Marvel Snap August 17, 2023 OTA Card Balance Updates: Forge, Shanna and Crystal Buffed

Marvel Snap’s “Over the Air” hotfixes to cards are now live for August 17, 2023 – no need for a game update! Only three cards have been changed as part of a scheduled balancing cycle: Forge, Shanna and Crystal has had their effect, power and cost adjusted. The next OTA update is also confirmed for August 31, 2023. Check out the full details below!

Summary:

• Forge – 2/1 – On Reveal: Give the next card you play +2 Power. ▶ 2/1 – On Reveal: Give the next card you play +3 Power.
• Shanna – 4/4 ▶ 3/2
• Crystal – 4/4 ▶ 3/3

For our analysis and some decks you can try, check out our article!

Welcome to this week’s OTA! We’re seeing some exciting developments in the meta with new decks popping up, so we’re keeping this week lighter on changes to allow things to develop. Let’s get into it:

Forge

Variants

Forge

On Reveal: Give the next card you play +2 Power.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Forge

• [Old] 2/1 – On Reveal: Give the next card you play +2 Power.
• [Change] …next card you play +2 Power. ->…next card you play +3 Power

Many cards make great use of Forge’s effect, but he’s not quite powerful enough to be competitive at the moment. Given how many potential combos he has, we’re hopeful that a buff to Forge will have a really positive effect on meta diversity by enabling many new deck variations to be viable. Even though we’ve only increased his effect by 1 Power, cards like Deadpool, Multiple Man, and Brood can quickly multiply this increase to much greater effect.

Shanna

Variants

Shanna

On Reveal: Add a random 1-Cost card to each location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Shanna

• [Old] 4/4 – On Reveal: Add a random 1-Cost card to each location.
• [Change] 4/4 -> 3/2

When we originally designed Shanna, we made her a 4-Cost to synergize with her companions Ka-Zar and Zabu. Even after a Power buff a few months ago, she hasn’t really found success so we’re going to try a different approach and push her down to 3-Cost. A Cost reduction should afford her more deckbuilding flexibility, and make her a more viable turn 6 play to add Power to each location.

Crystal

Variants

Crystal

On Reveal: Each player draws a card.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Crystal

• [Old] 4/4 – On Reveal: Each player draws a card.
• [Change] 4/4 -> 3/3

Crystal has consistently been one of our weakest cards since day 1. We’re very cautious about pushing Crystal’s Power as SNAP’s small deck sizes make each card draw matter a lot more. However, we want to give every card a chance to at least see some play, so we’re giving Crystal a push with a Cost reduction to 3. This should allow her to at least be a consideration in Surfer, and maybe even help a Ronan deck out.

That’s all for today! See you with our next OTA on 8/31.