Marvel Snap Balance OTA Analysis and Decks to Play: Get Your Move On!

It seems like it has become routine for Marvel Snap OTA Balance Updates to be quite chunky lately, and I absolutely love it!

We are getting seven changes in this one, with at least three that I expect to have a significant impact. The other four range from a necessary-but-probably-not-enough buff to “an extra power is always good”.

Angela, Hercules, and Alioth are the three changes I have my eyes on in this OTA. The first one is fairly obvious, as Angela has been an elite 2-Cost card both times she was a [2/0] with a bonus two power per card played behind her. However, after the last nerf where she only gained one power per ally behind her, the devs had to revert that change for us to play with Angela again. This time around, we have Thena to help make Kitty Pryde a valuable addition to a deck, and I suspect the recently released 2-Cost was a reason for Angela‘s changes here. One thing is for sure: Angela will feel very different.

Then there’s Hercules, a card that finally looks like a card I want in my Move deck. This is easily the most exciting change of this OTA, and at least two archetypes will benefit from the card being a little cheaper. However, the title of most impactful change might go to Alioth, a meta tyrant in the past when it had the ability to win games almost on its own. Arguably, this Alioth remains weaker than its previous self (which was almost unbeatable back then). Still, 10 power is starting to be a serious contribution to a lane; it beats cards like Mockingbird, which is a staple for many archetypes.

The other four changes aren’t, but they’re not as impactful in my opinion. Kingpin is interesting, as the card is now flexible enough to be played alongside the cards that move the opponent’s cards. Plus, it now stops colliding with Kraven on Turn 2 and gives Move another 1-Cost outside of Nightcrawler. It’s also important to note that Jeff the Baby Land Shark and Nocturne are very popular right now, so Kingpin inflicting -2 power to either already makes it a [1/4].

The remaining changes are just power buffs, which are obviously less appealing. Still, I can’t ignore the fact that High Evolutionary is not completely useless anymore.

So, what do we play now?

Hercules Has Just Released!

As a [4/6] or a [4/7], Hercules never managed to really be a Marvel Snap card. The criticism has always been the same: Hercules is too difficult to set up on the board and make it worth the cost. Indeed, when played on Turn 4, Hercules often required two very explosive turns to be worth spending the energy on him.

Now that he’s a 3-Cost, we not only get one more turn to work with Hercules, we also invest less energy into him in case we couldn’t leverage the card as we hoped to. Plus, this also makes Hercules synergize with Silver Surfer, a strong shell in the current meta.

With this in mind, there are plenty of avenues to explore around Hercules and Kingpin at the same time. Here is a little medley of decks to test with this OTA.

Bounce Move and Phoenix Force exist already, and they’re actually posting decent results before the buff to Hercules. The card wasn’t a core part of ether deck by any means, but a little reinforcement is never a bad thing.

As for the Silver Surfer and full Move deck, neither have been a part of the meta, but they represent shells that are worth testing to see how good the new Hercules and Kingpin might be.

Is Alioth Going to be a Problem Again?

Alioth has been one of the most impactful cards in the history of Marvel Snap. It was known for taking over the game when it released, making priority the most important part of almost every match. The card got hit with a heavy nerf, and ever since then it’s been left in the shadow of other 6-Cost cards, such as Red Hulk, Doctor Doom, Magneto, and The Living Tribunal. Alioth already received a buff of one extra power since that nerf, and now it is getting two more. Alioth might have enough power for us to have a conversation about playing the card once again.

A major part of that conversation should be around whether you believe cards like White Widow, Debrii, Annihilus, and Green Goblin can make Alioth precise enough to be included. Indeed, if you have priority and a good chance of sniping your opponent’s Turn 6 play, the only way to lose is to be outpointed. However, considering numerous decks are relying on Sage, Shadow King, Shang-Chi, and other flexible cards on Turn 6 to win over a location, Alioth could spell trouble for a lot of strategies.

One deck was already using Alioth in our last Tier List, Pixie Junk, and it posted a solid performance. Still, I believe there are way more archetypes that might be interested in running a [6/10] Alioth, even if they aren’t using the Junk synergy.

Small bonus to note: this is an indirect buff to Valentina!

Always Give More Power a Shot

It might not seem like a lot—especially when added to cards that are seemingly miles away from being playable—but one or two extra points of power can change the fate of many cards in Marvel Snap.

In the case of Nick Fury and Miles Morales, they aren’t so far off from being playable in their respective synergies. Miles Morales has tough competition in a Move deck, but a [1/6] should not be taken lightly, especially if you start considering cards like Moon Girl to maximize his potential. Sure, it is more than likely that Miles Morales will simply be slotted in Move decks, but just one power can quickly become three or four once you start supporting it.

The same could be said for Nick Fury, a card often associated with two staples of the Marvel Snap landscape, Loki and Devil Dinosaur. Oftentimes, Nick Fury ended up being cut from those decks because the five power was not enough to contribute, and then the decks would fizzle when their signature cards stuck in the deck. Now a [4/6], Nick Fury probably still won’t be enough to make its decks dominate on points, but it might at least contribute a little more when Devil Dinosaur or Loki don’t show up.

You could easily slot Miles Morales into any of the Move decks in the Hercules section above (maybe not The Phoenix Force), so here are a few ideas for Nick Fury:

Closing Words

Obviously, this OTA will be heavily impacted by the Angela change. I think she will probably remain a card alongside Kitty Pryde, Thena, Hope Summers, and/or Elsa Bloodstone, but she won’t be able to win a lane almost on her own anymore. In a Move deck, for example, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Angela be replaced by a different 2-Cost. Angela is still is a [2/6] when three cards are played behind her, but we know this isn’t enough in the current Marvel Snap. The -1 power for every card after this breakpoint will often make Angela a [2/8] or [2/9] instead of a [2/10] or [2/12]. These numbers are still enough to run Angela, especially if other cards benefit from that same play style.

The card did, however, lose its synergy with Bast and Ravonna Renslayer, as well as part of its magic with Kitty Pryde.

We’ll probably still see a bit of Angela since she continues to make sense in certain shells, even if U.S. Agent or some other strong 2-Cost might make a push for her slot. The question I really want to know the answer to is whether we’ll see more of Hercules than Angela in the near future. Or Nick Fury. I would even take Kingpin!

I’m sure we’ll see plenty of those cards in the coming days. I just hope that one of them sticks in the long term!

Want to share the deck you’re excited to play with the OTA? Join us on the Marvel Snap Zone community Discord, or reach out through my Twitter page where I share decks and biased opinions about the game.

Good Game Everyone.