The December Most Wanted poll is currently open for voting, and I’m here to provide you with an update on this month’s list. Before I talk about any of the rankings, I have to start by asking a question - where is everyone?! The total number of votes one week into the poll is significantly lower than previous months. I know the enthusiasm is there, because of the great comments everyone left last week, so let’s turn some of that excitement into votes on the December poll!
One of the most surprising developments of the month is that Mephisto is NOT number one! In fact, if the votes closed today, he would end the poll all the way down at number 17! This could be a result of the lower vote total skewing the rankings, but I also think there’s finally some push back going on. One of the problems with sitting on top of the throne for so long is that people start to put a target on you. People like Pyro, Tigra and Captain Britain, who are all duking it out for the top spot at the moment. Has Mephisto’s time in the spotlight burned out? Are there still voters out there who want to put him back on top? There’s a few weeks left to vote, so right now, only time (and your votes) will tell…
There are some other newcomers in the Top 20 at the moment, with four characters who have consistently hovered near glory, but never quite breached any of any end-of-month showcases. Spiral, Longshot, Hellcat and Sunfire are all currently in the Top 20 - I think all of them are great, well deserving characters, but I’m not sure if there’s enough support out there to keep them at the top over the next few weeks.
The bottom of the list is currently held up by Joshua Waldemeyer, aka The Wall. The Wall is clearly a meme choice, and with only two comic appearances to his name, he doesn’t have much to argue in his favor. That being said, part of me really hopes that the next few weeks see a Wall-Renaissance, and that one day The Wall enters Marvel Snap as a powerful and indestructible card that doesn’t allow cards to be played in his lane after he’s played.
Second Chance Contest Update
One of the most exciting things about this month’s vote is that for the first time, an eliminated character has an opportunity to redeem themselves and re-enter the list. Last week I highlighted one of the eliminated characters, Kushala, in a spotlight. She’s actually currently in third place on the poll, which I’m very excited about.
There is a current runaway leader, however, and I certainly did not see him coming. Dogpool has an enormous lead and looks to be barking his way right back onto the list. Part of me finds this surprisingly because people are often frustrated when characters already exist as variants of other cards. I’m also surprised because Deadpool just got Headpool and Wade Wilson cards over the past two seasons. I expected players to be more likely to vote for an original character. But who can resist a dog?
If you haven’t voted on the December Most Wanted list, or in the Second Chance contest, there are still a few weeks left to vote! Vote now and enter your discord name at the end for a chance to win a Weapon X season pass!
VOTE HERE
Character Spotlight: Ruby Thursday
I had a tough time deciding which second chance character I wanted to highlight this week. One of my favorite things to see in Marvel Snap is the diversity of characters. Animals, heroes, villains, civilians all working together for a common cause. Sometimes, I like to think about how my deck of characters all wound up together, or if they would make sense together on a comic book page. The more bizarre team-up the better. And that’s where Ruby Thursday comes in. Strange name. Strange appearance. Strange character. In any deck, or on any team of heroes or villains, Ruby Thursday will always stand out.
Ruby is introduced in 1975 as a member of the villain group The Headmen. The group, if you couldn’t tell, are linked together through their strange heads, and shared desire for world domination. Ruby’s powers include superintelligence, and the fact that she has replaced her head with organic circuitry in the form of a malleable, red plastic ball. This cybernetic head has the ability to shapeshift, shoot lasers, and regenerate. She can also remove her head, and control it separately from her body.
The Headmen often butt heads (no pun intended) with the Defenders, and in Ruby’s first encounter with them she takes them by surprise, defeating Doctor Strange, Hulk and Valkyrie singlehandedly.
There are few permanent deaths in the world of Marvel. One death that seems fairly unlikely to be undone is Omega the Unknown, an unsuccessful franchise and character from the 1970s. Omega actually has the honor of being killed by Ruby Thursday, who was then shortly after avenged by Wasp and the Defenders, as they “kill” Ruby. (Don’t worry, she comes back.)
Ruby, and the Headmen, have appeared as minor villains for She-Hulk. She has also turned up in a robot-dominated run of Deathlok, that involves a self-aware Doombot questioning what “life” means to robots and cyborgs.
In 2006 Ruby is one of the co-leads of a single issue of Outlaw Love, which follows The Answer and her romantic relationship, only to be brought to an end by Bullseye. Their relationship becomes relevant again a few years later, when it’s revealed that The Answer has orchestrated Wolverine breaking Ruby Thursday out of the raft, as part of a plan to stop his own enemy, Romulus.
Since then Ruby has appeared mostly as a background character in a variety of stories, still often teaming up with the Headmen.
Ultimately, Ruby Thursday, while fairly inconsequential, is character with fifty years of history and a surprisingly deep bench of cameos. She has an unpredictable power-set that pops whenever it’s on the page.
Ruby Thursday in Marvel Snap
Ruby was a tough character to create a card for, primarily because her powers are so wide-ranging, and her strength can be unpredictable. There are few runs where Ruby doesn’t wind up captured, and the villains that she runs with are very rarely successful. At the same time, Ruby has gone toe-to-toe with Hulk, Doctor Strange, and Wolverine, and even come out on top. I wanted a card that could match this wide variance in powers and ability, and came up with the following.
Ruby Thursday - 2/-3 - Activate: If your opponent has 20 or more power in this lane, afflict all enemy cards here with -3 power.
At first glance, Ruby is simply a 2/-3 that seems easy to play around. The trick with this card, however, is to hold on to her until turn 5, and play her as a trap card in a lane that’s already built up power. In the right hands, Ruby Thursday can go from -2 power to being an easy 2/9.
I can imagine this card fitting into three different archetypes: Ajax Affliction, Jocasta Activate, and also Mr. Negative.
Here’s a deck where Ruby Thursday could work:
Ruby Thursday Most Wanted
I like that this card, and deck, contribute to the theme of robotic characters with activate abilities, and would love to see a real team-up one day with Jocasta, Omega Sentinel and Ruby. Ajax is a surprise addition to the deck, but combined with Scorpion, there’s enough affliction to make running him worthwhile.
So does Ruby Thursday deserve a return to the list? Make sure you vote in the December Most Wanted poll, and give her a consideration in the Second Chance contest!
You have two more chances to win a Season Pass this week. I’ll draw one winner from the discord names submitted in the Most Wanted poll (all entries still eligible), and I’ll pick another winner in the comments. All you have to do is let me know your favorite obscure minor Marvel villain! Make sure to leave your discord name for your entry to be counted.