Hello fellow Snappers!
My name is Drewberry and I've been creating Marvel Snap content since BETA! I'm teaming up with Snap.fan to share some of my thoughts on the new card: Silver Samurai
Team Second Dinner frequently has said that they do not want to print too many cards that discard cards from opposing players hands. I predict that they will not add any discard disruptive cards for a long time after the release of Silver Samurai. SO. Will he be strong enough to sustain the archetype? Will he fit into some existing meta decks? Let's find out if Silver Samurai is a SNAP or PASS.
Silver Samurai brings a unique twist to traditional discard enablers by focusing on the power of a card rather than the cost. This took me a while to get used to but it has some very interesting interactions!
Week of 8/29 - Spotlights
Silver Samurai Tips & Mechanics:
- Lowest POWER Discard! I keep forgetting this so I'm adding it here again for folks like me that need to read things twice.. three times.. then again for good measure.
- If 1 player's hand is empty, Silver Samurai WILL still trigger for the player with cards in hand.
- Opposing Cards discarded by Silver Samurai will NOT be resurrected by YOUR Hela / Ghost Rider.
- Knull is unlikely to be discarded but Morbius is highly likely. Currently Knull shows his adjusted power in hand, whereas Morbius only shows on board. *This may change in a future patch, Second Dinner is working on having all ongoing cards show power on field only.
X-23 Theorycrafted Decklists!
I believe this shell will turn out to be the strongest list for Silver Samurai. The combination of SS + Stature & Ghost Rider seems very potent for a strong turn 6 play. Discarding Darkhawk or Ironman will actually be the goal of this deck so that turn 6 we can play a 1-cost stature + Ghost Rider while disrupting our opponent. Backup options include darkhawk rockslide combos or black bolt stature which have both been meta relevant for quite some time.
Hela decks often lack consistency. This is a wild take on providing a slight bit more consistency to the Hela strategy while also pulling back some of its power output. We don’t have those big Infinaut plays but we do have more discard options that are guaranteed to not discard Hela. Meaning we can play more cards throughout the match and reliably set up Hela, provided we draw her.
This deck is fueled by the Ms. Marvel emote energy. The goal is simple. Make our opponents retreat early. Each turn is focused on ruining their day and ultimately their strategy. Yondu & cable to thin their deck. Black Bolt, Moon Knight, Silver Samurai to discard all their options. Wong & Absorbing man to do it again and again. This list is not nice...but thankfully (and hopefully) not very strong… Please don't play this.
A slightly altered classic discard list that has removed America Chavez, Wolverine and a few of the tech options in order to make room for Silver Samurai, Ghost Rider and Hellcow. These 3 paired with Zabu will make for a nice alternate wincon if we don’t draw MODOK. Samurai also pairs very well with Daken! Turn 3 Daken into turn 4 Samurai sets up a total of 13 power on board and disrupts your opponents hand.
In conclusion, SILVER SAMURAI, Series 5 6000 tokens, seems like a solid card that will likely find a home in a top tier deck. However I can't help but feel that it could be easily replaced and doesn't warrant the 6000 token price tag. If you're looking for synergy with Stature, use Black Bolt, a Series 3 card. If you want to do Ghost Rider / Hela shenanigans, use Modok or Colleen Wing.
This would have been an easy snap if it were going to series 4... but as a Series 5 release my verdict is: PASS.
Thanks for reading!