Marvel Snap Balance Patch Update Analysis and Decks to Play: How Many Changes!?

Every four weeks, Marvel Snap undergoes a major patch. Unlike the OTA Balance Updates, the abilities of cards are able to be reworked with these patches, as well as their stats (Power and Energy). This article is our in-depth analysis of the changes, how they might impact the current meta, and some potential decks you can play from the get go!

Patch Balance Update Overview

Twelve cards are changing today. That’s the equivalent of an entire deck, if you prefer, that will not be the same once the patch goes live, and I am tasked with telling you what Marvel Snap is going to look like once it happens.

Loki will still be pretty strong, I can tell you that, even if the change to America Chavez might have a say in it. I could also mention Lockdown (or even Good Cards Darkhawk) as archetypes that were weirdly not included here apart from Alioth, which isn’t a synergistic piece of their game plan – just a strong standalone inclusion. But I’m pretty sure these decks will survive since Doctor Doom is still a great option.

Wait, Am I saying this patch won’t change much to the meta? Oh boy, NO. The change to Alioth alone is absolutely massive if the card stops seeing play. Archetypes like Hela, Double Up, and Sera Control, basically any deck looking to explode on Turn 6 that saw Alioth as a major threat could come back in a big way.

In addition, there is a lot of power being distributed across the board, which could lead to other decks being able to rival the current dominant archetypes when it comes to sheer points output – especially if they don’t have to worry about Alioth any more. I can think of Move since both Aero and Stegron gained a power each, and they could represent decent additions to the archetype. The Phoenix Force will now be able to create more Multiple Mans than you can count, and Ravonna Renslayer might finally be a good card as a [2/3]. Speaking of added power, Black Knight might be the scariest card in that regard now; its Ebony Blade is now safe from both Shang-Chi and Shadow King.

To answer the question can I still play my current very strong deck? Yes, probably. However, if you ask me will my current strong deck still be dominant? I have no idea, to be honest. Let’s discuss all the changes and see if we can figure it out together.

America Chavez Can Still Help Several Archetypes… Maybe

America Chavez could deserve an entire article all to itself. Personally, I see the card as the most impactful in Marvel Snap, both because it is one of the rare cards that impacted every meta (even those limited to Pool 1 and 2), and because it is one of the most used card – particularly across dominant decks.

This time might be over, and America Chavez could just be another On Reveal card used to grant buffs from now on. However, don’t dismiss the new iteration of the card just yet; there are decks that are more than capable of using a cheap buff to benefit to their synergy. Indeed, Brood, Werewolf By Night, Human Torch, Deadpool, and many other cards are able to leverage that ability to make it worth much more power than a simple bonus two power.

I am not sure the new America Chavez will see much play if I’m being honest. Forge looks to be more reliable and flexible when it comes to giving two power to another card. Still, here are a few avenues to explore:

Phoenix Force

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

1

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2.3

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2.6

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The Phoenix Force is very high on my list of decks that I want to try after this patch. Not necessarily because of America Chavez, although having multiple targets for the buff will certainly help (and you could throw Nimrod into mix as well for another one). This patch will also solve a bug that has existed ever since Phoenix Force released during the summer: preventing the copies of Multiple Man from also moving. With this issue out of the way, the deck feels much stronger, and it might be better played with a lot of buffs. Things like Hulkbuster in addition to Forge and America Chavez get much better, and you can simply Snap every time you see Multiple Man and The Phoenix Force in your hand.

Iron Patriot

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

1

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

1x Recruit Season

1x Starter Card

3.4

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0-
1
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2.7

Power

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I’m not entirely sure Iron Patriot will cut Alioth from its list because it is one of the archetypes that can consistently seize priority, which makes the change to the 6-Cost card just a power nerf in the end. For the time being, I decided to go with Cosmo as the disruptive card and build the deck with the intention of playing two 3-cCst cards on the last turn of play. Let’s keep Alioth in the back of our heads for this particular deck.

As for America Chavez, I figured we had more than enough targets to at least try the card in this deck. Indeed, with Brood, Mister Sinister, Absorbing Man, and even Iron Man representing a decent hit, America Chavez on Turn 2 should be a fine contribution to this deck.

Bounce

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2.2

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0-
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2.1

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It is funny that Bounce might be the archetype that has used America Chavez the most historically. The card has been in every dominant version of dominant Bounce decks ever since they emerged about a year ago. Then, it’s ironic to see America Chavez changed to become a cheap On Reveal card carrying a buff, which is pretty much Bounce’s bread and butter (even more so since Werewolf By Night joined the deck). This might be the perfect occasion to evaluate how big of a hit America Chavez took and compare this new ability to the old one.

By the way, America Chavez now synergizes with Sebastian Shaw, which will probably easily find its way into decks with a lot of buffs naturally included like Bounce. If you really wanted to go nuts on the card, I believe Silver Surfer could do a better job at growing the next Season Pass card’s power.

Shaw Surfer

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x 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

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2.9

Power

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What If… Alioth is Gone From Marvel Snap?

While a few decks might still use Alioth in the future (ahem Galactus) since they don’t really care about the card’s power, it should be no surprise to see much, much less of Alioth overall. The card now loses to your opponent moving Jeff the Baby Land Shark on that lane. If you still want to use the 6-Cost card, this might be the deck for you:

Galactus

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3.8

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3

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Now, let’s discuss what could happen if Alioth was really out of the picture, especially for decks looking to be explosive on the last turn of play. Simply put, we might go almost four months back in time when Alioth didn’t exist and the strongest thing you could do in Marvel Snap was to hide your potential until the very last moment. Then September came around and Alioth punished these patterns for trying to play specific cards on Turn 6, while Mobius M. Mobius came later in the month. We all know what happened to Mobius, and it sounds like Alioth might follow the same path and allow A TON of decks to resurface.

Hela Black Night

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

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2x Collection Level 1-14

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

4.5

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7.2

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Hela Tribunal might benefit even more from this nerf, although there is doubt whether Alioth could destroy cards behind Invisible Woman (they are technically unrevealed). Still, with Black Knight potentially receiving the biggest buff of the patch, it only felt logical to feature this Hela build instead. Indeed, now that the Ebony Blade is safe from the most common threats (Shang-Chi and Shadow King), Hela Lockjaw might have gained a new mid-game tool to abuse. Black Knight will represent both a cheap card to play behind Lockjaw late in the match and a 4-Cost with 12, 14, or 20 power to slam on a lane when Lockjaw doesn’t show up.

For this kind of deck, a card like Alioth disappearing from the possible threats is massive; there will be little the opponent can do in the points department if you get the right set up for Hela. Here are a few other decks that have a lot to gain from Alioth being gone from the popular 6-Cost inclusions:

Sera Miracle

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

2

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2.6

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2.3

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Sera Miracle is particularly impacted by this patch, and the big nerf to Alioth might be the deck’s saving grace (following Elsa Bloodstone not impacting other locations any more). Imagine if you were forced to fill your Elsa lane on Turn 5 to avoid your opponent’s valuable Alioth there on Turn 6. It would be quite annoying.

In addition to Elsa Bloodstone, the deck also has to figure out how to deal with the changes to Shadow King and Luke Cage and whether these two are gone from the deck for now or not. Scarlet Witch and Shang-Chi seem like solid replacements if it needs any. Nevertheless, if Alioth was not nerfed this much, Sera Miracle (and reactive decks in general) could have been history in Marvel Snap. However, if counter decks have a hard time recovering from potentially losing the Luke Cage plus Shadow King duo, other combo decks will likely thrive in Alioth‘s absence.

Double Up !

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

1x Starter Card

3.1

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2.8

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This kind of synergy was already picking up momentum towards the end of the season as the Moon Girl + Quinjet duo started appearing in more decks. Not only did this one lose an annoying foe, it also gained two power with Ravonna Renslayer receiving a buff. The card was originally not in these sorts of decks, but with America Chavez not around any more to help with thinning your deck, another combo enabler will be the next best thing.

Of course, let’s not forget the king of these sorts of archetypes. It’s extremely happy to see less of Alioth, and also less of Luke Cage since it was be quite annoying for the High Evolutionary synergy: InSheNaut.

InSheNaut

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

2

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3x Starter Card

3.5

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5.5

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It’s a great time to remember that disruption for Turn 6 still exists in the form of Leech (in case you felt like there were too many combo decks). I do have a few others up my sleeve if you want them, such as this mix of Double Up! and InSheNaut that fully takes advantage of the Luke Cage nerf with Abomination. Let’s keep in mind the nerf to America Chavez, though, since it could be quite big for this kind of very synergistic deck:

Double Evo

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

2x Starter Card

2.9

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3.8

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This deck is also a great opportunity to discuss Man-Thing, a card that could see its stock rise a lot with Luke Cage (mostly) out of the picture. It is still unclear at this point if we should run Luke Cage ourselves, just in case, but it feels like we can play Man-Thing late enough in the match to manipulate our placement and use that slot in our deck for another card.

Another combo deck might not be able to do without Luke Cage, though:

Toxic Junk

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

1

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

8x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

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

3.2

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3.1

Power

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Hazmat, in particular, might require you to keep playing Luke Cage. However, you might be fine with its new ability since you can use both Carnage and Annihilus to empty some of your lanes and only keep the one with Luke Cage. That way you can control where you’re weak to your own Hazmat or Man-Thing.

Annihilus gains a lot of momentum if the game slows down in the wake of Alioth‘s nerf because it could represent a new way to punish your opponent for taking too long to occupy the space on their side of the board. Junk, and low points strategies in general, will play more carefree now that giving up priority will not be such a punishing part of playing Marvel Snap. You might want to keep Professor X in mind when it comes to an Annihilus deck, though.

How Do Decks That Previously Used America Chavez and Alioth Adapt?

Here are the decks in Marvel Snap that currently using one or both of these cards:

• Loki
• Good Cards Darkhawk
• Lockdown
• Bounce
• Discard Dracula
• Move
• Destroy Tempo
• Thanos Control
• Electro Ramp
• Shuri Sauron

These are ten of the last fourteen featured decks of our weekly Tier List, which represent a combined 71% of the environment. Not only does this show how both cards deserved their nerfs since they were part of almost every dominant archetype in Marvel Snap, it also indicates that we are in for quite a shake up in the coming days. An important note is that Destroy Deadpool is the best deck that was not affected by these changes. Quite the opposite, actually, as both Alioth and Shadow King were very disruptive for that deck. It might be a good idea to keep that in mind and maybe pack Armor just in case.

Deadpool Destroy

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

3

5x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
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5+

3.2

Power

0-
1
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Not all archetypes will be impacted the same way by these changes. Some were playing America Chavez or Alioth as strong standalone inclusions, while others needed their specific ability to be a competitive deck. For example, I think Loki, Good Cards Darkhawk, and Lockdown will all be able to bounce back and find other cards to include in their archetype. They might feel a little worse, but this will be the case for almost every deck during the first few days.

For Discard Dracula, however, adapting without America Chavez might prove to be much more difficult. The same goes for Destroy Tempo since its game plan was largely based around using Alioth to secure the second lane it needed for the win. Not all decks will be equal in the face of those changes. However, the dominant four (Loki, Darkhawk, Lockdown, Bounce) should only have to find a replacement for America Chavez, which I’m sure will come in the form of another standalone inclusion or a counter card for whatever deck emerges in the near future. Other archetypes might have a lot more to explore.

Here are a few curiosities based on the changes we’ve had today, in addition to all the decks we discussed in the previous sections:

Move

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 1-14

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

2.8

Cost

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4.1

Power

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Good Cards Ongoing

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.4

Cost

0-
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5+

1.9

Power

0-
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Good Cards Ravonna

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

1x Starter Card

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
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5+

1.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Shuri Black Knight

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x 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)

3.6

Cost

0-
1
2
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5+

5.8

Power

0-
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Closing Words

To be honest, I’m ready to be completely wrong about this patch. The change to America Chavez might be the most impactful one in the history of the game when we look back on it a few months from now. Its presence among all the best archetype has become so natural over time that nobody is even bothering to include it in the discussion for best card in the game anymore when, in reality, it has one of the strongest cases to be considered for the title. Combined with other strong candidates, the Alioth changes, and a flurry of other nerfs and buffs, this patch feels like all the OTAs we are not getting this month were put together and released at the same time.

The end result could be complete chaos with many surprises when it comes to which decks are dominant in a few days. Or the ones that are already at the top could show that America Chavez was helping them be more reliable, but their core strategy remains powerful enough to remain the best in Marvel Snap. Plus, there are a few decks, such as Destroy and InSheNaut, that might just run free while everyone tries to figure out how to build their deck.

Personally, I want to believe these changes are cataclysmic and will lead to a different Marvel Snap once we understand their full impact on the meta. It might take a bit of time, so don’t be shocked if Darkhawk is the first deck you come across when booting up the game once the patch is live. I am sure a few archetypes we gave up on will finally have their golden opportunity at taking a spot in the competitive discussion.

Decks like Phoenix Force, Junk, and Hela have shown great potential in the past, but they’ve never managed to stay relevant in the long run. This is either because they were not flexible enough once the counter cards started coming, or they simply demanded a very disciplined Snap and Retreat strategy (while Loki or Lockdown were much simpler to play).

I cannot wait to see what everyone comes up with following this patch. I will definitely scan social media and look at the various deck trackers to stay on top of the meta so I can try to let you know all about it in my upcoming pieces. As you can imagine, the Conquest Tier List won’t come out tomorrow. I think it will take a bit longer to get a good picture of what Marvel Snap will look like following this massive balance patch.

I hope you are as hyped as I am by these changes, and may this patch rekindle your will to have fun playing Marvel Snap. As usual, find me 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.