The Most Problematic Cards in Marvel Snap (Opinion and Discussion)

For a long time, the top tier decks have consisted of the same decks ruling the top spots. DeathWave, Negative, and Sera Miracle. Of these decks, the cards that make these decks be so strong are Sera, Mister Negative, and Leader. I believe these cards may be problematic for the game and require a rework. Why, you may ask? First, let’s break each card down.

Mister Negative

Variants

Mister Negative

On Reveal: Swap the Power and Cost of all cards in your deck.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Mister Negative

Why is it a problem?

Currently seeing play in the top tier Negative Surfer deck and others, this card is one of the most problematic, as shown by Second Dinner’s struggle to balance him. After seeing multiple nerfs, and even being quoted as “busted” by Ben Brode when he was tested as having less cost, this card creates a massive problem for the game. Mister Negative isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but his existence creates issues for the longevity of the game.

Negative Surfer

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

20

MetaPool 5

2x Collection Level 1-14

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

8x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Starter Card

3.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

1.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Cards are balanced by making the Cost and Power of a card match the effect it gives. Cards that have desirable effects (like Wong or Iron Man) get a low power and higher cost the stronger the effect is. Cards that have undesirable effects (like discard cards or Ebony Maw) have higher power and lower cost to encourage the risk. Mister Negative breaks this balancing tool by making downsides become upsides.

Anytime a new card is released or and old card needs a nerf, power now becomes a tricky tool to use for balancing. If a card is too strong and needs a nerf, lowering its power to nerf it may make it even stronger to Negative. A perfect example would be the nerfs to Angela and Bishop, who both saw their power eventually reduced to zero. Negative players were happy for the change, as it just made their inclusion in the deck more beneficial.

Another example is the new Season Pass card Silver Surfer. While his effect is strong, his power is at a zero to make him balanced. This downside is simply an upside for Mister Negative, as now the card has a strong effect and is a free 3 power. The strength of this effect can be seen by the fact that Negative Surfer is number 1 on the tier list currently.

What can we change?

Mister Negative creates a unfortunate situation, as he is binary. His power is mostly meaningless because his effect is so strong. If you change the card effect, the card likely dies unless it is completely reworked. Basically, Mister Negative is either really good or unplayable.

The best solution that I can think of is a major rework. “On Reveal: The next card you play has its power and cost flipped”. This keeps the spirit of the card “inverting” a card it touches and allows for a targeted setup (such as Iron Man) without making the entire deck inverted. This also allows the Negative effect to be more versatile, allowing inclusion in other decks that may want to cheat out a turn 6 card early, make a specific card have better stats, or make a specific combo possible.

Sera

Variants

Sera

Ongoing: Cards in your hand cost 1 less. (minimum 1)

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Sera

Why is it a problem?

Even after Mister Negative’s nerf to -1 power, Sera still remained at the top of tier lists with her Sera “Miracle” decks. Today, she sits at the top with Sera Surfer in top tier, and Sera Miracle in tier two. Even after her recent nerf to 4 power, she still remains problematic for the game.

Seracle Surfer

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

23

Pool 3Meta

1x Collection Level 1-14

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.7

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Seracle Control

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

7

Pool 3ControlMeta

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Starter Card

2.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.3

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

As evidenced by her near undefeated inclusion in the top tier, this card is very strong. The ability to discount cards makes her similar to Mister Negative in that she breaks the balance of the game. Cards like Wolfsbane or Maximus, who are statted at 3 power, can be played for only two power, making room for more cards to be played. Combos like Iron Man plus Mystique become possible without playing them turns apart or even relying on negative.

Sera also creates massive power swings that happen on the final turn of the game. The final turn is so significant because it’s the most predictable board state of what the end of the game will look like. For example:

If I am playing Patriot, Sera holds the power dump until the last turn and can devote resources to key lanes that Patriot is weaker in, such as the lane with patriot or a less developed lane. Sera also can ignore the lane that Patriot has developed heavily.

Players can always make decisions on which lane they want to devote to or give up, but the key difference between normal decks and Sera decks are the turn. Most decks you have to dedicate to a lane plan by turn 4. Sera can hold back key power pieces until the final turn, and then place them exactly where she needs to secure the win. Mr. Negative shares this feature, which shows why Sera and Negative frequently stay at the top of tier lists.

What can we change?

The reason power dumps are problematic, is that it is against the developers game intents. Developers mentioned that they do not want Marvel Snap to be a game where all players win games by dumping their hand on the final turns. Sera and Mister Negative both create this problem exactly. They want decks that play on curve to have equal chance of winning as a deck that does want to have explosive final turns. Unfortunately though, Sera proves at top tier that dumping cards at the end is stronger than playing throughout.

To fix this card, I could suggest making her power zero so you basically skip turn 5, but this is simply a buff for Mister Negative (remember that balancing issue I mentioned?). Another fix for the card could be a rework of the text “Ongoing: Each turn, the first card you play costs 2 less.” This allows the card to still provide unique combos, but require better pacing throughout a match.

Leader

Variants

Leader

On Reveal: Copy the enemy card(s) with the highest Power played this turn, but on your side.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Leader

Why is it a problem?

I have felt this card has been broken since early beta, but it is currently getting a lot of attention from the community. Leader sees play in a wide range of decks including top tier She-Hulk Baero. The idea of the card is fine: To punish decks that play big ending turns and not throughout the match. The issue is that the way the card functions is equal to that saying of “having your cake and eating it too”.

Baero

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

20

DestroyMetaPool 4

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

6x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Devil Dinosaur Good Cards Pile

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

27

Pool 3Meta

6x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Starter Card

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Electro Ramp

Created by den

, updated 1 year ago

5

Pool 3Meta

1x Collection Level 1-14

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3.8

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

At 4 power, Leader has the ability to tip the scales of a location to your favor with no ability. With his ability, you copy anything your opponent does AND add extra points. The issue is compounded by the fact that revealing second means you get a buffed version of the card. Let’s break it down.

If locations are as follows: My board at 10 on left, 10 middle, and 7 on right and my opponent is 4, 11, and 4. I am in a winning position. Realistically, I should likely reinforce my right lane and left lane, abandon middle. If my opponent plays Leader on the right, they move from 4 power to 8 (gaining advantage) and copying anything that I play. This means that Leader wins no matter what location I play at.

Many people defend Leader by saying he “sucks against synergy decks”, and in cases like Patriot that may be true, but not all players play super synergistic decks that only benefit themselves. As long as you read your opponents deck and know when it isn’t appropriate to play Leader (like against Patriot), there is no downside to the card. Forcing players to not play decks they enjoy because Leader can just copy their setup is problematic.

Deadpool decks are a great example. You may spend an entire game building up a Deadpool with great card draws. Your final turn is Deadpool plus Death. Your opponent plays Leader and copies your big pay off, and also adds 4 power to their side for advantage. Let’s not even get into The Infinaut decks that literally telegraph to Leader that he should be played.

Leader also can copy upgraded cards and retrigger them. If I play Black Panther and double from 4 to 8 power and reveal first, Leader copies the 8 power Black Panther and doubles it to 16. This is the “Have your cake and eat it too” moment. Not only do you get my card and add 4 power, you also can benefit from going Second (which means you were losing more locations). Why does this card get to have all of the benefits and none of the trade-offs?

Leader‘s strength can be seen in decks like DeathWave and Baero, and lately the counter decks of Devil Dinosaur Good Cards or Leech-er. His entire design removes the games best feature of trying to out think your opponent. No matter what you do, Leader will just copy it and add extra power to it. He is counterable, but so is every card in the game. Just because a card has counters doesn’t mean it isn’t over powered.

What can we change?

Unlike Sera and Mister Negative, Leader doesn’t effect the ability to balance cards. He does, however, severely limit what is good in the meta. Combined with effects like Leech, he becomes unstoppable in many situations. Many deck types become unplayable, because Leader is so easy to put into any deck so you see him all the time. He requires no synergy and can turn guessing games into guaranteed wins. Decks like Baero don’t even need Leader to function, but why not include him? He only adds to the deck’s success rate.

This card does have options for how to fix it. You could lower his power to zero or a negative number, but then Mister Negative decks get stronger (noticing a trend?). I believe the card should only copy cards in the lane that they were played in, and copy the card in the state it was played in, not the final result. This keeps the spirit of the card alive as a way to protect a lane, but with the downside of you have to know which lane to protect. You can’t simply cover all lanes.

Summary

All in all, Marvel Snap is a great game that rightfully won Mobile Game of the Year. These 3 cards, however, are time proven to be not only extremely powerful, but very problematic for the longevity of the game. I believe if these cards get changed, the meta will flourish and be more diverse than ever.

Do you agree or disagree with these ideas? Make sure to comment to let us know your thoughts! As always, make sure to check back here at Marvel Snap Zone to stay up to date on all of the newest news, tier lists, and more!