December 2024 Series Drop Predictions

Second Dinner has officially announced that the highly anticipated Series Drop is finally coming in the during the December 2024 Marvel Rivals Season with the patch on December 10, 2024. It has been quite some time since we have had our last drop (June 2024, in fact), and a ton of cards have been added to the game since then. In this article, I will highlight the cards I suspect will be on the list for the upcoming drop.

Based on previous Series Drops, Second Dinner has shown a bit of a pattern when choosing cards. Cards that have a low play rate or are weak typically get moved down in Series very quickly. If a good card used to be popular, but has fallen out of favor, the card is likely to drop in Series. Most notably for drops, if a card is a lynchpin for an archetype, they usually keep the card locked to its Series (Knull and Darkhawk for example). Keeping these patterns in mind, here are my predictions:

Series 5 Dropping to Series 4

Series 5 has been a massively inflated set of cards with no Series Drop since June 2024. As the developers plan card acquisition updates for the future, they have made nearly every new card release into Series 5. Due to this, I expect to see a lot more Series 5 cards drop to Series 4 than 4’s that will drop to 3.

Series 5 also tends to keep cards that are strong, unique, or are popular. This automatically removes cards like Arishem from being eligible. With a shifting meta though, hopefully some previously locked cards can finally see a drop.

Grand Master

Second Dinner has practically been begging players to use this card. He has gone from a [2/0] to a [2/3] over the course of 3 separate buffs! He does finally see some usage in decks, but the card is much less appealing as a combo card than anticipated. A drop to Series 4 might give more players room to put him to the test and give them better balancing data.

Emperor Hulkling

Speaking of buffed cards, Hulkling got a 1-Power buff very quickly after his release. The card sees virtually no play and is mostly considered to be an F-Tier card. This makes for a prime target for a Series Drop. Previously dead cards like Martyr, Spider-Man 2099, and Silver Samurai got a quick drop after launching as a dead card, so I can see Hulkling following that pattern.

Beta Ray Bill

Beta Ray Bill tells a different story than previous cards. Many people love the card, he has a clear home, and it offers good stats. Unfortunately though, nobody plays him. The Jane Foster Mighty Thor style decks simply aren’t consistent enough in a meta full of combos, Surtur, and Cosmo. A Series Drop might make BRB more accessible, making those decks styles have more appeal.

Caiera

Another card that should be more accessible is Caiera. Most of the game’s tech cards are Series 2 and 3, and a few in 4. Caiera is a tech card that is very passive, and doesn’t interact with your opponent. This kind of tech is super important for Zoo decks to survive, but that 6,000 token price tag is pretty steep for a tech card. Lowering her Cost can give Zoo enjoyers a chance to better protect their win condition. With Killmonger always relevant in the meta, there is no reason for Caiera to be at Series 5 any longer.

Pixie

Pixie is a bit of a forgotten card. Her ability makes for a unique archetype, yet nobody plays her. This is mostly due to the restrictions in her text, combined with cards shuffling their own Cost back on themselves. A flawed card with no play doesn’t need to be Series 5. Either fix the card, or bump it down to Series 4. Where she stands now makes no sense.

Jeff the Baby Landshark

And on the subject of making no sense, why is Jeff still Series 5?! He has been released longer than Spotlight Caches have existed. He had an entire event themed around him. In the current meta, Jeff isn’t even used anymore. After Madame Web launched and War Machine was buffed, the need for Jeff plummeted. This good boy has been trapped in Series 5 for way too long. It’s time Second Dinner, release Jeff from his needless cage!

Sasquatch

This one might be a bit of a stretch, but Sasquatch doesn’t need to be Series 5. The card is only usable in a specific deck with Mysterio and Mockingbird. The ability could be fun to experiment with, but an unused card without a healthy deck isn’t worth 6,000 tokens. The card isn’t bad, but the lack of usage makes me think this card needs more data, and that means more players need access to the card. If it still doesn’t see play, buff it. If play rate increases, than a Series Drop was all it needed.

Cull Obsidian

This is another one of those “why is this a Series 5 ability” kind of card. A [4/10] with a drawback is nothing special. This Surtur season has clearly shown the card is playable, but does that ability really need to be priced so high? If you asked me if he was worth 6,000 tokens, I would say it isn’t worth it over a new ability. You have lots of fun, new abilities in Series 5! A [4/10] with restrictive text isn’t exciting, it’s a alternate take on the typical point-slam cards.

Annihilus

This card was once the bane of existence for many players. Once you saw negative Power cards hit the board, you knew Annihilus was shortly behind. The clog archetype has been severely nerfed over the last few months though. Sentry and The Void were nerfed, White Widow became useless (for clog), and bounce archetypes just pick up your clog cards. Clog decks just aren’t good anymore, and with Sersi now offering an alternate option, it’s time Annihilus stepped down a Series.

Ms. Marvel

It’s been a while since Ms. Marvel released, and her play rate has dramatically dropped since then. While she was once the dominating force in the meta, clog removed her consistency. Even though clog isn’t an issue anymore, the meta has evolved and Ms. Marvel has yet to recover. A Series Drop could bring a revival to the card, which would be a breath of fresh air in this meta.

Cannonball

This is my final Series 5 prediction, but one in feel is pretty obvious. In my opinion, Cannonball has always been a bad card riding off the back of good cards. In his prime, he was only oppressive when Professor X locked down a location. After the nerf to the Professor, Cannonball vanished. Then clog made a surge in the meta, so Cannonball came back as an alternate finisher to Shang-Chi.

Now that clog is gone, Cannonball is again a bad card. To quote the developers directly, “Shifting Power arbitrarily around isn’t especially strong”. With that in mind, Cannonball isn’t “especially strong” when he is simply a higher cost, more restrictive Shang-Chi that may not even destroy the target. I don’t think Series 4 will help him, but a card like that definitely doesn’t belong in Series 5 anymore.

Series 4 to Series 3

With a smaller collections of cards than Series 5, this is a much smaller list. Despite the smaller list, these cards equally deserve to drop in Series in my opinion.

Series 4 is tricky, as many cards are likely to be permanently there. The trend for this set of cards seems to be directed towards unlocking archetypes. Nimrod, Phoenix Force, and Knull all give new options for destroy. Darkhawk gives meaning to Korg and Rockslide. Kitty Pryde pushes bounce to more advanced levels. MODOK gives a whole new avenue for discard. And The Living Tribunal literally makes his own deck. With such a small card pool, there are only a few contenders that keep their trend.

Snowguard

I think it’s pretty clear why Snowguard should be Series 3. Her usage was only ever used as generating Loki food. The Bear ability has so few locations it works with, it’s borderline useless in most games. The Hawk ability can be useful in specific situations, but not many decks want a play an under-statted card for a 1-turn ability that targets both players. After Loki’s nerf, this card has become useless. At least in Series 3, she doesn’t clog up Spotlight Caches anymore.

Havok

In the same idea of bad cards, Havok is clogging Spotlight Caches. The entire game functions around gaining Energy to play better cards. To lose that Energy, only to be hit by Shadow King, is pointless. Even playing Havok on the last turn only makes him a [2/4]. Decks like Mister Negative have tried to make him work, but Havok simply never makes the cut in any real decks. It’s time we moved this f-tier card to Series 3 where it doesn’t feel horrible to pull.

I am aware there card is featured right before the Series Drop during the week of Gorr‘s launch, but it doesn’t mean the card can’t drop Series. It already clogs that week’s lineup, just take him down a Series and put some actual interesting cards in the lineup, or buff him to make that price tag worth it.

Daken

On a more positive note, Daken is a fun card! But like many cards, he has been out powered in the meta. He could see a lot more play in Series 3, where newer players can have a blast finding ways to make him work. Inevitably, he needs a buff to be playable in the meta, but at Series 3 his lack of strength is more palatable.

Ghost-Spider

This is the Jeff of the Series 4 cards. Ghost-Spider has been out for well over a year, and is the backbone of any good move deck. Second Dinner has milked this card for every token they could, but it’s time we retire her to the accessible series. You need her to make a good move deck, but she isn’t a finisher. While I don’t agree, I understand why SD keeps cards like Knull and Darkhawk in Series 4. They are powerful finishers that entire decks are built around. Ghost-Spider isn’t that. She’s very strong, but we don’t have to make a range of decks worse by refusing to make her accessible. We have Madame Web and Araña now for move players to spend tokens on.

Miek

Discard is a viable deck option across a wide range of collection levels. Miek is simply a different version of Morbius. Morbius is an all around better card, so why does Miek need to be Series 4? This drop could help push Miek into more discard decks and give early CL players a better way to access restricted locations.

Lady Deathstrike

This card saw a series drop back in January alongside Daken, but I think it’s time to open up her accessibility. While she did receive a temporary buff that booster her playdate, there are now very little decks that want to use this card. With that said, I can easily see more interesting usage at earlier CL with this ability. Imagine early game cards like Bucky Barnes and Nova in a destroy deck that doesn’t have Knull yet. Or in a deck that is trying to learn how to utilize The Hood in different ways. Lady Deathstrike has an interesting ability, she just doesn’t fit in with the later meta decks. Dropping her gives her a chance to be fun for a while!

Selene

This card neighbors Mobius for the biggest rug pull in Snap’s history. Her initial appeal was a negative Power card that lowered the Power of other cards. Quickly after her release, she got changed from a 1/-1 to a 1/2 so she wasn’t clog ammo. That completely changed her appeal, and basically killed the card ever since. While she doesn’t see play now, she fits that theme of being more fun at lower CL. Hobgoblin and Green Goblin are much more utilized early game, and those are Selene’s best targets. This drop simply takes a unused card out of Spotlight rotations and gives her a chance to see some actual usage.

Closing Thoughts

I sincerely hope we see way more Series 5 cards drop to Series 4 than what I have listed. We are receiving 4-5 new cards a month, and almost all of them are Series 5 at launch. With the last drop being at the start of June, we have added 28 new Series 5 cards through mid-December. That number doesn’t even count the season pass cards since June that move to Series 5, which would make it 34 Series 5 cards added. Simply put, either this Series drop needs to be substantial, or card acquisition improvements need to be announced.

If I knew the drop list would be expansive, I would probably include Loki, Proxima Midnight, Elsa Bloodstone, Black Knight, Valentina, Werewolf By Night, or Baron Zemo. The issue is the Series 5 pool is too large, and drops have consistently been too few. Hopefully we see way more drops this time, but it isn’t likely until card acquisition changes are officially revealed.

What cards do you wish or think will be dropping Series? Do you think I am wrong about any predictions? How many cards should drop from Series 5 to really make a difference? Let us know in the comments!