We finally got a comic accurate Galactus on screen in the Fantastic Four: First Steps movie. Now, we're getting another Galactus in Snap, one that doesn't care if you “kneel,” but is instead drawn to feed by a Herald.
How does it actually work?
If you think the first person wording on this card is unusual, you're not alone. Apparently, this was an especially tricky ability to word within the brevity constraints Second Dinner has.
Basically, Galactus works like this:
- When Galactus is either in hand or in play, the next card you play is designated as his Herald. Then, whenever you are winning the location where the designated Herald is, Galactus will grow by 2 Power at the end of the turn. So first, you need to draw Galactus or otherwise get him into play before he can select a Herald; he won't ordain one from within your deck or from the discard or destroy piles.
- Both the Herald and the location will get a sparkly cosmic effect. Your opponent knows when you have a Herald and will see that Galactus is growing in your hand, but they'll have to keep track of exactly how big he is by keeping track of how many times you were winning the Herald's location. This creates a fun little mini game where you and your opponent can fight to determine how big of a threat Galactus will become.
- Once a card is your Herald, it stays your Herald. You can bounce it back to your hand and it's still your Herald. Merging maintains Herald status, but something like Arnim Zola won’t. Copies aren't the same card, so they're not your Herald.
Card Strengths and Drawbacks
Galactus is a single-card big finisher. This makes him similar to something like Red Hulk or Evolved Hulk. It means you'll need to do enough in the early turns to be able to win one location, so your 6-Cost card can come in and win another lane largely on his own. This also means you'll be susceptible to Juggernaut as well as Shang Chi and Shadow King whenever you have priority.
Does Galactus get big enough? If you win the Herald's lane 6 times, Galactus will be a gigantic 6/24. That seems unlikely; however, 6/20 will be more common. That's pretty big! Evolved Hulk tends to end up between 18-22 power and Red Hulk is most often 16-19.
Best Heralds
Galactus will only gain power if you're winning the Herald's location, so you want a Herald that can help you do that. There are a few types of cards that will make good Heralds: those that have high cost/power ratios, those that can quickly scale up, and those that can move. Because we want the most possible power increases, low-cost cards are going to make the best heralds. 1-Cost can be a bit tricky to pull off since they're especially vulnerable, but we've got plenty of good candidates at 2 and 3. 4-Cost cards don't get us the same number of power increases, but they do secure leads quite well.
1-Cost Heralds
Kitty Pryde is an especially interesting choice here. She returns to hand at the beginning of each turn, so she'll still be on board when Galactus checks. She can be moved around to different locations, so you can try to outsmart your opponent and put her where they don't expect it. Newly buffed Black Cat can also get big leads early and the bouncing around that Hydra Bob and Batroc will do could be great once you get the hang of it.
2-Cost Heralds
Iron Patriot is a card that already wants to have a lead the turn after you play it, so it allows you to work towards two payoffs at once. Cards that can move are premium here and something like Silk as your Herald sounds chaotically fun. Xorn hasn't seen much play, but he can make it hard for your opponent to take a lead back on turns 3 or 4.
3-Cost Heralds
As long as he doesn't hit something big, Gladiator will make a great Herald. Cassandra Nova is a high-stat card that we always want to play out as soon as possible. Thor as Galactus' Herald is probably a dream, but it's a fun one from a lore perspective.
4-Cost Heralds
Again, you're going to want cheaper Heralds usually, but high Power 4-Cost cards will do in a pinch of you draw Galactus late.
Herald's Assistants
Galactus creates a bit of a mini game where you need to fight hard for one location. We've seen that before in Sanctum Showdown! Some of the same cards that were effective there (or better yet, banned) can help us here! Here is a list of cards that have synergy with Galactus but aren't necessarily ideal Heralds.
First Steps Invisible Woman is already the card that is tearing up the ladder. Any card that has synergy with this card right now is benefitting. Plus, at 3/5 she contributes enough power to keep the buffs rolling. With Galactus you would rely more on an earlier activation involving First Steps Mister Fantastic in addition to a Galactus buff, as opposed to the final turn activation that the current decks with cards like Sunspot and Havok favor. The real question is if anything with Galactus First Steps will be better, or even compete with, the existing Invisible Woman decks.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Galactus is kind of like Sanctum Showdown, the card, so it's possible the Guardians of the Galaxy will finally be able to shine outside of an LTM.
The Guardians were good in Sanctum Showdown,.but the real stars were cards that eventually needed to be banned like Juggernaut, Negasonic, and Rocket & Groot. These cards are great at holding leads while punishing your opponent for even daring to contest them. Any card that allows you to pack in extra power to a location than would normally be possible, like Elsa or Klaw, is a potential Herald helper.
Being able to rearrange your cards is another sneaky way to ensure you get as many Galactus buffs as possible.
Scosco's Day One Galactus: First Steps Decks
Kitty Pryde, Herald of Galactus
D-d-double Trouble
I really like the first Kitty deck, but if you're looking for something real spicy, the Second double Galactus list is similar to something I've had a lot of success with the past couple of seasons.
Full Car Galactus
Norman Osborn, Herald of Galactus
Neena Thurman, Herald of Galactus
Jack Russell, Herald of Galactus
Karl Lykos, Herald of Galactus
Cindy Moon, Herald of Galactus
Variants
It's a little hard to make variants for the movie version of an existing card, but these variants seem to lean on a more mauve-ish purple and different chest plate to distinguish the new Galactus. We're going to have to rely on the different nameplate to help us out.
Final Thoughts
Galactus: First Steps is a very flavorful card that plays out as a fun mini game. Long term, I'm not sure it will be a top tier competitive card. However, I do expect some efficient Galactus builds will emerge that will put opposing decks into a difficult situation. They have to beat a giant card on the final turn while contending with other locations where you've been stacking power all game.
The season pass is always the best monetary value in the game, but we've been spoiled by the recent series of flexible cards that can fit into a variety of decks. Season Pass cards that engender their own archetype are a riskier proposition, and they tend to either become top tier decks or are quickly forgotten. Galactus has too much built in power to entirely flop, but I would also be surprised if he maintains a high play rate beyond his first month or two in the game.