MARVEL SNAP Explained: Who Is Jeff the Baby Land Shark?
Find out his comic origins and best strategies for playing in the hit game MARVEL SNAP!
The Marvel Universe’s cutest little shark has arrived in MARVEL SNAP! Joining the game as part of April’s Animals Assemble Season Pass, Jeff the Baby Land Shark is an adorable card that changes MARVEL SNAP’s metagame in some key, comics-inspired ways. With that in mind, here’s what you need to know about playing Jeff in the game and his history in the comics.
Playing Jeff the Baby Land Shark in MARVEL SNAP
A 2-Cost, 3-Power card, Jeff has an ability that allows him to be played at, or moved to, any location. On the surface, this ability is quite similar to Nightcrawler’s, but the key difference with Jeff is that nothing can stop him from being played or moved, making him a potentially valuable utility card.
While Jeff the Baby Land Shark works well in a wide variety of decks, he’s got great synergy with cards that have move effects. Players can use Jeff to give Kraven, who gets +2 Power when a card is moved to his location, a nice boost. He can also be used to get Miles Morales out sooner, as that card’s Cost reduces to 1 when a player moved a card on their previous turn. Jeff also works well in Cerebro decks based around making cards with 3-Power—such as Blade, Wolverine, or Scarlet Witch—stronger.
Locations are where Jeff the Baby Land Shark really shines, though. There are numerous areas in MARVEL SNAP that have effects that prevent or disincentivize the player from putting cards down on them directly, such as Sanctum Sanctorum, Luke’s Bar, and Death’s Domain. Jeff’s ability to go anywhere can help him get into those locations, and his 3-Power is enough that he could easily win where he goes outright. He can also be used to counter cards that effectively lock down locations, such as Professor X and Storm.
There aren’t a lot of great counters for Jeff, though he’s still vulnerable to destroy and discard effects, so Gambit is a good way to take him off the board, especially if he’s been moved to an advantageous location. Kraven also cuts both ways, as moving Jeff into a location where an opponent has played him will power that card up more. Leech can also be used to ward off a late-game Jeff, as his power takes away the abilities of all cards in a player’s hand.
There are few locations that can cause Jeff the Baby Land Shark trouble. However, he’s still vulnerable to any effects that cause something to happen after he’s been played, such as Death’s Domain destroying whatever’s put down there. He also can’t be moved into Fisk Tower, as per that location’s effect.
Jeff the Baby Land Shark in the Comics
Created by Kelly Thompson and Daniele Di Nicuolo, Jeff the Baby Land Shark debuted in WEST COAST AVENGERS (2018) #7. Originally, a version of Machine Designed Only For Killing, AKA M.O.D.O.K., created the land sharks to serve him. However, Gwen Poole, AKA Gwenpool, ended up adopting one of those land sharks and naming him Jeff. One of Eduardo Mello’s variants for Jeff the Baby Land Shark in MARVEL SNAP shows him being held by Poole, a reference to his origin.
Despite his history with Poole and the West Coast Avengers, Jeff has appeared in several other series, most notably DEADPOOL (2019). In the first issue of that title, Poole gave Jeff to Deadpool in a meta-moment that referenced the cancellation of WEST COAST AVENGERS. Jeff’s ability to move between locations unimpeded is then a sort of reflection of that history in the comics and the way that the baby land shark has moved between series with ease.
Jeff’s cards also reflect his personality in one key way: He love to eat. A ravenous land shark, Jeff often consumes what’s in front of him. The main Jeff the Baby Land Shark card in MARVEL SNAP reflects this history by showing him surrounded by delicious food. And when something’s that adorable, who really wants to stop him from eating?
