As an avid Marvel Snap player, I‘ve experimented extensively with Yellowjacket to find the best ways to utilize this peculiar 0-cost card. With the right combos and locations, Yellowjacket can enable some incredibly powerful plays.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll share everything I‘ve learned about maximizing Yellowjacket‘s potential, including:
- What makes Yellowjacket such a unique and versatile card
- The top card combos that synergize well with Yellowjacket
- Ideal locations to play Yellowjacket for maximum impact
- Locations to avoid playing him in
- Powerful Yellowjacket deck builds and strategies
So whether you just picked up this tricky insect or are looking to strengthen your Yellowjacket game, read on!
Inside Marvel Snap‘s Yellowjacket
Here are Yellowjacket‘s key stats:
- Type: Character
- Power: 2
- Cost: 0
- Ability: On Reveal: Afflict your other cards at this location with -1 Power.
So what makes this card so interesting compared to other 0-cost options? It comes down to the ability.
Reducing the power of your other cards by 1 might seem bad. But it enables some incredibly powerful combos and disruption tactics. With the right setup, you can use Yellowjacket to get a major edge over your opponent.
Let‘s look at some of his best teammates.
Top Yellowjacket Card Combos
While risky on his own, Yellowjacket truly shines when combined with the right cards. These are my top picks for powerful Yellowjacket synergies:
1. Zero
Zero‘s ability to negate others makes him an ideal lead-in for Yellowjacket plays:
- Type: Character
- Power: 3
- Cost: 1
- Ability: On Reveal: Remove the abilities on the next card you play.
The combo goes like this:
- Turn 1: Play Zero.
- Turn 2: Play Yellowjacket. Since Zero removes abilities, you avoid Yellowjacket‘s -1 power debuff.
This gives you a 3 power character for just 1 energy. A great temp play while you build up for bigger drops.
2. Colossus
Colossus‘s immunity to power reduction works very well with Yellowjacket:
- Type: Character
- Power: 3
- Cost: 2
- Ability: Ongoing: Can‘t be destroyed, moved, or have its Power reduced.
You can safely drop Yellowjacket without weakening Colossus. This grants a combined 5 power for 2 energy – fantastic value.
Certain locations like Shadowland can make this even more potent.
3. Valkyrie
Valkyrie resets all card powers to 3. So she counters Yellowjacket‘s debuff beautifully:
- Type: Character
- Power: 3
- Cost: 5
- Ability: On Reveal: Set ALL cards at this location to 3 Power.
Wait to play Valkyrie after you‘ve dropped Yellowjacket to override his ability. This works great in negative power areas like Klyntar and The Negative Zone.
4. Cosmo
Cosmo prevents On Reveal abilities, stopping Yellowjacket‘s power reduction without any effort:
- Type: Character
- Power: 3
- Cost: 3
- Ability: Ongoing: On Reveal abilities won‘t happen at this location.
As long as Cosmo stays alive, you‘ll nullify Yellowjacket‘s penalty and enjoy his 2 free power.
5. Taskmaster
Taskmaster copies the power of your previously played card. So you can use him to avoid Yellowjacket‘s sting:
- Type: Character
- Power: 0
- Cost: 5
- Ability: On Reveal: Set this card‘s Power equal to the power of the last card you played.
Play any high power card before Taskmaster to have him mimic that instead of succumbing to Yellowjacket.
This takes precise timing but enables some incredibly powerful turns.
Best Locations for Yellowjacket
While risky if played haphazardly, Yellowjacket can shine in the right Marvel Snap locations. These are my top picks for getting value out of this tiny terror:
Atlantis
- Effect: If you only have one card here, it has +5 power.
In Atlantis, a solo Yellowjacket gains +5 power for a total of 7 power. And since he‘s alone, his ability doesn‘t trigger.
This location makes him an excellent Turn 1 play as you bank energy and cards. Hard for your opponent to match that initial value.
Death‘s Domain
- Effect: When you play a card here, destroy it.
Some cards benefit from having others destroyed, like Death (-1 cost for each destroyed card).
Dropping Yellowjacket here gives Death a discount without wasting other resources. Savvy players can leverage this.
Knowhere
- Effect: On Reveal effects do not happen at this location.
Again, preventing Yellowjacket‘s ability is very handy. In Knowhere, he‘s a simple 2 power character you can drop for free.
While less flashy than Atlantis, that shouldn‘t be underestimated as a Turn 1 or 2 move.
Oscorp Tower
- Effect: After turn 3, all cards here swap sides.
Oscorp Tower lets you inflict Yellowjacket‘s downside on your opponent. This can enable some nasty disruption against late-game drop tactics.
I like combining him here with high-cost powerhouses having detrimental abilities, like Carnage or Hobgoblin.
Worst Locations for Yellowjacket
While Yellowjacket pairs nicely with certain locations, there are others I would avoid playing him in:
Kamar-Taj
- Effect: On Reveal effects happen twice at this location.
Doubling Yellowjacket‘s ability can tank your board position. Not recommended!
Jotunheim
- Effect: After each turn, cards here lose 1 power.
The ever-decreasing power in Jotunheim further compounds Yellowjacket‘s penalty. There are better places to play him.
Hala
- Effect: At the end of turn 4, destroy all cards controlled by the player losing here.
Hala punishes whichever player has the lower power after turn 4. A risky location already, Yellowjacket‘s power drain makes losing here more likely.
The Negative Zone
- Effect: Cards here have -3 power.
Starting your cards in a 3 power hole makes Yellowjacket‘s extra reduction overkill. Focus on alternatives with abilities that can overcome Negative Zone‘s effect.
Winning Yellowjacket Decks
Now let‘s explore full decks that exploit Yellowjacket‘s advantages:
Cerebro Yellowjacket
This combo build relies on duplicating Cerebro to compound your power rapidly:
- Yellowjacket
- Domino
- Debrii
- Shang-Chi
- Sentinel
- Colossus
- Moon Girl
- Valkyrie
- Spider-Woman
- Cerebro
- Cloak
- Mystique
Moon Girl and Mystique both duplicate cards in your hand/deck – ideal for mimicking Cerebro‘s exponential power gains.
Meanwhile, Valkyrie resets the power knocked down by Yellowjacket and Debrii. And Spider-Woman helps pull key pieces from your deck.
With the card draw engines set up, focus on building a huge Cerebro in a single area buffed by Cloak. Yellowjacket buys you early tempo while reducing the cost of playing duplicates like Mystique.
Devastating when it pops off!
Oscorp Disruption
As mentioned earlier, Yellowjacket can enable some brutal disruption strategies:
- Yellowjacket
- The Hood
- Black Widow
- Scarlet Witch
- Electro
- Mysterio
- Vatu The Watcher
- Ebony Maw
- Carnage
- Viper
- Captain Marvel
- Hobgoblin
This deck contains numerous high-cost, high-power cards with detrimental abilities. After turn 3 in Oscorp Tower, these downsides get inflicted on your opponent instead!
For example, Carnage reducing other cards‘ power can completely cripple the enemy‘s board. Similarly, Ebony Maw blocking additional card plays disables combo strategies.
Scarlet Witch and cards like The Watcher give you chances to move the location as well.
Zero Silence
As mentioned earlier, Zero has great synergy with Yellowjacket. This deck exploits Zero‘s ability to negate others and enable powerful tempo swings:
- Yellowjacket
- Zero
- Cosmo
- Viper
- Enchantress
- Maximus
- Red Skull
- Destroyer
- Doctor Octopus
- Typhoid Mary
- Ebony Maw
- Lizard
Zero removes the downsides of high-power/low-cost cards like Red Skull, allowing them to shine.
Cosmo prevents abilities as well – combined they silence multiple dangereuses.
Viper seizes opponent cards. The Enchantress negates abilities. And Ebony Maw locks down locations.
With these oppressive tools enabled by Zero + Yellowjacket‘s tempo advantage, your opponent won‘t know what hit them!
Final Thoughts
Initially appearing almost useless, proper Yellowjacket play can provide tremendous advantages. But he requires very deliberate combo sequencing and location planning compared to other Marvel Snap characters.
Hopefully this guide has illuminated tips and strategies to master Yellowjacket and add more victories to your record! Let me know if you have any other questions – I‘m always happy to discuss innovative Yellowjacket builds.
Thanks for reading and happy snapping!
