Werewolf by Night - Card Preview
Marvel Snap's Spooky season enters its final week on Halloween with the introduction of Werewolf by Night.
Currently in the game files as a 3/3 that gets +2, it will be interesting to see if he indeed comes in with these stats on Tuesday, as his stats were notably unshown in the developer video for this season. Perhaps Second Dinner was fine tuning his balance right up to the end.
Comic books used to be pretty wild (and awesome) until the Comics Code Authority was formed in response to government pressure. The CCA regulations, among many other sanctimonious constraints, forbid the publication of comics with Werewolves in them. In 1971 when the CCA was softened, Marvel jumped at the opportunity and introduced the Werewolf by Night, aka Jack Russell, who is descended from a long line of Lycanthropes. The recent Disney+ film Werewolf by Night, has been a primary source of inspiration for this season of Marvel Snap.
Let's talk generally about how the new Werewolf by Night card can be utilized.
The Card
I think Werewolf's biggest limitation will be board space. Your ability to manage your board effectively will come in handy while piloting a deck that has Werewolf by Night. You will often need more than two free spaces to most effectively play him out. You'll generally want one space for your on-reveal card, one space for Werewolf to move into, and one space so you're not locked out of playing on that location on the following turn. If Werewolf fills a lane on turn 5, your opponent will know how much power they need to win that lane, but even if you fill a location on turn 4, it will make you more predictable. Managing your board and having a feel for where you need to leave space will be the primary drawback with Werewolf but it will also be the main locus for skill expression with the card.
How Werewolf by Night can be a beast
1)
He can just be a big body. If you activate him only once he'll be a 3/5, a pretty premium stat line on par with Polaris and Spider-Man. Any deck playing him should be able to reliably get him to 3/7. If you really lean into him you can end up with 9 or 11 power, which is obviously great for a 3 energy investment.
2)
He can move. This means you can use him to get into hard to reach locations like Death's Domain, Altar of Death, Luke's Bar, or a location that you or your opponent has Flooded with Storm.
3)
He can be used to activate a variety of other cards. Kraven can be repeatedly buffed by Werewolf. Miles Morales becomes easier to activate (if Mobius M. Mobius isn't around). You could play Werewolf into Angela and move him out immediately by playing an on reveal card in a different lane.
4)
He can lead to some great turn 6 shenanigans. You can play him out on turn 6 alongside another 3 cost card (or a 1 and a 2) to put surprising power in unexpected places. If he's already on the board, he can make already strong on-reveal game finishers feel like they have an added bonus.
Aero can force your opponent into a lane where you're placing 13 or 15 power! Spider-Woman and Gamorra are suddenly 15 or 18 point swings! Alioth and Leader have their margins increased dramatically if you know where you need your power!
5)
Providing value to cheap on-reveal cards. A lot of 1-cost cards are great activators for Werewolf, but I think zoo decks are going to struggle with board space (but that won't stop me from at least trying it). Werewolf could uncover some not obvious synergies with cheap on-reveals that are searching for a home.
Could Elektra finally see some play? Sentinel is such a reliable on-reveal card and could be a great card to pair with the Wolf. Zero has started to see a tiny bit of play outside of Shuri decks. Perhaps Werewolf could slot in alongside him with Luke Cage, Lizard, Enchantress, and Typhoid Mary.
Ghost-Spider is a bit weird with Werewolf. On the one hand, the card seems anti-synergistic right after a Werewolf. Our boy doesn't want to be moved, he wants to move on his own! On the other hand, you could go from a totally empty lane to one with Ghost-Spider + whoever she pulled, plus Werewolf. This could be particularly interesting with something like Doctor Octopus or Aero.
6)
The cards that copy On Reveals like Iron Lad and Absorbing man could provide intriguing synergies. They're already cards designed to get some extra advantage out of your other cards and using them to also add power to Werewolf seems worth exploring.
7)
Board state and On Reveal disruptors can be beneficial and detrimental. The problem of having enough board space is solved by sending our on-reveal cards to our opponent with Green Goblin and Hobgoblin. However, junk can provide some tough challenges with Werewolf by Night with the limitation on places to play on the board. Cosmo can suppress cards from their On Reveal activating, but Werewolf by Night will still move and gain power even after another cards' On Reveal effect has been suppressed.
ScoSco’s Day one Werewolf by Night Decks to Try
It's a bit of a trope at this point to shove any new 3-cost card into Surfer, but with its access to a suite of strong on-reveal effects, Silver Surfer may really be Werewolf's best home. I've opted for a bit of a move package here, but you could also try out a Sera build (personally I'm still seeing a lot of Mobius).
On Moonlight, Reveal the Werewolf
Every on-reveal ability here can be reused and abused by Absorbing Man or Odin. One fun play line is Turn 2 Mobius > Werewolf > Wave + Forge> Doom + Elektra >Odin. If you're unconvinced by the Elektra concept you can try Rocket Raccoon in that slot.
This deck leans into Werewolf's synergy with Kraven. Moving around Elsa-buffed cards and finishing with Alioth is very strong. This is essentially a tier 1 core from before the latest OTA, and I think Werewolf slots in nicely.
Bounce, unlike Zoo, allows us the board space to repeatedly play strong, cheap, on-reveals to continuously buff the Wolf.
All of the Guardians of the Galaxy make for a pretty strong play when you already have Werewolf on board. We can impact where our opponents' cards end up with Nebula, Jean Grey, and Spider-Man. Finishing with Doom or Alioth is back breaking.
This deck takes advantage of Werewolf's synergy with the two Goblins. I'm going to start with both, but I feel like Hobgoblin will probably get cut eventually (Titania? Sentry? Shadow King?)
Wasps, Monkeys, & Wolfs Oh my!
What's the actual cheapest on-reveal card? Did you forget about Yellowjacket? This deck is a shell that Yellowjacket has already seen success in, but I think he can also be used in bounce decks or in tandem with location disruption like Storm, Quake, and Legion.
Destroy is an archetype with a lot of strong on reveal effects. The idea here is to constantly be "hunting" for power for your turn 6 Knull, while also buffing Werewolf in the meantime.
I'm searching for Werewolf packages. The purpose of this deck is to put Werewolf into a deck with all of the cards I most want to explore with him and see what stands out. I'm planning to jam this to figure out what his most busted partnerships are.
Closing Thoughts
Werewolf by Night promises to be a strong stat stick and can be played in a variety of decks. I recommend picking him up, especially if you don't have Silk or Ghost-Spider. Silk is still a great card and Ghost-Spider is a solid card that is probably a bit underrated.
Personally, I will be snagging him with Tokens and spending whatever I need to get that sweet comic cover variant (more caches? tokens? Hopefully it goes to the shop.) Are you opening spotlights now, waiting for him to reappear in Spotlights, spending Tokens, or skipping him altogether? Let me know down below.