MARVEL SNAP Draft Mode Hands-On: Building Decks on the Fly
Draft Mode lets players use unowned cards and earn card packs, addressing the difficulty new and returning players face in catching up with MARVEL SNAP's expanded card pool.
Key Facts
- MARVEL SNAP Draft Mode runs from August 25 at 5:00 AM to September 8 at 3:59 AM Japan time.
- Draft Mode costs 1 Draft Ticket to enter, with a maximum of 5 wins or 2 losses per run.
- Draft Mode decks start at 10 cards and grow to 12 cards through picks after matches.
- Draft Mode includes 21 types of Augments as confirmed in the preview build.
- Draft Mode took over 1.5 years to develop, according to Second Dinner.
Reporting from 3 sources: 4Gamer.net, Automaton, Game Spark.
Second Dinner announced Draft Mode for MARVEL SNAP, a new limited-time game mode where players build a 12-card deck on the fly by choosing from presented cards. The mode opens with a choice of one starter set from three options, each a three-card bundle that defines the deck's archetype. Players then pick one of three cards seven times to reach a 10-card starting deck, with additional picks after matches expanding it to 12 cards. Draft Mode introduces Augments, permanent special effects attached to cards, with 21 types confirmed in the preview build. The mode allows duplicate cards in a deck, enabling combos impossible in standard play, such as running two copies of Hulk and Wave together. Matches run until five wins or two losses, with entry costing one Draft Ticket. Rewards include Bitz, exchangeable for card packs and variants, and XP tied to a seasonal track. The mode runs from August 25 at 5:00 AM to September 8 at 3:59 AM Japan time, and omits the snap system, making retreats count as losses. The developers spent over 1.5 years developing Draft Mode.
- Draft Mode tickets: players start with 10, earn 1 every 24 hours, and can buy packs of 5 for 350 Gold, so running out is unlikely.
- Winning 5 matches returns the entry ticket, enabling infinite play for players who keep winning.
- Starter sets number 70 to 80, covering archetypes such as Destruction and Movement, with developers saying the total is "a considerable number."
- Augments include effects like "always appears in your opening hand at game start" and "can move to another location once," and are described as a reverse import of roguelite deck-building elements from Slay the Spire.
- The game begins with 2 life points, and a Respawn Token restores 1 point once per challenge.
- Matchmaking pairs players by similar strength after deck building.
- Bitz exchange for card packs, variants, and gold in a seasonal shop, with the lineup changing after the period ends.
- An event pass is sold each period, giving buyers additional rewards.
- Second Dinner is led by Ben Brode, a former Hearthstone director, which Game Spark notes drew attention at the game's 2022 launch.
- Game Spark reports the mode opens at noon PDT on August 24 and runs to 11:59 a.m. on September 8, 2026, while 4Gamer and Automaton give the August 25 to September 8 Japan time window.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.