Table of Contents
Every two weeks, Marvel Snap undergoes an “Over the Air” (OTA) update, which does not require a full patch. Cards are able to be rebalanced with their stats (Power and Energy) only via a hotfix, whereas major ability reworks are reserved for patches. This article is our in-depth analysis of the changes, how it might impact the current meta, and some potential decks you can play from the get go!
OTA Balance Update Overview
OTAs are one of my favorite things in Marvel Snap; they keep the game fresh and dynamic. This week, however, I wasn’t particularly eager to get one. The meta has been very balanced compared to what we’ve been accustomed to for the past months.
Honestly, I was hoping to see mostly buffs this time around to add even more decks in the conversation of playable archetypes. Looking at this OTA, it feels pretty close to seeing my wish granted (although I have a hard time picturing any of these changes causing anything of significance in the meta).
Luke Cage regaining its global ability is the highlight of this OTA. The card has basically vanished since it changed to a one lane only card. Cerebro 3 played it because it’s forced to pack such an ability, but it wasn’t really having any significant impact. Plus, the change was an indirect nerf to Hazmat, Man-Thing, and other such cards. This is a change I support completely.
As for the other four, the Move cards – especially Spider-Man 2099 – have me curious to test out the Pure Move deck again. The Dagger change already helped the archetype a ton in the previous OTA, so we might get close to having a good archetype on our hands.
Regarding Ghost and Hulkbuster, I’ll get into more details about both in their dedicated sections, but these changes don’t tell me anything is going to change. Hulkbuster remains a nice utility card in decks that wanted it as a [3/5], and Ghost remains a mystery about why any deck would want to include it.
The meta didn’t need to change, and this OTA should not change it (or change it very slightly at the most). Usually, I’d say I wanted more, but, this time, this might the OTA we needed.
Luke Cage is the Most Promising Buff in This OTA
Decks with Luke Cage
- [Old] 2/3 – Ongoing: Your cards here can’t have their Power reduced.
- [New] 3/4 – Ongoing: Your cards can’t have their Power reduced.
Last year, we found Luke Cage was having a big impact on the metagame relative to the opportunity cost of playing with him. Giving up turn 2 to play a card that had the potential to neutralize multiple later-turn plays from an entire class of card effects was a bit too generous, since Luke asked nothing more than to be in play.
We decided to adjust Luke to be a stronger card that concentrates on one location, like Armor, and learn what that might change. Since then, Luke has underperformed with that change even in the decks we thought would still play the effect happily, such as Cerebro-3. So we’re taking the other route and returning Luke’s effect to be global but at a higher Cost.
I am not feeling much hype about this OTA overall, mostly because the changes feel more like testing the waters rather than altering the current landscape. However, we already knew Luke Cage was a solid card when it had a global ability. As such, although the card isn’t coming back in Cerebro 2 or 3, and I don’t see a Cerebro 4 emerging just because of this change, we’re going have to look elsewhere to use Luke Cage.
Fortunately, there is another archetype that had been playing Luke Cage for a long time with solid results as well: Toxic Sera.
There are multiple ways to build the deck, so don’t take this particular build as a rigid twelve cards list. Grand Master, in particular, has never existed in the same space as the old Luke Cage, so it might be too much to include in the deck. A few things that we know should work pretty well, however, are cards such as Typhoid Mary, Man-Thing, and Hazmat alongside Luke Cage.
Sure, we have a really strong Sera Control currently, so Toxic Sera might not even be the best way to use the 5-Cost card’s cost reduction ability. Still, while Sera Control aims at countering what the opponent tried to accomplish during the game, Toxic Sera directly attacks the opponent’s space. Then, whether it is because someone isn’t comfortable enough with the popular archetypes to counter them efficiently, or simply because they feel this different kind of disruption has more upsides, having more options is never a bad trait of a meta.
Speaking of more options, Junk is another archetype that is doing pretty well currently, and it doesn’t seem like it needs another way to be built. Just like Sera, however, this return to a global Luke Cage opens the way for the aggressive Junk to see more play. Once again, we might not need it. The deck already functions fairly well as it is by sending the Rocks to your opponent thanks to Hazmat or Yellowjacket turning them into negative power cards. What Luke Cage allows is for you to go all in on that idea. You can give your opponent negative Rocks even if you don’t get Annihilus, and yours won’t be impacted by Hazmat or certain locations.
Overall, Luke Cage shouldn’t bring a lot of new strategies into the meta, but it could give more options to some that are on the brink of being excellent. In the end, the current meta is in a good place with plenty of archetypes able to function. Luke Cage should strengthen a few of those and give them another tool to include in their strategy.
Maybe you were expecting more from this OTA, but this is as good as it gets this time.
Hulkbuster Was Changed, Not Nerfed
Decks with Hulkbuster
Because the strongest Destroy deck by far was all about Deadpool, we also wanted to look at weakening some of the best ways to make huge Deadpools. Hulkbuster was one such card, but it’s also a fun card for other strategies, like Move and the occasional kooky brew. Since the real problem was how much Power Hulkbuster was adding to Deadpool, we decided to keep it fairly efficient on rate and just shrink down the numbers. Hopefully this change actually creates some opportunity for play alongside things like Multiple Man and Werewolf By Night while weakening Deadpool specifically-we want to keep Hulkbuster a solid card.
If five power is the expected power for a 3-Cost card in the current Marvel Snap, three power is the norm for a 2-Cost. Thus, saying Hulkbuster was nerfed might be a bit of a shortcut since the card has a shot at being stronger now than it was in the past.
den
First, let’s discuss the Destroy archetype, which is a big reason why Hulkbuster was included in this OTA. For that deck, I doubt this change will impact much of its performance. Not only is Destroy able to play without Hulkbuster (which many lists have proven for the entire month of January). During the first month of 2024, Destroy was a top tier archetype that featured the same ten cards and two flexible slots, and Hulkbuster was a part of those two slots. A [2/3] Hulkbuster is more flexible to use, and it can now be played right after Deadpool – before you start destroying it during your other turns.
A four power Deadpool being destroyed on Turns 3, 4, and 5 leads to a 32 power card, which is more than enough to make your opponent Retreat the second your finger gets too close to the Snap button. Plus, Hulkbuster can be used alongside Carnage on Turn 4 or Venom on Turn 5 now, so I would refrain from calling this a nerf (for now).
Speaking of flexibility, there are other archetypes that have tried to use Hulkbuster in the past, and they could benefit from this cheaper version, too.
Similar to Luke Cage, I would consider this change as widening the range of possibilities rather than seeing it as anything close to a nerf (even for Destroy).
Pure Move Gets Another Push
Decks with Heimdall
In our ongoing evaluation of 6-Cost cards, we think Heimdall is ripe for a boost. Having 8-Power used to protect Heimdall from Shang-Chi, but now that Shang-Chi’s threshold increased we can likewise boost up some of these 8-Power big cards for a little extra oomph.
Decks with Spider-Man 2099
- [Old] 4/6 – The first time this moves to any location, destroy an enemy card there.
- [Change] 4/6 -> 5/9
Spider-Man 2099 has been a below-average card for quite a while-never one of the worst, but also not a true contender. We’re open to considering more significant adjustments, but in the interim we’ve decided to experiment with a stat change. As we noted around Hercules in another update, we’d like to try and get some “big move” cards into fighting shape. 2099 represents an opportunity for us to explore the kinds of effects and statlines cards need to exist in that space while potentially giving an underperforming card some new life.
Over the summer of 2023, the Move archetype received a series a small buffs that, alongside the dominant archetypes being nuked one after another, led to Move becoming the hottest archetype in August.
Although the similarities are starting to pile up (Move is getting two buffs after Dagger already received a nice one in the previous OTA, after all), I see little chance Move will become a contender in the near future. The deck should definitely keep improving, and Pure Move might finally have a chance to compete on points with the likes of Hela Lockjaw.
Unfortunately, there is too much of Shang-Chi and Shadow King in the current environment to see the deck thrive as a full on proactive archetype.
This is where the buff to Spider-Man 2099 could be more interesting than I originally gave it credit for, as it could bring some needed disruption to Pure Move.
I know, we have Aero, Magneto, Polaris, and other abilities of the kind available if you were looking to interact with your opponent. But those fit better in the “Move your opponent’s cards” themed deck, and they impact the match as soon as they hit the playing field, which fills more of a disruptive role. Spider-Man 2099 wouldn’t be played as a disruptive card, or at least not every single time. I could easily see the card just being moved to a location you intend to win on Turn 6 and make that lane a four on three.
In that sense, the card fits the proactive strategy of the deck much better, and it still brings a disruptive possibility on Turn 5 with an Iron Fist or Nico Minoru (with the move to the right spell).
Overall, the deck’s ceiling didn’t improve much with these changes; the duty of developing points still falls to Human Torch, Dagger, and Vulture. However, Spider-Man 2099 could help with disruption and still bring enough points to be a generic Turn 5 play as well. As for Heimdall, an extra power is always nice since the card can often be in charge of helping win the right lane.
I Still Hate Ghost as a Card
Decks with Ghost
- [Old] 1/2 – Ongoing: Your cards are always revealed last. (Their On Reveal abilities happen last.)
- [Change] 1/2 -> 3/5
Ghost has a similar story to Spider-Man 2099. While we evaluate potential changes, we’re going to take advantage of a stat improvement to learn more about the effect and its potential impact. We think it’s fair to position the effect like a small drawback in the current metagame, as “fixing” reveal priority comes with greater risk. Most of the current strength came from Ghost being a 1-Cost Ongoing card, but there are other options for that in Spectrum decks today (and likely the future).
And then, there was Ghost. This card was only considered in Marvel Snap because it was a 1-Cost with an Ongoing ability, so you could use it alongside Spectrum in Thanos Ongoing or Kazoo.
Arguably, Ghost as a standalone card is better as a [3/5] than it was as a [1/2]. However, It doesn’t make me want to use Ghost more. I just can’t find anything to do with it as a 3-Cost.
I still don’t like the fact that it gives away priority, either. Cards like Cosmo, Alioth, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead still exist in this game. I’m certainly not including the card in an Ongoing deck anymore now that it has to compete against Mobius M. Mobius, Cosmo, Rogue, and Caiera for a slot now. Finally, there are plenty of other [3/5] cards to use depending on your synergy, and some are even better standalone ones like Gladiator and Polaris.
So, where does Ghost fit now? I honestly don’t know.
You could replace Gladiator in the Sera Control deck to make sure your Enchantress, Shang-Chi, and/or Shadow King reveal second. You could do the same in the Toxic deck we discussed earlier so Hazmat will impact as many cards as possible.
I would argue these decks can easily lose priority if they wish to, though, and they have better cards to play to help their deck perform. Still, Ghost would at least make sense there.
If anyone has an idea, I will gladly highlight any promising proposition around the new [3/5] Ghost because I simply don’t see how this card will have any sort of impact in the near future.
This is the best deck I could come up with considering Valkyrie is the best card to use Ghost with. I decided to mix the two concepts where both cards make sense to include: Zoo and the new Hammer package.
Closing Words
This OTA shouldn’t be as impactful as the ones we had recently, so I don’t expect the meta to be significantly different. I have hopes that Hazmat could come back in more forms than just the Annihilus deck now that Luke Cage is returning to its old ability, and I think Pure Move at least deserves to be tested.
As for Hulkbuster and Ghost, I can’t picture how this OTA will change the fortune of both cards since they look to be in a similar position – even with the changes. Hulkbuster should be a little worse in Destroy (but that deck can play without it) and it’s more flexible for other decks (which is actually good news). As for Ghost, no one I asked for advice on the card had a different opinion than mine: “What the hell am I supposed to do with it?”
The meta didn’t necessarily need to be different, and Beta Ray Bill had a nice impact this week. All in all, I’m not against a quieter OTA this time around. It will give the community more time to refine certain archetypes, and that might be enough to shake the rankings already.
I hope you are having fun with the game, especially now that we might need to wait for the next season to get more significant changes. If you haven’t started it yet, best of luck for the Infinity Conquest league!
To reach out for any inquiry, 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.
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