Marvel Snap December 2023 (Hellfire Gala) New Card Guide: Review and Decks

Marvel Snap releases a new card every week (Tuesday 7 PM UTC) throughout the Season, as a Series 4 or 5 card available via the Token Shop or Spotlight Caches. This guide is our overall review for all the upcoming new cards in the Hellfire Gala December 2023 Season of Marvel Snap. We also provide a more detailed guide on each of the cards prior to their release.

Cards

Variants

Sebastian Shaw

When this card permanently gains Power, gain +2 more Power. (wherever this is)

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Sebastian Shaw

Variants

Blob

On Reveal: Merge cards from your deck into this until it gains 15 or more Power. Ongoing: Can’t be moved.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Blob

Variants

Havok

After each turn, you lose 1 Max Energy and this gains +4 Power.

Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Havok

Variants

Selene

On Reveal: Afflict the lowest-Power card in each player’s hand with -3 Power.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Selene

Overview

To close out the year, Second Dinner has kept some difficult cards to evaluate, as most of them are very specific in what they do. Sebastian Shaw, the Season Pass card, represents a Power-driven ability with a few obvious synergies to build around. The other three cards released during the Hellfire Gala Season however, aren’t so simple to figure out.

Blob has immense potential, that can grow more than 20 Power if your deck contains The Infinaut or Destroyer, for example. However, jamming your deck with high-Power cards is easier said than done, especially when Blob could be met with Shadow King, Shang-Chi, or Alioth to name a trio which constantly keeps players on their toes when it comes to late game cards with a ton of Power. Then, Blob might be trickier than just playing it in a ramp deck with other expensive high Power cards like Magneto or Orka, instead requiring us to also play some protective cards, which often aren’t high Power cards.

Similar issues will surround Havok and Selene, as neither cards look like standalone inclusions in any archetype. Instead, one will first have to solve the puzzle of finding the right shell to exploit their unique ability. Selene might be the easiest one to guess, with Annihilus having established itself as a dominant card in Marvel Snap, and the connection between both cards being clear as day. Then, I expect to see Selene at least in the Junk or Bounce archetypes, as the card present major upsides to both synergies, being a cheap on reveal card with negative Power.

Havok on the other end, is presenting quite the headache to properly evaluate, as losing Energy is one of the worst thing you can imagine in Marvel Snap. Indeed, if you never reach six, which Havok will prevent you from doing, you can already remove quite a lot of cards from the potential play lines of your deck. This includes cards like Alioth, Doctor Doom, or strong pairings such as Shadow King plus Darkhawk, or Annihilus plus the Demon. You will get a high-Power card in exchange for that sacrifice in Havok easily growing to be eight, maybe twelve Power depending when you play it. However, in the current metagame where cards like Werewolf By Night, Ms. Marvel, Darkhawk and many others can easily represent ten Power, you could be second guessing the need to run Havok in your deck.

To help you figure out all these new cards we are getting this month, and maybe prepare which you should save your Spotlight keys for, I concocted a list of strengths and weaknesses for each, alongside a deck to test their ability to impact Marvel Snap. I’ll let you know which cards I think have the most value in my opinion in the closing words. Until then, let’s discuss the new cards for the Hellfire Gala season!

Sebastian Shaw: Power Overload!

Variants

Sebastian Shaw

When this card permanently gains Power, gain +2 more Power. (wherever this is)

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Sebastian Shaw

Sebastian Shaw will release as the Season Pass card on December 6, 2023, and become available as a Series 5 card on January 3, 2024.

Strengths:

• Cards like Forge, Nico Minoru, or Elsa Bloodstone already see play in several decks we could fit Sebastian Shaw into.

• Silver Surfer sounds like an incredible home for the card as we get both the 3-cost synergy and several buff cards included already.

• Sebastian Shaw can be buffed in your hand or deck and played on turn six, to protect it from cards like Shang-Chi or Shadow King.

Weaknesses:

• Shadow King is a popular counter card in the current Marvel Snap, and will punish you for playing Sebastian Shaw too early in the match.

• Unless we buff it twice to make it at least a [3/8], Sebastian Shaw would be a [3/6] which is sub par for a 3-cost currently.

• Werewolf By Night is a card which currently dominates the discussion amongst 3-cost cards, and features a similar profile, with more upsides to it.

Featured Deck:

Silver Booster

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

2

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

1x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

There are several ways to evaluate Sebastian Shaw when it releases. I also considered a Discard-oriented Silver Surfer deck with Swarm representing another target worth buffing, and using Strong Guy as a second big 3-cost card to anchor a lane. However, it is hard to pass on the Brood plus Absorbing Man duo when building a Silver Surfer deck with the intent to buff our units during the match.

In this build, we find most of the cards Sebastian Shaw should be friends with, and Absorbing Man could very well copy Nakia or Silver Surfer to further the synergy and buff Sebastian Shaw or Daken to huge numbers.

This build focuses a lot on building our units, but a card like Luke Cage or Cosmo could be a good idea to include for some protection once (and if) we know the build has some legs.

As usual, let’s start with surrounding the new card with lots of support to see how good it can be, and then balance our deck to match the requirements of the current metagame.

Blob: Hungry for Power!

Variants

Blob

On Reveal: Merge cards from your deck into this until it gains 15 or more Power. Ongoing: Can’t be moved.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Blob

Blob will release as a Series 5 card on December 13, 2023.

Strengths:

• With America Chavez in the game, Blob should easily be a 13 Power card at the very least if we can play it ahead of turn six, which can be achieved fairly simply with Wave, Electro or Psylocke.

• Darkhawk is a very popular card and Blob just demolishes this precise synergy as your deck is empty once you play it, meaning the opposing Darkhawk has no Power.

• It should be very easy to guess which Power Blob will be in today’s world, with deck trackers telling us what is left in our deck at all times.

Weaknesses:

• Playing Blob earlier than turn six opens you to a Shadow King or Shang-Chi counter from your opponent in the follow-up turns.

• Blob pushes you to play high Power cards, meaning tech cards, which are typically low Power, might be anti-synergistic with the card.

• There are more flexible cards to explore when it comes to building a lot of Power. Blob carries some RNG and risks to it, which might make it too dangerous to build around.

Featured Deck:

Shuri Blob

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Shuri Sauron feels like an obvious candidate for Blob, as the deck naturally packs several high Power cards such as Red Skull or Typhoid Mary. Also, I included Psylocke for the potential to play Blob on turn five, and follow it up with Taskmaster on the next turn, which should often lead to at least 20 Power on two different lanes.

America Chavez is the only card I feel is missing in this build, apart from a potential counter card in Echo or Enchantress maybe. Otherwise, Blob appears to be right at home in a deck looking to abuse high Power cards, and dominating the opponent through sheer amount of points.

Havok: The High Risk, High Reward Card of the Season

Variants

Havok

After each turn, you lose 1 Max Energy and this gains +4 Power.

Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Havok

Havok will release as a Series 4 card on December 20, 2023. Consider using your Collector’s Tokens.

Please note that Havok‘s starting Power will be 0 and gain +4 Power instead of the datamined version shown here.

Strengths:

• The last turn of the match is basically a free +4 Power as we don’t need the Energy we are losing at the end of this one. Already, it could make Havok be considered a [2/4].

• In a deck able to play with four or five Energy on the last turn, you can already get a [3/8] or [4/12], a solid Power-to-Energy cost ratio.

• There are multiple cards able to help with lowering our need for a lot of energy through reducing the cost of our other cards. Mister Negative in particular, would make Havok a [0/2] while being able to play with little energy available.

Weaknesses:

• Shadow King is very punishing for Havok, having lost Energy for just the Power gained on the last turn in the end.

• Flexibility going into the last turns of a match has always been amongst the strongest play patterns to explore in Marvel Snap. Havok kind of goes against that concept through reducing our available Energy.

• Havok feels impossible to drop on turn two, as no deck is able to function with only two Energy currently in Marvel Snap. Then, we need to pair it with another cheap card later in the match, around turn four or five.

Featured Deck:

Negative Havok

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

1

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

1x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

1x Recruit Season

1x Starter Card

3.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

1.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

It is undeniable, Havok comes with one of the bigger downsides we have ever seen in Marvel Snap, as you won’t regain the Energy once you play the card. Already, it makes the card difficult to imagine being dropped on turn two, as I don’t think any deck can function with only two Energy per turn.

However, considering we gain four Power per turn, Havok remains an interesting prospect even if we were to play it on turn four or five, which is immediately more manageable Energy wise.
In that context, I believe Mister Negative should have very little trouble using the card once it played its signature card, as two or three Energy would then be enough to function properly. Indeed, once most of our deck is made of zero-cost cards, we can afford to lose an Energy per turn, as it shouldn’t change what we are able to do anyway.

I did remove Jane Foster Mighty Thor to include Magik, as it would give us an extra turn to grow Havok, alongside an extra card once we played Mister Negative. Yet, this only feels necessary if Havok proves to be really strong in the deck, and worth investing into to contest a location. Otherwise, we could still include Jane Foster and only consider Havok as an opportunistic play, which also benefits from being hit by Mister Negative, or can see its cost reduced by Ravonna Renslayer.

Selene releases at the perfect time !

Variants

Selene

On Reveal: Afflict the lowest-Power card in each player’s hand with -3 Power.

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Selene

Selene will release as a Series 5 card on December 27, 2023.

Strengths:

• Annihilus is an impactful card in Marvel Snap, immediately giving Selene a strong synergy to build upon. Black Widow, Luke Cage, and Viper are other pairings to keep in mind as well.

• Cheap On Reveal cards tend to do great in several decks, particularly Bounce, with Werewolf By Night being extremely strong currently in Marvel Snap.

• Selene could turn off some cards such as Deadpool or Brood occasionally, ruining your opponent’s gameplan in the process.

Weaknesses:

• Selene will push for complex synergies, as we can’t just play the card as a standalone tool and think it will contribute to any kind of deck.

• If the opponent can afford to just keep the afflicted card in their hand, Selene immediately loses a lot of her upsides. Same assessment is true if we draw Selene without the needed cards to synergize with it.

• There are a lot of great 1-cost cards to abuse currently, which might reduce the need to spend resources to get Selene.

Featured Deck:

Bouncing Junk

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

3x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

A 1-cost card with an On Reveal effect can only go into one deck: Bounce. Plus, considering the archetype is already using the Annihilus package really well to pair it with Darkhawk to create a disruptive shell, Selene should only add to this synergy, while also growing Werewolf By Night in the process.

Already, we can see many synergies with Selene, such as playing it on turn three after Black Widow, in order to give our opponent a -4 Power card. We can lower The Hood, which we don’t intend to keep on the board, either bouncing it to our hand or sending it to our opponent with Annihilus or Sentry. With the negative Power applied, Korg can be sent to our opponent for extra disruption, while we will also send Selene as she is herself a negative power card.

Junk could also look into using Selene to strengthen its deck, however, it is hard to not see Bounce be the superior deck barring a nerf to Werewolf By Night until Selene becomes available in Marvel Snap.

Closing Words

With other high profile 3-cost cards and Shadow King roaming in several decks, I have a bit of trouble seeing Sebastian Shaw and Havok make a big impact upon their release. I believe they both have some merit, and could be very fun to build around and make some fireworks in the right situation, but can’t completely convince myself they will become staples in Marvel Snap.

Blob and Selene on the other hand, already have a big upside to them. We have strong existing deck archetypes which might be interested in running both cards, as Shuri Sauron and Bounce have made a star out of other cards in the past. Plus, these two cards have some very strong pairings which can be exploited in various decks in order to find their ideal home.

Taskmaster or Arnim Zola are looking to be insane to copy Blob‘s Power if we manage to play the card on turn five, which could be done through various cards in the game such as Wave or Electro. Selene on the other end, looks to be another solid addition to the Annihilus crew formed with The Hood and Sentry, and currently seeing play in several of the game’s top archetypes.

A couple of nerfs or buffs could obviously change the current landscape, particularly for Sebastian Shaw with Werewolf By Night said to be under scrutiny regarding its performance in the Loki or Bounce decks. If the current best 3-cost card was to be nerfed, it would naturally open a lot of room for other Power-driven cards to grow and impact the metagame in the future.

With all of those elements in mind, I’d say Havok is probably the most likely card to be difficult to leverage, but because it is the Series 4 card of the month, I could totally understand if you spent your Collector’s Tokens to get it. When it comes to spending Spotlight Keys, I think your playstyle should be the tiebreaker to decide between Blob and Selene, as the two are completely different cards, and will be included in very different decks.

I hope this breakdown helped you pick which cards you are interested in investing into. To share your ideas and creations (and maybe inspire other players to pick up one card in particular), leave a comment down below. Also, you can join us on the Marvel Snap Zone community Discord, or follow my Twitter page where I share decks and biased opinions about the game.

Good Game Everyone.