Hello, and welcome back to Burning Questions, where we try to nail down the hottest topics in Marvel Snap. This week, we're talking about (what else?) Arishem. But we've also got questions about cheeky turn 6 plays, underrated artists, and new locations.
1) Is Arishem too strong?
Arishem has a high play rate, but is it due to the interesting way he changes the game, or does he deserve a nerf?
Arishem has sky-high usage rates in the last seven days but less impressive win rates. These are, of course, depressed by including so many mirror matches. The above table shows the cards that were played the most in the game from the last seven days in post-infinite only. Arishem's warping effect on the meta is on full display here.
Cards like Silver Surfer and Gwenpool have much more impressive win rates this season than Arishem. Arishem is very good but beatable by decks like Silver Surfer, traditional Loki, Clog, and more. Anecdotally, Arishem has felt quite strong to me, and I see why so many people are playing him.
Even if the stats don't show Arishem as needing a nerf based on win rate, he, or related cards, may need a change based on his play rate and how he causes a lack of diversity in the meta. I prefer a wait-and-see approach to Arishem's impact—his play rate may continue to fall—but I do expect at least some cards like Mockingbird to be changed in next week's OTA balance patch.
2) What are some underrated turn 6 plays?
Having a surprising turn 6 play is very important. Here are a few cheeky plays you can pull off.
- Iron First, Dagger, and Ghost Spider
Dagger has gained a bit of popularity lately in clog decks. They aim to play Doctor Octopus on turn 5 to maximize value for Dagger. It's pretty clever. An Iron Fist, Dagger, Ghost Spider turn 6 has long been a killer final play for move decks or hybrid decks.
- Kitty Pryde plus a 6-Cost card
Generally, Kitty Pryde is used in decks that don't rely on a 6-Cost card to finish the game. But between Hope Summers and Arishem, there are plenty of chances to play her out repeatedly throughout the game and still throw down a 6-Cost card. Good partners for her on the final turn include Doctor Doom, Magneto, and Alioth.
- Juggernaut plus Cosmo
These are both great cards to play in decks that fight hard for priority, and either one can win a game on the last turn. Together you can occasionally find yourself in a position to win deterministically by knocking a Silver Surfer, Annihilus, or other important On Reveal card into an unexpected Cosmo in another lane.
These are just a few of my favorite turn 6 plays. Share yours below in the comments!
3) Who are some of your favorite underrated Marvel Snap artists?
Previously, I've highlighted favorite artists like Nicoletta Baldari, Jen Bartel, Rose Besch, and Phil Noto. Today, I want to highlight Stephanie Hans, another artist with awesome existing and exciting upcoming art in the game.
Both Hans’ Angela and Gamora have long been my go-to variants for that character. Her upcoming bundle variants, Destroyer and Valkyrie, look like must-haves as well and are both coming this summer. We don't have a date for her Venomized Gamora variant yet, but it's sure to delight Venomized variant fans.
Now let's dive into the official Marvel Snap discord and find some interesting topics!
4) Q: First of all, thank you for the gorgeous deadpoolified loading screen! Who did the work on that? Second: can we expect more variance in the future, maybe more changes than Deadpool faces?
A: There was underlying work to allow us to update the screen (and to be able to do so remotely!). While I don't know exactly what the plans are for it, I would certainly hope it's a feature we intend on reusing!
-Addison
Author's note:
Wow, this is great news. It's pretty minor, but a new loading screen will be an excellent way to freshen up the feel of the game. I'd love to see a load screen that features some of the newer characters we've come to love through Snap or a load screen with a completely different style for a change of pace. We know Snap has relationships with artists like Dan Hipp and Rian Gonzalez. It would be amazing to get a load screen from a commissioned artist.
5) Q: Any chance we can get 3 or 4 new locations a season? Maybe as a theme for a season even. Or is that just not feasible alongside designing the new cards as well?
A: It’s more likely we do one or none than three or more. We have a lot of locations already, we don’t really need to make many more. We mostly do because it’s fun and gives some interesting levers to pull in the metagame and other game modes long-term. They’re not especially burdensome, but I’d rather the VFX team work on older cards, for example, than bonus locations.
-Glenn
Author's note:
I, for one, certainly wouldn't be heartbroken if the team focused more on VFX work and had a season with a single new location. New locations are cool, but we have so many locations that I don't think we need two new ones each season. Many content creators would also appreciate the extra break from featured location days. One thing I thought was great recently was the addition of Cancun to the rarest pool of locations. I love the idea of incredibly rare locations like Ego and Worldship. Additional locations added to this rarity level makes them all even rarer and feel more special when you do hit them.
That's it for this week! Be sure to hit me up on Twitter if you've got a Burning Question, or hop into the comments below to join in on the conversation!