What is Utopia?
Firstly, let’s talk about the location of the lore in Marvel Comics for a bit.
You know, I’m not much of a comics reader, but whenever something shows up in Snap that I have no clue about, I go look it up. And after reading about it, I have to say this one is quite fascinating.
Utopia is a repurposed Asteroid M, Magneto’s former terrorist base, that is already a location on Snap. After Magneto’s defeat and the destruction of his base, the asteroid crashed in San Francisco’s Bay. Sometime later, Cyclops ordered it to be resurfaced to become a safe haven for mutants to protect them against the government’s persecution. It was a very dark time because Norman Osborn was the president, and he despised and antagonized the mutants at every chance he got. He certainly doesn't have my vote.
Utopia was considered a sovereign nation, allowing them some brief moments of peace to work on their obstacles to become truly independent and prosperous. Even with powerful individuals like Storm and Iceman, important tasks like getting food proved challenging. While facing those issues, the X-Men still had many enemies that wanted them dead. So, on top of creating their nation, they still had to defend it against their enemies. They also had to make an alliance with Namor, which built a pillar below the asteroid so it wouldn't sink.
Want to know what happens to the X-Men and their nation after all that? Read the comics, silly.
Utopia - The Location
Utopia is a beneficial location for both players; it gives a discount of one mana to every card with an original cost of 3 or 4 mana. It’s interesting how it affects the same cards that Asteroid M did but with a much more beneficial effect. With Utopia on the board, your playlines can get accelerated to the point of overwhelming your opponent. For example, if it is revealed as the first or second location, you could drop Hope Summers much earlier and start developing your field with a ton of extra energy.
The island home of the X-Men is crazy impactful. I love games where I get to play tons of cards due to discounts or extra energy, and I’m sure this will be one of my favorite locations. It’s quite similar to Elysium, although a bit more strict in its range. Could you imagine a game where you get these two locations together? That would be a wild Utopia.
So, how do we use Utopia in our favor? By using archetypes that rely on many 3—and 4-cost cards. Two absolute menaces will rise to conquer when Utopia is up: Zabu and Silver Surfer.
Zabu decks rely on his powerful discount to devastate their opponents simply by playing more cards designed to win the game, like Shang-Chi, Enchantress, or dropping big power with Cull Obsidian. If you are unlucky enough never to draw Zabu in time, no worries; you’ll have a built-in Zabu via Utopia’s discount. If you get them both discounts together, good luck trying to lose by playing three 4-drops on the last turn.
Silver Surfer is also going to be insane on Utopia. It's no understatement to say that most of your vital cards will be discounted. You can even play Brood and Follow it with an Absorbing man by turn 3 when Utopia appears. And how about following that with a discounted Wong, Sebastian, and a Silver Surfer?
Oh… hmm–one more thing. I didn’t want to talk about him, but if you want to be a stick in the mud and ruin my fun, you absolutely can. You can bring TVA's bureaucracy to demolish me during Utopia Hot Location Day. I’m talking about Mobius M. Mobius, the real villain here, because I believe everyone and their families will be using that vile card to remove my beautiful discounts. He’ll be quite an oppressive and powerful card on that day because Utopia will discount himself while he invalidates the opposition from using it. The only real answer is to run your own Mobius to deny your opponent’s discount or remove his effect with Rogue or Enchantress.
Some other strategies will get much better with this hot location. Any deck would benefit greatly from dropping its big four drops earlier than usual. Mr. Negative would love to always cost 3 energy without relying on Zabu or Ravonna. Also, Black Knight decks would thrive with a 3-cost sword and cheaper enablers like Lady Syf and Corvus. Lastly, returning to its origins as a 3-cost card for a day, Werewolf By Night will be incredible for a bounce player.
Utopia Decks
Here is my list of awesome decks that I believe will get extraordinary during Utopia’s debut:
Just Tribunal
I tried looking for competitive decks with the most 3 and 4 drops, and this one truly fits the bill. It’s a simple deck to play and quite powerful since Tribunal's effect drops huge amounts of power in all locations. Just be careful because you are deathly allergic to Enchantress.
You Must Cost 4 or Lower For This Ride
What’s better than a discount? Having your opponents' cards with a discount. Remember that Mobius will destroy you, so Rogue is here to give you a chance against that card. If Mobius isn’t in play, this deck is crazy awesome. You can get the collector strong, and Kitty can go crazy big if you have Elsa on board.
Hela Knight
You know, the most important early drops in discard cost 3 or 4 mana. They would be quite at home at Utopia. Even the Ebony Blade gets discounted by Utopia. If you have a more complete collection, there might be a spot for Proxima Midnight, but she isn’t great as a sacrifice for the Blade.
Hope to Surf
I feel this will be one of the most competitive shells for Utopia. It has Rogue and Mobius so that you can rig the discount in your favor, and your deck runs on the power of your discounted cards. Absorbing Man and Wong are the key cards here. Getting double or possibly triple-dip into Silver Surfer’s power is amazing.
WolfHilus
This is one of my favorite decks because it’s so complex, and you have many lines to follow to win. It’s a Zabu deck through and through, so you’ll want that discount. If you have it, you can do a lot of crazy shenanigans by using and reusing your one drops to get your wolf big while filling your opponent’s board with a Void and a Hood to get in their way.
Afterthoughts
This new type of article focuses on the next Hot Location to help you all prepare for it and maximize your cubes. A great snapper is always aware of his surroundings. If you bend the locations to your will, you'll reach your goals far more easily, be it reaching the next rank cap for a reward, finally arriving at the Infinity rank, or perhaps getting a very low rank on the leaderboards.
Be that as it may, Hot Locations are not chokeholds on the meta; you can ignore them and maintain your favorite deck without any changes. Hot locations will only show up on about 50% of your games. However, if you play good decks that get better with those locations, your chances of winning will drastically increase. Or you may enjoy wrecking your opponents by countering them while they try to use the location.
I would love to have your feedback about this type of article. Did you enjoy the brief lore about the location? Would you like it to be more in-depth? What about the decks and strategies? Do you have your recipes for what to do on Utopia’s Day? Let me know in the comments. Thank you all for reading, and I’ll see you next time!