Our very own Highly Engineered Robot Built for Interdimensional Exploration has landed in Marvel Snap!
Herbie is the mechanical robot helper and family member of Marvel’s first family, The Fantastic Four. MCU fans will recognize a version of him from Fantastic Four First Steps, coming out later this month.
By utilizing advanced technology, Herbie is able to swiftly and effectively have the right tool to solve an issue. An ability we see replicated in Marvel Snap.
In Marvel Snap
Herbie is a “multi purpose tool” type of a card. With the ability to change between four different abilities, you can be sure to pick out a good one for whatever situation you find yourself in.
Every turn you have Herbie at a location, he will cycle through one of his Activate abilities until you use it. This means that you will be able to see what he does before you have to commit to using it.
His first ability is probably his most exciting. “Activate: Next turn, you get +2 Energy.” If you know anything about Snap, it’s that extra Energy is a great tool to have access to. Whether you are ramping out one big thing or cheating out many small things, the extra energy will always be of use.
The rest of his abilities all work on increasing your Power on board. “Activate: Give 2 of your cards at each other location +1 Power” and “Activate: Double this card’s Power” are effectively making Herbie a 2/6 in terms of contributing Power, while “Activate: Create a Rock here. Set its Power to 4” is an effective 2/7.
Compare and Contrast
Let’s take a minute and look at the other card in Marvel Snap that Herbie most resembles.
Nico Minoru has 7 different abilities that she cycles through, as opposed to Herbie’s 4. Both cards are leveraging a wide variety of abilities instead of having a specific one they always do.
Our first difference between them comes from how they cycle through their abilities. While Herbie needs to be on board to begin his ability cycle, Nico happens as soon as you draw her. Since she cycles in hand it means you can hold her until the right moment and keep that information hidden from your opponent.
The next key difference is in their reliability. With Nico, due to the number of abilities she has, you can’t know what’s coming up next other than what you have already seen. Herbie on the other hand, because he only has 4 abilities, is able to give you a more accurate picture. If you manage to play Herbie on turn 2 you will get to see all 4 of his abilities. In fact by turn 5 you will know what will be coming up on turn 6 since there’s only one remaining option. This will allow better planning with his abilities than what you could do with Nico.
Synergies
With all of Herbie’s different abilities there are going to be a lot of hooks for synergies. Let’s look at a couple of my favourites.
Ironheart is a great on curve way to quickly buff Herbie. If you are aiming to take advantage of Herbie’s double Power ability, Ironheart turns your 2/6 into a 2/12! While Ironheart may sound like an unconventional choice, the other meta choices for gaining power cost 4 Gwenpool, Galacta and even Kahhori. This means you might miss your chance to double if you wait too long to buff Herbie.
Alright hear me out before you stone me. Herbie’s extra energy ability means that if you play Herbie on turn 2 and cycle into “+2 energy next turn” you can have 6 Energy as early as turn 4! Galactus is also best used as a surprise and a turn 2 Herbie doesn’t exactly scream Galactus. Another Galactus hook is Mister Fantastic First Steps, as that’s another card you don’t mind pairing with Herbie. Both Herbie and Galactus can benefit from the cost reduction and bonus power. Is putting all three of these a flavour fail or flavour win?
I’m cheating a little by talking about a card that isn’t out yet but the synergies for this one are too good to pass up. Herbie has two modes that work with Human Torch First Steps. You got the “giving 2 other cards +1 Power” to buff Torch for him to double later, and the “make a Rock” mode to help fill that lane to make it easier to double Torch. This is a dynamic he also shares with The Thing First Steps, which carries on with the theme of this season of Family.
Counters
Herbie has the same usual counters most Activate cards do. He also has some built in randomness to him that can be seen as a type of counter. Since his abilities are cycled randomly, you might not get the one you want in time for your deck’s game plan. What if you want to double Herbie’s Power after you buff him a bunch but that’s the first ability you roll?
Red Guardian will shut off any Activate abilities before you get the chance to use them. If you wait too long to trigger Herbie you might not get an opportunity to!
Since Herbie play patterns involve holding him until the right moment, it’ll be possible to strike and kill it before it gets the chance to activate. Since Herbie has 3 Power, it means it can be targeted by Lady Deathstrike.
August’s Day 1 Decks
Quick Maths
This deck is looking to leverage the high Power output you can gain with a couple combos. Ironheart combined with Misery and Firehair gives you an incredible boost of gained Power. The main targets for this Power are Herbie and Lasher. Lasher will afflict your opponent’s side while Herbie can double itself. We also have cards like Mister Fantastic First Steps and Surge to help with keeping costs low, and letting you hold explosive plays as late as you can.
Herbie Herald
This deck offers a couple ways to initiate a Surprise Galactus while keeping your opponent from realizing that’s your gameplan. As mentioned earlier, Herbie’s extra energy mode will allow a Galactus as early as turn 4. Merlin also helps facilitate this with his Once and Future skill. Not only does this grant extra energy but it clears the location of a card, meaning it is now an acceptable Galactus location for his condition. There’s also some synergy with Mister Fantastic First Steps and “hand buffing.” Making Galactus stronger in hand helps with winning his location later, and buffing Clea gives you Flames that will also help make a suitable location for Galactus to land.
Variant Gallery
Final Thoughts
Herbie is a Series 5 card launching today in the Seasonal Series 5 Pack and the weekly Spotlight.
Herbie is a contender for best card of the month. All the different synergies he offers means that you won’t be disappointed with any of his Activate abilities. Even with his randomness, playing Herbie gives you consistent power output, which is exactly the kind of thing that will help you win more games!