Marvel Snap OTA Balance Update Analysis and Decks to Play: Zabu Gets Stronger, Bounce Might Attempt a Comeback!

Balanced metagames are difficult to work with when it comes to updates. On the one hand, you want to help the weaker strategies, but on the other, you might break the nice balance you created doing so. Plus, after months of seeing one or two decks dominate Marvel Snap, a lot of players are enjoying the current state of the game.

As always, there are some decks on top (Thanos Control and Good Cards), but these two are far from what Bounce and Evolved Lockjaw were before their nerfs. As such, after an insane OTA last week that felt like it pushed all the right buttons, It is hard to imagine Second Dinner coming in with another round of big shake ups. Or not?

Indeed, even if this OTA probably won’t change Marvel Snap the same way the previous one did, the five buffs we are getting do not seem super safe from my perspective. In particular, seeing Captain Marvel being changed to a 4-Cost and Absorbing Man gaining two power could tilt the balance towards Zabu becoming the card in Marvel Snap once again.

Full disclosure: I don’t necessarily expect Vision or Hulkbuster to become much more popular than they currently were at one less power. Although it is nice to have an incentive to try these cards again in some archetypes, they were ultimately removed for better options.

Regarding the other three cards, though, we’ve got some talking to do. Hawkeye, Absorbing Man, and Captain Marvel all look very playable now. The question is where do we play them, and how much can they impact the overall balance of the current environment.

Let’s find out!

Do We Play More of Hulkbuster and Vision?

Variants

Hulkbuster

On Reveal: Merge this with one of your cards here.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Hulkbuster

Variants

Vision

You can move this each turn.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Vision

Vision was already seeing play in Marvel Snap as a [5|7], both in Shuri Sauron and Lockjaw On Reveal. As such, at least these two decks should be happy with the change, especially Shuri since it will now make Vision a 16-Power card (which is a better target for Taskmaster). Currently, Shuri is already a top 10 deck in the game that is able to rival most other decks in the points department, but it falls prey to devastating counter cards, such as Shadow King, Valkyrie, and Shang-Chi. With that in mind, I’m wondering where those extra points will matter – even though it doesn’t hurt to have them for sure. Plus, Vision is the card the deck added to play around those tech cards thanks its ability to move, so it might make Shuri Sauron much more resilient against those cards overall.

Shuri Sauron

Created by den

, updated 9 months ago

1

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

3.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.9

Power

0-
1
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5+

Moving on to Hulkbuster, a card which doesn’t see play at all, it suffers from lots of other 3-Cost cards being excellent. It also only feels like a good card if it’s played early enough in the match. In other bad news for Hulkbuster, the latest deck it was included in (The Phoenix Force‘s deck) isn’t doing as good as anticipated. Even after a solid buff in the previous OTA, the archetype can’t seem to pick up momentum.

As such, let’s leave that deck on the side for now and wait for a better environment to abuse that synergy. Instead, let’s take a look at another synergy we could abuse with Hulkbuster: Deadpool.

With Knull being a great 6-Cost card for the Destroy archetype, an archetype that features cards like Deadpool and Nimrod which make buffs much stronger, Hulkbuster might find some good value – as long as we find a good enough time to use the card, as three energy isn’t something the deck can easily spare without sacrificing something else. This is usually the reason most players tend to defer to Shuri (and occasionally Forge) to build up some combos rather than Hulkbuster. Due to this inflexibility in how it can be used, I doubt we will see much of a [3|5] Hulkbuster, especially because Shuri provides a much bigger buff and Forge can work with other cards like Beast, for example.

Still, we are here to explore what could be, so here is how we could build Destroy with Hulkbuster, considering The Phoenix Force isn’t a deck right now:

Hulk Destroy

Created by den

, updated 9 months ago

2

5x 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)

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.4

Power

0-
1
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5+

Destroy already has plenty of archetypes going around, and none of them seems to be able to pick up momentum. I don’t know if this one will be able to do better to be honest; it still falls prey to the same Armor and Cosmo that deny our ability to synergize properly. Nevertheless, Hulkbuster at least feels like it could provide some nice synergy alongside Deadpool, building a gigantic Taskmaster target for Turn 6.

Here’s another idea to explore that was suggested by PulseGlazer. Rather than using Human Torch, Multiple Man, and Hulkbuster in the usual Phoenix Force deck, maybe Bounce could work. Since Ghost-Spider was buffed to become a 1-Cost, Beast and Falcon have a lot of synergy with it and Iron Fist. In addition, Hulkbuster would set Multiple Man to eight power, the perfect number to dodge Shang-Chi and still abuse the card. We even get to test Hawkeye, another buffed card.

Moving Bounce

Created by den

, updated 9 months ago

1

5x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

1x Starter Card

1.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Is Hawkeye the Hottest New 1-Cost Card?

Variants

Hawkeye

On Reveal: If you play a card at this location next turn, +3 Power.

Starter Card

view card details Start a deck Decks with Hawkeye

Demanded by the community for quite some time already, Hawkeye finally receive the +1 power many believed to be the solution to the card seeing no play. Obviously, buffing 1-Cost cards up until a few weeks ago was heresy. Bounce dominated Marvel Snap and was the most likely archetype to use cheap, flexible cards.

However, now that Bounce isn’t such an oppressive deck (and barely sees any play anymore in reality), Second Dinner can afford to take more chances with such cards. Helping Bounce now does not risk completely breaking the balance of the game. Naturally, I looked to see if Hawkeye could be used in a deck where we can abuse its On Reveal ability, which lead me to include the card in Bounce. There are other 1-Cost cards that could be included, such as Nebula, Sunspot, or synergistic options that should translate into more than four points. Each of these options don’t give information to the opponent as to where we intend to play the next turn.

However, I will point out that Hawkeye on Turn 1 into a decent 2-Cost card on the right-most location is a pretty good way to have points before it reveals. Something to consider for decks unable to impact unplayable locations, such as Dracula Discard.

Bounce

Created by den

, updated 9 months ago

1

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

1x Starter Card

1.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

1.3

Power

0-
1
2
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5+

Captain Marvel Joins the Zabu gang!

Variants

Captain Marvel

At the end of the game, move to a location that wins you the game. (If possible)

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Captain Marvel

The issue with Captain Marvel has always been the total points on the card. Indeed, if you were able to read the game properly and guess where to play your points to emerge victorious, six points for a 5-Cost is quite underwhelming. However, if that card would now only cost three and you could give her ability to another card in your deck, that would another story.

In the right deck, Captain Marvel can now be played on Turn 6 alongside another strong card. And since Turn 6 is where both players need to place their cards correctly in order to win a contested battle, Captain Marvel brings a lot of value. Imagine playing against an opponent who needs to perfectly place their cards depending on your next play, while your next play is actually “play Captain Marvel anywhere, plus a Shang-Chi or an Enchantress where I know it will have a big impact”. Suddenly, only one player needs to guess the opponent’s next move, giving the one who doesn’t a huge edge in that particular game.

What is that deck? The current best one in the game, no less.

Captain Good Cards

Created by den

, updated 9 months ago

1

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)

3.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
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5+

3.8

Power

0-
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5+

I believe there are a lot of ideas to explore with Captain Marvel. The card is likely the most flexible of this OTA now that it’s at four energy. We can even play a pattern like Zabu → Captain Marvel → Storm → Legion to lock a game while we have a card able to move. Whenever a card looks to improve one of the best decks in the game, that feels like a mandatory starting point.

Absorbing Man Rekindles the Appeal of Combo Decks!

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

Ever since Iron Lad joined the game, I have been wondering why Absorbing Man was still a [4|3]. Then Cosmo started gaining traction, as well as Enchantress and Rogue, and before you knew it most of the On Reveal combo decks were gone because the environment was way too difficult for them to exist in. That problem might not be solved yet, but a solid buff to one of Wong‘s best friends might help. Also, being a 4-Cost card is a huge boon in Marvel Snap, as you can combine both Zabu and Sera to create explosive combo turns.

Naturally, this is the direction I looked into to find solid decks to experiment with the new Absorbing Man. First, let’s discuss the Toxic archetype. It was probably the last one to run Absorbing Man in its base list, as Absorbing Man had great synergy with Hazmat (obviously). An underrated synergy I enjoyed a lot in that deck was copying Debrii with Absorbing Man to fill the board with Rocks. Ironheart could also be mentioned there, although that card tends to be replaced by Green Goblin quite often.

Toxic Combo

Created by den

, updated 9 months ago

2

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

1x Recruit Season

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.2

Power

0-
1
2
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5+

Another deck I’m eager to try with the new Absorbing Man is Sera Control, the deck fighting to keep its spot among the Marvel Snap elite. Indeed, since Hit Monkey took a bit of a hit in the last OTA, the deck has been struggling to reliably put up points and instead relies on its counter cards to do the heavy lifting. Absorbing Man seems to be a great help for the deck to solve its points problem. It can copy Hit Monkey for a simple Mysterio + Hit Monkey + Absorbing Man on Turn 6 with Sera on board, which would become the new go-to points pattern. Or the deck can use the newly buffed card to duplicate Shang-Chi or Enchantress, two cards that are able to dismantle a deck’s strategy.

I am unsure whether removing Nova and Killmonger is the right call for the deck in order to include Absorbing Man, but Scarlet Witch has felt incredible with Magik and Storm being very popular.

Sera Control

Created by den

, updated 9 months ago

0

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.6

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

I am sure there are many more decks to explore with Absorbing Man. It is likely the most synergistic card out of today’s bunch. Still, I’m sure we’ll have more chances to explore those up-and-coming combo decks – if Absorbing Man does indeed become a strong card in the near future.

Closing Words

Considering the last OTA was metagame defining, I expected to see minor changes this week. To my surprise, I think Second Dinner really took some risks with this one. And I love to see it!

Sure, Zabu might become kind of a problem with many really strong 4-Cost cards to work with. Nevertheless, even if the Good Cards archetype looks pretty hot with Captain Marvel included, Zabu also pushes other decks to be popular. Absorbing Man, in particular, would not look so cool if it wasn’t for the possibility to discount it and create some combos around the card.

As such, while I’m not preaching for another Zabu in every deck kind of metagame, I am much more excited than I am worried about the changes. Plus, the next season will push for very different synergies, which should bring some diversity in case the metagame starts to revolve around the same cards. I think we should have some fun with this OTA, and at least three of the buffed cards appear worthy of exploring in one or more decks.

Obviously, the various pieces we’ll release will look into how these changes impacted the game and how you can adapt to these changes. Until then, I hope you’re having fun with the game. For any questions or coaching inquiries, you can 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.