Marvel Snap February 21, 2023 Card Balance (Surprise) Updates: Thanos Stronger, Sandman is a New Card!

After a chaotic first two weeks of the Into the Quantum Realm Season, which saw Shuri Zero, Zabu Darkhawk and Lockjaw Thanos battle it out for the tittle of best deck in Marvel Snap, Second Dinner decided to shake things up. In a completely unexpected balance update (just a day after our meta tier list update!), six cards have been changed, alongside bug fixes and the previously announced Series Drop. Let’s review the changes from the patch notes:

Card Balance Updates

Variants

Darkhawk

Ongoing: +2 Power for each card in your opponent’s deck.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Darkhawk

Darkhawk: 4/1 -> 4/0

Dev Comment: Darkhawk is an especially powerful card. As we prepared this balance change before the Silver Surfer and Zabu nerfs went live, we didn’t want to hit him too hard. However, we definitely felt that knocking off at least one Power from him is warranted, and we will continue to monitor his performance.

Variants

Thanos

Starts in your opening hand and shuffles the six Infinity Stones into your deck.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Thanos

Thanos: 6/8 -> 6/11

Dev Comment: We think Thanos is one of the coolest cards, and we’re a bit sad that he himself isn’t played often. Most Thanos decks focus primarily on making good use of the stones, but we want to make sure the mad titan himself has enough Power to play.

Variants

Sandman

On Reveal: Players can only play 1 card next turn.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Sandman

Sandman: 4/1 -> 5/5

Dev Comment: Many of the strongest decks right now have strategies centered around playing multiple cards on turn 6. Sandman should be a good answer to these decks, but he didn’t quite have the sand to stand up to them with his previous statline. We’re giving him a bit more Power to make him a more competitive card, but also subsequently bumping up his Cost.

Variants

Spider-Woman

On Reveal: Afflict all enemy cards here with -1 Power.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Spider-Woman

Variants

Namor

Ongoing: +5 Power if this is your only card here.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Namor

Variants

Dagger

When this moves to a location, +3 Power for each enemy card there.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Dagger

• Spider-Woman: 5/7 -> 5/8
• Namor: 4/5 -> 4/6
• Dagger: 2/1 -> 2/2

Dev Comment: The cards below are rather weak at the moment, so we’re giving them a small buff to help them perform a bit better.

Bug Fixes

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

Absorbing Man’s effect can now be doubled by effects like Wong, Kamar-Taj, and Odin.

Series Drop

• Series 5 to 4:
  • Silver Surfer
  • Knull
  • Darkhawk
  • Sentry
• Series 4 to 3:
  • Agent Coulson
  • Maria Hill
  • Helicarrier

From their own words, this patch was booked before Zabu and Silver Surfer were nerfed, so in a completely different meta environment. Notably, Thanos receiving a significant power buff shocked many players, who shared their concerns on social media already, as Lockjaw Thanos is currently one of the best decks in the metagame.

The other changes are more in line with what we could expect, with Darkhawk losing a power, three unused cards gaining one, and the most exciting change I have seen in Marvel Snap in recent memories: Sandman became a 5|5!

In this article, let’s talk about the impact of these changes on the current metagame, especially how the new Sandman could impact some currently popular play patterns. Not to minimize the other changes, but let’s be honest for a second. Thanos won’t see more play, simply because it is a Series 5 card and most people with the card in their collection are already playing it. Thanos had already established itself as one of the better cards in the metagame thanks to how flexible the Infinity Stones were, and we were just given a reason to play Thanos himself more often, so don’t expect the mad titan to go anywhere.

The other three cards, Spider-Woman, Namor, and Dagger, will be tested for sure, but I don’t see any of those cards see significant changes in their play rate either. As for Darkhawk, the card dropping to Series 4 probably means it will see even more play, and while one power is always relevant, I don’t see the Korg – Rockslide – Darkhawk trio becoming a bad package because of it. Devil Dinosaur should still be happy to join forces with Darkhawk, even after those changes.

Overall, it really is up to Sandman going on a total makeover to shake up the metagame. Fortunately enough, it might very well do it!

Electro and Doctor Doom just got a MASSIVE UPGRADE!

There are other cards which should benefit a lot from Sandman‘s change, but Electro and Doctor Doom really should feel special, and represent a great building block to test the new iteration of Sandman.

First, there is Electro, which now curves perfectly with Sandman, and forces the opponent to play on the same rule as we do: one card per turn only. This combo existed in the past, but spending two turns to only develop three points felt absolutely awful, and was too difficult to overcome in the remaining turns. With Sandman now being a five power card, it should represent enough to contribute to the lane it is played on. The Electro – Sandman duo should really make it difficult for the opponent to contest with only one card per turn if their deck isn’t built for it from now on.

As for Doctor Doom, the card was already the best 6-Cost with Sandman in play, and a solid card overall as well. Considering Sandman just got a massive upgrade, I expect Doctor Doom, and also Magneto in a way to see much more play and take back their role as the go-to cards for strong turn six plays.

This is probably extremely simple, but it should represent a good starting point to see how impactful the Sandman change can be:

Sandman Electro

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

2

1x Collection Level 1-14

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.6

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

She-Hulk just got nerfed?

Once again, there are other cards to consider in the ones which could be punished by the new Sandman, but She-Hulk definitely leads the pack here. Sera likely is a close second, but isn’t having so much play time lately. DeathWave should be mentioned as a deck that has a lot to lose from Sandman becoming a metagame staple.

In the current metagame, Sunspot and She-Hulk are a duo we see in a wide variety of decks, and serve as the best finishing touches to many strategies, protecting the deck from losing energy during the game. The duo has become so prevalent, many decks are now often considering play patterns where they would purposefully pass turn five, to have an explosive six with a 1-Cost She-Hulk.

Well, with a 5|5 Sandman now an option, you better think very carefully before trying to get away with a turn five pass. DeathWave in particular, should be mentioned as a deck that has a lot to lose from Sandman becoming a metagame staple.

DeathWave

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

35

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.7

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

A few decks to try the new Sandman in

I mentioned Electro as an easy starting point for Sandman to be tested in its new form. However, I believe there are several other archetypes which could benefit from the card, and probably want to see how it can contribute to their gameplan.

Ongoing Sandman Thanos

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

1

1x Collection Level 1-14

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2x Recruit Season

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

First, we have the Ongoing strategy, an archetype which usually only tries to play Spectrum on turn six anyway, so doesn’t mind playing Sandman on turn five. Also, with Thanos being buffed, the deck just gained another strong turn six play if needed. Simply make sure you dump your Infinity Stones and such before playing Sandman, which should be quite easy when finding Quinjet.

Good Cards

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

3

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

4x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.9

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

For a very long time, Leech was a great card in the Good Cards archetype, as it prevented the opponent from pulling a comeback in the last turn. Here, Sandman serves the same purpose, and just like what Leader was to Leech before it got nerfed, Doctor Doom and Magneto should represent great follow-ups to Sandman to block most play patterns for the opponent.

There is a possibility Quinjet and Thanos represent one of the better duos in the game right now, and should be included in Good Cards decks like this one. Considering they are featured in the deck above, I decided to leave them out. Instead, we’ll focus on what can be done with Pool 3 cards when it comes to seizing priority and being in the lead by turn five.

Budget Kazoo Sandman

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

2

3x Collection Level 1-14

5x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

2x Recruit Season

2.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Last on my list, and part of the reason I like this buff so much: everyone can benefit from it!

Indeed, Sandman being a Pool 2 card, it should impact the experience of most players, as the card can find a home in the Kazoo build. In that archetype, Sandman protects our lead and rewards the build for going all in the first four turns. Then, with Ka-Zar, Blue Marvel and Spectrum in the deck, it shouldn’t be so difficult to have a decent turn six, even if limited to one card only.

Closing Words

I know I mostly focused this article around Sandman, but the reality is its change might be more impactful than the other five combined. As stated in the introduction, Thanos is already a top card in Marvel Snap, so the buff will only make that feeling grow.

The other four cards, Darkhawk, Spider-Woman, Namor and Dagger could have some form of impact, but it should be very difficult to spot if you look at the bigger picture. Spider-Woman and Dagger, especially, should not see much more play with their power increase, as these cards performances are mostly based on the environment they exist. We have established in the past that relying on what the opponent does rarely is a winning strategy on the long run.

Namor being a 4|11 when alone on a lane could be a surprisingly good buff, and maybe the card becomes a considering in Ongoing based decks. Until this point, Warpath was the default 4-Cost and forced the deck to keep a lane empty. Maybe now, we actually play on all three lanes, but Namor gets to challenge one on its own.

In the end, if it isn’t Sandman, the biggest thing we might remember from this patch will not be a card change, but a card bug fix as “Absorbing Man’s effect can now be doubled by effects like Wong, Kamar-Taj, and Odin.”

I have my doubts regarding how good can Absorbing Man become after the change, as Cosmo is quite the popular card currently to help against Shang-Chi and Aero. But if it happens to live up to its potential, here are a few ideas to close this article.

Absorbing Hazmat

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

5

1x Collection Level 1-14

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

8x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

1x Recruit Season

3.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Surfer Negative

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

4

2x Collection Level 1-14

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

1x Recruit Season

1x Starter Card

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

1.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Good Game Everyone.