High Evolutionary is one of the most powerful cards inMarvel Snap, although you never want to actually draw the man. This is because he adds effects to existing cards that normally have no ability, like Hulk or Shocker, and makes them incredibly versatile, but the Evolutionary himself does nothing of note.
There are seven cards affected by High Evolutionary, meaning that you can just add them all to a deck and have a rather solid foundation. The real synergy, however, comes when using only a selection of these cards with other existing effects, and developing a devastating combo. High Evo centers around two in-game mechanics, affliction and Energy conservation, so the cards and, consequently, the combos you can pair together aren’t limited by any means.
Updated on July 26, 2025, by Daniyal Sultan Malik:Since release, High Evolutionary’s only change has been going from 4/4 to 4/6. In terms of the meta, you’re able to often find him in affliction-based decks with cards like Ajax, Cyclops, Scorpion, and Hazmat. As a whole, though, High Evolutionary continues to be a highly popular card in Marvel Snap with a consistent track record.
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Effect
4,5, and 6-Cost cards here have -4 Power.
With a few improvements after a poor launch, U.S. Agent is now an extremely oppressive card that’lltear any late-game play apart. -4 Power on any card is a substantial affliction, which High Evolutionary needs, and when you afflict it on two or more cards, U.S. Agentbecomes a Cube-stealer if played properly on the final turn.
Similar to Hazmat, he’s a double-edged sword,afflicting your high-cost cards with the same debuff. Fortunately, unlike your opponent, you know exactly how to play around his effect, minimizing self-inflicted damage. If you’re in a metawhere high-cost cards like Hela and Wiccan are dominating, this card could mean all the difference.
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With High Evolutionary: When you end a turn with unspent Energy, +2 Power. (if in hand or in play)
Cards that synergize with High Evolutionary’s energy-saving aspect have relatively low Power, which is precisely what the Hulk fixes.12 Power is already beefyenoughfor a card that costs six Energy, buthis powered-up ability with High Evo gets him up to 24 Power— a monster on the board.
High Evolutionary’s Hulk isan ideal pairing for She-Hulk to launch an explosive Turn Six or Turn Seven play. You can play both cards on the final turn after skipping the prior one, letting you sweep locations unsuspecting. In most cases, the Hulk isa better alternative to The Infinautsince he’s easier to play and has a higher ceiling.
Hulk can be an easy target for Shang-Chi and Shadow King!
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+1 Power for each card in play afflicted with negative Power.
Ajax is one of the few cards in its respective cost category that can win a location alone. He canregularly reach 15+ Power in most circumstances, but the real reason he performs so well is because of his deck’s counterplay dominance. With common inclusions like U.S. Agent or Red Guardian, you can easilyprevent the opponent from reaching high Power levels.
As such, High Evolutionary, alongside Cyclops and The Thing, naturally fit into Ajax’s deck. Theyconstantly keep enemy cards from reaching enormous statswhile ramping up Ajax to be a location winner. Theoverall output is reliable, disruptive, and meta-relevant.
Always pair Ajax with Red Guardian or Enchantress to counter an opposing Luke Cage.
Steal one Power from each card in your opponent’s deck.
On top of being the “Arishem killer”, Cassandra Nova is a powerhouse thatdeals affliction while gaining Power beyond the average 3-Cost card. If you play her on the third turn, she’ll reach a whopping seven Power, excluding the -1 Power she afflicts on every card in the opponent’s deck. Thus, hereffective output is well into double digits.
For High Evolutionary, Cassandra isyet another exceptional affliction card you can add to the deck. However, the fact thatshe can completely decimate Arishem, one of the most prevalent cards in the game, makes her a must-have in several matches.
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After each turn, gain +1 Power for each unspent Energy.
With so many ways to cheat Energy, Sunspot isno longer relegated to decks that skip turns, as there is always a bit he can take from turn to turn. Since High Evolutionary already has cards that benefit from not using all your Energy,Sunspot is there to take whatever is left.
While valuable, he isstill as vulnerable as ever to things like Killmonger or Shadow King, but he isn’t your only source of Power. That makes him nice to have, anda great use of Power you were wasting anyway, but if he gets negated or destroyed, it isn’t that big of a deal.
With High Evolutionary: When you end a turn with unspent Energy, give one of your other cards +1 Power.
When High Evolutionary was first released, Misty Knight’s added abilityseemed exclusive to one kind of deck. It felt like the affliction version of the deck would have no use for her, but again, all decks have some Energy they don’t use, soher inclusion is always a net positive.
Besides, depending on where she puts that Power,she’s very hard to counter. She might be destroyed by Killmonger in later turns, but consideringshe gives extra Power to other cards, she still adds a lot while being a dispensable card.
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With High Evolutionary: When you end a turn with unspent Energy, afflict 2 enemy cards here with -1 Power.
Cyclops is a nightmare to deal with given that he can single-handedlykeep a lane in check with the sheer amount of turn-by-turn affliction. He’s the bridge that ties all High Evolutionary decks, and hispotential Power output is nine or even higher, due to all the turns he afflicts your opponent with negativity.
There are ways to counter Cyclops, mainly Luke Cage, but if you see too much of him, you can always add Enchantress or Rogue and negate that game plan entirely. You’ll soon notice that the rest of the cards aren’t only synergistic with High Evolutionary, but aremainly pointed to being matches for Cyclops’ ability in specific.
Afflict all other cards with -1 Power.
Hazmat’sreach is both a blessing and a curse. It’s good because she can target cards that aren’t at her location, but that includes your own cards, meaning that if you have more cards than they do at a location,you’ll be the one targeted the most.
You can alwaysshift that difference in your favor with things like Luke Cage, but then you’ll be too dependent on drawing him. The key is actually tothink of Hazmat as an early game card, catching only a few cards of your opponent and using that early push to your advantage.
Afflict cards in your opponent’s hand with -1 Power.
Hazmat might have reach, but she can’t target the cards Scorpion can:the ones still in their hand. This is thanks to his On-Reveal ability, afflicting all cards in their hand with -1 Power, which is oftena great swing in your favor unless they happen to run Green Goblin.
What Scorpion brings to the table isreliable, early gameplay that you’re able to throw anywhere at any time. Granted, his impact is lower the more the game advances, but when he lands, he canwreck entire game plans for things like Iron Man or Cerebro.
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With High Evolutionary: Costs 1 less for each enemy card in play afflicted with negative Power.
Abomination sawbasically no play before High Evolutionary,considering he had nothing to offer for the Power he brings.Mockingbird has the same stats as Abomination, but she comes with an added positive effect, so when compared with other cards,the green giant falls short.
High Evolutionary gives Abomination the ability to have its Cost lowered for each enemy card afflicted with negative Power. This is whyadding things like Hazmat and Scorpion is key, since they frequently make Abomination cost no Energy, whichopens up plenty of unexpected combos.
