Marvel Snap August 3, 2023 OTA Card Balance Updates: Hawkeye, Hulkbuster, Vision, Captain Marvel, and Absorbing Man Buffed

Marvel Snap’s “Over the Air” hotfixes to cards are now live for August 3, 2023 – no need for a game update! Five cards have been changed as part of a scheduled balancing cycle: Hawkeye, Hulkbuster, Vision, Captain Marvel, and Absorbing Man has had their power and cost adjusted. The next full patch is also confirmed for August 8, 2023. Check out the full details below!

Summary:

• Hawkeye – 1/1 – On Reveal: If you play a card here next turn, +2 Power. ▶ 1/1 – On Reveal: If you play a card here next turn, +3 Power.
• Hulkbuster – 3/4 ▶ 3/5
• Vision – 5/7 ▶ 5/8
• Captain Marvel – 5/6 ▶ 4/5
• Absorbing Man – 4/3 ▶ 4/5

For our analysis and some decks you can try on the first day, check out our article!

Welcome to another week of OTA balance updates! This week, we’ve got some buffs! Let’s get right into it:

Hawkeye

Variants

Hawkeye

On Reveal: If you play a card at this location next turn, +3 Power.

Starter Card

view card details Start a deck Decks with Hawkeye

• [Old] 1/1 – On Reveal: If you play a card here next turn, +2 Power
• [Change] …next turn, +2 Power. ->…next turn, +3 Power

Apart from a stint in Cerebro 3, Hawkeye sees next to no play after players complete the tutorial. It’s about time to give our local archer some sharper arrows to play with. We want to keep Hawkeye’s base Power at 1, to keep some interesting texture between him and Misty Knight in the starter deck. Plus, he’s just a more interesting card if most of his Power is on his ability. Could Hawkeye become a candidate for Bounce decks that can repeatedly get the bonus off his On Reveal? He’s certainly got a better shot of it now.

Hulkbuster

Variants

Hulkbuster

On Reveal: Merge this with one of your cards here.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Hulkbuster

• [Old] 3/4 – On Reveal: Merge this card with a random friendly card at this location.
• [Change] 3/4 -> 3/5

Hulkbuster is a unique enabler card that just doesn’t have enough Power to see play. In the distant past it’s seen play in decks with Deadpool and Multiple Man, but nowadays it just doesn’t do enough for its Cost compared to other options. We’re excited to see where players make use of a buffed Hulkbuster, and for its combo potential with next month’s season pass card. While a 1 Power buff doesn’t look like much, cards that combo with Hulkbuster multiply the bonus they get from it, so it’ll be more impactful in practice.

Vision

Variants

Vision

You can move this each turn.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Vision

• [Old] 5/7 – You can move this each turn.
• [Change] 5/7 -> 5/8

Vision has only really seen play a long time ago in a Lockjaw deck. He hasn’t really found a home since then, and with the release of cards like Phoenix Force that fulfill similar roles, Vision fell by the wayside. We’re giving him a bit more Power to work with, while keeping him below the Shang-Chi threshold at 9 Power

Captain Marvel

Variants

Captain Marvel

At the end of the game, move to a location that wins you the game. (If possible)

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Captain Marvel

• [Old] 5/6 – At the end of the game, move to a location that wins you the game. (If possible)
• [Change] 5/6 -> 4/5

Theoretically in a meta where Lockdown decks are prevalent, Captain Marvel should be a great tool to help smooth out your board at the end of the game. This hasn’t been the case though, and in practice she only sees very fringe play in Hela decks. At her current statline, Captain Marvel just doesn’t have enough Power to justify her high Cost. Going to 4 Cost should give her more locations, or rather decks, to move to.

Absorbing Man

Variants

Absorbing Man

On Reveal: If the last card you played has an On Reveal, copy its text. (if it’s in play)

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Absorbing Man

• [Old] 4/3 – On Reveal: If the last card you played has an On Reveal, copy its text. (if it’s in play)
• [Change] 4/3 -> 4/5

Although he has an exciting line of text, Absorbing Man has struggled to find a deck to shine in. Absorbing Man draws a lot of parallels to Wong, as they share a Cost and both double On Reveals. Wong has a few advantages though, as he can be played proactively so he can more efficiently enable plays on turns 5 and 6. Wong also affects multiple turns whereas Absorbing Man only activates once. We’re giving Absorbing Man a sizeable chunk of Power to make him more viable to experiment with.

Conquest Tuning Changes

In addition to the balance changes, this OTA also includes some tuning changes to Medal earn rates in Conquest.

• Medal earn rate in Silver Conquests is greatly increased.
• Medal earn rate in Gold & Infinite Conquests is slightly increased.

Medal earn rate changes below:

That’s all for today! See you next time with our next full patch on 8/8.