It’s been a busy few weeks Marvel Snapshot (free), there is a new one thunderbolt– Themed Season kicks off with an OTA update that changes several cards, and now a proper app update that adds new features and more balance changes. Yo! It’s getting difficult to keep track of all of this, but let’s try to understand what’s new with this new update.
First, you’ll notice a new section in the store: cosmetics. Here you can use your coins to get new emotes, avatars, and more. Also in the store, you’ll see that quick upgrades are now called reward boosters. This means you only need the normal amount of points to upgrade featured cards – boosters are now available for free. Wow! bonus! There’s also a new Reaction Wheel during gameplay, which allows you to tap and hold on a location or card to bring up a wheel from which you can choose a reaction. Just as advertised.
A large number of cards and locations have been given new audio and visual effects to make them more vivid. The cards are: Leader, Legion, Phantom, Hazmat, Patriot, Agent Coulson, Hood/Demon, Wakanda Throne Room, and Triskelion. Wow, lots of good stuff. Lots of…nice…stuff. Please keep this happy feeling going, because we need to discuss balance updates that I think will upset a lot of players. I know I am!
Okay, let’s finish the toughest one first. Zabu. Dear old Zabu, friends from far and near. Well, he gained a bit of power, going from 2 cost 2 power to 2 cost 3 power. Longtime players will know that this means another shoe is about to reduce his abilities. Zabu’s cost reduction now only lasts until the end of your next turn after using him. rude. Very very rude. Oh well.
Alioth was also hit hard. The stat changes from 6-Cost 2-Power to 6-Cost 8-Power, and you know that means the card’s abilities are about to be buffed. Alioth no longer destroys all undisclosed enemy cards at its location, but only removes the text within them. Arios was already a difficult card to play, and now… there just doesn’t seem to be any point in playing it. a good job. Rude in a row 2/2.
Nerfs just don’t feel good, do they? Well, there is one more. Sandman went from 5 cost 4 power to 5 cost 7 power. His ability is now “revealed” rather than “ongoing” and now only affects the next turn. I think Sandy still has his uses, but he won’t be as useful as he once was. He could be a spoiler on the final turn, but seems to have the better cards.
Well, there are a few buffs. Lady Deathstrike looks cool on paper, but in reality she kind of sucks. She went from 5 cost 4 power to 5 cost 7 power, but will now only destroy enemy cards in positions with 3 or less power. Not a bad trade-off. The Strongman’s stats remain the same, but his +6 Strength bonus now kicks in if you have one or fewer cards in your hand, meaning you don’t have to completely empty it. That’s fine.
There are also a ton of bug fixes here, but they’re not very interesting so we’ll leave them here. What do you think of the new features? What about those balance changes? Personally, I’m disappointed when they revise a card too often, and I feel like Arios becomes a mess because of it. Zab…I’m so angry. Of all the decks that need nerfs, Zab’s deck isn’t one of them. Yes, it is like that. If you’d like, tell me what you think in the comments.