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Neither card felt much impacted by the OTA. Indeed, Merlin has shown some impressive flexibility all season long, allowing the Season Pass card to be used in a multitude of decks. For yet another week, the card was the most popular in the game, battling with Shang-Chi and Surge atop that ranking.
However, being this popular comes with a big drawback: you are also a huge target. Merlin‘s numbers have not been great this week (the worst of the season, actually). This is probably due to the meta adapting both decks and play patterns to its now well-known incantations.
Dormammu did not get off to a good start, which is a pity considering the hype from the community. So far, the card failed to push its own archetype and instead posted its best results in well-known archetypes that probably don’t need its help.
This card brings a unique concept with plenty of obstacles to overcome. Indeed, Dormammu released between two limited-time events, and countering the Destroy synergy is something we learned to do years ago. Hopefully we have only scratched the surface with this new card.
| Mission | # | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Win a Location with 20 or More Power | 20 | 150 Credits |
| Win with Dormammu starting in your Deck | 4 | 200 Collector’s Tokens |
| Win with Merlin starting in your Deck | 8 | 150 Gold |
Dormammu Performance
Considering Dormammu released right in between two limited-time modes, which might have kept some players from experimenting with the card as much as they wished, the 5.7% popularity at all ranks isn’t bad. I’m a bit more surprised by the 1.5% in Infinite Ranks, indicating either there wasn’t as much hype around the card as I thought or many players quickly dismissed the card after a few games.
Looking at the early results, I can’t really fault them. Dormammu only has one good metric, the Cube Rate on Draw, which is not really associated with the card itself rather than the deck it is played in. At least the Win Rate on Play is much better than the Win Rate on Draw, which at least tells me that Dormammu makes an impact when it hits the board.
It’s a tough start for the Lord of Darkness, but the card is complex enough to maybe not have found its perfect deck yet.
Post-Release Score:
For more information about Dormammu, make sure to check out our strategy guide:
Merlin Performance
Merlin keeps losing momentum, and it’s slowly becoming more and more worrying. Indeed, the card now has below parallel numbers in multiple categories, a first in this season.
The current Season Pass card remains one of the most popular cards in the game, which is synonymous with being a target. Typically, unless you are absolutely bonkers (hello, Sam Wilson Captain America and its three nerfs), this situation inevitably leads to playing against yourself and counter cards more than anything. I am not particularly worried to see Merlin‘s numbers this low, but it is time to stop the bleeding before the current Season Pass card might see some other cards steal its play time.
Post-Release Score:
For more information about Merlin, make sure to check out our strategy guide:
Bonus Challenge Decks
The Clog archetype looks to be your best bet this week. Indeed, not only does it represent the best performing deck for Merlin since the OTA went live, the hybrid destroy build featuring Dormammu was the second best for the new card.
The difference between both decks’ performances is significant, but if you want to complete both missions at once then this is the deck to do it.
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If you aren’t a big Annihilus fan, you can also tackle the missions playing Iron Hand and Destroy. The first deck, which does not feature The Ancient One and the now 2-Cost Tao Mandala in its starting twelve, is the second-best performer for Merlin.
When it comes to Dormammu, the classic Deadpool Destroy build with Hydra Bob slotted in as an extra target to complete your summoning rituals holds the best Win Rate since the OTA.
Dormammu did impact the deck, as it brought another card to help with its own synergy. Yet the fact that the card failed to push its own deck and instead had to simply join an already existing archetype is a bit worrisome. Typically, cards that just take a slot in established archetypes are either very niche or not strong enough to be worth building around.
Dormammu clearly looked like a build-around card, hence my concern.
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