Fooooooore! (Cast!)
We’re back with another week y’all, and that means more coverage of the next variants to grace our little phone screens (or not so little PC screens) as we enter the next week’s reset.
Now I know you might be asking— “Where’s that patch variant coverage? There was so much great stuff in it, I’m dying to know what this other guy on the internet thinks too!”
And the truth is that article is coming, but they’ve always been a mountain of work and I’m trying to figure out how to maybe streamline/adjust them to be more general/just the highlights to make them sustainable for me to keep making. Besides— I cover each variant eventually in more specifics each week in the forecast here, anyways, and that’s not going anywhere. Speaking of— either way, there’s exciting stuff coming right now, this week. So let’s get to it!
03/11
Spotlights!
Artists (in order): Alex Horley, Carlo Pagulayan, Mike Del Mundo
Source: Spotlight Cache
This is a hotly anticipated cache for me personally, though not necessarily for the same reasons as many people. First off— Alex Horley is translating the very Red-Hulk-looking Vnn (host to the Starbrand in 1,000,000 BC) into his wonderful style, capturing the scale and power of the crimson caveman while also managing to spotlight that Starbrand burn front and center to make clear that this is no Thunderbolt Ross. Carlo Pagulayan is the mastermind behind the Skaar variant, taken from a variant cover for Skaar: Son of Hulk (2008) #1. Fun fact: we’ve already got a cover by Ron Garney from the same issue that was also a spotlight for Skaar! But this one doubles down on those moody shadows in the composition, building that sense of menace as he looms in that classic comic cover pose.
The real reason I’m excited for this week is Mike Del Mundo’s Phastos, taken from Eternals (2021) #1— a variant cover that spotlights Del Mundo’s talent for clever composition and gorgeous painted rendering. His shapes and lighting are always so wonderful to see, and he smartly draws on Phastos’ role throughout history as a weaponsmith and inventor by reflecting the warriors he’s armed in the past in his golden hammer. It’s brilliant and brilliantly lit, all the way around— and even if Phastos isn’t the most widespread card, it’s by far the variant I’ll be pulling for, no questions asked.
Envar Takeover
Artist: Envar Studio
Source: General Pool (Rare and Super Rare)/Album Reward
We’re also getting a huge Envar Studio takeover, giving us variants for a whole swath of characters with no particular theme. It’s a great opportunity for some characters to get another competently rendered variant in a large batch, and when Envar is on the ball, they’ve got a stronger grasp on a stylized look that works well for comic characters. They aren’t all equal: not in my personal opinion or in price, but the ones that are good really are quite solid. I’m a fan of the Elsa Bloodstone, Cosmo, and Echo in particular, and for Envar collectors the Ultron is a fine reward for completing the album.
The lighting and colors on the more dramatically lit variants like Elsa or Echo really help make the pieces pop, and for anyone looking for a new variant for a card they just really like, Envar might do the job!
Gustavo Pelissari’s Debut Zabu
Artist: Gustavo Pelissari
Source: Super Rare
Gustavo Pelissari is one of those artists that really caught my eye when we first saw him in datamines, and so I’m excited that he’s finally debuting in SNAP! The shape of Zabu’s snarling face here really is phenomenal, giving the sabre-toothed tiger a more specific, naturalistic look than we might normally see in comic art and adding a lot of flair. The vibrant colors and painted strokes are a cherry on top, really developing that musculature and bringing Zabu to life in a striking way. I’m very excited that this won’t be the last of Pelissari, and hopefully we see more sooner than later!
Creative House Pocket’s Sage Bundle
Artist: Creative House Pocket
Source: Bundle
Alongside Envar, Creative House Pocket is having a really large moment in the limelight now, with multiple bundles due this week and even more coming down the line. But one thing at a time! There’s a very overtly anime-stylized Sage coming in this bundle, as is trademark for Creative House Pocket— and as far as that style goes, Sage is one of the more strongly rendered ones that is coming through the pipeline, with Sage’s likeness and outfit drawn well and some solid lighting helping add some energy to the composition. Fans of an anime style likely don’t need more convincing, but as someone who can be quite tepid on these variants, Sage is one of the stronger contenders.
03/12
Fireball Studio’s Starbrand
Artist: Fireball Studio
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Fireball isn’t quite as prolific as Envar or Creative House Pocket, but they’re taking on secondary duties for the new cards this season, which means we’re getting a Fireball Starbrand to accompany his launch week entering the General Pool at Super Rare. It’s a good piece too, with Fireball’s trademark thicker lines helping define shapes and flat colors making the piece feel clean and quite distinct from Horley’s fantasy-realism. If you’re looking to rock Starbrand but aren’t quite set on the Spotlight, Fireball is providing a fine alternative.
Creative House Pocket’s Shuri Bundle
Artist: Creative House Pocket
Source: Bundle
What’d I say? It’s a good time for fans of Creative House Pocket. This Shuri is still visibly anime-inspired, though certainly with slightly more flair than other variants that have nothing more to offer— this piece is vibrantly colored, with those bright greens and yellows adding a lot of visual oomph. I’m not sure this is the piece that would win over any non-Creative House Pocket fans, but existing ones will likely feel at least a little tempted!
03/13
César Vergara’s Cull Obsidian
Artist: César Vergara
Source: General Pool (Rare)
César Vergara is another of the new artists from the previous patch, and he’s introducing a fun, Disney-ogre sort of twist on Cull Obsidian. It makes sense; Vergara is a Lorcana artist, too! I’m not positive that this one quite lands for me— the colors are a little muddy and the piece doesn’t have strong enough lighting, but the idea of turning the Big Lug of the Black Order into a recognizable Big Lug minion from a cartoon is resonant and a good time! So while I’ve got my critiques, I’ll be excited to see more from Vergara in the future.
03/14
Sean Galloway’s Cosmo!
Artist: Sean Galloway
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Now, shamelessly, I’m not going to have much meaningful critique for one of my favorites! Sean Galloway’s back with an adorable Cosmo in his style, and it’s a good reminder that there’s a difference between something just being in a cartoony style and someone having a well-developed and thought out cartoony design. Cosmo here sure does look like many of the Man’s Best Friend mascots you might remember from Boomerang and cereal boxes, but the colors and and warmth are so distinctly Galloway that it stands above many, many other variants striving for the similar effects. And that’s a really cute cat, too. So yeah, I’m unbiased.
03/15
Max Grecke’s Zola!
Artist: Max Grecke
Source: General Pool (Rare)
Max Grecke, and that’s just terrific too— this Zola is zoomed in on his malicious digital gremlin face like it’s a demented, possessed TV, and it’s got more character packed into that screen than some variants have on the entire card! Zola’s got a naturally clear visual hook for artists to lean on, but Grecke is the perfect artist to really push that visual exaggeration up to 11— he even captures the colder menace of that little camera watching where a head should be on Zola’s body. As someone that’s a huge fan of the base art’s face already, this Zola and its unhinged cackling might be in the running for a new favorite of mine!
03/16
Iban Coello’s Anti Venom
Artist: Iban Coello
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Iban Coello is a comic artist that’s made the jump over into dabbling on SNAP commissions, and it’s certainly cool to see him channeling his expertise from modern Symbiote comics in his work in game! Anti-Venom is a visually iconic character with a deceptively low amount of existing cover work too, so it’s great to see him here in modern comic art glory, posed dynamically. For what it’s worth, this piece isn’t quite at the same level of some of his best panel work in actual comics (or in game!), but that’s a high bar to clear; moreover, hopefully he has plenty of chances to try again! It’s a very fortunate thing having Coello doing SNAP work, and I’ve got my fingers crossed it doesn’t end any time soon.
03/17
Erica D'Urso’s Caiera
Artist: Erica D'Urso
Source: General Pool (Rare)
D’Urso is no longer just an artist that does the incentive variants for Conquest— this Caiera is offering a much needed option for folks who have Caiera but have learned the hard way there is no wealth of covers for SNAP to convert into card form. But this Caiera feels solid, and that the character needs it especially, with multiple Spotlight runs eating into her variant catalogue as is without considering her shallow pool of existing covers. I like the expression and sword on the figure itself, and the lighting and colors help feel like more than just a pose. I’m happy to see that Erica D’Urso has made some art that’s made it into the general pool, and I’m curious where variants from her go from here.
Creees and Mooncolony’s Prehistoric Lizard Bundle
Artist: Creees/Mooncolony
Source: Bundle
Finally, Creees teams up with Mooncolony yet again for another prehistoric-flavored bundle, this time converting the Lizard into a Lizard with dinosaur skulls on his shoulders! It’s lovely seeing anyone take a literal walking lizard and placing him among literal giant lizards, and Creees manages a solid figure in tandem with Mooncolony’s coloring. Like many studio coloring jobs, Lizard is rendered in quite a bit of detail, but the dynamism and silhouette are what help make the piece feel a bit more distinct. So if you’re all in on the Prehistoric Avengers season theme (and you’re not a stickler for the actual source comic Avengers 1,000,000 BC), consider this one! He’s a proper giant lizard in a land of much, much larger giant lizards.
A Wrap!
On this article, I mean. Like I said, I’m mulling over options to make the Patch Round-Ups less of a slog for myself, which just means they might come back with a slightly different, more general shape that doesn’t necessarily go as in-depth on every variant. But these forecasts aren’t changing or going anywhere! And as a matter of fact, they’re going to continue being the place to go to get more in depth opinions, excitement, and critiques from me on any specific variant— so if you’re looking for that, even if my work elsewhere shifts a bit, this will always be the place to hear from me! But enough about that, enough about my own troubles writing articles about a Silly Marvel Card Game— what do you think? Did I miss anything I shouldn’t have? Did I diss anything I shouldn’t have? And what exactly should I do to simplify the Patch Round-Up? I’m all ears down below. And until next time, see you!