Another week, another OTA card balance update in Marvel Snap, as Second Dinner are once again working to find that perfect sense of balance within the current meta. With Loki decks dominating since the God of Mischief's arrival at the start of September, some drastic measures have been taken to counter the deck and buff some cards that could fit well into a countering Discard deck.
There are two major changes in this particular update, but with four buffs and one nerf, Marvel Snap players are bound to be happy with this particular announcement. The rest of the Loki For All Time season could be even more problematic for Loki and various other cards with Mobius M. Mobius and Ravonna Renslayer arriving soon, meaning that future OTA updates could be much more chaotic and impactful than this one.
What Cards Have Been Changed In The OTA Balance Update?
The September 14th OTA card balance update is here with four buffs and a nerf, with most of them affecting Loki and Discard decks in some way. The Collector has received a major blow by being nerfed, but also in seeing Shadow King, an active counter to its Power generation, receiving an unlikely buff.
In addition to these two changes, Spider-Ham needed to bounce back after its previous nerf, so has received a much-needed buff, as have Lady Sif and Black Cat. There have been more exciting OTA and patch changes in the past few seasons, but regardless, these changes could see some fun new combinations crop up in the coming weeks.
Shadow King
Shadow King was once a laughable 4-Cost card that saw very little use, but via a period in the Silver Surfer territory of costing 3 Energy, Shadow King has now been reduced further to costing 2 Energy. At a 2-3 stat-line, Shadow King is a formidable card that could pop up at almost any moment now that it is so cheap. Shadow King preys on cards that have gained Power from anywhere but Ongoing abilities, so Venom and The Collector must be wary.
Shadow King was already in a good place within the meta, prompting some confusion as to why it has been buffed further. However, cards like Luke Cage and Invisible Woman received this sort of treatment before, as did Rockslide. This change is likely intended to take Shadow King away from being played in the same decks all the time and encourage players to use it in more creative lists.
Lady Sif
Lady Sif is another unusual card to receive a buff this week, as it hasn't exactly been one of the least-used cards in Marvel Snap recently. Lady Sif will continue about her daily work discarding the highest-Cost card in the player's hand, which usually aims to boost Apocalypse or take out a high-Power target for Hela and Ghost-Rider to resurrect.
However, now she will do so with an extra +1 Power in her pocket. As a 3-Cost 5-Power card, Lady Sif stands as a more formidable card by herself, even if she is now closer to being a carbon copy of Sword Master. M.O.D.O.K. seems to be in every single Discard deck right now, so perhaps this buff to Lady Sif will see her and cards like Hell Cow take up a more prominent role within the archetype.
Spider-Ham
Spider-Ham was a broken card upon its release during the Spider-Versus season, as it was just too powerful. Back then, Spider-Ham would target the highest-Cost card in the opponent's hand and turn it into a Pig, but this has since been changed to target the leftmost card in their hand instead. As Spider-Ham settles into this new ability, its stat-line has once again been reduced back down to where it was previously, as a 1-Cost 1-Power card.
Spider-Ham's latest effect has ruined its place in the meta since removing the high-Cost targeting, but this cost reduction has at least made it more viable than the last nerf did. It may take even more tweaking to get Spider-Ham to a better place given how unreliable this ability is, but at least this OTA update has helped to lay more groundwork.
Black Cat
Black Cat is one of the least-used cards in Marvel Snap, but unlike cards like Quake and Baron Mordo, she has never been that bad. A 3-Cost 7-Power stat-line with the text that discards her if she is in-hand at the end of a turn has always played well into Hela and Ghost-Rider decks, and now she has been made even more formidable.
Black Cat is now a 4-Cost 9-Power card with the same effect. If the player has a Zabu in-hand, she is essentially the same card as before, just with +2 Power. This could well see Black Cat included in more Discard decks from now on, but it remains to be seen if this interesting 9 Power output will actually entice players into giving her a go.
The Collector
The Collector is the sole casualty in terms of direct nerfs this week in Marvel Snap's OTA card balance update. But his nerf is to be expected thanks to his starring role in the dominance of the Loki deck in the past week or two. At a 2-2 stat line, The Collector was generating too much Power for opponents to cope with, especially with Loki and all the other card-generating allies it would have in play.
The Collector has been taken down to his previous stat-line as a 2-Cost 0-Power card, which should at least keep him a bit more grounded in Loki decks. This nerf is especially painful for The Collector should he ever face-off against Shadow King, as the card would now just be reduced to the base power output of 0, rendering it completely useless.
The September 14th Marvel Snap OTA card balance updates have been interesting, but these respective nerfs and buffs to Loki and Discard decks will have to be assessed closely in the coming weeks, as the impending arrivals of Mobius M. Mobius and Ravonna Renslayer could undo any balancing work that has been done up to this point. Regardless, Second Dinner has once again delivered on their promise to push some more cards into the spotlight whenever possible, with Lady Sif and Black Cat being given that opportunity this time, behind the stand-out winner of the week - Shadow King.