Loki ARL. This list is packed with tech cards like Armor, Red Guardian, Luke Cage, and Shang-Chi to protect itself against pretty much everything. The next two only have one card difference. Loki HSL (Luke Cage) and Loki HSC (Cable) go the extra energy route with Hope Summers. Loki HSL has shown itself superior with a 6% higher win rate, so running Luke Cage as a tech card seems to be paying off here. However, this would mean it's a flex spot— one you must change depending on the meta. Our last featured list is Loki CL, using Mirage and The Collector. The win rate is below 50%, but the cube rate is positive. It seems that The Collector and Mirage don’t bring enough power compared to the higher-power options like Mockingbird or tech cards with greater utility.
Loki Zemo
Loki MB
Loki ARL
Loki HSL
Loki HSC
Loki CL
No Loki
Congratulations! If you wanted to play Loki but haven’t acquired the Trickster God himself, now is your chance! While this wouldn’t really work for any other archetype, somehow, it works for Loki. It turns out the titular card isn’t all that necessary in his own deck! Functionally, it’s the same as any other Loki deck and plays the same way, stacking your small scalers and discounting stolen cards. So, if you enjoy the play style and want a slightly fresh twist, try this version. This list had the 2nd highest win rate and cube rate, so it’s definitely one to watch and watch out for, and it will likely only increase in popularity due to its success.
No Loki
Stuff
This one is interesting because the win rate is extremely, abhorrently low. So, how did it get enough games to make it on the list? Why did people keep playing it? This sometimes happens, and usually, as is the case here, it’s due to a content creator popularizing a deck. The higher playrate could mean a more diverse group of players tried the deck out unsuccessfully and didn’t stick with it for very long— as opposed to a smaller group of players putting more games in with perhaps a deeper understanding of how to pilot the deck. Unfortunately, the 40% win rate and negative cube rate make this list irredeemable and not really worth playing— especially when you consider decks with an equal number of games played but a 17% higher win rate. There aren’t many cohesive elements here, and some other names come to mind, but I'm just going to call this list Stuff.
Stuff
Data Parameters
We filter the data to get the most meaningful information from our tracker. A deck must be included in at least 100 games, and we also exclusively use data from CL3000+ players playing this current season.
What is the Snap.Fan power ranking?
The Snap.Fan Power ranking is determined by averaging a deck’s Power Score and Cube Score. These are both important for determining a deck's power level. This means a deck may have a negative power ranking.
To create our scores, we take the highest win rate, cube rate, and frequency and set them to a fixed value of 100. To establish the floor, or zero point, for the Power Score, we subtract the highest win rate from 100. For instance, if the highest win rate is 58% (our baseline for a score of 100), then the baseline for a score of 0 would be 42. Any win rate lower than 42% would result in a negative Power Score, indicating how far a deck is below the top performer. This means a deck may have a negative power ranking. For the other scores, the lowest value is the floor.
What is the Meta Score?
This is a supplementary metric that can be useful for assessing the situation. How many people are playing a particular deck is a key factor when considering its overall strength. If a deck has both the highest power and frequency, it would theoretically be the best deck. As such, the Meta Score is the average of these two scores. The power score won’t be visible on the chart if it is too low.
Number of games
This report relies on our deck tracker data and the dedicated community of users who contribute to it. The more data we gather, the more precise and insightful our reports become. By using our tracker, you directly impact the quality of our analyses. Please consider downloading our deck tracker app!
Closing Comments
Thanks for reading, I hope you’ve found some interesting and fun Valentina decks to try out! What Valentina decks have you found success with? Has anything besides Loki worked for you? Let us know in the comments!