Marvel Snap Patch Notes Review
In this article, I’ll be covering the latest patch notes in Marvel Snap that have balance updates. I’ll be going over the recent changes, and talk about how they affect the meta.
I won’t be covering any additional changes they add to the game, as the main focus will be on balance updates.
December 5th Balance Updates
America Chavez
[Old] 6/9 – Starts on the bottom of your deck. Draw this on turn 6.
[New] 2/3 – On Reveal: The top card of your deck gets +2 Power.
America Chavez has been seeing play in a ton of meta decks as a way to deck thin, or make an “11 card” deck. This is advantageous if you want to draw specific low-cost cards on curve.
With this change, decks are going to be able to fit a 12th card, rather than simply play America for consistency. Her new effect also synergizes with the new card release, Sebastian Shaw.
Alioth
[Old] 6/3 – On Reveal: Destroy ALL enemy cards played here this turn. (including unrevealed cards)
[New] 6/2 – On Reveal: Destroy all unrevealed enemy cards here.
This is the second biggest nerf hitting Alioth. The first nerf made him a 6/3 instead of 6/5, and now this nerf is changing how he plays. With this nerf, Alioth decks now need priority in order to get his effect, making him much less effective.
While he can still lead to winning games on turn 6, it still hurts his effectiveness in games where you don’t have priority. This is quite a huge change, and I expect Alioth decks to become much less prevalent.
Luke Cage
[Old] 2/2 – Ongoing: Your cards can’t have their Power reduced.
[New] 2/3 – Ongoing: Your cards here can’t have their Power reduced.
In the current meta, Shadow King is one of the best tech cards in the game. Luke Cage was able to complete counter Shadow King by simply playing him on the board.
With this change, Luke Cage’s protection only applies to one location, making him much less effective. He’s getting a small bump in Power, but he needs to be played with more intent to provide his protection effect on the right cards.
Shadow King
[Old] 2/3 – On Reveal: Set all cards here to their original base Power.
[Change] 2/3 -> 2/2
Shadow King is the best tech card in the game right now. So many of the top meta decks buff cards through things like Collector, Shuri, Werewolf, and more.
This nerf is only a Power change, which definitely hurts, but he still will see a ton of play.
Elsa Bloodstone
[Old] 2/2 – If you play another card to fill a location, give it +2 Power.
[New] 2/3 – After you play a card that fills this location, give it +2 Power.
Elsa was nerfed quite hard in the past, and with this change, she may potentially see some play. She’s gutting +1 to her base Power, but her effect only works on her current location.
She can definitely scale Power to the point of being a 2 for 9 or 11 Power, but she’s nowhere near her strength on release. Even still, with this change, it’s possible we may see more people trying her out again.
Kitty Pryde
[Old] 1/0 – When this returns to your hand, +1 Power. Returns at the start of each turn.
[Change] 1/0 -> 1/1
Kitty Pryde is also getting a small buff, bringing back 1 Power to her base card. Ever since the Angela and Elsa nerfs, Kitty pretty much disappeared from the meta. With this change along with Elsa, it’s possible they make a small comeback.
I struggle to imagine them competing with the other top decks in the meta as things stand currently, though.
Ebony Blade (Black Knight)
[Old] 4/0
[New] 4/0 – Ongoing: Can’t be destroyed and its Power can’t be reduced.
This change is one of the biggest and only buffs this patch. Black Knight didn’t see much play on release, and likely won’t until he reruns in a Spotlight Cache.
For those that have Black Knight already, this is a great buff. The Ebony Blade now has an Ongoing effect that counters both Shadow King and Shang-Chi. Discarding The Infinaut and making a 4/20 Colossus is quite powerful.
Ravonna Renslayer
[Old] 2/1 – Your cards with 1 or less Power cost 1 less. (minimum 1)
[Change] 2/1 -> 2/3
This is a huge buff to Ravonna. The statline of 2/3 makes her competitive with a ton of other 2-Cost cards in the game. Her ability is also quite impactful as it discounts things like Goblins, Darkhawk, Mystique, and more.
This change will likely make Zabu Darkhawk one of the best decks in the game.
Mind Stone
[Old] 1/1 – On Reveal: Draw 2 Stones from your deck.
[New] 1/1 – On Reveal: Draw 2 1-Cost cards.
Thanos is once again receiving a nerf. You can argue that this isn’t necessarily a nerf. If you don’t run any 1-cost cards in your Thanos deck, Mind Stone will still draw two Infinity Stones.
However, Korg and Rockslide, two very common cards, can make it so you draw rocks from Mind Stone. Thanos decks also usually want to draw into more Stones that draw. That’s the whole point.
Even still, Thanos decks may be able to adjust by putting in strong 1-cost cards that you’re ok with drawing over something like Reality Stone or Time Stone.
Move Update: Unrevealed Cards (Mostly) Can’t Be Moved
Move cards now cannot move unrevealed cards unless otherwise specified. This will affect some cards without changing their text.
Spider-Man
3/5 – On Reveal: Move to another location and pull an enemy card from here to there.
Spider-Man used to be able to move unrevealed cards, but that is no longer the case. It’s somewhat a nerf, but it can be a buff if you want to move a specific card and have priority.
Overall, it’s a small change, but it will be noticeable.
Stegron
[Old] 4/5 – On Reveal: Move an enemy card from here to another location.
[Change] 4/5 -> 4/6
Stegron has seen very little play since his release. He saw some niche play in Darkhawk decks that utilize Move engines, but those never took off.
With this Power buff, we may see more players try him out, but it will take time to see how impactful this actually is.
Juggernaut
[Old] 3/3 – On Reveal: If your opponent played cards here this turn, move them randomly.
[New] 3/3 – On Reveal: Move away all enemy cards played here this turn. (including unrevealed cards)
Juggernaut is a move card that will be unchanged from the unrevealed change. His text will now specify that he can move unrevealed cards.
Aero
[Old] 5/8 – On Reveal: Move the last enemy card played this turn to this location.
[New] 5/9 – On Reveal: Move the last enemy card played anywhere to this location.
“Keep in mind that the same way Taskmaster won’t copy the Power of a missing card, Aero won’t move one.”
Aero has seen virtually no play since her ability change. Her text is now slightly different, moving the last card played rather than the last card played on that specific turn.
This may come in handy, but overall, I’m not too impressed. There may be some Kingpin shenanigans you can do with this, but I doubt this will affect the meta.
Phoenix Force 
Bugfix: Phoenix Force Copies Can Move
4/5 – On Reveal: Revive one of your destroyed cards and merge with it. That card can move each turn.
This bugfix will come in niche scenarios where you copy Phoenix Force. If you play Phoenix Force on Sinister London and revive Multiple Man, you can now move the original and the copy.
Summary
This wraps up the Patch Notes for December 5th, 2023. There are a lot of big changes in this patch, and we’ll likely see a lot of adjustments in the meta.
While I don’t think this patch necessarily changes the top decks, almost all decks will have to adjust their lists in response to these balance changes.
Be sure to check out our Tier Lists for out current rankings on Marvel Snap decks and cards.
Good luck in your games, and thanks for reading!
The post Marvel Snap Patch Notes and OTA: Balance Updates appeared first on Mobalytics.
