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Marvel Snap’s September 17 release introduced Arana (pronounced: ah-RAH-nyah), a Series Five Activate card that can buff and move the next card you play. With a Cost and Power of one, Arana joins the game as the latest movement-friendly character following the release of Madame Web.
Prior to her launch, Arana was expected to be a Forge-inspired card with added benefits, particularly her movement ability. However, post-release testing byMarvel Snapplayers revealed that Arana’s text is somewhat complicated and does not provide the synergies many players had hoped for. This complexity has made it slightly challenging to build the perfect deck around her.
Arana (1–1)
Activate: Give the next card you play +2 Power and move it to the right.
Season:The Amazing Spider-Season
The Best Deck for Arana
A safe deck for Arana is a Madame Web-Beast lineup with The Living Tribunal as the win condition. you may replicate this setup by combining the said quartet (Arana, Beast, Madame Web, and The Living Tribunal) with the following cards: Forge, Vulture, Dagger, Hercules, Ghost-Spider, Human Torch, Doctor Strange, and Iron Fist.
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A bug that prevented Ghost-Spider from moving targets after Arana’s effect has been fixed. The issue was addressed with an OTA patch released on September 20.
The Synergies in Arana’s Deck
How Arana’s Effect Works
Arana’sActivate abilityis similar to Aunt May’s. When activated, Arana targets the next card you play, granting it +2 Power and moving it to the right. However, her effect triggers only after you play a card, meaning she will wait for the targeted card to perform its ability—if it has one—before applying her buff and movement.
To illustrate Arana’s effect, imagine you want to play Brood after her to generate two four-Power Broodlings. Unfortunately, this won’t happen because Brood will first spawn its Broodlings (two two-Power cards) and then be affected by Arana, which will only buff the base card and not the spawns.
The devs have noted that Arana’s text may be misleading, as it doesn’t specify that her buff and movement will trigger after the target’s ability. Consequently, the wording on the card may change in upcoming OTAs.
How to Play Arana Effectively
Exploit Arana by using her as a buff provider for cards that gain Power through movement. For example,Human Torch is an ideal target; after being hit by Arana, he will start as an eight-Power card—the +2 Power will increase his Power to four, and the subsequent movement will double it to eight—making him a perfect fit for a movement lineup.
Here are some key points to keep in mind when playing Arana:
How to Counter Arana
Currently, there are no direct Cosmo-like counters for Activate cards. However, you can counter Arana using Shadow King, Red Guardian, Kraven, and Kingpin. Here’s how each of these counters works:
Is Arana Worth It?
Arana isa valuable plug-and-play addition to movement decks, justifying her price. She often enhances the board, even when her buff and move aren’t perfectly timed.
CozySnap, a prominentMarvel Snapcreator, said, “[With Arana], you’re getting two birds with one stone: Power and move.” Overall, Arana’s community reception has been largely positive, with the main criticism being her lack of synergy with cards like Brood.
