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Welcome back to our new weekly series Cache-ing In! Each week, we break down what cards will be available in the new Spotlight Caches, as well as the Spotlight Variants! The goal is to help you determine if you should “Cache in” for the content, or hoard for a better week.
Spotlight Cache Week of December 31, 2024
This week, we get the newest Series 5 card Rocket and Groot! Joining them will be the return of the Series 4 card Selene and Series 5 card Blob!
Rocket and Groot
Decks with Rocket and Groot
It’s the end of this holiday Marvel Rivals season, and with it we have our final card of the year: Rocket and Groot! Rocket and Groot are a 3-Cost, 3-Power card with the ability “You can move this once. After your opponent plays a card here, steal 1 Power from it.” This is the first card with two characters in one, so the developers are trying something new with this duo. Be sure to share your opinions on this style of card so the team knows if they should explore other duos in the future!
This card has one of the best raw value state lines you can get for a 3-Cost. Since you drain power, each time your opponent plays a card onto their location they gain +2 Power. They can reach up to a [3/7] stat line with an additional four Power taken from your opponent’s cards, and that isn’t even getting into the potential that moving the card brings. You obviously want to pair this card with Nebula to force your opponent into a lose-lose scenario. They also works to steer your opponents into unfavorable locations. Their movement will help you be unpredictable, which allows you to dodge Shang-Chi and Shadow King if you need to.
Possible Meta Deck
CanadianAlfredo
Doctor Doom 2099 has already proven to be a good card with a good deck. I think Rocket and Groot with Nebula will make a solid addition to the deck. This duo can draw Power to a specific location, and you can even reposition some of the power wherever it’s needed to prevent Doom’s Bots from clogging you. They also pair well with Storm to force your opponent into a tough choice. This deck isn’t anything new, but Rocket and Groot make a card that can slot into existing decks very easily.
Low Collection Level Decks
CanadianAlfredo
This is a more unique list that goes for raw power. You have cards that give higher Power values than other cards in their cost range. Since Rocket and Groot can move, you have Angela to get value on play and Kraven to get value after moving. Other move cards help give the same effect. Since opponents are likely to play into locations away from the duo, you have the other Guardians of the Galaxy to capitalize on predicting their locations.
Fun Rocket and Groot Deck
CanadianAlfredo
Of course, you have to have the Guardians come together as a team when Rocket and Groot come together! This is a fun themed deck that should be a constant irritation for your opponent. You have bait cards like Nebula, Lizard, and Storm to entice opponents to play into a location. The Guardians all benefit from matching the opponent’s location, so these bait cards will help give you value. You also have Negasonic Teenage Warhead that you can place on Lizard‘s location to protect his value, and Rogue to combat any Luke Cages you may find.
Rocket and Groot Prediction
Rocket and Groot looks like a solid value card that could be categorized in the “Good Cards” style of deck. It has good stats, basically no drawback, one free move, and it doesn’t need other cards to function. It has all of the signals of a well rounded card that will find itself in numerous decks over time.
I am fairly excited for this card. It won’t always get insane value, but, similar to Nebula, it will cause your opponents to play cards in a sub-optimal way. Players are always looking for the best value plays. Playing onto this card isn’t good value, so players will change their gameplan specifically to avoid it. For these reasons, I am very much anticipating the release of Rocket and Groot!
Selene
Decks with Selene
Joining Rocket and Groot this week is the return of Selene! On release, this was a solid clog tool. But, quickly after launch, it was nerfed from a 1/-1 to a 1/2, and this change basically killed the card. A few decks have tried to make the card work, though.
den
This Galactus deck uses Selene to power up your Goblins, as well as reduce your opponent’s ability to contest a single location. Since you really only need Galactus to have high Power, Selene hitting your other cards isn’t a detriment to you. If you can’t find a Galactus line, you can use the Goblins to clog one location and use Cannonball to secure the other.
Unfortunately, Selene isn’t a good card. So few decks actually want to lower the Power of their own cards, and even fewer are strong enough to compete in the meta. Selene needs to either return to a -1 Power card or target only your opponent. Her current usage is so niche, it basically telegraphs your gameplan. Until we see some changes to her, this card is an easy skip.
Blob
Decks with Blob
For our final card of the season, we have the return of Blob! This card has seen a roller coaster of meta relevance since release. It has gone from good, to bad, to completely busted, to just decent. Now with Arishem nerfed and Shadow King running rampant, Blob just doesn’t see as much play as he used to. The card is still good in Arishem, but he struggles elsewhere.
Kingvenom
Despite Arishem‘s nerf, the deck is still viable; therefore, Blob is still viable. The reason to use Blob is for his large Power body that you can stick without milling yourself or low rolling your draws. With so many Shadow Kings in the meta, it’s best to play Blob on the final turn for safety.
There isn’t much to say about Blob. He only works consistently in decks that have more cards in their deck at the end of a game to ensure he is always effective. If you enjoy Arishem or some unique Thanos builds, Blob is a good pickup. If not, this card isn’t mandatory to stay meta relevant right now.
Spotlight Variants
If you already own the cards the Spotlight Caches offer, one of the variants below will take its place! If you own none of the cards, the variants will appear after you open all four caches. Spotlight Variants are time exclusive to their release week and will only become available again after one full year has passed.
After one year, these Spotlight Variants will be available for purchase from the Daily Offer section of the shop. They will cost 2,400 Gold per variant. So, if any of these Spotlight Variants feel like a must have for you, make sure to Cache In if you have enough caches saved to guarantee the pull!
For this month’s featured artist, we have the studio NetEase Games showcasing their Marvel Rivals variant of Rocket and Groot!
The final known variant from artist Don Aguillo releases this week for Selene!
This “Horsemen of Salvation” variant comes from frequent Snap artist Eduardo Mello!
Should I Cache In?
This week continues the Series 5-5-4 pattern that has been prevalent for a few weeks. Selene is the bad apple of the bunch, serving no real purpose in any deck. Blob is a solid card, but it lacks meta diversity. Rocket and Groot looks like a solid card that can easily slot into numerous decks.
My recommendation this week is a 50/50 to me, but I’m leaning towards Cache In. The card’s value isn’t incredible, but Blob‘s relevance will often rise and fall without notice. Selene really drags this week down, but the flexibility of Rocket and Groot pushes the value up just enough for me to consider it worth. If you are low on keys, next week looks like a better value across the board. If you are also split on this week, that may help give you a deciding factor.
Wrap Up
Do you think
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