Arnim Zola is one of one of Captain America’s most fierce enemies, and a true supervillain in the Marvel universe. A geneticist whose consciousness was transferred to a robotic body, in Marvel Snap he is a cost-six, zero-Power unit with one of the most game-changing effects from all cards available.
Arnim Zola’s effect in Marvel Snap reads as follows: “On Reveal: Destroy a random friendly card here. Add copies of it to other locations.” While its stats are really underwhelming for a six-cost, the advantage you can get from its effect can instantly turn the tide of the game. Building a deck around Arnim Zola is one of the best options available in the game.
Here are the best Arnim Zola decks in Marvel Snap.
Best Arnim Zola decks to use in Marvel Snap
Arnim Zola/Shuri
Arnim Zola’s ability relies on another unit, and for you to maximize it, it is best to target a card with a huge amount of Power which can be distributed to the other two locations. Having two copies of a high-powered unit in two separate locations is better than just making it boost a single location. This is where the king of Wakanda, the Black Panther, shines the most.
One of the best targets for Arnim Zola’s effect is Black Panther. It is a four-cost, two-Power unit with the ability that reads “On Reveal: Double this card’s Power.” Black Panther’s stats are underwhelming, especially for a late game card. But if you use it correctly alongside the other tools that can make its Power higher, the king of Wakanda can definitely provide a massive Power boost to your locations.
Shuri, being T’Challa’s sister, is also Black Panther’s best partner in Marvel Snap. It can double the Power of the next card you play. Ideally, you should play it before you put Black Panther on the field. Then by turn six, play Arnim Zola to activate Black Panther’s On Reveal ability once again for another double Power boost. This can lead to a potential 16-Power boost to two of your locations.
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But if you want to achieve even more Power with Black Panther, you can include Wong, whose Ongoing ability causes On Reveal abilities at the specified location to happen twice. Just imagine how much Power Black Panther could have if you manage to play Wong before you place the king of Wakanda on the field, or even Shuri. Having Wong is also a good back-up plan in case you won’t be able to draw Arnim Zola.
As for the other cards in the deck, you can include Ebony Maw, which is a cheap one-cost, seven-Power unit that restricts you to play cards in the location where you played it after turn three, though its effect can be avoided by Arnim Zola’s ability. Ant-Man is also a great pick since it can gain plus three Power if you play it in a location that already has three cards. Psylocke and Electro can provide bonus energies for you to set up the Wong/Shuri/Black Panther/Arnim Zola combo.
Forge can also give additional Power boost. It is a Shuri clone, but only gives plus two Power instead of the double boost. Red Skull which is another choice for both Shuri and Arnim Zola’s ability aside from Black Panther. Taskmaster is also there to copy either Black Panther or Red Skull’s Power in case you won’t draw Arnim Zola. Cap off the deck with Armor for protecting Red Skull in case yo need to resort to the Shuri-Red Skull-Taskmaster combo.
The key to using this deck is to know the proper time of playing your cards. This is because of the fact that most key cards here have On Reveal abilities, especially the trio of Black Panther, Shuri, and Arnim Zola. Pulling off this combo is really deadly for your opponent, as long as you know where to play each card and in what order.
Win condition cards for this deck:
Aside from Arnim Zola, the three most important cards in the deck which can produce high-Powered units in the late game are:
- Shuri
- Wong
- Black Panther
- Red Skull
- Taskmaster
Black Panther is the key in this deck. Arnim Zola’s effect is useful with Black Panther, giving you two 16-Power Black Panther clones in two locations. But with the help of Shuri and Wong, you can further power up the king of Wakanda. To use both in one game, you can play Psylocke on turn two. This will allow you to play Wong on turn three, then Shuri on another location on turn four, and Black Panther on turn five where Wong is placed for a massive 32-Power card. Finish the game with Arnim Zola on turn six to have two 64-Power Black Panther clones in two locations.
You can do the same with Red Skull instead of Black Panther. This will require an easier setup, since you won’t even need Wave and Wong to have a massive 26-Power from the Shuri and Red Skull combo.
Taskmaster, on the other hand, is your alternative strategy if you will miss playing Arnim Zola on turn six.
Arnim Zola/Devil Dinosaur
Another offensive engine you can use to maximize Arnim Zola’s ability is the famous Devil Dinosaur strategy. It has a much easier setup compared to the Black Panther deck, but can still give you a huge amount of Power in the late game.
Devil Dinosaur’s effect reads as follows: “Ongoing: +2 Power for each card in your hand.” Having at least five cards in your hand can give Devil Dino at least 10 Power points, making it a good choice for Arnim Zola’s ability. You can achieve this easily by using Devil Dino’s best buddy, Moon Girl, which can duplicate all the cards in your hand upon playing it.
To make the Devil Dino deck engine more consistent, you can play units that give you bonus cards in your hand. This includes Agent 13, Sentinel, Cable, Maria Hill, White Queen, and Nick Fury. All of these cards range from one to four cost, making them cheap additional Power boosters in the process. The Collector is a potential offensive option you can have since it gains plus one Power point whenever a card is being put into your hand aside from drawing them from your deck.
You can include Shang-Chi as additional control for your side thanks to its ability that reads “On Reveal: Destroy all enemy cards at this location that have 9 or more Power.” Scarlet Witch is also a decent pick in case there is a location that may give you disadvantage. The key to using this deck is to always prioritize the Devil Dinosaur/Arnim Zola combo, meaning you should aim to use cards that can give you more cards in your hand.
Win condition cards for this deck:
Since Arnim Zola is more of an additional tool on this deck and not the main finisher, the win condition cards for this deck are the following:
- Moon Girl
- Devil Dinosaur
- Nick Fury
- The Collector
Devil Dinosaur is already powerful on its own. Assuming you have at least four cards in your hand, you can ramp it up to a minimum of 11 Power points. And as mentioned, Moon Girl can work some magic for her dino pal for additional Power.
Nick Fury can also help boost Devil Dinosaur’s Power, as well as giving you additional six-cost cards which can become your alternative late-game finishers. It is a five-cost, seven-Power card which can be used on turn four, courtesy of Wave or Psylocke. The Collector, on the other hand, could be your dark horse offensive machine if you manage to play your units that give you additional cards to your hand.
The best play would be Psylocke/Wave on turn three. This will pave the way for you to play either Devil Dinosaur or Nick Fury on turn four. Then you can play the other one on turn five. Finish strong with Arnim Zola on turn six to destroy and produce Devil Dino clones, or by playing one of the six-cost cards generated by Nick Fury.
How to counter Arnim Zola decks
The biggest counter to Arnim Zola itself is Cosmo, since it can shut down On Reveal abilities on the location where it is placed. Cosmo can also disrupt Black Panther’s ability, making your potential Power boost weaker if it will be played on the location where the space dog is placed.
Lockdown decks can also disrupt your late game strategy with Arnim Zola. This includes decks that have Professor X or Spider-Man. Your setup can be hard to achieve if you won’t be able to place cards in locations where you are restricted from doing so.
