Second Dinner released an OTA and the reaction is going to be… mixed. This OTA exposes some of the challenges of balancing a game like this and we're going to analyze that in full!
- [Old] 4/5 - On Reveal: Next turn, you get +1 Energy for each turn you've ended with unspent Energy. This gains that much Power.
- [Change] 4/5 > 4/3
Ok, everyone just calm down. We knew Star-Lord needed a nerf and we knew he would get one. Is this enough? I'm sure the first reaction of many is that this is far too gentle and doesn't do anything about why the card has been seeing so much play, the Energy. I think it's a complicated situation. At ultra high MMR, Star-Lord is apparently solved. Among many of the game's highest-ranked players, Star-Lord is seen as a non-threat. A combo deck that is easily countered, kind of like Hela or Mr. Negative. Lower down his play rate is out of control. For many, it's just about the only deck you queue into. The devs gave us a hint at what their data shows when they said that Star-Lord “is clearly having a warping effect on the metagame despite having a tolerable win rate.” Apparently he's not as dominant as he is popular. I think the divide between high MMR Star-Lord and the rest of us is unique enough that I've asked Butt to come talk about it on the Fourth Location YouTube channel.
- [Old] 6/8 - On Reveal: Remove the text from all unrevealed enemy characters here.
- [Change] 6/8 > 6/7
This is a side effect of how Star-Lord is being played. Being able to play Zola + Alioth on the final turn is one of the more powerful plays Star-Lord can enable. Alioth can also be used in that deck to protect a large Star-Lord or early Fin Fang Foom. Speaking of…
- [Old] 7/12 - On Reveal: Gain the Power of front-row enemy cards here.
- [Change] 7/12 > 7/10
The beautiful dragon took a nerf. Again, this is partially because of how he was being used in Star-Lord decks. Notice that Alioth and Foom were hit and nothing from the High Evolutionary deck which are presumably a lot more fair. Foom didn't just get tagged because of Star-Lord though. He's been such a good card that he really has become the de facto “big card” for any deck. And I do mean almost any deck — getting 7 Energy is just so easy in current Marvel Snap. I expect Foom to still be basically as good despite the nerf.
- [Old] 3/2 - You can move this once. After your opponent plays a card here, steal 1 Power from it.
- [Change] 3/2 > 3/3
As an enjoyer of decks that fight for priority, I'm happy to have this duo back in my life. I expect opponents will be less enthusiastic.
- [Old] 2/3 - You can move this once. Nothing can stop you from moving or playing this to any location.
- [Change] 2/3 > 2/4
Honestly the numbers in this game have gotten so high that this doesn't come close to returning Jeff to his status as the best 2-Cost cards. But that's a good thing. We want Jeff to be playable, but not choking card diversity.
- [Old] 3/5 - Activate: Copy the text of a character in your deck with Cost equal to your unspent Energy. (without using its On Reveal)
- [Change] 3/5 > 2/3
Ooh, this is a surprisingly interesting buff. Part of Magus' issue was that he was such a big investment, while having a pretty small target pool. This opens up a much wider range of targets in the 3 and 4-Cost range, whereas the previous design really only felt like it could go after 5-Costs. Let me know in the comments what you're going to target with Magus now.
- [Old] 3/4 - When this permanently gains Power, gain +2 more Power. (wherever this is)
- [Change] 3/4 > 3/5
Making giant Sebastians with handbuff or Surfer decks is fun. Those decks are still too far behind the current meta, though.
The following changes will not be included in this OTA! These were planned changes that are being pushed to the March 10th!
- [Old] 2/3 - Activate: After you play your next card, swap it with one from your deck.
- [New] 2/3 - Activate: After you play your next character, swap it with one from your deck.
Lockjaw now excludes Skills. Note that he also swaps into Characters only -- he doesn't say swap into a card, he says swap into one (a character), meaning he can be targeted a lot more carefully to hit what you want. I think this change subtly makes him a whole lot stronger.
- [Old] 3/4 - On Reveal: Add a random 1-Cost card to each location
- [New] 3/4 - On Reveal: Add a random 1-Cost character to each location
Shanna also get a lot more powerful with a subtle text change. Hitting Skills with Shanna was a terrible experience. Oh, and it’s not just for zoo decks -- check out the text on next month’s Season Pass card.
Overall Grade - 2/4 Arrows
This OTA is to get some criticism from all sides. The majority of the player-base will think Star-Lord wasn't dealt with properly. High MMR players will lament that he was hit instead of the real problem cards like Batroc, Shou-Lao, Hydra Stomper, or Juggernaut. It’s hard to please both audiences. I think the nerf to Star-Lord will start to pay dividends as the meta evolves, but that Shou-Lao is going to reemerge in a big way at all levels of play. None of the buffs here are especially exciting. Like, sure it's nice that Jeff got his point and Magus is more interesting, but Jeff isn't a build-around and Magus is still a puzzle without a solution.