AHHHHHH! Wait, the new card is called Scream not that we need to scream about it. Or maybe we do?
Who is Scream?
Scream is a Venom symbiote hatchling that the Life Foundation extracted. Interestingly, the only name initially given to this character was Donna, after the host the symbiote occupied. It wasn’t until the video game Spider-Man & Venom: Separation Anxiety from 1995 that she was labeled Scream in one of the boss battles.
What does Scream do?
Scream is a 2-power, 2-cost card stating, “When an enemy card moves, steal 2 Power from it. (once per turn)” This is nothing flashy or new to the game of Snap but instead joins a host of conditional scaling cards at the 2-cost slot. Her text is pretty straightforward, and there isn’t a lot of complexity for her at face value. However, she does have a couple of interesting wrinkles.
Power Output
The first wrinkle is understanding her potential power output. With cards like Thena, Angela, and Kraven, there isn’t exactly a cap to how much power they can have. If you keep putting cards in the Angela location, she will keep getting power. If you keep moving cards to Kraven, he will continue to gain power. Thena is probably the closest to a scaler with a cap since she, at max, gains 3 each turn. So, what is Scream's potential power output? Because of her conditional “once per turn” text, she can only gain 2 power each turn. If she comes down on turn 2 at max, she can have 14 power by turn 6 if you have priority, and the opponent moves a card or 12 power if you do not have priority. However, she also includes the word “steal,” meaning that just like Silver Sable, she lowers the power of an opponent's card. That means she virtually gains 4 power each turn. So, if we completely maximize her output, she could be a 22-power card. That is a lot of power. However, it takes a lot of work to get there, but even if you have maybe 2 moves for the rest of the game, she is a 6-power card that is sort of like a 10-power card for 2 energy. That is still really good.
Enablers
So she has a high power output, but how do we get her there? For this article, let us focus on what we can control. Your opponent can move their cards, but when deck building or thinking about a specific card, it is better to first think about the aspects you can control and not try to bank on your opponent doing something. So, what cards can we use to help Scream grow in power?
Seven options allow us to move one of our opponent's cards. Of these current seven options none of them are the biggest meta contenders but they all have their uses and I think are a little underused most of the time. Juggernaut and Magneto are good finishing cards that can help add a buff and win a lane by themselves on the last turn. Aero, Polaris, and Stegron are more clog or control cards, making sure that the opponent's power is where you want it to be and not where they want it to be. Spider-Man also fits in that category, but he is more about moving power out of a lane than moving power to a specific lane. All of these will get the job done.
Location Enablers
Several Locations also help grow Scream.
Kingpin
Before we get to some possible decklists, let's discuss the card closest to Scream in the game. Kingpin is almost like Scream, except that he is location-specific and only removes the power. He doesn’t steal it. They are very similar but with some slight differences. This might be a clear example of power creep in the game because obviously at face value Scream seems more powerful even though she is a 2-cost, However, this is not necessarily the case because they fit slightly different roles in the game. Kingpin is seen as a move counter card, while Scream happens to benefit from the moving cards and is not exactly a counter. Kingpin can trigger multiple times, meaning his location is always the danger zone for any move card. Scream only triggers once per turn, limiting the damage she can inflict on the opponent's move cards.
Not A Counter?
With the move meta from last season and move decks running around at about 6-7% of the meta game, I think many people expect Scream to slow move down a bit, and I think she will slightly. However, when you gain 12 or 6 power from each move and do this multiple times a turn -2 power once a turn is not a lot. In the development video, it looks like Scream applies her -2 before the opponent's card is technically finished moving (flash of white). That means her -2 will apply before a move card's trigger ability applies. That is devastating to the first move of a Human torch because instead of going to 4, he will stay at 0 forever unless he receives another buff somewhere. That could be devastating. So, does she counter-move? Not exactly. She helps a little bit and gives the opponent something to think about, but -2 once per turn is not enough when move cards scale at a higher rate. However, she will be good against cards like Jeff, Nocturne, and Vision.
JFSnap's First Week Decklists
Scream in Delight
This is a good cards deck with a few move enablers to grow Scream. I think running Scream with several enablers is probably the best. Naturally, there are a lot of moves in the format, regardless of the specific move deck, so she is sure to get some value throughout the game. With this deck, moving is not your primary plan, but you can use the move cards to gain more value and control some of where your opponent's power is located.
Screamy Smooth
While this is not precisely a silky smooth list, it echoes some of the same ideas as the previous list. Use a couple of move control cards to grow Scream or Kraven while giving yourself value with cards like Hydra Bob, Miles, and Silk. We have two big finishers in this deck, Alioth and Magneto, which could be slightly overkill. It might be best just to run one of them and add another scaler, but several decks in the format die to an Alioth, and this deck isn't running any other tech cards.
Scream In Frustration
Because Scream can “steal,” she naturally fits in with a clog affliction strategy. This deck tries to capitalize on this by using the control move cards to clog lanes and maximize the affliction by running the Ajax package with Hazmat. The format is already well positioned for clog, so being able to both clog and gain power simultaneously seems like a natural fit for Scream.
Scream in Pain
This is more of the same idea with some slight differences and more about being strategic with your card placement rather than trying to clog one lane and win another with an Ajax. However, with the four enablers in the deck and the other clog cards, I think you'll be able to get Scream up to a respectable power level and disrupt your opponent enough.
These are just four ideas; she will find a spot in other deck ideas. The best idea is to run her with two or three move enablers in a deck and not try to go for the maximum amount of power. A 2-cost 6-power card is still really good, and especially when you add her “steal” effect, even 2 moves can be a big enough swing against your opponent.
Spotlight and Tokens
Is Scream worth 6000 tokens? Probably not. I don’t think she is as powerful of a counter-to-move as people think she will be. However, I would love to be mistaken about that. Also, she isn’t an archetype-defining card but just another conditional scaling 2-cost card with slightly different deck-building requirements than the others. That means she can be a skip if you don’t find her type of decks compelling or fun. She is in the spotlight along with Man-Thing and Mobius M. Mobius. Both are series 4 cards and are niche in today's meta game. However, if you are missing these cards, especially Mobius M. Mobius, pulling them might be a good idea. He always has some value in the metagame. Man-Thing is currently used in High Evolutionary Affliction and Wiccan Afflication and is well positioned in the metagame. So, if you are missing either of those cards and like those types of decks, it is a good idea to use keys this week. What do you think of Scream? Are you going to use keys or tokens? Let me know in the comments!