Lin Lie was an ordinary teenager who unexpectedly became the Sword Master, wielding an ancient mystical blade, the Sword of Fu-Xi, tied to Chinese legend. When that sword was destroyed, Lin lost his powers and his sense of purpose. Instead of disappearing, he was chosen to carry the power of the Iron Fist, becoming the first Iron Fist with no connection to K'un-Lun.
The newest addition to Marvel Snap is Lin Lie, who is a 2-Cost card with the quest of having both Lin Lie and the Sword of Fu-Xi in the same lane to get a 2-Cost card that effectively plays for 11 Power, which is massively above rate. He's a natural fit in decks that can reposition their power.
Synergies
Lin Lie, on the surface, looks like a challenge to set up, as you need both him and the Sword of Fu-Xi in the same lane, but there are a couple of different ways to achieve this, such as moving either Lin Lie or the sword, or bouncing them back to hand.
Movers
Moving cards around is generally a powerful strategy, and with Lin Lie, we are getting another cheap card that benefits greatly from being moved.
Bounce
Bounce has a much more limited pool of cards, but it is still a powerful strategy and can even be merged alongside move cards, as we have seen previously with Move Bounce decks.
Copy
Other ways to get both Lin Lie and the Sword of Fu-Xi in the same lane include getting a second copy of Lin Lie and playing him in the same lane as the sword. If you are lucky, the second sword can even land in the same lane as the first Lin Lie.
Counters
There are a couple of ways to counter Lin Lie, such as removing the ability of the sword or preventing Lin Lie from creating it in the first place.
These two are likely the most significant issues for Lin Lie, as they stop the Sword of Fu-Xi from being added to the board and leave you with a 2-Power card that is not very appealing. Luckily, they do have counterplay since Lin Lie can come down a turn earlier than either of them.
Other softer counters include the following.
Derek's Day 1 Lin Lie Decks
Heimdall Lin Lie
Just because you have a limited pool of cards does not mean you cannot make use of Lin Lie. This decklist has only one other card above Series 3 and is a perfect fit for the newest addition to the game.
Move Bounce
This move bounce deck is probably the most consistent deck at getting Lin Lie and the Sword of Fu-Xi in the same lane, using all three methods mentioned in the synergies section: Move, Bounce, and Copy.
Batroc Lin Lie
Yet another move deck, but with a slightly different flavor, using Batroc, Kraven, and Sam Wilson as early-game scalers to put points on the board.
Spectrum Lin Lie
Lin Lie serves a slightly different role here than just being big stats. He creates an Ongoing body that pumps up Goliath and also gets buffed by Spectrum.
Variants
Lin Lie is punching his way into Marvel Snap with the release of the Chibi and Fantasy variants. I will be looking to pick up the Fantasy variant until we get a release date for the Creative House Pocket, which I will also be snagging.
Final Thoughts
Lin Lie appears to be a solid card that can slot into some pre-existing powerful decks and potentially make them better. I would give him 3 stars out of 5 for that reason. He is a neat pickup if you enjoy any of the decks mentioned above, but definitely not a must-have.
Let me know which deck you are most excited to try, and if there is any synergy I might have missed.