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Balance in Marvel Snap has been a contentious topic of conversation ever since the game first came out. There is usually a certain card or a certain deck archetype that has such an iron grip over the metagame that a round of nerfs is the only way to restore balance. Unfortunately, patches in Marvel Snap only occur every four weeks, meaning a long wait for those struggling to climb the ranked ladder in the quest to reach infinite.
Thankfully, Second Dinner has added semi-regular balance patches every other week to hotfix any issues. For everything you need to know about how these work, read on.
When Is The Next Marvel Snap Weekly Update
Marvel Snap updates used to take every week, but that was too much, so now the team releases two OTA updates a month to give the devs a bit of a break in between.
To illustrate the monthly schedule of updates players should expect, it looks a bit like this:
• Week 1 - New Patch week (usually on a Tuesday)
• Week 2 - OTA week (Always a Thursday)
• Week 3 - No OTA Update
• Week 4 - OTA week (Always a Thursday)
• Week 1 - The next New Patch (usually on a Tuesday)
Latest Marvel Snap Weekly Update Changes
The most recent OTA update and balance changes can be found below:
29 February 2024 - New OTA Update
Marvel Snap should be releasing a new over-the-air update today with a variety of nerfs and buffs.
Stay tuned for all the balance updates this evening.
1 February 2024 - Marvel Snap OTA Update
The metagame has been in excellent shape for the last couple weeks, with a lot of different decks enjoying success and many new cards spawning fascinating innovations. We want to keep that going with today's OTA, so our focus is largely on improving underused cards.
Luke Cage
- [Old] 2/3 - Ongoing: Your cards here can’t have their Power reduced.
- [New] 3/4 - Ongoing: Your cards can’t have their Power reduced.
Last year, we found Luke Cage was having a big impact on the metagame relative to the opportunity cost of playing with him. Giving up turn 2 to play a card that had the potential to neutralize multiple later-turn plays from an entire class of card effects was a bit too generous, since Luke asked nothing more than to be in play.
We decided to adjust Luke to be a stronger card that concentrates on one location, like Armor, and learn what that might change. Since then, Luke has underperformed with that change even in the decks we thought would still play the effect happily, such as Cerebro-3. So we're taking the other route and returning Luke's effect to be global but at a higher Cost.
Hulkbuster
- [Old] 3/5 - On Reveal: Merge this with one of your cards here.
- [Change] 3/5 -> 2/3
Because the strongest Destroy deck by far was all about Deadpool, we also wanted to look at weakening some of the best ways to make huge Deadpools. Hulkbuster was one such card, but it's also a fun card for other strategies, like Move and the occasional kooky brew. Since the real problem was how much Power Hulkbuster was adding to Deadpool, we decided to keep it fairly efficient on rate and just shrink down the numbers. Hopefully this change actually creates some opportunity for play alongside things like Multiple Man and Werewolf By Night while weakening Deadpool specifically–we want to keep Hulkbuster a solid card.
Heimdall
- [Old] 6/8 - On Reveal: Move your other cards one location to the left.
- [Change] 6/8 -> 6/9
In our ongoing evaluation of 6-Cost cards, we think Heimdall is ripe for a boost. Having 8-Power used to protect Heimdall from Shang-Chi, but now that Shang-Chi's threshold increased we can likewise boost up some of these 8-Power big cards for a little extra oomph.
Spider-Man 2099
- [Old] 4/6 - The first time this moves to any location, destroy an enemy card there.
- [Change] 4/6 -> 5/9
Spider-Man 2099 has been a below-average card for quite a while–never one of the worst, but also not a true contender. We're open to considering more significant adjustments, but in the interim we've decided to experiment with a stat change. As we noted around Hercules in another update, we'd like to try and get some "big move" cards into fighting shape. 2099 represents an opportunity for us to explore the kinds of effects and statlines cards need to exist in that space while potentially giving an underperforming card some new life.
Ghost
- [Old] 1/2 - Ongoing: Your cards are always revealed last. (Their On Reveal abilities happen last.)
- [Change] 1/2 -> 3/5
Ghost has a similar story to Spider-Man 2099. While we evaluate potential changes, we're going to take advantage of a stat improvement to learn more about the effect and its potential impact. We think it's fair to position the effect like a small drawback in the current metagame, as "fixing" reveal priority comes with greater risk. Most of the current strength came from Ghost being a 1-Cost Ongoing card, but there are other options for that in Spectrum decks today (and likely the future).
18 January 2024 - Marvel Snap OTA Update
"Welcome to the first OTA Patch of 2024! It's going to be an exciting year for MARVEL SNAP, and we've got a lot of content coming down the pipeline that you're going to enjoy. For today, most of our attention is on reining in the metagame tyrant that has become Blob Thanos, but we're doling out a number of small buffs to underutilized cards as well."
Blob
- [Old] 6/4 - On Reveal: Merge your deck into this. (and gain its total Power) Ongoing: Can't be moved.
- [New] 6/0 - On Reveal: Merge cards from your deck into this until it gains 15 or more Power. Ongoing: Can't be moved.
Blob has been a metagame terror for a good minute, so the only surprising thing about this change is probably that it includes a text adjustment within the OTA. This card threatens to create absurd amounts of Power, and "release valves" in the format like Shang-Chi and Shadow King have proven wholly insufficient in restraining that. The latter is a fair bit on us–internally, we feared being so easily dusted by (at the time) 2/3 Shadow King, one of the strongest cards in the metagame, would be too punishing for the new card. But times changed, and it turns out that 4 "defensive" Power was totally unnecessary!
It was important to retain a couple key elements of Blob. The first was rewarding eating large amounts of Power, especially from high-Power cards. The second was keeping the total Power of Blob variable for the opponent, to make the card more difficult to combat directly. This change accomplishes both, creating different Blobs depending on the order of the cards in your deck. It also weakens Blob in Thanos specifically, as smaller-Power cards are more likely to land closer to the threshold. Lastly, it adds an easy dial for us to tune–if our math on the right targets for Blob were wrong, the combination of base Power and this threshold give us room to adjust further.
Destroyer
- [Old] 6/15 - On Reveal: Destroy your other cards.
- [Change] 6/15 -> 6/16
This change is reverting a nerf to Destroyer from a while ago. The general Power values in the game have improved even among Series 1 and Series 2, where Destroyer's impact was most felt. We'll continue evaluating the relative Power of 6-Cost cards throughout the year, and expect to make more changes.
Viper
- [Old] 3/4 - On Reveal: One of your other cards here switches sides.
- [Change] 3/4 -> 3/5
We took a conservative approach to adjusting Viper over the holidays for reasons related specifically to Havok, and fortunately those fears were unfounded. However, we've decided to keep Viper at 3-Cost for a few reasons. One is that it lets Viper more naturally combo with locations like Savage Land or Shadowland, which reveal on turn 3 one-third of the time. Another is that it increases the design space for building cards like The Hood as 2-Cost cards, because Viper can gift them on-curve.
Selene
- [Old] 1/-1 - On Reveal: On Reveal: Afflict the lowest-Power card in each player's hand with -3 Power.
- [Change] 1/-1 -> 1/2
Selene was originally designed to explicitly combo with Viper and Black Widow, which is part of why her own Power was negative–it increased the risk/reward of these strong combinations. However, it turns out that subsequent changes to Viper and Black Widow also weakened these combinations plenty, and Annihilus hasn't been much of a factor for Selene, either. So we're adding some Power here to let the card better stand on its own.
Elektra
- [Old] 1/1 - On Reveal: Destroy an enemy 1-Cost card here.
- [Change] 1/1 -> 1/2
We’ve explored a variety of directions for improving Elektra, and we'll likely continue doing so. Elektra has an amazing story and a lot of great variants, but also plays an important role in teaching new players about sequencing cards and managing different locations. We've wanted to improve Elektra for a while to make this iconic character more enjoyable, but don't want to lose out on that important function for early play. For now, we're just giving additional Power and seeing how that goes.
Dazzler
- [Old] 3/2 - Ongoing: +2 Power for each location that's full on your side.
- [Change] 3/2 -> 2/2
Dazzler is another card that could use some shine. Our intention with the initial change to 3-Cost Dazzler was to see if Silver Surfer players would be excited to pair Dazzler with Brood, but things haven't worked out that way. So it's time to try something else! Dazzler as a card rewards playing efficiently so that you can get all your cards out, which means an Energy reduction should be helpful.
Hercules
- [Old] 4/6 - The first time another card moves here each turn, move it to another location.
- [Change] 4/6 -> 4/7
Hercules released weaker than we'd like, so we're adding a little Power. Our goal remains to try and find an execution that builds an interesting "move card" at 4-Cost, because diversifying the strategic options across more Costs is key for ensuring we have a lot of gameplay variety. We may consider revising the effect in the future if it proves unworkable at this Cost.
Dagger
- [Old] 2/2 - When this moves to a location, +2 Power for each enemy card there.
- [New] 2/0 - When this moves to a location, +3 Power for each enemy card there.
Speaking of move cards, Dagger has been one of the weaker ones for a while. We'd like there to be some extra competition and strength for the archetype, so we're trying a change here that sizably increases the Power potential. This does make Dagger weaker to Shadow King, so it's not all upside, but overall it should improve players' options "moving" forward.
Marvel Snap Weekly Updates Explained
Second Dinner did an excellent job explaining exactly what will be happening during each round of weekly updates. We'll break down everything they had to say about the topic here.
What Kind Of Changes Will Be Made
Second Dinner states their OTA tool can make "changes to be numbers-only." This means full-scale ability changes will not happen until the larger monthly patch. Only stat increases or decreases will be occurring each week (until the OTA tool is updated).
Will Cards Be Buffed Or Nerfed
Both! Second Dinner has stated that they want to prioritize buffing cards and only nerf cards "when it’s deemed necessary." In fact, the team went on to confirm that they're "going to guarantee at least one buff in each of these updates." Hopefully, this means a lot of currently unplayable cards will be given the chance to shine.
How Many Cards Will Be Changed Each Week
Second Dinner has stated that 2-4 cards each will be changed on average. This is dissimilar to the monthly patches, where changes can be made at Second Dinner's discretion, depending on the state of the game.
What Cards Will Be Changed
Second Dinner has a list of buffs and nerfs that they are working through and are prioritizing those cards first. Additionally, the cards chosen may not have an impact now but will have become stronger alongside new cards and new locations.
Why Don't Second Dinner Make These Changes Now
Too many changes at once would send the meta into a flurry, and it would never have a chance to settle. The team also stated that it lets them "lightly freshen the metagame periodically, rather than shake it all up at once and then watch things settle into a new state of stasis."
How Long Will Weekly Updates Persist
Second Dinner has stated that they have a trial period scheduled for May. Depending on how that goes, they may continue with weekly updates moving forward.
For more Marvel Snap news, be sure to check out our dedicated section or take a look at some of our Guides & Tutorials just below:
- Does Marvel Snap Have Codes
- Featured & Hot Locations Explained
- Who Reveals First
- Progression and Levelling Guide
- What Is the Snap
- How To Get Titles
- Why You Can't Trade Cards
- How To Get, Use and Spend Gold
- How Do Ties Work
- How To Get Collector's Tokens
- How Collector's Reserves Work
- How To Change Card Backs
- When To Snap & Retreat
- How To Change Name
- How To Win A Location With Only 1 Card
- How To Get Credits Fast
- How to Battle Friends
- Marvel Snap Variants Explained
- Ultimate Variants Explained
- How to Get All Variant Cards