Pinning cards in Marvel Snap is an important mechanic that allows players to secure specific cards in their hand or deck during a match. When a card is pinned, it ensures that card will not be discarded or transformed by opponent effects. Understanding when and how to utilize pinning effectively can give players a strategic advantage.
How Pinning Works
During a Marvel Snap match, players are dealt a starting hand of 6 random cards from their 12 card deck. On each turn, they get to see 3 more random cards from their deck which they can swap into their hand if desired.
Any unspent energy at the end of your turn gets transformed into a random card from your deck as well. This means your hand is constantly changing over the course of a match.
However, by pinning a card you are able to lock it into place so it won’t get randomly swapped out or transformed. Each player can pin up to 2 cards in their hand per match. These pinned cards will remain until they are played or unpinned.
Pinning Cards in Hand
During your turn, you can tap on any card in your current hand to pin it. When pinned, a little icon will appear on the card showing it is now locked in place.
Pinned cards in your hand are protected from any effects that would make you discard or transform them. This includes random transforms from unspent energy, opponent card abilities, location effects, etc.
It ensures you will continue to have access to that pinned card as long as it remains in your hand.
Pinning Cards from Deck
Some abilities like Agent 13 or The Collector also allow you to pin a card directly from your deck. When used, these abilities let you view your deck and select any card to pin to your hand.
This lets you fetch a needed card directly into your hand protected by pinning. It is extremely useful for pulling out important cards you haven’t drawn yet.
Why Pinning is Useful
Here are some of the main reasons pinning cards is so useful in Marvel Snap:
Protect Key Cards
By pinning important cards in your strategy, you can ensure you will have access to them when needed. For example, pinning a key late game card means you are guaranteed to have it on the turn you want to play it for maximum impact.
Prevent Discarding
Cards like Enchantress or Spider-Man will force you to discard from your hand. Pinning will protect your cards from being discarded against your will.
Stop Random Transforms
Any extra energy you don’t spend each turn gets transformed into a random card from your deck. This can ruin your plans if an important card gets transformed away. Pinning stops this.
Fetch Needed Cards
As mentioned earlier, some abilities let you pin cards directly from your deck. This is great for pulling out a much needed answer to a situation that you haven’t naturally drawn yet.
Synergize Cards
You can combine pinning with other cards to create powerful combos. For example, pinning 0 cost cards along with Odin or The Hood allows you to get extra value from their abilities.
Counter Opponent Strategies
Smart pinning can also directly counter what your opponent is doing. As an example, holding onto Cosmo by pinning can stop opponent’s using discard effects against you.
Effective Pinning Strategies
To utilize pinning most effectively, keep these tips in mind:
- Save pinning for the late game when you have the most information about board state and your win condition.
- Be selective with pinning – you only get 2 per game so make them count.
- Pin combo pieces you need to come together for your strategy.
- Look for opportunities to pin cards that directly counter opponent plans.
- Pin key cards versus decks you know run discard effects.
- Hold onto early game power spikes to let their abilities trigger again later.
Ideal Cards to Pin
Some examples of great pin candidates:
- 0-cost cards like Ant-Man, Elektra, etc to enable extra Odin/Hood value.
- Your win condition card like Infinaut or Devil Dinosaur.
- Late game power cards like Apocalypse, Onslaught, or Infinaut.
- Combo cards like Professor X + other mutants.
- Cards with ongoing effects like Enchantress, Viper, etc.
Just remember, the value of pinning any card depends a lot on the context of the match and board state. Be adaptable with your pinning strategies.
Downsides of Pinning
While extremely useful overall, there are some downsides to pinning you should keep in mind:
- Each pin locks a card in place, reducing your hand flexibility.
- A pinned card you don’t end up needing is a wasted pin opportunity.
- Pinning too early can backfire if the game state changes.
- If you pin both cards too early, you may wish you had a pin later.
- Pinned cards still take up space in your hand, potentially causing discards.
The key is to balance pinning at the right times to support your strategy without overcompensating. Don’t pin cards just for the sake of pinning if you don’t have a clear purpose.
Tracking Opponent Pins
When playing against pinning, pay close attention to how your opponent uses their pins each match. This can give you insight into their strategy and win condition.
If you see both pins used very early for example, you know they have none left for the late game. Or if a key card remains pinned in their hand for multiple turns, expect that to be important to their plan somehow.
Learning to track and play around opponent pinning is an important skill to build.
Conclusion
Pinning is a simple but deep mechanic that adds further strategic complexity to Marvel Snap. Use pinning to ensure access to key cards, enable combos, counter opponents, and more.
Think ahead and be judicious with your limited pins per game. With experience, you’ll get better at identifying the most impactful cards to pin in any given match.
Mastering pinning alongside all the other skills in Snap will help take your game to the next level. Just remember, with great power comes great responsibility!