Marvel Snap May 4, 2023 OTA Card Balance Updates: Orka, The Collector and, Luke Cage Buffed

Marvel Snap’s “Over the Air” hotfixes to cards are now live for May 4, 2023 – no need for a game update! Four cards have been changed as part of a weekly balancing cycle. Check out the full details below, as well as an announcement regarding the future of Marvel Snap’s balance.

Summary:

• Orka – 6/9 -> 6/11
• The Collector – 2/1 -> 2/2
• Luke Cage – 2/1 -> 2/2

For our analysis on these changes, their potential impact on the meta, and some decks you can try on the first day, check out the article embedded below!

Orka

Variants

Orka

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

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Orka

[Old] 6/9 – Ongoing: +5 Power if this is your only card here.
[New] 6/11 – Ongoing: +5 Power if this is your only card here.

This isn’t very complicated–Orka released low, consistently one of our least-played cards and weak on winrate. He’s especially vulnerable to “splash” damage in a metagame where being able to counter Galactus has a higher priority for players, so the solve should clearly involve raising his floor, a design term for the card’s weakest outcome. Just buffing his base Power also keeps his Ongoing symmetrical with Namor’s, further focusing on their fishy feud. We don’t expect to see Orka suddenly start tearing up the competitive ranks, but it’s free for us to make him stronger.

The Collector

Variants

The Collector

When a card enters your hand from anywhere (except your deck), +1 Power.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with The Collector

[Old] 2/1 – When a card enters your hand from anywhere (except your deck), +1 Power.
[New] 2/2 – When a card enters your hand from anywhere (except your deck), +1 Power.

Those of us who were playing in the beta no doubt remember the glory days of The Collector, and the nerf that was merited then brought him in line as an on-curve play in some Discard and Devil Dinosaur decks. However, he’s been largely squeezed out of those archetypes since, without finding a new home. Hopefully he’ll be a bit more competitive with other 2-Cost cards at this rate, and start earning those slots back or showing up in new decks, like Bounce.

Luke Cage

Variants

Luke Cage

Ongoing: Your cards can’t have their Power reduced.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Luke Cage

[Old] 2/1 – Ongoing: Your cards can’t have their Power reduced.
[New] 2/2 – Ongoing: Your cards can’t have their Power reduced.

The two most popular decks with Luke are middling performers on the numbers, and the surge in Super Skrull plus the buff to Enchantress have both indirectly weakened him. We actually considered testing 3 Power briefly, but recalled how the Hazmat buff to 2 Power months ago killed a delightful Cerebro-1 deck. This change thus restores that combo as an interesting option for Cerebro-2, since Luke protects that deck from a handful of meddlesome locations as well. The added Power makes Luke more viable as a “tech” card in other decks, which might come in handy if afflict strategies reach a new high in the near future.