Like a certain citizen of Knowhere, Marvel Snap is all about collecting. Success in the digital card game, out now for mobile and PC, is contingent on gaining understanding of in-game currencies and mechanics, including your collection level. This guide tells you everything you need to know about collection levels, including what they are, how to increase them, how to upgrade your existing cards, and how to unlock new ones.
What are Marvel Snap collection levels?
In Marvel Snap, your collection level is a ladder-based progression system where you earn new cards and currencies by upgrading the existing cards in your deck. To find your collection level, navigate to the home screen’s central tab (“Main”). Here, in the center-top of the page, directly below your profile avatar, you’ll see a green icon displaying your collection level. Tapping the icon will bring you to the progression ladder where you can see which cards and currencies you’ve unlocked, alongside those still to come. This is also a great way to see how many levels you need to access your next reward.
Marvel Snap’s progression system is currently split into three pools — pool 1, pool 2, and pool 3 — which dictate which cards you have access to. You can access new pools of cards by increasing your collection level. But keep in mind that once you make it to pool 2 or pool 3, you’ll also face off against players at that higher level. So don’t get cocky, kid. It’s also worth noting that the cards available in each pool unlock at random. So there is no guarantee on the order that you will get them.
Marvel Snap Pools
| Pool | Collection Level | How Many Cards You Can Earn |
|---|---|---|
| Pool | Collection Level | How Many Cards You Can Earn |
| Pool 1 | 18 to 214 | 46 |
| Pool 2 | 222 to 474 | 25 |
| Pool 3 | 486+ | 74 |
How to increase your Marvel Snap collection level
Upgrading your cards is key to increasing your collection level. Cards can currently be upgraded six times, with each upgrade costing more than the one before it. But if you upgrade a higher-level card, you’ll earn more progress on your collection level. For example, upgrading a card to Rare results in a +2 increase to your collection level, whereas upgrading to Legendary offers a +6 benefit. (One trick: Upgrade all the base cards you have first. This will give you an early boost, unlocking access to more cards on the collection level ladder.)
As you earn more cards, it’s worth adding them to your deck and replacing the cards that have already been upgraded. While this may initially hurt your ranking with some losses due to unfamiliarity or awkward card effect combinations, choosing this method means, win or lose, you’ll gain boosters that could lead to lower-cost card upgrades.
This also goes for players further up the collection level ladder as well. Getting creative with decks featuring a combination of lower-ranked and higher-ranked cards will lead to more upgrade options or, at the very least, some lateral thinking.
Marvel Snap Collection Level Ranks
| Card Rank | Bonus to Collection Level |
|---|---|
| Card Rank | Bonus to Collection Level |
| Uncommon | 1 |
| Rare | 2 |
| Epic | 4 |
| Legendary | 6 |
| Rare | 8 |
| Infinit | 10 |
How to upgrade cards in Marvel Snap
Boosters and credits are the primary currencies used to upgrade cards in Marvel Snap. Credits are earned by completing missions and progressing through the season pass, and can be used on any card. Boosters, however, can only be used on one specific card (or its variants). The main way to earn boosters is by completing matches. At the end of each match, the game will select a random card from your deck and reward it with boosters. Both currencies can also be earned at various points by ranking up your collection level, too. It’s cyclical, in other words.
In the “Collection” tab, you’ll be prompted to upgrade any eligible cards. The game indicates this by casting a green animation of arrows rising on the card. You can choose to hold off and use your credits on another card or proceed. Tapping on the eligible card will bring it up on the screen. Just tap the blue icon on the bottom-right of the screen — and if you’re cool with spending credits, hit the purple button, and the card will upgrade.
How to upgrade Marvel Snap cards fast
The first and most simple trick to get some extra credits is to visit the “Shop” tab at the bottom-left of the main menu screen and scroll to the section titled “Credits.” On a daily basis, you can find 50 free credits ripe for the taking. While it’s not a lot, every little bit helps!
Paying attention to your missions is another good way to make credits fast. Some tasks can be as simple as building a new deck, while others can be more complicated, like winning a location with one card. The missions tab can be found in the “main” tab in the top-right portion of the screen. (You’ll see a red notification bubble whenever you have a mission ready to turn in.)
I mentioned that you should upgrade lower-ranked cards first, but having a few regulars in the deck is never a bad idea. With this, you can earn boosters for easily-upgradable and higher-cost cards. As you continue to upgrade the same card, you can earn variants that offer more cards to upgrade.
Finally, Marvel Snap’s season pass is a fairly easy way to earn some new cards and resources. Season pass points can also be earned by completing missions. You can redeem your prizes in the “season pass” tab at the bottom of the screen and tap the rewards you have unlocked.