Marvel Snap: A Guide for Priority

Although the game itself has a screen with some tips and curiosities where this "secret" about priority is revealed, many players don't give due importance to this information and sometimes lose the game due to priority (or lack thereof).

But after all, what is this priority? How do I find out if I'm with it? That's what you'll find out now!

First, what is a priority? It's simple: the priority is nothing more than who reveals the cards first.

When both players play one or more cards in the same round, the first cards that will be revealed (in the order in which they were played) will be those of the player who has priority for that turn.

This information is visible around your in-game username. If your name is outlined with an orange glow, it means that you are the one with priority for that turn. If it is unlit and your opponent's name is lit, he has priority.

Understanding the priority system

Priority is always given to the player who is winning in a higher number of locations. If both players are playing at one location, priority is given to the player with the highest number of points.

When there is a tie in a position, but the players are winning each one of the other two positions, the total sum of the points will be made, where whoever has more has priority. In case of a total tie, the priority is set randomly, unless someone already has it, in which case he will keep the priority.

I prepared a round-by-round simulation for you to understand in practice:

Simulation

At the start of turn 1, where no one has played anything yet and everything is tied, priority was randomly given to my friend, Piltover Police.

We played the same card, the Sunspot, so when turn 2 started we were still tied and this time I was the one with priority (randomly).

As the tie continued, once again the priority was set at random, for me.

At the start of turn 4, I was gaining the middle location and Piltover Police were gaining the left location, so it was a tie for number of locations. Therefore, the criterion of total sum of points was used, where my opponent beat me by 1 point and priority was given to him.

The scenario was repeated at the beginning of turn 5 and the same criterion was used. With a difference of 3 points, Piltover Police took priority.

At the start of the last turn, I was winning in two locations, so the priority was for me.

Depending on the deck you're playing and the deck you're facing, priority will define the match. Let's say you have a Wong On Reveal deck that will double the effects of your On Reveal cards. In this deck, it is very common to play Wong on turn 4 and White Tiger on turn 5.

The moment you put Wong on the field, the opponent will be aware that you will play an important card with an effect on Reveal there, for Wong to repeat its effect, so if they have priority, they will put a Cosmo there to thwart your plans. It is even quite common in these cases for the opponent to already press the Snap - so with that in mind, you can already retreat and avoid losing more cubes.

If you're facing the Patriot deck, which often reserves Ultron to be the finisher of the match, it's important that the opponent have priority, as Ultron's effect will be revealed first and if you have Killmonger in your hand, for example, it will counter the opponent's play, destroying all the bots that Ultron has set up.

Finally, if you have Shang-Chi, and you're facing a deck that you know the opponent is going to play a card with a lot of power in the last turn, it won't help to have priority on your side, since the opponent's card will be revealed only after your Shang-Chi.

Knowing how priority works and how to identify it, you can improve as a player, because the moment you identify your opponent's deck, you'll know whether you should fight for priority.

There are a series of cards and interactions that depend heavily on priority, and it wouldn't fit to mention all of them in this article, but I hope that this "lesson" that I brought you will help you in your ladder!

If you have any suggestions for a topic similar to this one, about doubts or curiosities (mainly for beginner players) you can leave them in the comments and I will do my best to bring more articles in this style!