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With a patch today and an OTA in just a couple more, this week might be the biggest we’ve from a balance standpoint in Marvel Snap’s history. In this article, I’ll take a look at this patch, which is focused around ability and functionality changes. I’ll also be covering the OTA later this week, which typically balances cards through changing their Cost and Power.
In this patch, we are getting four changes, with two that might have huge repercussions in the future. The first major change is Shadow King, who will no longer be stopped by Luke Cage. The card should act as a “cleanser” from now on instead of a “reset power button” like many of us thought it was until now.
With this change, decks relying on Thena, Angela, Bishop, and other such cards won’t be able to slot in Luke Cage when Shadow King is popular. This not only makes the card a more reliable counter, it feels well-timed with many expecting Arishem to be severely hit in the OTA and the Thena/Angela decks being very well positioned in the meta.
The second change I believe has the potential to be a big one is Moon Knight, which has now become a semi-targeted ability since it will discard an even cost card every time. This is much more reliable for a Discard deck because it’s able to target Swarm, Proxima Midnight, and Apocalypse while Lady Sif, Blade,
You also have to consider the fact that Moon Knight has a disruptive side to it because the opponent will also discard something, and this is where things get interesting. Blob, Alioth, and Mockingbird in Arishem, Gwenpool in Silver Surfer or Good Cards, Lockjaw in it’s namesake deck… There is a nice, long list of cards you might want to try to hit with Moon Knight now.
Maybe it won’t be this good, but this particular change has me curious and a little excited.
The other two changes are a little more anecdotal in my opinion, as neither Blink nor Uatu feel particularly different with this patch. Indeed, Blink is rarely played in a deck looking to change the cost of its cards. Plus, it doesn’t look like cards like Mockingbird change their cost while in the deck, so this modification to Blink will only impact very fringe situations.
As for Uatu, the quality of move cards is so high right now with Jeff the Baby Land Shark and Nocturne being playable in any deck that seeing the locations early on doesn’t have much appeal. At least, it doesn’t seem worth losing a slot in your deck to gain that information.
Honestly, I didn’t expect the patch to have too many changes with an OTA just two days later. Obviously, this isn’t the answer to the current Arishem-led meta we’re in, although Cassandra Nova has greatly helped with that. However, if the OTA is as packed as the previous ones we’ve had, we could have a total of 15 to 20 changes come Thursday!
So, until we know what will be in the second wave of balance updates this week, what should you play?
Discard is Now a Disruptive Synergy
For a long time, Discard was a proactive, points-driven strategy that tried to win through its development, either with the humongous numbers Dracula and Morbius could reach, or with Hela bringing back an entire game’s worth of points. Unfortunately, with new cards releasing all the time, Discard has lost a bit of its touch. It is now routinely outmatched and only able to compete when it draws perfectly.
With this change to Moon Knight, the Discard synergy gets a shot at a new beginning, this time as a disruptive strategy.
First, let’s start with the fact that both Black Bolt and Stature are odd-Costed cards, meaning Moon Knight won’t discard them. You can add Korg, Rockslide, and Darkhawk to that list as well, which means that the backbone of the current best Discard deck, Stature Darkhawk, can welcome Moon Knight with ease.
The same argument can be made about the Mill deck, with Yondu, Baron Zemo, Gladiator, Copycat, and Doctor Octopus all being odd-Costed cards.
That’s already two great shells to consider for this new Moon Knight!
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Here are a few ideas to get started on the idea of slotting Moon Knight into a disruptive shell alongside Black Bolt and Stature. I gave building with that duo a try, but Moon Knight doesn’t feel very valuable there (except to target something in your opponent’s hand that you can already take out another way). I would probably play White Widow in the Moonlight Mill deck honestly, but I believe that Moon Knight makes sense in the other two.
Obviously, you can also run Moon Knight in your typical Discard Dracula deck simply because the card makes sense there, at least when it comes to the targets you can discard with the ability.
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Shadow King Will Be the Inevitable Answer to Good Cards
The Good Cards archetype was born back when Aero and Leader were terrorizing Marvel Snap in 2022. Basically, the concept of the deck is to just find a good core and surround it with some of the best standalone cards in the game.
Currently, it just so happens that the core for the Good Cards deck is the Angela, Thena, Kitty Pryde shell. Through this very flexible synergy, the deck makes sure it has a good foundation of points while remaining very flexible in how it uses its energy.
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While you can try to beat it through sheer development, the deck is often regarded as too flexible and adaptable to its opponent’s game plan. One thing it can’t do, however, is change the location of Thena or Angela. If you had a way to shut one of those two out, that location would be pretty simple to win…
Guess who’s the best for the job?
Decks with Shadow King
I could recommend some decks to slot the card into, but Shadow King can be played virtually anywhere since the card does not synergize with any specific shells. Instead, you can include Shadow King as the last touch in your deck in order to counteract something you expect to see routinely when playing Marvel Snap.
Sera Control, Stature Darkhawk, Mill, Junk… There are plenty of archetypes you can try with the card in order to adapt to the meta.
Closing Words
Overall, I don’t expect this patch to change a ton of things, but I do believe it might set the OTA perfectly. Indeed, if Arishem gets hit like most of the community believes it will, the entire meta will be in shambles.
In that chaotic situation, people will likely turn to proven archetypes like Good Cards, which the change to Shadow King keeps in check. The other option available is to try new strategies in search of your next comfort pick, and Moon Knight is a step in that direction.
While Tuesday and Wednesday will probably feel like absolutely nothing has changed in Marvel Snap, this patch might suddenly become a big deal later in the week.
I hope this breakdown helps you get a better grasp of this balance update. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out on the Marvel Snap Zone community Discord. You can also follow my Twitter page where I share decks and biased opinions about the game.
Good Game Everyone.
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