What are card pools in Marvel Snap? Answered

As a collectible deckbuilding game, it makes sense that one of the most important parts of Marvel Snap is unlocking the different cards that you need to create your favorite deck. This isn’t necessarily a straightforward process. You can always keep unlocking cards just by playing the game, but which cards you’ll unlock at which times is a little more nuanced than just a matter of random chance. To understand the process in more detail, you’ll need to understand a mechanic that’s core to Marvel Snap, but that it doesn’t really explain: card pools.

Related: Does Marvel Snap have competitive multiplayer? Answered

How card pools work in Marvel Snap

Card pools in Marvel Snap exist to accomplish two main goals. First, they make sure you’ll only be matched up against players who have access to a similar set of cards as you. This way, experienced players with a full suite of cards at their disposal won’t match up against players who are just getting their feet wet. Second, they ensure that at certain points in your progression, you will be guaranteed to unlock certain cards. This is especially important to guarantee that you never miss out on specific cards that might be critical for you to build competitive decks.

To do this, Marvel Snap restricts the cards that you can unlock at any given time based on your current Collection Level (a score that reflects how many cards you’ve unlocked so far). If your Collection Level is between 0 and 214, you’ll only unlock cards in card pool 1. If your Collection Level is between 222 and 474, you’ll only unlock cards in card pool 2. Once you exceed that range, you’ll unlock cards in card pool 3. Additionally, by the time you’ve reached one of these thresholds, you’re guaranteed to have collected all of the cards in the previous pool. The only random element is the exact order in which you’ll receive them.