How to Play and Win Sanctum Showdown in Marvel SNAP

Marvel SNAP’s Sanctum Showdown is a recent limited-time event that shakes up the game’s locations. In this mode, you need to commit to a specific lane each turn, which shifts the usual strategies in Marvel SNAP.

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If you’re confused about the rules and mechanics of Sanctum Showdown or need the best decks and cards to dominate, you’ve come to the right place. This guide covers everything you need to know and offers tips and tricks to help you win.

Sanctum Showdown Details

the gameplay of the sanctum showdown mode in marvel snap.

Start Date: February 25
End Date: March 11
Mode Type: Location domination

Sanctum Showdown is Marvel SNAP’s first location domination game mode, available for two weeks as part of a limited-time event. During this event, players use Scrolls (event tickets) to enter PvP matches, earning new cards and cosmetics as rewards.

How to Get More Scrolls

Scrolls are event tickets used to play each Sanctum Showdown match. You spend one Scroll per match, and if you win, it’s refunded. If you lose, it is discarded. You earn two Scrolls every eight hours, but ranking up on the mode’s ladder also refills them. In total, you can earn up to 26 extra Scrolls by reaching the Sorcerer Supreme rank—the highest in Sanctum Showdown.

How to Play Sanctum Showdown

This might be an odd comparison, but Marvel SNAP’s Sanctum Showdown mode is similar to Call of Duty’s Domination mode: your goal is to win the marked location each turn to collect points. The first player to reach 16 points wins. The twist is that the marked location, Sanctum, moves each turn, requiring you to rotate your Power.

Dominate locations: Starting from turn three, one location is marked as Sanctum with a four-point green badge. The player who wins this location during the active turn gets all four points.
Collect domination points: Keep dominating locations to gather points until you reach at least 16. Note that whoever hits 16 points first wins, regardless of the board state.
Snap to accelerate the match: From turn three onward, players can Snap once per turn. Each Snap adds one point to Sanctum, making it worth six points if both players Snap.

Ties don’t yield location points. If none of the players are winning a location, neither gets a point.

The Best Decks and Cards for Sanctum Showdown

One of the best strategies for Sanctum Showdown is control and disruption. Decks that can push enemy cards, steal their power, or destroy them are ideal for this game mode.

Generally, four types of cards work well in Sanctum Showdown:

Pushers: Cards like Stegron or Cannonball that can manipulate enemy positions.
Stealers: Cards like Cassandra Nova, Rocket & Groot, or Scream that buff themselves by damaging opponents.
Self-buffers: Cards like Groot, Rocket Raccoon, or Star-Lord and Gamora that gain buffs independently.
Destroyers: Cards like Negasonic Teenage Mutant, Lady Deathstrike, Elektra, or Shang-Chi that can eliminate enemy cards.

List of Banned Cards in Sanctum Showdown

The following cards cannot be used in Sanctum Showdown:

Annihilus
Captain Marvel
Debrii
Dracula
Galactus
Green Goblin
Hobgoblin
Juggernaut
Invisible Woman
Kang, the Conqueror
M’Baku
Magik
Malekith
Martyr
Mysterio
Quake
Supergiant
Viper
Storm

The abilities of the above cards could interfere with Sanctum Showdown’s rules, which is why they are banned in this game mode.

Sanctum Showdown Ranks and Rewards

sanctum showdown's ranking system and rewards.

Sanctum Showdown features an exclusive ranking system with six tiers: Initiate, Acolyte, Sorcerer, Disciple, Librarian, and Sorcerer Supreme. Every point earned in Sanctum matches is converted into rank points whether you win or lose.

The following table shows Sanctum Showdown rank details and rewards.

Rank	Rewards
Initiate	4 Scrolls, 1 Title, 500 Charms
Acolyte	4 Scrolls, 500 Charms
Sorcerer	4 Scrolls, 500 Charms
Disciple	4 Scrolls, 750 Charms
Librarian	5 Scrolls, 1000 Charms
Sorcerer Supreme	5 Scrolls, 1 Title, 1500 Charms

Sanctum Showdown New Cards

the new cards in marvel snap's sanctum showdown.

Charms serve as the event’s currency. You can use them in the exclusive shop to unlock cosmetics and three new cards:

Laufey: (On Reveal) Steal one Power from each card here.
Uncle Ben: (Passive) When this card is destroyed, replace it with Spider-Man.
Gorgo: (Ongoing) Your opponent’s cards that didn’t start in their hand cost one more (maximum of six).

Unlocking these cards costs 1,200 Charms each. However, the process is RNG-based. Every time you spend 1,200 Charms, you unlock a portal that can grant one of these three cards: Laufey, Gorgo, or Uncle Ben.