Thanksgiving is on its way, and what better way to ignore your family members after turkey dinner than with game after game of Marvel SNAP? This month sees us take to the world of Asgard and beyond with the new season: War of the Realms! This season brings along with it a pile of godly new cards that are sure to shake things up. The theme this time around centers around the mythological realms of Marvel Comics, naming itself after the 2019 comic-wide crossover event and featuring both Malekith, the main villain of the event, as well as another iconic Thor villain as new cards.
That’s not all, either! For the second month in a row, Second Dinner is adding another bonus Series 4 card to the monthly releases, and once again it can be obtained for free just by playing in the returning Deadpool’s Diner mode. More details on this and more in this edition of Snap Sense!
Season Pass Release: Surtur
The first new card to hit Marvel SNAP this month is Surtur, the titanic harbinger of Ragnarok himself! Surtur is a 3-Cost, 5-Power card with a text box that reads: “After you play a card with 10+ Power, this gains +3 Power.”
At 3/5, Surtur not only sits perfectly in line with most every other new 3-Cost released in the last few months as far as cost-to-power ratios, but also stands to reach power levels as high as 14 in decks that are looking to slam down big heavy hitters every turn.
As it stands, Surtur is already looking like a powerful new entry into Marvel SNAP. Unlike, say, Agent Venom last month, though, who wound up being a mainstay in a number of decks, it feels to me like Surtur is mostly going to be going in the Skaar-based decks that look to have multiple 10+ power cards out by turn 6 so Skaar is extremely cheap to play. Not only does Surtur naturally fit into a deck like that since he also cares about 10+ power cards, but after just two triggers on his ability, he will be 3/11 and therefore reducing Skaar himself.
Overall, I’m pretty up on Surtur right out of the gate. As always, the Season Pass is going to be the best value in resources per dollar anyway, and Surtur is going to make a deck that was already fairly prominent only more consistent and powerful. I don’t think he’ll be overwhelmingly strong, but I do think he’ll be a solid addition to any collection.
Spotlights Week 1: Frigga
Debuting alongside Surtur this week is Frigga, the mother of Thor and Queen of Asgard. Frigga is a 3-Cost, 3-Power card with an On Reveal ability that reads: “Add a copy of the last card you played to your hand. (if able)”
Frigga is something of a dark horse in this month’s seasonal newcomers. Her ability most closely matches that of the location Time Theater, which copies the last card you drew instead of drawing a new one. Time Theater, however, is not targeted, and also denies you a draw. Frigga has neither of those downsides, allowing you to use it when you want to get the best option available.
An immediate synergy that comes to mind is with the recently-released Anti-Venom. Anti-Venom’s ability produces a card from your deck that is now a 0/0, and playing Frigga after this free play grants you another of the same card. Now all that’s left is a single Luke Cage or a Shadow King in the 0/0s lane, and you have two full-power cards that were free to play that can unpredictably swing a game in the last turns.
There’s been some argument, but I think Frigga is likely going to be very good. Her spotlight cache is also a pretty solid one, offering the likes of Copycat, who is an extremely playable 3-Cost, and Red Guardian, whose popularity in the metagame has ballooned recently as a way to counter many of the scaling or Ongoing threats before they can take off.
Spotlights Week 2: Malekith
The next week of the season sees the Dark Elf Malekith crawling out of his lair to wreak havoc upon the world of Marvel SNAP! This long-time foe of Thor is a 4-Cost, 6-Power with an On Reveal ability that reads: “Add a 1, 2, or 3-Cost card from your deck here. It reveals at the end of the game.”
This is definitely one of the more unique card abilities to come to the game (and it may not even be the most interesting one this month!) The card has a lot going for it – a decent (not great) stat line, some deck thinning capability, and asymmetric information. Most of the time, you’re the one who’s deciding the pool of cards that Malekith will be picking from, so he even adds a sort of randomized consistency to your games.
My first thought, though, is how easily Malekith stumbles against the likes of Darkhawk. For every rock that Korg and Rockslide kick into a Malekith deck, that’s one more chance of him to just completely brick on his play and do nothing but add a useless rock to his location. It’s true that Darkhawk isn’t being played an excessive amount at this exact moment, but Darkhawk has been a competitive mainstay for as long as it’s been a card, and a resurgence of this deck list is typically a question of “when” and not “if.” The release of Malekith may just be that catalyst.
Overall I think this is an interesting card, and one that will probably be worth your resources if you find it fits your play style. Like a lot of good cards, it can only get better with time. Every new card release that costs 1, 2, or 3 is a chance for Malekith to suddenly become the best card in the game alongside it. It is also releasing alongside Thena, a card that is known for being a powerhouse, so if you’re missing her as well, you could be spending your keys in a lot worse ways.
Spotlights Week 3: Fenris Wolf
The next new card to join the Marvel SNAP pack is Fenris Wolf! This fierce beast of Asgard is a 2-Cost, 3-Power card sporting a new Activate ability that reads: “Resurrect the highest-Power discarded or destroyed enemy card to your side of this location.”
This might actually be my pick for the most interesting new ability of the season, if not the most interesting card altogether. Fenris allows for a couple avenues of attack, comboing with a number of interesting cards. Anything from Moon Knight to Shang-Chi could make fast friends with the Wolf God, just so long as it discards or destroys a card that could be useful to you. Shang-Chi is probably the most straightforward synergy: Destroy a 10+ power card on turn 4, and activate Fenris Wolf on 6 to gain that 10+ card on your side instead. Against the right decks, though, even something like the Silver Samurai could partner well with Fenris Wolf. Discarding the lowest-power card from their hand seems counter-intuitive, but if they aren’t discarding anything else in their own plans, and that lowest-power card discarded was something like an Iron Man…
As interesting as Fenris Wolf seems to be, it is still a bit hard to fully recommend on its own merits. Any card that relies on your opponent’s cards is always going to be at least a little bit of a crap shoot. The Fenris/Shang-Chi combo will be completely useless against a deck that’s running a lot of slightly above-rate cards and never drops a card to the board that’s higher than 8 power. Silver Samurai or Black Bolt will be hitting nothing but duds in any number of games. The most consistent best bet for discards, Moon Knight, could snipe a 2-Cost off of them that you’ve no interest in seeing on your side of the board. When it hits, its going to hit hard, but when it isn’t…
Luckily, Fenris Wolf is also launching within what I think might be the best Spotlight Cache of the season. Annihilus and Werewolf by Night are, at the moment, not incredibly powerful cards. However, not only have both cards been major contenders in the metagame in months prior, they are also irreplaceable aspects of the deck lists they belong to. Werewolf by Night unlocks a new alternative style of bounce deck that sees the Werewolf leaping from lane to lane as he grows in power, and Annihilus provides the player with a devious strategy that involves sending all negatively-powered cards on your side of the board to your opponent’s. There are no true replacements for either of these cards that even come close to emulating their abilities, so if you are lacking one or both of them, it may be time to pick them again in case the sands of the meta shift to find them back in the running.
Spotlights Week 4: Gorr, the God Butcher
The final week of the season promises to end on a high note by delivering Gorr, the God Butcher to serve up some of the Marvel SNAP pantheon into cold cuts! Gorr is a 6-Cost, -1-Power card with an Ongoing ability that reads: “+2 Power for EACH On Reveal card in play.”
There’s no two ways about it: Gorr is going to get really, really big. On Reveals are probably the most-played card type in the game. Even the Ongoing deck lists that run almost nothing but Ongoing cards still tend to bring along Spectrum for her On Reveal ability to buff the other Ongoing cards, and most decks will be playing significantly more On Reveals than one per game. In the most ideal (and unrealistic) of circumstances, a Gorr played into the last open space of a Marvel SNAP board with every single other space filled with On Reveals on both sides would mean that Gorr reveals at a whopping FORTY FIVE power. This is probably never going to happen, but the fact that it can means that Gorr probably has the highest power ceiling of any card that has ever been released into Marvel SNAP.
Now, factor in that Gorr’s awkward initial stat line makes him a perfect pick to go into Mister Negative decks, which will turn him from 6/-1 into a 0/6 to start. At that point, it won’t really matter how many On Reveals your opponent plays, as the cards in the Negative Deck alone will easily push him to 10+ power.
Unfortunately, Gorr also comes alongside what is probably the most undesirable Spotlight Cache of the season. Havok is another very interesting Marvel SNAP card, but it has never seen major competitive play since it released. Legion is an amazing card, and remains a solid addition to your collection, but both it and Havok are Series 4 cards, and thus only cost 3000 Collector’s Tokens to purchase outright. When deciding where to spend your precious Spotlight Keys, I find that its usually more valuable to prioritize Series 5 pulls, while saving the Series 4 cards for purchase from the shop with tokens. This way you can maximize the value of all your resources.
Deadpool’s Diner Returns
Starting on November 21st, the (sort of) fan favorite mode Deadpool’s Diner will be returning, offering an assortment of “holiday foods around the world” as the levels for each play table! This mode is a high-stakes version of Marvel SNAP that continuously doubles the rewards in the last half of the game, making players vie for hundreds, thousands, even millions of “bubs” instead of the usual 8-cube maximum bet. The reward this time around is King Eitri, the king of the Dwarves and a new bonus Series 4 card!
Eitri is a 1-cost, 2-Power card with an Activate ability that reads: “Draw a card that didn’t start in your deck.” He looks like he will be a decent addition in Thanos decks or, more thematically, the Asgardian Combo lists that like to run Thor, Beta Ray Bill, and Jane Foster Thor. Eitri will be a decent backup method of snagging a hammer in those games where you don’t draw Jane!
Hopefully, King Eitri will not be too difficult to obtain in Deadpool’s Diner. Many players struggled with the stakes of this mode last time around, and while it was ultimately a highly played and seemingly popular mode, there was definitely an undercurrent of resentment found in the discourse surrounding it. I wasn’t particularly fond of the mode, myself, but I’ll be looking forward to seeing if they have made any adjustments that make it a bit more player-friendly. High Voltage was incredibly player friendly, so with any luck Second Dinner has learned some lessons from last month’s diversion from the norm.
Final Thoughts and Observations
The overall metagame of Marvel SNAP is in a strange but not entirely unwelcome place at the moment. Agent Venom decks still reign, but the breadth of decks that are competitively viable is about as broad as its ever been. Surtur looks like it’ll be juicing the “Play Tens” archetype pretty succinctly, but it’s hard to see immediately just where a card like Frigga will be fitting in right out of the gate.
Overall, the new cards this week provide a wide variety of bonuses and benefits that seem like they will help this metagame to maintain the broadly-playable state it currently finds itself in. I think, much like last season, everyone’s going to be able to find at least one new favorite card this month. There’s such an eclectic mix of options on offer that anyone who enjoys this game is sure to find something that resonates with their interests.
As always, though, remember that you’re here to have fun. If that means winning games, then listen to as much hardcore metagame commentary as you need. Otherwise, just pick up the cards that seem neat to you, and if none of them do, save your resources! We’re here to enjoy ourselves, not struggle and stress.
Which cards do you think will shine? Are you excited for Deadpool’s Diner? Come back next week for the season’s first edition of The Snap Back and see how we think Frigga and Surtur are going to land!
