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41: You Don't Deserve Her at Her Most Shang
79 Plays6 hours ago
🆓🆓🆓 This week’s episode contains 20% more Snap On This!! for the same price 🆓🆓🆓
For our esteemed listeners’ consideration:
- You get a Week In Snap! 👈 And you get Week In Snap! 👉 Every cohost gets a Week In Snap!! 👏🫨
- 🧤 Golden Gauntlet Tournament - Ben & Rie participated 🙌
- 💨 Xorn 💨
- At long last, an OTA to change up the meta (🤞)
- Arcane Season Card Rankings 🔮 SoT Debate Club
- 🙊 Secret Homework: Marvel Pets 😻🐶
Follow us on Twitter/Bluesky:
Check out the other great shows in the Snap Judgments Network:
- Snap Decisions
- Snap Judgments
- The InfiNOT
Join us on Discord! 👾
- Join the server
- Head into the channel "welcome-rules-and-tickets"
- Find the "SJPN Podcast Fans" message, and press the button for Snap On This!!
Featured decks:
- Ben - Golden Surfer
- Rie - Know Ye Not I Am Wizard?
- SafetyBlade - Pixie 💕 Sersi
- Lauren - Da New Clean-Up Crew
- Ben - Heimdall Xorn
- Ben - Scream Who?
Credits:
- Cover art by Lauren
- Snap On This!! Theme by Ben
- YouTube thumbnail by Lauren’s kid, Reggi
Timestamps:
- 0:00:00 Intro / Our Week in Snap
- 0:33:36 Xorn
- 0:49:27 OTA Discussion
- 1:12:46 June Card Ratings
- 2:05:05 Secret Homework: Design a Pet
- 2:17:03 Next Week's Secret Homework
- 2:18:19 Housekeeping / Closing Remarks
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Hosts' Initial Thoughts on Marvel Snap
00:00:01
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Snap on This, a Marvel Snap podcast. I'm your host, Lauren Whatevs, here with my hosts, Ben and Rhi. How were your weeks in Snap?
00:00:12
Speaker
And keep it snappy, Rhi.
00:00:16
Speaker
Okay, my ah feelings towards Snip in general right now it can be summed up ah by the gif of Anakin lying limbless but not devoid of rage on the rocky floors of Mustafar, staring up at second dinner, screaming, hate you!
00:00:40
Speaker
Burning red eyes. I have not been having fun in Snap and and like less than fun. like I was playing. I didn't have as much time earlier this season. And it feels like, OK, believe this or not about me, am very capable of finding my own fun.
00:01:00
Speaker
so like Give me a good sandbox. Give me some toys and i have some fun. and and say like
00:01:07
Speaker
But Snap now is when I don't have 24-7 to play it, is just chores. It's chores and chores. I can't do the things I want to do. I have to do the chores. And they're not optional chores for extra stuff.
Rhi's Critique of Current Marvel Snap Meta and Community Feedback
00:01:19
Speaker
It's stuff I have to do to like keep up my card collection and stuff. Because apparently just paying the subscription to the game and the point of season pass isn't enough.
00:01:29
Speaker
And I was literally, I was kind of like playing because I'm like, oh, need to get, I've gotten Infinite every season since I've gotten it, usually earlier, no sweat. And it's like, and I haven't done Conquest. I to all this stuff for the podcast, I guess.
00:01:43
Speaker
Because like, um if it wasn't for that, honestly, I would be taking some more time off of it. And so that's when I was playing for like hours yesterday, like, you know, slogging through this meta.
00:01:58
Speaker
and working towards infinite. And I just was like, why am I playing? like This is my free time. This Riz time.
00:02:10
Speaker
I mean, we're doing the podcast for the fun of it, but it's like with my free time, I was grinding something that was actively unfun for me. i had like I wasn't even like, so because sometimes I grind in games, like an MMO or something.
00:02:23
Speaker
It's It's not necessarily fun, but, you know, there's a sense of personal satisfaction about it. Not this. Nothing. I was just literally doing something I felt like I had to do that was 0% fun to me. And I was just like, no, I need to put it down. Like, i don't know. Maybe I just don't even care about, you know, in checking the boxes or whatever every month. um And I feel like it's funny because I feel like I've seen these, you know, normally I'm pretty happy-go-lucky, so I don't get, like,
00:02:53
Speaker
Yeah, sometimes we tilt, but like, you know, I see all these, these, like ask the, the dev, you know, discord stuff. And, uh, there'll be these kinds of questions.
00:03:06
Speaker
Like, um, I play your game all the time and I hate it. Please explain. And, uh, it's just like, it's just kind of a funny thing to me, but I always feel like their answers are never very good. I feel like their answers always amount to like,
00:03:22
Speaker
Go touch grass, you know? And it's like, don't tell gamers to touch grass. Because my response immediately that is second dinner. If you would give me
00:03:39
Speaker
You want me touch grass with that? With that bullshit? Okay. Anyway, so because it feels like, look at this meta we're it we've been in. We've been stuck in. We've been stagnating in.
00:03:50
Speaker
It's like, it's like the villains, like all the worst villains won and are running amok. We're like, we're not even in like an Ultron corporate dystopia. We're like past that to where like, you know, Supreme and Thanos are just like eating stones Like, it's like poison everywhere outside. It's like, honey, did you have your, like, Luke Cage before you go out? The affliction index is, like, above the roof.
00:04:17
Speaker
And it's like Luke Cage is, like, it's just this, like, fucked up Henrietta Lacks situation where you're just carrying around his cells to keep from turning into, it like, a ghoul. And you can't even, like, it's like affliction.
00:04:29
Speaker
it's Thanos. You can't even play... Like my old favorites, like things that I was used to playing, like Kate Bishop, right? It's like, you want me to generate new cards into this world?
00:04:39
Speaker
I can even feed my cat Zabu because we got time cops everywhere. Movie is just anywhere. Can't have fun. have generated cards because the fucking stones are ruining that.
00:04:51
Speaker
ah It's just like, feel like. I don't know. We're due for like a snap rising, you know?
Ben and Rhi's Golden Gauntlet Tournament Experience
00:04:59
Speaker
um And when that comes, I just want our Steam listeners to remember, I am not one of the elite content creators. I'm one of you.
00:05:06
Speaker
They rejected me from their golden ah golden city. I'm just but wasteland, you know, wasteland radio voice speculating and the yeah the current awful situation we all find ourselves One dog ain't enough and two is too few.
00:05:24
Speaker
dog meat.
00:05:27
Speaker
Oh, okay. have a sad story about Dagny. I was making reference to Three Dog, the radio DJ in Fallout 3. I know, but that made me think of... i Yes, you're right.
00:05:41
Speaker
Three Dog. Yeah. Okay. Um...
00:05:45
Speaker
Dog meat died on me. I didn't realize that for couple hours. I was more tuned into John Henry Eaton usually. He was my voice my ear. But sorry for interrupting. Okay, no. So because of all of that, I was going to do comics corner for my weekend snap. But now I feel like I did too much of dystopia bit.
00:06:07
Speaker
just We have so much to cover today. we should just move on and see me fun comics corner for another time. yeah You can bring it up in the end, too, depending on how we do on time. Absolutely, yeah. the The people want to hear the comics talk.
00:06:22
Speaker
It's fun. Okay. Ben? So, yeah. Go for it, Ben. How was your week? My weekend snap was pretty cool. Let's see. What happened? There was the Golden Gauntlet tournament thing.
00:06:35
Speaker
ah participated in that. I was able to get in I think... ah perhaps indirectly due to having grumbled about it on the podcast. Who who can say what what led to people reaching out to make that happen? for Who knows?
00:06:51
Speaker
Who knows? But I got into the tournament. I played in it. I did okay. i There was an early thing where, for very understandable like reasons, things were a little bit...
00:07:03
Speaker
chaotic when it was getting off the ground. So the first round went very, very long, like very long, like wasn't sure when the second round was ever going to happen. So I missed the start of the second round and I noticed like pretty quick, but not quick enough that the match was allowed to happen. My opponent never showed up for that one. But anywho, like it ended up counting as a draw.
00:07:27
Speaker
I thought it was going to count as a game loss for both of us, but I was like, I don't even know how that works in scoring and stuff. But anywho, there was that that stumbling bit at the beginning, and that that kind of colored my my mood for the rest of the thing. And I've often remarked that I just play better when I'm in a good mood.
00:07:45
Speaker
So like I broke even. like I went 4-4-1 draw. you know like it It was fine, but I didn't feel like super great about it. I usually like to finish, you know, a little better than, you know, even.
00:08:01
Speaker
But it's fine. I know i i'm ah and I'm pretty good. Anywho, it all worked out. It was pretty fun. i think in the future, they'll be better at you know they They know all the things and the the site that they were using to run the tournament.
00:08:20
Speaker
ah They'd never run a tournament this big. and like I think that all things considered, it went real well. and I'm appreciative of the organizers who made that happen and all that stuff. I'm excited to play in more tournaments in the future. And, uh, yeah, I wish I'd, I wish I'd been a little better prepared. i wasn't sure I was going to get in. So I didn't really dedicate a whole lot of practice or thought or stuff. I don't know.
00:08:48
Speaker
Not, Yeah, you two both got in like on the wait list, right? Yeah. yeah you It was short notice. But I'm still so proud of you both for entering.
00:08:59
Speaker
ah thanks. there There used to be a bunch of like small tournaments and stuff, and I was a little more in practice of just ah the the competitive... you know, the the thing.
00:09:12
Speaker
I don't know. i was just frustrated that i I did not feel like I was bringing the best of my abilities to the the thing. And it still went fine. Like, it's it's nothing I need to beat myself up about, but it didn't feel great. I will tell you what I played.
00:09:26
Speaker
I played a Silver Surfer deck, and it had Gorgon in it. Never played Gorgon before, but I was just feeling... i was like... feel like this might be a field where Gorgon would be good. And you know what?
00:09:37
Speaker
I think it was. ah That was a America, Chavez, Forge, Surge, Gorgon, Brood, Captain Carter, Silver Surfer, Red Guardian, Sebastian Shaw, Absorbing Man, Galacta, and Gwen Poole. Pretty standard stuff, except for Gorgon, which is a new one for me, but...
00:09:54
Speaker
Other than that, you know, a lot of the cards I very often put in surfer decks made a really questionable move surfer deck. I'm not going to tell you what's in it because that's not one of my good Zorn decks. Yes, there are good Zorn decks, and I will tell you about them later.
00:10:09
Speaker
um But yeah, I've really been having fun with Zorn. I will talk more about that. But it's been a good week in Snap for the most part. ah Yeah. Yeah. um' I'm glad you liked your new move, Toy.
00:10:21
Speaker
Ri, before I take over, let's hear about your tournament experience. Your tournament? Okay. So mine was, you know, I was all ready like cheer on and my other friends that were entering. And then I got, I was not preparing to be in it at all.
00:10:37
Speaker
um I got a message as they were trying to last minute, like make fill-ins. And it was kind of like people had shown up to my door, like, like, you know, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, like, you won the golden ticket.
00:10:50
Speaker
Would you like to do the golden gauntlet tournament? And I was like, yes, When is that? And how do I do it?
00:11:02
Speaker
Tomorrow. And Ducks missions are already closed, so get me one like now. Yeah. That part stressed me out,
00:11:13
Speaker
Right. I didn't have a conquest deck like put together. I'm playing louder decks. Yeah. And thing for me about tournaments is like, you know, there are some people that are like, I will play, you know, whatever and whenever and wherever, you know, set of cards that I think will most get me to win the tournament. I want to be the best player of cards, whatever those cards are. I want to be the best Marvel Snap player.
00:11:39
Speaker
I am not one of those players. I'm like, that would be nice, but I want to get there my way. want to play my own decks. I want to play a deck that built, even if it's a couple cards like off a meta deck or something, I want it to be mine.
00:11:53
Speaker
um You know, like so I can have some style. And, I just, so I didn't, what I had to put together was wizard deck. No, ye not, i am wizard is ah a name that was supposed to be temp, but it's stuck with it forever. Okay.
00:12:10
Speaker
And so I was like, you know, I, I tried really hard to think, I'm like, should I just throw together server? Should I do this? Should I do that? I'm like, no, just, you know, go with your heart, Rhi. Okay.
00:12:21
Speaker
Live and die as a wizard. And so I ah so i submitted that deck. And as I submitted, I felt very much, you know, like the scene. keep referencing because I'm thinking of the gift, be honest, ah ah of Aragorn, you know, whispering for Frodo and then turning and like charging. And that was me going into the tournament.
00:12:41
Speaker
And I got ah My worst game of the match was when my opponent is like, hey, we're going to be streamed or whatever, so like I'll be late. And I'm like, oh, what? I know I've streamed in the past, but I'm a very anxious person.
00:12:57
Speaker
um And it just threw me way off and it was my worst game of the match and then my match after that was my second worst because I also get rattled. ah just If you face me, know that I never get rattled no matter what.
00:13:11
Speaker
um But you know here on the off record, I get rattled fuck up hard. But then I was like, no, if I if i get my shwerve back, ah you know I can still get top 50, which is kind of cool bragging rights.
00:13:24
Speaker
And we get down to the last game, and I'm month like, I win this last game. I'm definitely top 50. I know from how things have been, you know, I know from vibes, you know, how I've been shuffling back. And I'm up against ongoing Thanos, which, you know, my friends at the time all said was the top meta deck.
00:13:40
Speaker
So, and they are s smarter more in tune with the game than I am So, like, ah so that's what I was up against with my little, you know, my little meme, my little meme wizard deck. And I 8 cubed them first game.
00:13:53
Speaker
8 cubed them. You know, they just later, they're like, I didn't even know your hydrostomper can get that big. I'm like, well, thank you for noticing, you know? And it was and then and then it's like, OK, I've got him. I've got it. I've got a top 50 because like I do not if I want an eight cuber, I do not lose every game after that.
00:14:16
Speaker
I'm not saying I would win every single game or even two of those games, but I will win one of those games. And that is all I need. So I know I've won. And the next game, I know I've won, because I've got Batrock in my I've got the perfect hand.
00:14:31
Speaker
I've got everything I need. I know it's in their deck. I can beat them. like And I know, I know this is my game. like i This is someone who has no confidence in herself. I mean, ability to code only.
00:14:44
Speaker
Everything else, everything in life, zero confidence. So when I say know I was going to win this game, like know that I mean it with the fire of 1,000 And then like the second location flipped and it's fucking ego. It's fucking ego.
00:14:59
Speaker
With my tricky fucking deck that you need to actually have a brain to play. No. no And it's like, this was the game I needed to win.
00:15:09
Speaker
This was my perfect hand. playing the metadeck. I need to win eight cubers. I need to do this to win these games. And, of course, Ego just like, and they're like all moaning at me while like they get their Wiccan on curve.
00:15:25
Speaker
And then like they a Spectrum drops like at the end, right? and And meanwhile, he's like... It's just like, I hope you're with your freaking bat rock and all your move cards that need to be in specific.
00:15:37
Speaker
It's like, have you ever had the perfect hand of cards at your job or in life or anything? And then someone walks up and says, let me do that for you. And it's like...
00:15:48
Speaker
Okay, anyway, so like, because of ego, because of old, old white egotistical, narcissistic believer in his own godhood, not get top 50.
00:16:03
Speaker
When I ended the... Okay, like they don't even know I podcast. They had no idea who I was. I was under my pen name, Victrola Sage, because they need it to match my Discord name or whatever. Anyway, so they were like, hey, do you have a Clippers screenshot of the beginning of that game?
00:16:24
Speaker
Because they lost in A-Cuber. They weren't documenting that. But they're like, if they didn't know, I want to show them back and brag that I came back from... like Nate Cuber and was like, fine, you have take a screenshot. Here you go. They forgot to take their own little screenshot for their self-aggrandizement or whatever. know, but I had to Steven Universe I had to be like, here Here's what you came back from. and From being beat in an 8 Cuber by my stupid mean deck with your meta deck.
00:16:53
Speaker
So, you know, enjoy showing that off. But they really came back. They did it again.
00:17:02
Speaker
so just nice okay all right If they were nice, then I apologize for being a jerk about it. I don't mean to be mean to nice people. They were very grateful that I did and stuff, but they were a little insensitive considering it's like it'd been a long day.
00:17:16
Speaker
They won with the meta deck against my meme deck and they're like, oh, that was such an epic win. What an end to the day. One of us feels that way. You accomplished nothing. Yeah.
00:17:28
Speaker
So, yeah um Yeah, so we didn't, when I, when the tournament ended, the top deck data said I was number 66, which was fun because I had to do, like, demo horn stuff.
00:17:42
Speaker
But I don't know it shook out. I feel like maybe I saw something later that dropped me down to 75 for whatever reason. So I don't know. Oh, like once timebreakers were applied or something? I don't know.
00:17:53
Speaker
Yeah. So top deck said number 66, but maybe in official rankings that I didn't bother to really look. Maybe it's, it's less, maybe it's more. um so, you know, but I, I did a tournament.
Tournament Setup and Future Plans
00:18:08
Speaker
It was, this was how it works. So I, we should explain how it worked for people who may be interested in signing up for the next one, assuming it runs, uh, the same way. um Yeah, shout out to the staff. like the disord there were like like They took videos of like, here, dummies, is all the stuff you click to do the stuff.
00:18:28
Speaker
was like, thank you. Yeah, they really did a great job with what had to be a very difficult... like That's a tall order. and There's a reason they were hired. They are proven like through Snap Judgments League. And I think also Gunny helped with one of the creator tournaments. Yeah.
00:18:45
Speaker
awesome. Anyway. had a ticket system. They were answering stuff. like I have to say, like this was right the first biggest official thing. I think for everything that happened, I honestly was surprised that like a lot of tournaments like this, they'd end up being like, we'll have to finish it tomorrow or whatever. And they ran max like two hours, like at least when I was like when i was done.
00:19:07
Speaker
Because when was done, I was done. Because it was an all-day thing. We had to check in between 11 and 1130, or you're out. out Then, supposedly the first round was supposed to start at noon, but of course it was delayed because they had to like figure stuff out. And some parts were issues with the top deck website, which was like out of their control, kind of. you know and um So we finally get started.
00:19:30
Speaker
What they did was they're like, okay, round one is up. And then it would show your match, and you could click in and see your opponent's deck list. That was fun, finding out the deck lists were open with my like surprise card deck.
00:19:41
Speaker
no And then you have five minutes to like check in basically to, you know, to your match or you are just like considered a loss. You forfeit that match. it's very So you had to be there like hanging out, you know, like on point ready because you didn't know when it was going to pop.
00:20:05
Speaker
Because I do have a countdown timer, but I will say sometimes, like, if all the matches got done, they'd just pull that timer. So you couldn't rely on the timer for the next ah round. And then occasionally the timer would just run long and it'd count down.
00:20:19
Speaker
So if you join up for the spend a long time that day and to be, like, available. ah to to click in and play your rounds. But it was nine Swiss rounds.
00:20:32
Speaker
So you are guaranteed a good number of games. you're not going to get booted early. And, um you know, like only the top eight advance. And now there's like hundreds of people. But it's like, you know, like I set myself a goal. I was like, I'd like to get tough ah hundred and in top top 50 would be like dope for me coming last minute with a meme ladder deck, you know?
00:20:54
Speaker
So, ah you know, I'll take my 5-4. Let's get out of here. Sorry, I feel like I talked way too long about the tournament. No, it's a huge deal. it was I mean, it was the coolest thing you two did, at least in Snap, all week, as far as I'm concerned.
00:21:07
Speaker
um For sure. I did not participate. I have an imminent wedding, so weekends are busy. Honestly, every day is busy. There's another tournament coming up very soon. like I was surprised how quickly they launched Golden Gauntlet 2.
00:21:20
Speaker
um We'll talk about that in just a second. It's like over my wedding weekend, so not happening. But I think I will try to participate in one of these golden gauntlets. It's just like it's such a cool community thing. And even though I'm not an especially competitive player, I'm like you. I think all three of us that are this way. We're not spikes winning at any cost. We want to win on our own terms. We want to express ourselves with our decks and that sort of thing.
00:21:44
Speaker
um I would much rather... you know, get a moderate score with a deck that's rocking Valkyrie and Cersei than, than a just run ongoing Thanos and, and say, Oh, you know, um, anyway, so it got announced that they're already doing another one.
00:22:02
Speaker
Sign up should be open by the time you're hearing this on ah Friday, the 30th, if everything works out, like, and I think the processes are just going to get smoother the more that they run these. Um,
00:22:14
Speaker
More friendly time for international players. It's stretched out over two days, I think. um and And then they're doing a top 16 cut instead of a top eight cut.
00:22:25
Speaker
Tripled the player cap, which I think means like 1,200 players because there were 400 in the first one as far as I know. I think it was like after last minute drafts and stuff. Yeah, they couldn't fill all waitlist slots, sure.
00:22:39
Speaker
Yeah. But it's still, the player cap was around 400, and so now it's going to be around 1,200. That's awesome. um So I have no idea what the demand is like, because I'm not one of the TOs, but if the ah tournament organizer, for those who haven't done competitive play before.
Casual vs Competitive Play: A Reflection
00:22:58
Speaker
i But it seems like you know if there's 1,200 and there's like what maybe 100 of those are are content creators, like that's a decent amount for just...
00:23:11
Speaker
Any old player to get in, like, try if you're interested, you know?
00:23:17
Speaker
You can play on your phone. like And also, if you aren't to account creator play a grumble on your podcast about how you're not in the tournament. ah Because that worked for me. Yeah. I think that Dito has to be one of your listeners.
00:23:31
Speaker
Shout out to Mod Supreme Models. What did what what what did i say? I totally lost my train of thought. oh Sorry. I was just giving it to, Oh, you were, you were telling people about the, you know, twice as many or three times as many things for the people. And like, you can probably get in even if you aren't a content creator. And then I added that it like, you know, if you're not a content creator, you should talk about it on your podcast. well That's really the sure way to get it and
00:24:01
Speaker
It's not striking me. Whatever it was. lost In the meantime, heard someone talking about Marvel Snap in the wild who isn't like one of us that knows way too much. Like who can list a variant. We all just know what. ah gay I forget as much as I'm like, since I became a podcaster, I'm so I feel so bad. i used to be so in tune with the game.
00:24:25
Speaker
i would listen to podcasts and be like, I know more than these people. They're not up to date on the news. And now I am one of the podcasters who's like, I'm too busy. I'm not up to date on the news. But I heard someone who is not up to date, who just plays Marvel Snap, like without being part of it at all. And it was beautiful.
00:24:43
Speaker
They were talking about, they're like, oh, i love how I can, like, customize, like, all my cards so they, like, look unique. And they're like, oh, I love just building, like, decks of, like, like, X-Men and, like, Avengers. Like, some of them don't go together all that well. And I just listened enthralled. I wasn't like, you will never have heard of me, but I do a podcast about Marvel Snap. I was just, like, quietly, like...
00:25:07
Speaker
what are saying about my snapback? And it's just like, oh, the joy when ignorance truly is bliss. If you want to enjoy snap again, just know less about it. Okay, sorry.
00:25:19
Speaker
I am very fascinated in the casual audience because they are a big portion of the player, but a huge portion of the player base, presumably a decent portion of the paying base.
00:25:30
Speaker
And yeah, they they just engage with the game in a totally different way. Um, And I think that's something we forget. like Everybody who's like involved in the community or like you know like get really noisy about stuff or follow all the news closely, it's like the majority of the player base doesn't do that. it's and And the developers need to serve the casual players very much.
00:25:54
Speaker
um as well as the highly engaged players. i've I've gotten a lot more casual over time too, of course. and And you all who have been listening know I've also kind of been cool on Snap the
Discussion on New Card Zorn and Its Impact on Strategies
00:26:05
Speaker
past few weeks. It's been a rough meta.
00:26:07
Speaker
But recovered that very effectively. So instead of recovering that, I'll say watching the tournament, I watched, don't know, an hour or two. It made me a little more excited about the game. It was very exciting to see people who weren't...
00:26:20
Speaker
um playing meta decks do well or to see players, you know, to see upsets. Like ah that's what I was saying. Um, the winner of the tournament was a phone player always plays on his phone. He is like, he is one of the best ladder players. Like he is kind consistently high leaderboard, but he's not a content creator. He doesn't use untapped, uh, like a deck tracker.
00:26:42
Speaker
Um, and he won. Uh, and it makes you cool. Derek, um, derek um It was awesome. And I think maybe in the top two... No. He needs to go by, like, Thundercat or something.
00:26:59
Speaker
I mean, the other the other top two, I think, was Butt. Certainly top eight. um Another player, not content creator, who, I mean, does make a lot of decks that end up in, like, Pulse Glazer's videos.
00:27:13
Speaker
but And so, like, influences the community in that way. Sort of a creator, but not, like, a content creator, you know? um anyway i think that's super cool uh there was a light in the darkness for me besides the tournament which was fun to watch safety blade offments oft mentioned deck crafter has made a pixie cersei deck that i have been having so much fun with uh i haven't seen oh excited i think it's pronounced pixie loves cersei but it uses emoji so who knows um
00:27:46
Speaker
And it's just, it's very clever. It's using Pixie, Surge, Killmonger, Mobius, all these things that can like, you know are either very meta relevant or like can make it hard to predict what's going on or can counter the meta with Mobius and Killmonger.
00:28:02
Speaker
But then you hit them with Cersei. They're all great Cersei targets. Like Mobius is effective on turn six and then you transform him on the last turn. He's done his job and now he's a four cost, presumably with better power or better effect.
00:28:15
Speaker
Um, hold de Hood, Niko Minoru, Pixie, Surge, Scarlet Witch. I have been taking out some limbos. Killmonger, Mobius, Copycat. Very fun card. Copycat is such a strategy.
00:28:31
Speaker
Yeah, I have not. like She looked so fun to me ahead of time, like before she launched. And I call her best of her season. And she proved to be very good. And I i do not play her enough.
00:28:43
Speaker
um Every time you see her on the other side, you're just like, I need to play more copycat. Why am I not playing copycat? She's so looking good. okay yeah Enchantress, Cersei, Cannonball, and Hulkling.
00:28:58
Speaker
um don't know that Hulkling is the best choice here. Definitely the best choice here. This is definitely not the worst place to play Hulkling, though. I will i will say, like if you insist on playing Hulkling somewhere...
00:29:12
Speaker
You know? Yeah. A pixie deck where he's not always going to cost six, and also ah deck that is already kind of like it hard for your opponent to read. Like, he add he contributes to that. You forget, you're like,
00:29:30
Speaker
You know? Oh, yeah. oh try And even better when it's a 312 one, right? um So, very fun. I highly recommend it. ah And the fact that it was like, I was doing okay into the meta with it, I was like, oh, maybe maybe I can bring out my my own beloved Cersei Valk deck.
00:29:49
Speaker
um So I've been playing some of that. I don't know how well it does into Thanos. I've mostly just been dodging Thanos. But... um Yeah, I've been having fun the past few days.
00:30:00
Speaker
i But I have also experienced that, like, it feels like chores. And I don't like that. And I would pay, you know, season pass, i don't know, plus if it meant I just didn't have to do chores. You didn't have to worry about chores anymore?
00:30:16
Speaker
Yeah. I pay a subscription. Like, yeah, I don't want should take care of it. yeah going to have the time I have for SNAP. it's It's like a really different place to be because normally I'm like so on top of everything. I'm playing the game even though I don't have any missions to actively work on because I've cleared them all.
00:30:34
Speaker
And I'm playing just for fun. Like that's how most of my career in Snap has been. But yeah, the past few weeks it has been like letting a few of them go every now and then totally burning some missions, like getting the weekend missions done on Monday. Like it really. ah Right. Yeah.
00:30:55
Speaker
okay anyway ota today patch in an ota next week because they moved up an ota are we going to talk about the new card first or we will i was just saying oh this is relating to your weekend i see i'm trying to stay optimistic and like you know second dinner Don't skip an OTA again.
00:31:20
Speaker
It's bad. Especially if it's a bad meta. and There's a chance that we get stuck in a good meta, but it's not worth the risk. like Let's just always have some balance changes to keep the game. Be ready for it. If y'all need to go and take the time, like I understand that, but like plan ahead. may Make something... It doesn't have to be like the best one ever, but ah don't let yeah don't let this happen again. like It did not...
00:31:46
Speaker
I didn't mind it as much as most people minded it. And I'm just like saying as an observer, like, wow, folks sure got angry at that. ah So don't let them get angry at you for that again. Yeah, right. I've seen plenty of malaise around it. And for me, it's not even that like Thanos is kicking my butt or anything like that. Just like there's so much of it. It's so samey. Yeah. like It makes the game feel worse that it's that it's lower meta diversity.
00:32:12
Speaker
It's the counters that are up. It's like Mobius is for and against things. So like, you know what I mean? The top decks are running counters that are also good for them, which means like you are obligated to play things like Luke.
00:32:27
Speaker
You know what mean? You're just so constrained. and around it and it's like and especially when they gave us all these things that generate new cards and that's being punished you know what i mean it's just like it's it's the specific kind of meta deck that's ruling the meta that's you know it's just one of those unfun ways yeah thanos gets to run a bunch of tech because of how it works you know it fills out the bottom of its curve with stones and so it gets to run extra tech slots or But the reason i I wanted to make sure we were talking about Zorn next was because the mood's about to change and it's about to get a lot more positive, folks, because I've got i've got a deck that's been kicking a lot of Thanos' ass. And, yeah oh my gosh, if anybody just wants like some beautiful screenshots of like eight cubers of all Marvel Snap's worst villains getting their asses handed to them, I'd
00:33:24
Speaker
I've got beautiful pictures of hilarious things happening to bullseye decks, Thanos decks, affliction. I'm just, I'm, I'm taking little snapshots of all kinds of ass kickings. It's beautiful. Okay.
00:33:36
Speaker
Let me introduce the card and then you can pop off. um Zorn two, three. After any three or four cost card is played here, move it to another location.
00:33:49
Speaker
Take it away. Yeah, I love this card. Very cool, right? ah It's like, hey, um what if Topaz was also kind of juggernaut and like cost two?
00:34:00
Speaker
I don't know. like this i mean It's not exactly like any other move card because they're all different. But like hey, general rule of thumb, if the card moves cards, it's a good card. Like, unless it's Hercules. Hercules is like the the one that proves the rule or whatever. ah ah um And, well, we're going to talk more about Hercules. And, you know, I'm going to be saying different things about Hercules soon, I think. i think I think my opinion, haven't gotten to play him yet, but wow. um But anywho, let's talk more about Zorn. All right. What decks am I playing with Zorn?
00:34:35
Speaker
ah Let's talk about the real good one that I've been playing on PC because I had a feeling it was real good after playing it on my phone. That's usually how it works. I play things on my phone, and then if I need to prove that they're real good, I take them over to the PC and I play with the tracker on and stuff.
00:34:50
Speaker
So right now on my untapped, this deck is sitting at a 68% win rate after 25 games, 17 and eight record, more than 25 cubes, 27 cubes. So that's a cube right above one.
00:35:04
Speaker
um i know it's a small sample, 25, you know, it's whatever. But as I said, I only started playing it on the computer because I was so sure it was kicking ass on the phone. Anywho, anywho, the deck.
00:35:15
Speaker
ah The Leaper. Scream. Craven. Zorn. Spider-Man. Spider-Man is still such a great card. Love Spider-Man. Silk. Hydra Stomper. Vulture. Red Wing. Cannonball. Heimdall. And Magneto.
00:35:30
Speaker
And ah yeah, um what to say about it? Zorn is kind of a card that you should probably like play for yourself so you understand what's good and cool about it.
00:35:42
Speaker
But let me just tell you what I like to do with Zorn. I like to play Zorn either on the left or the right. I very rarely play Zorn in the middle. I'll play Zorn in the middle if like there's a location that I'm trying to leverage for some purpose.
00:35:55
Speaker
Zoran is very handy for ah like handling location stuff. ah Your location problems, ah making location problems for your opponent.
00:36:06
Speaker
um Gosh. um Another thing that's cool, if you've got priority and you suspect that your opponent is about to play some three or four cost cards somewhere, you play Zoran there and... ah mess their whole thing up.
00:36:22
Speaker
um So that's pretty cool. That's the juggernaut functionality I was talking about. But yeah, usually i put him on the I yeah, either the left or the right, depending on like the circumstances and the cards you've got in your hand, because like he does cool stuff like setting up for Heimdall at the end.
00:36:38
Speaker
He also does really cool stuff setting up for himself. That's right. Magneto. Boom. Turn six Magneto. There's going to be space on that Zorn lane to pull some stuff in. They didn't fill the Zorn lane. You can't fill the Zorn lane. They can't do it.
00:36:52
Speaker
um I mean, I guess Thanos can sometimes with like a bunch of stones, but they don't want to. And it's like, you know, like yeah like you'll... Basically, nobody's ever filling the Zorn lane, so you can always Magneto stuff back onto the Zorn lane. It's going to be fine.
00:37:05
Speaker
um Great with Scream. ah great with but it's just like It's very cool to know where your opponent can put things. like Just being armed with that information is ah very valuable, and you're the one who knows where the Zorn is going and... like You don't know where the stuff is going to go, but if, for instance, you played Zorn on the left lane, ah you're fine with either of those other places because they both scoot over when you play Heimdall at the end. um You know, like, where wherever it was, just, like, know that that's what's going on.
00:37:38
Speaker
I don't know. ah It's hard to... like Once y'all get Zorn in your hands, once you start playing with Zorn, you will see the the appeal. so many like Zorn is just such a turn five rock star with Vulture or Redwing.
00:37:56
Speaker
That's five energy that's five energy for eight eight stats on on the board and then like whatever you pull out of your hand and in the deck that I've described ah the thing you're pulling out of your hand is Cannonball, Heimdall or Magneto so like it's gonna be I don't know I don't know I was i was initially skeptical of the Red Wing thing I was like is Zorn gonna be enough to make me like Red Wing a card that I've wanted to like but have not really succeeded in finding affection in my heart for um but yeah I like Red Wing with Zorn it's real good
00:38:28
Speaker
Um, also feel really bad. It's kind of making me not like Topaz as much. I don't always want to shove everything into the middle lane. It's like super predictable, gets super crowded and it just like causes traffic jams for stuff I want to you know? Um, what else is there? is that difference more about the ability?
00:38:50
Speaker
You like Zorn's ability better? Mm-hmm. Because the cost is also, I'm assuming, part of that. Yes, yes, it definitely helps. I think ah Topaz would be better as 2-3.
00:39:02
Speaker
ah I still like Topaz. Topaz does a cool thing and like the predictability is neato. But yeah, I just think Zorn is in general doing like more of the stuff you want. Also, Zorn freed me from, you know, like in these Heimdall decks I build, i very often, I want the current version of Dagger to be good and correct in there. But like, no, no, no.
00:39:28
Speaker
last Last time Dagger had this this body with that text, it was good. But in 2025, 2-2 Dagger that gets plus two per card is like not good, which is kind of a bummer. I mean, like it's fine in move bounce. like you know If you're doing like move bounce stuff, I think you can probably do it.
00:39:44
Speaker
and and But like in in the Heimdall thing, I...
00:39:49
Speaker
Sure, if you want to if you want to trust the fucking mad demigod, you you go right ahead. you you You roll the dice with that. Well, so the thing is now now you can trust him. Now now he's fucking stand-up guy.
00:40:06
Speaker
i don't know. i'm I'm going to really really struggle to adjust my my feelings about Hercules. It was now a card I'm very excited about, for like a card that I was completely... not excited about before. But anywho, yeah, I don't know. I just think you're wrong about dagger with like with other cards. like I was getting enormous daggers.
00:40:29
Speaker
No, you will get enormous daggers. It's just that like you have to like move dagger more than once. and like i'm I'm saying if your deck runs a strong... and I'll move dagger?
00:40:41
Speaker
Yeah, well, I'm saying your deck... If your deck has a strong chance of only... How did I get a move deck? In a move deck. If your move deck has a strong chance of moving dagger only once, it might not be worth it right now, is all I'm saying. She used to be, what, 212? Yeah. If you moved her into a full lane, so I get what you're saying.
00:41:02
Speaker
She's just ah different now. Yep. And like, it was easy enough to just like get a like, oh boom, two six or whatever. And you know, you can still get like, oh boom, two six. I don't know. It's like, it's hard to explain. But like, if you're not guaranteed to be moving dagger a zillion times or able to protect a dagger that you would move a zillion times, say with like bounce stuff.
00:41:22
Speaker
Like, i'm I'm playing decks where dagger once the dagger's on the board, dagger stays on the board. So, like, I gotta be, like, careful with dagger. I gotta manage dagger and things. I don't know. So, I'm just saying, I'm not finding it to be as worthwhile in Heimdall decks to play dagger right now as it has been.
00:41:38
Speaker
But the deck that I described has been kicking ass with just Vulture and Red Wing as far as, like, stuff that loves to be moved. um I mean, like, everything loves to be moved because it's helping Hydrastomper and Kraven and, you know, all that.
00:41:52
Speaker
uh, Spider-Man, uh, neither here nor there, but like, well, I guess it is kind of here actually because Spider-Man I think is specifically good when Zoran's around. Um, Because as I said, Zorn is going to be a lane that's not full and other lanes will fill up or they they like other lanes will be more likely to get filled and it makes it easier to do very specific and deliberate Spider-Man things.
00:42:20
Speaker
you know like You can stick... Spider-Man and a card where you want to more easily if Zorn's around doing Zorn stuff. I don't know. I i wish i wish you you two had also played some Zorn so that I could... I did play some Zorn! I'm just waiting for my turn.
00:42:38
Speaker
I'm excited to try your deck. Please do. i've got I've got others. I built a cool one that I should tell you about. It's sort of a scream deck without scream in it. It's got Batroc, Kingpin, Kraven, Zorn, Spider-Man, Silk, Hydra Stomper, Vulture, Topaz, Polaris, Heimdall, and Magneto.
00:42:57
Speaker
And I built that one like on purpose to be a little bit more budget-friendly. It's got Hydrastomper and Zoran in there, so that's two Series 5 cards, but they're quite recent. So like if you're a new player, you might actually have them.
00:43:09
Speaker
And other than that, it's just Series 4 and below. So ah I played some with that, and it won a fair amount. And I feel good about recommending it to people.
00:43:22
Speaker
So, yeah. I will put that one in the stuff. Yeah. it'll It'll be there for the peoples. Okay. we Okay, so yeah, a lot of the same cards that go in every deck like Kraven. I played just Auto Zorn.
00:43:39
Speaker
I was like, I gotta get in some Zorn. And like I said, I've been doing... um And I was curious. So I put together, and it's some shenanigans. It's a bunch of move cards that you would expect, including Dagger, who, yes, does get bounced around a bunch by Hercules.
00:43:55
Speaker
Hmm. The thing with move is move can get so powerful. And yes, it's very shangable. But like you can like if they don't have a to stop it, it doesn't even matter where your power is. You've just got so much of it. Right.
00:44:07
Speaker
Literally everywhere. um What I and I feel like the Zorn is the final piece that clicks into kind of opening and a new type of move.
00:44:22
Speaker
Because I've classically not been that into move because it feels like there's been, for a long time, there was just straight move. you know You're just all in on the moves and you've got your daggers and torches and whatnot and vultures.
00:44:35
Speaker
And, you know, um and then it was like, oh, maybe have a Heimdall or not a Heimdall. You know, you got enough move cards that, like, sometimes you do other things. Then, like, Scream came along, and now there's all these Scream mixes of, like, I move you move us both, you know, or, like, you know, all kind of in the Scream vein.
00:44:55
Speaker
And I feel like, okay, Redwing and, like, Zorn... is really that piece that brings about like tech move, right? Cause one is such a good tech card.
00:45:06
Speaker
It's like, try to put your drag down here to win a lane. Can't do it So many people like the four cost cards are so powerful. Galacta's what people are playing, you know, the, uh, the three and fours like, so, uh,
00:45:22
Speaker
Zorn is a great tech card. And like with what Madam Web, Madam Web was in AutoZorn. I love making a good use out of Madam Web. I still am so sad about how red guardianable she is Red guardian is still just like massively rampant is like the one best tech card.
00:45:38
Speaker
um It's what I've seen. She's a shriek. I'm vulnerable to But, okay. So, like, and so we're in let's just play Spider-Man 2099. is, like, he's still a little bit on the weak side, to be honest, as a card. This monochrome with all the stones.
00:45:57
Speaker
it's like I mean, there's not stones, though, because they're all eaten by Strange. Like, you know. Usually by the end of the game, when I'm moving Spider-Man, like, there's none those stones in the board. Sorry, what were you saying? My question was, how is Zorn and 2099 playing together? Because 2099 is a five cost, right?
00:46:15
Speaker
I mean, they're both tech cards, right? Yeah. Like, OK, so like, it's like before it was like you were maybe throwing like eight what you were trying to do, which is nine thing with your mass.
00:46:27
Speaker
But now we're getting. it's Yeah, it's like it's like like, like, le is with Spider-Man, who was kind of part of the Scream and other packages, but always been a good standalone tech card for just pulling someone out of the, like, can't play here after turn four lane, or all kinds of, you know, swinging a Wong out of, you know, New York or whatever.
00:46:48
Speaker
And, um... And it's like, and now I feel like I can play because when I'm playing this deck, I can tech a lot, which is not, usually moves just kind of playing solitaire on its own side of the board and hoping you're not like shanging it or whatever, you know what I mean? It's a staff for sure.
00:47:06
Speaker
Yeah, and this is the opening where it's like with stuff like Zorin, you're playing Red Winged, you know, you're playing stuff that isn't just power from move, but that uses move as the power in combination with tech pieces to interact with your opponent's deck, which is more interesting ah ah to me which is kind of where I've been finding joy. And Zorin, yeah, like Ben said, Zorin is just like,
00:47:37
Speaker
is is a great card because yeah it's offensive and defensive and it's cheap. Like, what more can you want? um So, yeah, I've been enjoying getting to play Heimdall, too.
00:47:53
Speaker
I always love a good Heimdall. So, yeah, it's been a good time. Good. I got Zorn, but I have not used him yet. ah But we'll say I was thinking about Clog Zorn, partially because it seems like an easy way to play Green Goblin. Then you kept talking about how that lane is always open. And I'm like, this is sounding even better for like ah a cloggy thing. And I don't know what that looks like, like a Titania Luna Snow or something like I'm not sure, but I'm thinking about it.
00:48:27
Speaker
um Also, before Zorn dropped, i was I was lamenting as I was cooking with friends, I was lamenting that Storm is a four cost. um But as we're about to talk about in the OTA, she's a three again. And I think Zorn Storm is cool.
00:48:44
Speaker
Oh, yeah, yeah. I like it. What are they going to do to follow up the Storm as it's about to close down? Play
OTA Balance Changes and Their Effects
00:48:49
Speaker
a three or four? No, they're not. Yeah. So yeah, ah those are my thoughts. Having not played Zorn, I've played against him a little bit, but not much.
00:48:59
Speaker
um He makes big vultures, I'll tell you that. okay It's annoying when you're playing a lot of mirrors and you're like, my Zorn and Hercules are just helping.
00:49:11
Speaker
It's always such an interesting dynamic with the way that Snap's release system works. Yeah.
00:49:20
Speaker
But next month we get our first like start of season. You get four cards. Talk about those later too. Okay. There's an OTA. i Thursday this week, May 29th.
00:49:32
Speaker
ah Yesterday, if you're listening to this in a timely manner. First up, hits to the Thanos decks. Strange Supreme goes to two one Sam Wilson's Shield goes to 0-0.
00:49:45
Speaker
Time Stone, the one that discounts Thanos' cost, no longer draws a card. My biggest thought here, I think we talked about 0-0 shield before, and I was like, that really defeats a lot of what the shield does. like It is it's just like yeah it is kind of a bummer, but also there's a reason you don't get a free thing with stats at the start of the game.
00:50:08
Speaker
like Yeah. and The effect on prio, and like you know maybe it's a good thing that it's not so free to steal, say, Rickety Bridge or Death's Domain. Yeah. Yeah. I do really love playing the show there. I don't think this kills it at all. Because a lot of what is so great, it's just a little tech piece.
00:50:28
Speaker
Like I said, and that's why it goes in so many decks. Because you can move it and like fill in a location because you think they're going to hub Goblin you there or something. Or just to like get an Elsa buff to go off and not like commit you to that.
00:50:43
Speaker
And a lot of times it just draws a red Guardian too and it stuff. It freaks me up when they hit it with red card. I'm like, that's how you want to spend your three energy. No, i mean, like, I'm not saying it's literally never correct, but like the rule of thumb is no.
00:50:57
Speaker
Yeah, it's um it's like it's its value is in its ability usually to move. And this is a big hit because the Pryo is really good. The ability to just win a rickety bridge kind of stuff with no work. But um so this is a good hit to it. But I think it's I don't think this kills the card.
00:51:17
Speaker
no not And you can still give it power if you really want to, right? Spectrum decks still give it power. If you really want to, you can merge something onto it or hit it with a, I don't know, Ironheart or something.
00:51:28
Speaker
um Surely there's a Nomura deck out there playing Sam Wilson. i yeah Thanos needed to hit... On the hot location, I saw so much Nomura.
00:51:40
Speaker
Which hot location? Genosha. Oh. know. I haven't seen any it.
00:51:53
Speaker
It made me sad because I love Nomura, but I felt like he's nefariously with Thanos and stuff, and it's like, no, Nomura would never.
00:52:05
Speaker
ah Hazmat goes from 2-2 to three three a Afflict has been the strongest counter to Thanos. Um, so don't know. It's a, it's a miserable meta. ah who shoot it three and I think this is like kind of like longer term, like bigger picture, independent of like, you know, overthrowing Thanos or whatever. i kind of, I've wanted this for the card for a while.
00:52:33
Speaker
i i don't think it should be two. I think, yeah, I think three is the right cost for that effect. As more things reward afflicting, things like, Diamondback and Ajax, like, Hazmat's value has been going up.
00:52:52
Speaker
Now we can make Sofer Afflict. and like It's for the same reason that Zorn is so cool and like easy to squeeze in alongside like you know a three-cost thing and stuff. like that yeah I don't think that Hazmat should be that ah agile, you know?
00:53:07
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Gregor made a hazmat or an afflict surfer deck. Like, yeah, it's quite popular. And it was good. Like, it still is like toxic surfer is still ah fine. all i I don't know how often I see it, but yeah, that's that's.
00:53:22
Speaker
maybe more real now um oh it's it's been real enough that i've been avoiding playing it uh because it's it's too real and not mine you know it's not hipster enough right now yeah i'm like so maybe this is this is gonna finally allow me to put my own you know take my own approach to it i don't know we'll see what happens it's reasonable if hazmat and luke take up your entire turn without any energy to spare okay Sauron goes from a two two to a oneth three and doesn't hit your hand anymore.
00:53:57
Speaker
Only removes abilities from ongoing cards in your deck. This is a wild change. It's a big nerf. You think? played a one is nice lot of I defer to your expertise on this. like like You have to tell me, is ah is this a a nerf?
00:54:16
Speaker
I think it played Sorin for like an hour yesterday or something. I don't know. um I don't know how much time passes when they do things. and This is a big nerf because a lot of times, sometimes you're not drawing Sorin and you're playing him on turn five and still getting value because of the giant-ass power cards in your hand. Now like Or you're hitting your Ebony Maw.
00:54:38
Speaker
So this is a giant nerf. Because one, it's like, okay, I'm playing Sauron and I have Sauron on two and like things don't look like shitty at all, I'm snapping, right? Because like that you need to snap...
00:54:55
Speaker
Especially when you're playing a deck like this, people do underestimate the power you put out. But it's one of those where you want to snap early when things look in your favor because they know the deck. It's a little more linear. It's going to be harder to get, you know, like a not retreat out of it.
00:55:10
Speaker
But like now, but so that was good. Like I said, but it's like, even when you got it late, you were playing Sauron on turn and turn five because all of the cards you have in your hand and that are like, you don't want to fucking play a star brand that has not been Sauron or zeroed.
00:55:29
Speaker
You know what I mean? Typhoid Mary is now minus two to all cards at her location. So if you're not trying to save him from a Shang, you know, like what you need to kind of plan out, it's like this is this is this is markedly worse.
00:55:44
Speaker
Like this is this is a nerf. Sauron is getting a new tool with Nightmare, which we'll talk about in a little bit. um But yeah, I can see it being a big hit. Like,
00:55:56
Speaker
Sauron decks, I think a lot of them run Enchantress or Zero just in case, now they me like kind of have to have that Enchantress there. um And yeah, definitely a huge hit. They know, right? The problem is the Soran deck is so known because it's a very small set of cards, right? I mean, it goes with Surtur now, but it's still like a really known deck.
00:56:19
Speaker
And so you put on a stuff planning to Enchantress it later. There's so much Cosmo in the meta right now, right? Like, that's a risk. And like I said, Starbrand, lot of these, and Red Skull, they are huge liabilities, as they should be if you can't negate them.
00:56:36
Speaker
And, um you know, and then it's like sometimes you're just lining Zero up for a next turn. I don't know. I know that Sora and people who play Sora all the time are probably super bummed about this change.
00:56:50
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, ah as as you've explained it to me, I'm like, I i totally see it the the way you are saying it. Yep, this sounds like a like ah like a hard one for Sauron fans.
00:57:02
Speaker
The description that they gave for the patch, it's supposed to be a nerf. like Yeah, that that was their justification. They were saying they were concerned Sauron was going to be the best deck if...
00:57:16
Speaker
you know with the other changes they were making, that it was just going to fill that void and that it has been flying quietly under the radar lately. um It's funny how some cards can do that. Like, I know Sauron has had very good stats lately and also Evolved Abomination, and apparently people are running him in a package, like an EVO package, with just EVO. I've been doing that this whole time. That's that's the only way I play high EVO is just for Abomination and Affliction decks.
00:57:42
Speaker
Yeah, but it turns out... I never play Cyclops or anything. I just play Evolved Abomination. Turns out a 0-9 is a good card. Yeah. um Yeah. Makari goes to three three um as she was meant to be before they pre-buffed her when everybody was really down on her. Except for me. You know I always believed in you. That's true. You believed and you were probably right all along. You were a Makari truther. do feel that way. yeah um I think this is sensible. like She is like four free stats. like
00:58:13
Speaker
yeah I bought myself, I mean, like, you know, I'm very scarce on the variants I get. And I did get my Makari, the, like, Throne Makari. like, you to deserve a Throne Ooh.
00:58:24
Speaker
I'm also even sparser on variants. And I got one this week. i got I got the new Firehair. It was 700 gold. loved that Yeah, pretty good.
00:58:35
Speaker
yeah it's pretty good I just got the new Iron Patriot, too, because it's by Nikola. I'm not going to attempt his last name because it has like four diacriticals in it.
00:58:45
Speaker
um Nicky Yeah. I love every single piece of art. It's so good. Yeah, I think every single one of his cards that I have is like the one I'm running on my custom. Yellowjack, Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kraven.
00:59:02
Speaker
craven Yeah, his art's phenomenal. um Anyway, Iron Patriot couldn't resist it.
00:59:10
Speaker
ah Could he create any... Are there any four-cost Nikola cards that Iron Patriot could create? I guess five... Almost certainly. There's Hobgoblin. For sure. Maybe some i saw an Arderm Scream today. I don't think that's out.
00:59:24
Speaker
But I was playing against a Loki, so, you know. It generated one. It's so fun that it can do that. Okay. That was cool. Next up is is is a large OTA, which, you know, good because of how long of a wait it's been.
00:59:38
Speaker
Kohori gets just a text update to clarify she can't target herself. It says other cards now instead of just cards. ah What is it Isle of Silence is in play again. it had a really weird bug with Iron Patriot where it would loop the animation over and over again.
00:59:54
Speaker
Apparently they fixed it. Storm goes to three, two. I'm so happy about this. Um, i storm definitely is an example of card that took a bullet for somebody else's sins.
01:00:06
Speaker
yeah What they are doing is they're making it so that when you lead in a flooding location, the, the copied ones don't inherit the timing. So they will still be flooding the following turn.
01:00:21
Speaker
Um, which is how Mirror Dimension used to work. And I'm interested now at this change if they're also going to revert Mirror Dimension to not inherit the timing. I'm just curious, as a getting-to-know-my-co-hosts thing, before Legion came out, did you all expect the Legion-Storm interaction to work the way it has worked?
01:00:41
Speaker
or i Yeah, I personally expected it to work the way it it is now working. that I thought it would copy Mirror Dimension. also loved it.
01:00:53
Speaker
But they even said that they they weren't, like that they made the decision because of how playtesters expected Legion to work. And so they expected it to work the other way, which I found very interesting when I read this justification. I was like, so the playtesters had ah different like intuitive sense of how the rules work than I did. And i was that's why I asked you guys how you how you felt when Legion came out.
01:01:18
Speaker
And that because that surprised me because I thought it didn't make a damn lick of sense. And I... have continued to kind of I mean, like I understand why they think it makes sense, because, you know, like, sure, you're copying the thing, and it had the timing of the... the like guess I guess I see the other way to look at it, but like it has always seemed backwards and ah like like ah a bit of a leap to me. Yeah, I think it's kind of a funny funny reason for it. like I would understand if they said, we made Legion work that way because of rule of cool. like It was a cool interaction. like That I'd understand, but...
01:01:52
Speaker
Anyway, um so they're only breaking the two-card combo, Storm Legion. The three-card combo involving War Machine will still work, um Storm War Machine Legion. And I think maybe that's okay, and I'm sure if it's not, they'll adjust it again.
01:02:09
Speaker
um But, you know, if it requires three pieces on curve, it's probably not that not that big of a deal. yeah Toxidoxy gets a buff from two one to 2-3.
01:02:23
Speaker
They were ah very conservative with her. they were. I'll play her some more. This excites me because I want to play her some more, but nobody else will because it doesn't move the needle for anyone else. The thing is, I like the concept so much that like I tried the 2.1 version and I i thought about like what...
01:02:45
Speaker
you know i I told myself I would try... I would i would at least give a chance to a 2-3. There were only so many things they might have done to it, so I did think about it. and like like This might be enough. We'll see. it's it It is a clunky thing. And she's not a Ravonna card anymore, so you can't try shenanigans like that. I wish it was 2-1 plus 3. That's probably worse, but it's cooler when you hit your... No, it makes it better, I feel like.
01:03:14
Speaker
Like, everything that gives something plus three power is mostly turned out to P.O.P. It's the magic number. Well, if she goes plus three, if if she gets the two extra power to the card she's buffing instead of on herself, you may not play those cards.
01:03:30
Speaker
Whereas you're definitely playing Toxie Doxie. But you take that chance because, like... Right, yeah, what if you're doing... That's what you want her for. That makes her better at what you want her for. Yeah. Rude. You don't want the power in her.
01:03:42
Speaker
Mm-hmm. She's a 2.7. How bad can she be, right? I mean, pretty bad, maybe. i don't know. I want to believe. She's such a deck-building requirement. It's like, okay, she goes with Jeff, and then I'm like, that's it, sold with my, like, because I love buff stuff, but I feel like...
01:03:59
Speaker
She's going to be hard to be the slot in the deck you don't want to replace with something else. and I played against one Toxie Doxie this past month. It was yesterday. And it was a hardcore Scarlet Spider deck.
01:04:12
Speaker
And they hit him with i like everything. Hit him with a Koye and with a White Bull. And a Nakia? There was a Toxie Doxie. And it came down on Shuri's lab. And this thing was like 26 power. And I was like, okay.
01:04:27
Speaker
Yeah. I'm out of here. Bye. It's always fun when you have like a 218 like sinister. It's like seeing one of these. OK, an excellent target for hand buff.
01:04:40
Speaker
Hercules now only affects your own cards. That's awesome. Yeah, it is. This a good card now. It's less chaos. I'm excited for you to appreciate this card. Yeah.
01:04:55
Speaker
um um I've wanted to like Hercules this whole time, ever since he was four cost. You know, like i've I've wanted him to I wanted to have nice things to say about him. There just haven't been any.
01:05:07
Speaker
and He's very fun. But yes, I'm saying fun and not good. i Sorry, Total Wombat Combat. Who loves that card? Oh, shout out to my band combat.
01:05:18
Speaker
Yeah, let me run something by you. good egg. Do you think Hercules instead should be each player gets a bounce off of Hercules? No. No? No.
01:05:29
Speaker
I, like, my my opponent just, i I'll move their cards when I want to move their cards. Anybody who's moving cards is doing it on purpose, so it probably just helps them.
01:05:39
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. it's There are situations where you can play Hercules defensively, right? I have put him on location and like, yeah, you go ahead. You put your card there. You move there.
01:05:51
Speaker
Sorry, you can't. I'm going to retain the power. The Hercules lottery playing Hercules with Sam Wilson and trying to get it to bounce the shield back into Sam.
01:06:02
Speaker
No, you play Hercules on Sam so it always bounces back on. Oh, and put in playing the lottery wrong. No wonder I never win the lottery.
01:06:14
Speaker
okay The lottery is fun, and I think the lottery gives you, it means you can try doing the super bounce one extra turn. So, yeah. Worth the gamble, maybe.
01:06:26
Speaker
Annihilus goes to 5A. I never see that guy anymore, so yeah. Yeah. It's funny because, yeah, like, um I think they even said, right, like, he was the terror.
01:06:36
Speaker
And now it's like when I see Afflict, I used to always know there there's a possible Annihilus. Now it's like, okay, are they... Did they surprise run Annihilus in their deck? Because it's not even as common anymore.
01:06:46
Speaker
I feel like Annihilus is an even rarer way to deal with it than, like, Lady Deathstrike. And I hardly ever see her. I've seen Cersei more than... That's not true. I've seen Annihilus lately. Ever since Vipers buff, like, Annihilus just...
01:07:02
Speaker
I think part of it is he switched to the below zero and so like debris wasn't such a free combo. You have to like debris yellow jacket or debris hazmat. He got killed in several stages. it Didn't all happen at once. Yeah.
01:07:16
Speaker
He used to be an absolute terror though. That's for sure. ah Electro goes three, three to three, four. No, it's great. I love it. I still have my tall geese. I need to like rename it to another Gundam maybe at this point. but like um ah Which runs like Electro. which You're ramping.
01:07:36
Speaker
It's a destroy ramp. ah Destroyer is such a surprise card anymore. It's so great. Remember back in the old days, like the old reliable deck. People would go to a Spectrum Destroyer.
01:07:50
Speaker
Remember that? the two roads diverged in a yellow wood. yes But like now he's fun because like nobody, because people, I like put out my little destroy stuff, my little X-23 and Wolverine and I snap because they're to like Cosmo it and stuff.
01:08:08
Speaker
And I'm like, shh. Like, you think I can't reach them from over here? ah and like, Electro is a big part. And honestly, with Surge and stuff, I'm like, does Talgy suck anymore? Like, because my deck, because it's like an Electro ramp. It's based on destroying stuff.
01:08:26
Speaker
But this run's, like, null, right? So, like, I mean, I get it's just one power, but I'm just, like, excited because I still... Have decent success with my ah with tall geese. And let's fucking As they said, power will continue to increase until morale improves.
01:08:50
Speaker
but I think he's an interesting deck building challenge. I'm all for them making him. Yeah, well I, I will be shocked if this point of power, i mean, like giving a card a point of power does make it win more games.
01:09:01
Speaker
So electro did get better. I just don't think this point of power does. This is one of the least significant points of power they've ever handed out. all right I agree.
01:09:13
Speaker
Compared to Surge and other ways, you're like getting energy now. That extra point they gave Annihilus, that matters. This one, no. How long has it been since Electro ramp decks were a really long time?
01:09:28
Speaker
i still see them sometimes with Blink. A lot of people Blink their Electros. Blink is so fun. Yeah, it is so fun. Just a really good card. That's an example of a card I don't play enough.
01:09:42
Speaker
I know. I want to link things to me. It's like not it's not in my style. So like I understand why I don't play it more. But like I don't understand why other people don't play it more.
01:09:54
Speaker
It's a little high price for me, but a very cool card.
01:10:00
Speaker
Okay, the last one. Something flashy. Ending on a bang. Cerebro from 2-0 plus 2 back to three zero but plus 3.
01:10:11
Speaker
That's a lot. Yeah, it ah Across your entire board. if you get a Mystique, it's plus 6. I think Cerebro might actually be good.
01:10:24
Speaker
Yeah. Like, there's a C2 thing, like, here, right? You can probably play Surfer and stuff. Like, just do a whole... Ooh. I mean, like, I don't play Cerebro at all, so, like, i'm this is baseless speculation. I'm not building this deck.
01:10:44
Speaker
I'm morally, as you know, i am morally against Cerebro. I do not approve of the practice of trying to make everything the same. Yeah, that's kind of where I am. Instead of playing with your locations and like riffing off of them, trying to conform them to your worldview so that everything may be one monotonous thing.
01:11:05
Speaker
amount of power devoid of life. I think it's such a cool twist on the regular game. Any location can fuck it up. It's like that the microchip is compromised. Right. It's definitely for a joke.
01:11:18
Speaker
um That's why it runs things like ah Luke Cage and Scarlet Witch. Yeah. But I don't want to run this. They always run Shang now. Now that it's a plus three power. Okay.
01:11:31
Speaker
Okay. I really like Surfer. That gives you two options at the end, Cerebro Surfer or Cerebro Mystique. Yeah, I mean, C2 and C3 have often been good decks, never top tier, but competitive.
01:11:49
Speaker
competitive I'm glad you're excited because a lot of people like Cerebro. Me and Ben are both like,
01:11:59
Speaker
Our friends like Cerebro. They do. And you know what? I think I probably like the average Cerebro player more than the average Marvel Snap player in general. Oh, those are those bold words. Yeah, probably. only say that because I Cerebro. I think that Cerebro players are better than average.
01:12:16
Speaker
That's what I think. ah and Knowing Cerebro enjoyers has has made me approve of them on a whole more. I'm not really a Cerebro enjoyer, but I did... The last time i cooked with Cerebro, it was when Ultron got too cost are two power drones, and then at the end of the game, I hit Ultron with Valkyrie Yellowjacket.
01:12:41
Speaker
C2.
01:12:44
Speaker
Well done. That's very Lauren. All right. Next season, June is right around the corner. First week of the season, we have four cards. um There are two event cards this season.
Introduction and Rating of New Season Cards
01:12:57
Speaker
Like it is a packed season, nine new cards.
01:12:59
Speaker
And we are going to rank them. If you haven't been here for that before, we're going to rate them. If you haven't been here for that before, we rate them on a four point scale, which is basically like, I don't know, just super bad, bad, good, super good. Something like that.
01:13:13
Speaker
ah Hate it, dislike it, like it, love it. if If that's what you like. I like thumbs down and thumbs up. Whatever. Whatever feels right to you. um First up, our season pass card.
01:13:26
Speaker
Merlin, a 2-3 at the start of each turn. Add an incantation to your hand. Which like Agamotto's Arcane Arts, it's just it's just a thematic name for a skill.
01:13:38
Speaker
The three possible incantations are Omniversal Presence, one cost. On reveal, replace this location with a new one and give Merlin plus two power. Once in future, also one cost.
01:13:50
Speaker
On reveal, shuffle your lowest power card here into your deck to get plus two energy next turn. Polymorph, also a one cost. On reveal, transform your lowest power card here into one that costs one more.
01:14:06
Speaker
Re- Okay. um So this one's a gimme. You know how I feel about wizards. I love them. Four stars no matter what. I'm going play the shit out of this card.
01:14:18
Speaker
I'll probably even just meme or I'll put it with Agamotto and Pixie. For fun. But okay. So, you know, Merlin is just a four star in my heart. But I... I have to admit, I've been a very terrible podcast host, and I have not really prepped my rankings well, and I wanted to preposition you to do our rankings this time in a different style, in which we start our first Snap on This Debate Club, where Lauren and will give their ratings for their cards and do their best to persuade me, neutral...
01:14:54
Speaker
the new the very neutral judge ah as to who is right or wrong, of which I award winner after each card.
01:15:06
Speaker
And, uh... You're assuming we did our homework, our prep. Yes, always. I did do a little bit of prep. I definitely gave all of the cards numbers. I don't know if I gave myself good notes as to why I gave those cards those numbers, but I'm sure I'll remember. You pretend to feel strongly and find words to support that.
01:15:28
Speaker
That's all you need for debate. There's at least two of these cards I genuinely feel strongly about. um Yeah, for sure. Okay. Merlin, i guess I guess I'm going first.
01:15:42
Speaker
I gave him a four. I was wavering between three and four, um but the skills are very good for rounding out your curve, obviously.
01:15:52
Speaker
um The only problems might be if you play him late or hand space. um But presumably, you're building your deck around that. You're building a deck that can play a bunch of ones that you're generating.
01:16:05
Speaker
Yeah. These spells do disappear off the board, so, like, board space isn't going to crowd your hand space, you know. Yeah, I'm not worried about board space, right. um I think Omniversal Presence, that's the one that gives Merlin plus two. if That one's just, that one's fine.
01:16:19
Speaker
Like, it's a one-two. Whatever. I would rather play a one-two than a zero-zero. like if I have the energy to spare, right? Once and future is is conditionally good. This is the one that shuffles the lowest power card into your deck and you get plus two energy.
01:16:37
Speaker
There are good hits for this, right? um You think about ah hoods, obviously, or um sending your and your opponent's green goblin or rock or something like that back into your deck. I mean, you don't want to draw it again, but there's only a small chance that you will and you definitely get the plus two energy.
01:16:55
Speaker
um yeah And then Polymorph, I think, is is the star of the show. That's the one you want to hit You know, a targeted one-card Cersei that doesn't take up board space. That's a lovely card.
01:17:05
Speaker
um ah The art better a sheep on it, though, don't you think? It's a swirl-like thing. Polymorph is forever associated with sheep in my head. It's a little silly that it's Polymorph and it makes the card stronger. like I'm like, this isn't that's not what we think of when we think of Polymorph.
01:17:22
Speaker
We think of nerfing your opponent. Yeah, the nerd lingo that has developed, the language of nerdism that has developed over time means that I think in like, what, Warcraft 2?
01:17:35
Speaker
Like your mages could polymorph enemies into sheep. which is glorious. And then they translated that to world of Warcraft where there's the ability and then in D and D, right. Aren't you usually like polymorphing them into a sheep or am I just to Warcraft? no there's There's definitely like a, there's a polymorph sheep connection. i just, uh, in our discord, I sent you a picture of Ovanize, a fun magic, the gathering card from, uh, my youth.
01:18:04
Speaker
It's specifically polymorph into a sheep.
01:18:10
Speaker
yeah D&D also has true polymorph, which lets you like, or higher level polymorphs, lets you morph into more powerful things. I think true polymorph is permanent. um Or permanent if you stay in that form long enough.
01:18:23
Speaker
ah So it's not automatically nerfing it. And you know, I... Could be, to to at least match the theme of the card, it could be that he's turning the squirrel into something instead of turning something into a squirrel.
01:18:36
Speaker
a Although I suppose... Well, no, he couldn't turn something into a squirrel because they're tokens. He wouldn't do that. um Just saying there's, like, technically correct about the definition of polymorph then there's spiritually correct. Yeah, yeah, I see what you're saying.
01:18:50
Speaker
Right. I wonder if the design did start with, like, turn your opponent into a squirrel or something like that. Like... Why don't you turn an avatar into a squirrel avatar?
01:19:03
Speaker
That's like the datamined J. Jonah Jameson that gives you ruder emotes. I want cards that do psychological damage. oh You're such a bard. You're like, I just want to vicious macarame my opponent.
01:19:19
Speaker
thank Sorry. I think he's a great card. You're never sad to play him on curve. ah You get lots of little tools. Some of them are great. And you you can build around it. You can build your deck with lots of good targets for Polymorph and Once and Future.
01:19:36
Speaker
Done. Yeah, well, so much for the snap on this ah debate club thing, because we're all in agreement on this one. This is a four-star card. Oh, my gosh.
01:19:47
Speaker
When we first saw this in, like, the data mines from one of the patches, um you know, I think I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of cards. There were a bunch of things that made spells. I think I was a little confused about who had which spells and stuff, because, like...
01:20:03
Speaker
For this week when I was looking at Merlin, I was like, holy shit, this is a very strong card. um And that was not the reaction I had the first time I saw it. um And that was when Polymorph evolved a thing into something that cost two more.
01:20:16
Speaker
So they've they've they've taken it down a notch since I actually last saw it. But um yeah, this card's fucking bonkers. ah The thing that I do remember from the first time I saw it is that it generates more cards than any other card ever so far.
01:20:32
Speaker
um So that's cool for, you know, you know, devil dinosaur, Kohori, moon girl stuff, you know, like just, you know, things, things care about card generation.
01:20:46
Speaker
it matters. And, uh, this, this will be an interesting deck building tool for those kinds of decks, but really just like all kinds of decks. Cause this card is nuts.
01:20:56
Speaker
Um, All three of the spells were really good. um i The one that I like the most is Once and Future, but Omniversal Presence is just like... ah Sure, just hand me... You'll get like...
01:21:11
Speaker
A Scarlet Witch. Oh, I forgot that every place is the location. was going say that, Lauren. I'm like, wrong. Oh my gosh. It's not just a plus two. Changing location is huge.
01:21:23
Speaker
Yeah, this card is nuts. Merlin is going to be like, don't know how this card didn't strike me the first time I saw it. I must have misunderstood something. There's too much to process at once. This card is nuts. Yeah.
01:21:36
Speaker
And also fun. like Yeah, it's very flavorful, very cool. i want I want cards that are not just powerful, but also fun. but you But you were correct, the polymorph is like the whoo, but like they're all they are all potentially like game changers.
01:21:53
Speaker
Yeah. And skills cannot be hit by affliction, right? Oh, and plus two energy turns. You know, bigger and cast doesn't hit it. Squirrepean doesn't hit him. And it's like, oh it's so nice.
01:22:10
Speaker
So like Merlin's got this, like the polymorph thing. That's just like, that's, that's a pretty serious piece of what makes a card like nightmare. Good. That we're going to be talking about later is just like, uh,
01:22:23
Speaker
Yeah, it's just... This card's going to be nuts. i Yeah. yeah We're all going to be really annoyed with Marlin by the end of the month. I'm more solid on my four now. like i could I could see this getting nerfed.
01:22:36
Speaker
Yep. This card's out of hand. It doesn't stay like this. Okay.
Debate on Morgan Le Fay's Utility
01:22:41
Speaker
Morgan Le Fay. another zone This is our first week Series 5 card.
01:22:47
Speaker
ah four seven On reveal, return all your discarded and destroyed cards to hand with plus 3 power. Ben, the floor is yours.
01:22:58
Speaker
This card is also nuts. 4. Really? Why is it 4-7? Yeah, why? Oh, you...
01:23:05
Speaker
oh you
01:23:08
Speaker
Tell me. I mean, that's... Okay, so it's a four seven that returns all your discarded and destroyed cards to your hand with plus three power. You're doing anything with it. Okay, but problem we talked about last week, where, like, when I'm destroying cards these days, it's usually Deadpool and X-23 and Wolverine and stuff.
01:23:27
Speaker
So, I mean, I'm not saying that this is bad and you're wrong. You don't want to play a 1-5 Uncle Ben? You don't want to play a 1-5 Uncle Ben? i want to play a one five Uncle Ben.
01:23:38
Speaker
After Spider-Man's already on the board? Yeah. Maybe do it again. Maybe eat him with a Venom next time. I don't know. ah maybe Maybe you ate him with a Venom the first time. maybe Maybe that's already happened. Are you thinking like a fire hair, like hood kind of nonsense? could Could well be. I don't really build a lot of Destroy, but like I get in there and I tinker and I dabble. But mostly I'm like, seems like a pretty cool card in Discard. Honestly, like... Okay.
01:24:07
Speaker
i i i confess I did not prepare super hard for this week, but I'm just like, I'm looking at a Force Heaven that like gives you cards that you want to get, and it makes them big. love I like so you play what like the first Ghost Rider discard Iron Man. You're not angry at getting back a ah five three Iron Man. Like, I don't know. Like, you know what it feels like for me for discard say like butting in. It feels like a hella card.
01:24:41
Speaker
Right. A backup. Because here's the here's.
01:24:45
Speaker
It's the same thing as with Destroyed, whereas when you're discarding stuff, you're usually discarding stuff you want to discard. you're You're discarding it for reasons. That's what you've built your deck around. So she needs to be doing something different, right? Unless you're just using it as a backup, which and I know how you feel about Ghost Rider then. so like You know what mean? Otherwise, that's what she is in those decks.
01:25:08
Speaker
So I feel like... i just maybe Is Hela her home as a backup? I don't know. I'm looking at this card like largely in a vacuum as like a collection of numbers. And I'm saying a 4-7 that like gets back these kinds of things and makes them bigger. like It gets back...
01:25:26
Speaker
this Like, it returning discarded and destroyed cards to your hand is drawing cards, is the fact of the matter. like But you need them to be discarded and destroyed. You're playing it late. You don't want to play in turn six, right?
01:25:40
Speaker
I haven't built the deck. I just think that, like, as in a vacuum, as as a as a game piece, Morgan Le Fay does a lot. Let me sell you three-point Morgan Le Fay.
01:25:53
Speaker
She's a little awkward. She's got some of that awkward energy that like Elixir has. um i think that the if if you're destroying a card, you're paying for it twice. You put it on the board, you destroy it, you pay for it again at the increased power. You destroyed it with like Niko or something, right? You like got something out of destroying it, didn't you?
01:26:12
Speaker
Dormammu? I think the strongest thing to do with her is going to be Killmonger. I don't know if that's Bounce or Black Swan or what, but you bring back a bunch of ones that are plus three, you can afford six of them on the last turn.
01:26:26
Speaker
Can I get one quick thing in? Dormammu. It only happened after I passed the turn, so to speak, but like, ah hey, is this a Dormammu card? This feels like it's probably a Dormammu card, huh?
01:26:40
Speaker
Okay, you're destroying his... and No? a No, because his first one, you have to merge your highest power destroyed card into him.
01:26:52
Speaker
So if she undestroys it, this ritual won't even work. What about on turn four after you've finished summoning Dormammu? Yeah, with the final step of the ritual, you destroy two of your characters? Yes, in that case, sure. but And Dormammu says Dormammu's a seven eleven but like yearre you're summoning Dormammu before the end of the game, right? That's the goal.
01:27:17
Speaker
that should give you time to play Morgan on four or five and then like do whatever your thing is. I think she's way too clunky. You think so? Yep, which is why I think Killmonger is the right place for her because even if you're bringing back just a couple of cards that are one cost plus three, that's a lot.
01:27:35
Speaker
um I think things like, yeah, Nico's Q, even if you only bring back one card for plus three, then more than you're playing Morgan for a 410. Yeah. um Swarm is a card that gets discarded.
01:27:48
Speaker
Actually discarded. You can return a swarm. Only the first one is All the ones after that that you discard are
01:28:00
Speaker
So, Swarm is doable. Oh, yeah. the the fruit oh i see I see what you're saying now. oh yeah But it's awkward with Bullseye because lot of times Bullseye is about doing it last turn and just bring him all to your hand and buff him Collector and stuff. It's not about playing him down. That's a selling point to me. I'm looking for reasons not to play Bullseye.
01:28:22
Speaker
um I think she's cool with Corvus. And maybe that is even why she exists, is to make Corvus more playable. Yes. Oh, no, you hit Hela. It's fine.
01:28:33
Speaker
Ooh, Helicarrier. We haven't played Helicarrier in a while. You're going to play 613 Helicarrier? Does that cross the line for you? No, I just mean that's where I'm playing Corvus. When I'm playing Corvus, it's like Chaos Discard, which is like Helicarrier Moon Knight shenanigans. Yes! Yes!
01:28:50
Speaker
Okay. If Corvus hits Morgan, then you're in trouble. But you know, what are the chances that he hits Morgan and Hela? Maybe not that high. um Also, maybe, maybe Corvus just in other places. Like if you care less about his downside than Electro's, but still, I just think, I think she seems clunky. She seems like a lot of steps.
01:29:09
Speaker
There's a reason it's plus three and not higher or and not lower is she needs plus three to justify the ability. I don't think she stays 4-7 for all that long. That's my prediction.
Assessment of Nicholas Scratch and Jennifer Kale
01:29:22
Speaker
All right. All right. Are those your closing thoughts on Morgan Le Fay? All right. Then ah the winner is Lauren.
01:29:30
Speaker
Of course, am way more hype for but I still think it's slightly unconventional decks at the end of this. Ben has not sufficiently convinced me she's four star. We're three stars to Morgan Le Fay.
01:29:43
Speaker
Let's move on to Nicholas Scratch. Nicholas Scratch. Or whoever we're going next. It's Nicholas Scratch. he's a He's a day one see series four card. ah One, two. After you play a skill, plus one power...
01:29:59
Speaker
I gave him a two. I don't think he's going to exceed one six very often. And of course, the one cost body is fragile to Killmonger and Electra, whatever.
01:30:10
Speaker
um One six is good, but like for him to get that high, you have to be playing a very skill-focused strategy. You have to play him on curve. On curve. Yeah.
01:30:21
Speaker
And you can't double him up. It's not like an on, you know, like there's no way to... I'd like him way more if he was ongoing and possible to be retroactive, like ah like a Morbius or a Hydra Stomper.
01:30:33
Speaker
we think they might change him to be that way? I wouldn't be surprised. Not at launch. The blog says it's this way. Do you think it is likely that he'll be reworked to be an ongoing with that effect?
01:30:48
Speaker
no yeah don't think so? I think there's a decent chance that we get that version of Nicholas Scratch because this card does seem like a stinker, huh? Yeah, it's like it can get decently big, but you have to have him sitting vulnerable on the board for him to do that. Yeah. He's got to show up in your opening draw. I mean, Batroc is like that?
01:31:11
Speaker
Granted, he gets a lot bigger than comes in. Batroc can show up on turn six. Yeah. That rock's just a partier. Just always long for the ride.
01:31:24
Speaker
He's down for whatever. Okay, so you end up playing Nicolas Scratch late, and you have saved a handful of either... You've got a million Flames of the Faultine. Merlin cards or Flames of the Faultine, and it's like, he's fine, but it's only plus one. like i just I don't get it. He's not fine. That's Angela. seems bad.
01:31:44
Speaker
Yeah, this is just not a good. i You know what, Lauren? I was it, too. But after hearing you talk, I'm like, man, this guy's a one, huh? That's not how this game works. Yeah, he is. He's a one. think this is going to be our anti Merlin consensus. It's like best head wizard.
01:32:08
Speaker
Lois. Flucking out of the wizard school. The whole wizard spectrum right here. End to end. Okay.
01:32:19
Speaker
is Is that your whole argument? Yeah, I had him at two, but I think I was just being nice. and like i want i like I think it's so cool to have reward cards for things that didn't have reward cards that you could, in theory, like try to make a typal throughline ah But it's just not good enough. ah that It would need to be a different version of this idea. like it's not it's not that the It's not that a card that gets bigger for every spell that you've played isn't good.
01:32:51
Speaker
like It's just that this one isn't good. Yeah. It's Angela or Bishop. Like, an Angela or Bishop can benefit from skills in the same way. It needs to be getting more than plus one, because, like, otherwise... Yeah.
01:33:04
Speaker
and think it's more likely that he that the first buff is that he goes to plus two power. Yeah, that would make a that would make it a card. But then it gets at it. The power tools, I honestly think the net would get two out of hand. That's why I like the ongoing solution. Like, it...
01:33:24
Speaker
makes it a little better at least because then it can be a surprise on six yep
01:33:31
Speaker
okay final ruling re what's your rating okay i think you're both wrong and i'm gonna give it a two for wizard power wizard star power
01:33:44
Speaker
Yeah, you're right. It's pretty but I feel like we're missing... Merlin generates a card every turn. I feel like he'll get better with time, maybe. You know, grow and... Maybe. Or just get buffed.
01:33:59
Speaker
All right. It's only because of the wizardry of it. Okay, our other Day 1 Series 4 card is Jennifer Kale, a two three Activate.
01:34:11
Speaker
Next turn, you get plus one energy. Ben, your arguments. I am really on the fence with Jennifer Kale as to whether this is two or three out of four.
01:34:25
Speaker
um I guess I'm going to go three out of four just because I liked i like Jennifer Kale so much on Agatha all along. I'm rooting for her. Yeah.
01:34:36
Speaker
There better be an MCU variant. She's so funny, so good. Also, she's got a lot of witchy material in her stand-up, and I wonder if that got her the job. um hey and Check it out. the The first woman. That's the special that has all the witchy shit in it.
01:34:52
Speaker
um But anywho, this activates Psylocke business. I don't know about it. I'm a little skeptical, but I am hopeful that like this is not my kind of card. So like I really have to like be putting myself in the shoes of a different kind of player who's trying to do different things in a game of Marvel Snap. And like, I guess maybe they want this.
01:35:17
Speaker
Like, you know, you play her on two and she's not Psylocke, so you're not getting the energy on three. So you're doing five energy on turn four or six energy on turn five. And this is assuming you're not combining it with other acceleration that would change those numbers.
01:35:36
Speaker
I mean, there are things you want to do with six energy on five. It's fun to play back-to-back sixes. And just like the fact that this is a card that does seem... Like, it's probably very solid for that for that use. Like, if you're trying to do back-to-back sixes, I don't think she'll let you down.
01:35:55
Speaker
And I guess that probably makes her a three out of four. But I just, I don't know if this is a spectacular card, and there are so many cards that do similar things. There are so many ways to play back-to-back sixes.
01:36:07
Speaker
Yeah, can I ask you what rating you would give Psylocke?
01:36:13
Speaker
but that's hard to say i think
01:36:19
Speaker
i'd probably give psylocke a two two and a half she she basically doesn't get played except for a negative yeah she has one very specific thing she's good for she's great and negative she is for playing fours on three yeah that's like it which this card can't do.
01:36:37
Speaker
Yeah, but this card does, you know, back to back six. I mean, like, I'm trying to be nice about it. I don't like this card for anything. I'm not. I'm giving this card a one. Um... um I think the activate mostly just makes her worse than Psylocke. Yes, playing a five on four or a six on five to do. feel like we do flipped. I feel like I came... like where we Last time we talked about this card, I was like, this fucking garbage. Who wants to activate Psylocke? And then everyone made me feel like I was being harsh and curmudgeonly...
01:37:07
Speaker
All right. Well, I meant to say it up front. I'm trying to be harsher this time because last season I gave almost every card a three or four. So I'm trying to be a little stricter this time. I don't think this is a good card. I think this is appropriately series four.
01:37:18
Speaker
um I'm excited for it personally because Psylocke is often a tool that I'm looking for when I'm doing a silly clip. Um, you know, she makes it easier to do the, uh, limbo wave Psylocke thing where now you get to play two of any card for free because on turn seven, you have eight energy and everything costs four. Like there's stuff I'm going to use her for, but I, I don't think that she's, there's so many better options for ramping in this game.
01:37:46
Speaker
If you need one extra energy, play Luna Snow. Like, come on. And she's super ripe to be red guardian on turn three. Yeah. I mean, if someone else to... She's a two three If she's just Red Guardian bait, that's fine. There's plenty times you're not dropping a 1, though. Yeah, but she could hide behind a squirrel or something, you know? like you Okay, so we're playing Squirrel Girl with Jennifer Kale. No, no, I'm saying locations make squirrels all the time. Like, it's not that hard to hide Jennifer Kale somewhere that, you know, Red Guardian can't mess with her.
01:38:20
Speaker
She's just, she's, and she's not good played late. Like, no, no, she isn't. They should. I don't, I don't like this card.
01:38:30
Speaker
Honestly, that's clear that Lauren wins. She convinced both of us. I just thought I had to be nicer about the card. Cause I had seen, I, it seems like everyone was more positive about it. Last time we talked about, I was like, well, I gotta, gotta modulate. I gotta find something to like about this.
01:38:47
Speaker
It's activate! You know don't like activate. yeah Activate Psylocke is not something that anyone asked for.
01:38:57
Speaker
It's almost the type of activate. cool tool in very specific decks that want... Let's all take a cool tool! you know Is that a reference? It's something Matt Berry said once on Snuffbox.
01:39:11
Speaker
Okay. And then like its so like, I think, I think the, the words cool tool question mark appeared on screen as though like the very show was like, we sure about that one? Uh, I don't know. and I, I, I wouldn't say that I recommend snuff box, but I, I did watch it when it was on Netflix several times to the point where some phrases are lodged in my head. Okay.
01:39:38
Speaker
Anything else on Jennifer Kale?
Analysis of The Ancient One and Nightmare Cards
01:39:42
Speaker
no Ancient one, week two. This is 3-5. On reveal, add Dao Mandala to your hand. Dao Mandala is a three-cost skill.
01:39:54
Speaker
On reveal, copy the text of one of your ongoing cards here onto your other characters here.
01:40:03
Speaker
It's your turn to go first, Ben. Oh, okay. So... it Is it? went I lost track. Either way, i'll I'll say what I... my strong I gave this card three out of four because I don't know. ah like This is not for me. This card is so wildly not my kind of card.
01:40:20
Speaker
like i I'm not... I'm not in the business of whatever this is. ah But like what it does is it gives you a spell.
01:40:32
Speaker
So you it's it's not it's not a turn six play. That's for sure. You play the ancient one on turn five or earlier to get a spell that will make one of your ongoing car. Like it will mystique if up to two other cards at the same location as your favorite ongoing card.
01:40:49
Speaker
And I bet that's probably good. i mean, like, what do you want to do? You want to do like what? Like Miss Marvel? I mean, like, that's, that's where my brain goes. I'm like, wouldn't that be fun to have three Miss Marvels in the middle? Like, you're probably, you know, that's like cool.
01:41:05
Speaker
That's a cool thing to have. Or like what Mr. Fantastic is like, you know, a less cool version of that. I'm trying to think what other things you want three copies of.
01:41:16
Speaker
Two of the Ms. Marvels are lower cost cards that you can drop a Moonstone on there. Oh, true. Oh, true. Because there will be space at the end. After ah the Daomondala pops off, you can squeeze Moonstone in there if you're so inclined. I'm trying to think, what else would you want three of on the same lane? Claw?
01:41:34
Speaker
think. Possibly end list, because three Ironsman is Iron Man. I don't know. It's overkill. You don't need it. Joaquin, Wong, Victoria Hand, Blue Marvel.
01:41:47
Speaker
I think there's a lot of good ones. Yeah, yeah. those Those are all good ones. Yep. How long it just two-term proposition, and you know? A three and a three is it's awkward. It's a whole lifestyle that you're committing to.
01:42:01
Speaker
Right, and you can't play, if you're playing Ancient One, you're not playing like Patriot that turn, you know? It's just such a, yeah, it's such a commitment. Ancient One herself can be a body for the Dalmondala to cast onto. And a good body, I do like 3-5. Saving grace, but yeah some where My pitch is a three.
01:42:24
Speaker
i I think that she's super fun and super interesting. I think sometimes she's going to be very strong. Three Victoria Hands is a strong thing to do. But the curve is really tough to use.
01:42:38
Speaker
Like... And the Images spell is a real winner in Agamotto. It's like one of the best things in Agamotto. So, and this is a cheaper version of that.
01:42:49
Speaker
You guys were both aligned. You both gave her three. So, huh? Well, I mean, like, there are similarities to Images of Icon, but... There are also big differences.
01:43:02
Speaker
Yeah, I know it's very different, but I'm saying it's that style. You know what i mean? You're copying one of your cards basically a bunch of times, and that is really good in images. And this is a different flavor of that, sure.
01:43:15
Speaker
Yeah, it's just the numbers that images gives you are very often the point. But sometimes it is the ability. It's true. Yeah, she's okay in Zoo. Like, imagine tripling Kazar or Blue Marvel. Yeah, I bet Zoo is place. You're paying 3-3. Like, you're paying a lot.
01:43:32
Speaker
But Zoo does have the bodies. So, don't know. Yeah, I think she's hard to measure. She could be she could be anywhere from a 2 to a 4. And the thing is, it doesn't matter how good this card is, I'm never playing it. Never.
01:43:45
Speaker
Oh, really? I'm intrigued. yeah Yeah, it seems interesting. You both gave her three, though, so, you know, we're we're all winners, I guess. ah Ancient one is the winner. You can pick a different number.
01:43:58
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. No, I'm for I'm convinced. I think it's powerful, but restricted. You know, like, it's going to be your deck building for it, obviously. Okay.
01:44:10
Speaker
Okay, I think that one was my turn, but I'm glad to have swapped it because I'm so excited to talk about Nightmare. Three, negative one. On reveal, replace the text of each card in your hand with the text from a random card of the same cost. This card looks so fun.
01:44:27
Speaker
It is the card I'm most excited for since Cersei, which I believe is last May. So, you know... ah 13 months later. Or 12. How do you do math? ah He was a 2-2 last time we saw him.
01:44:41
Speaker
You know what the fact that he's a tells me? That he was busted at 2-2. mean... busted had to Having eyeballs in a brain also probably told you that, right? Like you knew he was busted. We we saw that card and knew him to be busted.
01:44:56
Speaker
So the three negative one definitely hurts. But like there are so many good targets, right? um First of all, Ebony Maw, but so many others. If you want to get expensive, you can do infinite things. But let' let's not get expensive. Let's do...
01:45:13
Speaker
ebony ma titania martyr maximus gladiator lizard like these are excellent hits and you can just get rid of their abilities um so nightmare goes with sauron is what you're saying yes he's absolutely a sauron card especially now that sauron doesn't hit your hand so sauron hits your deck and then you get nightmare nightmare hits your hand um however it's like So there are a bunch of different types of bad abilities, not just ongoing ones. Ongoing is the Sauron category, but there's on reveal ones. You know you could you could stop them with Cosmo if you're playing Maximus and Gladiator, or could just use Nightmare.
01:45:50
Speaker
And there are other cards you to zero. Mm-hmm. i and And Nightmare takes care of all of them. He he is he shares a Venn diagram with all the different like ways to mitigate your own bad cards. And I just think he seems super fun.
01:46:07
Speaker
um But yeah, maybe that swinginess and his stat line does make him a lot like a Mr. Negative where it's like you kind of have to hit him. or your deck is going to suffer. um So the best version of him is probably with with Sauron, because there are so many good ones that we can offer. Starbrand.
01:46:24
Speaker
um You know, who doesn't want 310 with any other three-cost text? ah Not Green Goblin. Oh, yeah. It'll happen. There'll be times where it just does absolutely silly things, but like it doesn't carry the same risk that Cersei does.
01:46:40
Speaker
You know what it's going to be. You can choose whether or not to play it if it makes something bad for you or something that you have to play around. yep i I love this card. It just seems so dang fun.
01:46:54
Speaker
Oh, what number did you get? I'm giving it a four. um I'm trying really hard not to let my my hype and buff it up because obviously I'm very excited for this card. So maybe he's a three, but I really genuinely think he's a very strong card.
01:47:07
Speaker
Yeah.
01:47:11
Speaker
ah Well... I don't know. i here's Here's the fact of the matter. I think you're right. I think it is a very strong card. I think I'll i'll go with a three. it it would have been so it would have been like a five out of four like Surge if it were 2-2.
01:47:26
Speaker
because that I mean, it would be better than Surge if it were a 2-2. that that would That was so wild. like I don't... Yeah. It... it I think last week i I described it as the card that dares to imagine if ah Emperor Hulkling were good.
01:47:42
Speaker
yeah like yeah Every card in your hand suddenly like gets a second chance to like be ah a body with a good ability. like It's just... it It's so good. Like, like this has the, like, they made it look like Mr. Negative because it does a Mr. Negative thing. That's why it's got negative power. Like, this is a transformational effect that, yeah, it's, it's so build around and you get so far ahead when it, like when, when this rolls high, it rolls so high.
01:48:13
Speaker
Yeah. I think it's worth noting. You can play it on turn five. Mm-hmm. Not like Mr. Negative, which, I mean, I have done it. I have played Negative on five, got a single card, and it was worth it.
01:48:26
Speaker
Yeah, we know what you mean. That's a gamble. We know what you're saying. and Right? Whereas at his Nightmare... Go ahead. I was just going to say, when I see a Negative deck, if I'm going to challenge a Negative deck that's like hitting at least some of its stuff, it's because I know what it's in Negative decks.
01:48:44
Speaker
You know what mean? I know what to expect. Mm-hmm. With this one, you know what I mean? You can't. You can't plan around that. You're just going to up retreating. This is information you can't know. Yeah, exactly. It's too big of a ah possibility range for you to really like. We don't love that. We've seen it before with like, you know, Arishem and all kinds of, you know, we' we've seen it.
01:49:05
Speaker
We've seen it with Blob. We've we've seen it in on all kinds of different cards. And this is a particularly egregious example of that phenomenon of the the thing that can't be predicted or can't be accounted for.
01:49:17
Speaker
Um, so I think it's probably four. I'm going to go with the three just because like they really did. The three negative one body is tough. Also, I think I'm going to justify giving it three out of four when I think it's probably still a four out of four.
01:49:32
Speaker
I'm going to justify that because I'm annoyed that it doesn't really work in surfer because like I wanted it to because like, think of that don't you don't you want to wipe that star brand? But like you don't want to wipe your surfer. But like, you know, invisible woman surfer.
01:49:47
Speaker
See, that's the thing. I was like, am I going to be playing Invisible Woman and Supergiant? Is that that what it's going to take? like i don't I don't know. I don't know. Maybe someday I'll be a Supergiant Surfer kind of person, but I don't know.
01:50:01
Speaker
I don't know. i It's a very strong card. I hope it's a three out of four because I'm not in the mood for it to be a four out of four good card, but like it probably is for the the surprise reason that we discussed. Yeah.
01:50:16
Speaker
That's my feeling. That's my hunch. What do you think, Rhi? Okay, so I think this is going to be so so strong in its own deck, but it's going to be narrow.
01:50:31
Speaker
So I'm awaiting this one ah to Ben for reasons of, mean, basically what he said. Crazy strong when it hits... You know, you can see the negative one Maybe we'll even see some Irishm tear with it where it's like the random nature of it makes it too difficult to play against.
01:50:53
Speaker
um But you will you will be deck building for it. So um that that at least narrows it somewhat. And if you don't hit it, right? If you don't hit it, well, then you built your deck around it, which means if you're looking, you start getting into stricter lines of like Sauron and stuff like that.
01:51:11
Speaker
So that is where we are at in this one. I think ah another one I didn't mention, War Machine, is another one that he combos well with. Sauron version or a War Machine version. Oh, yeah, because either one solves your problem. You can still do the Ebony Maw, and you can also, that opens up like Infina and Giganto. I don't know that you want to do those. I really think the cheaper ones are going to be better, but.
01:51:35
Speaker
I think you're right. i Like, removing Giganto's downside is not something anyone should be worried about. That's not a deck-building concern. if you are If you are letting that into your thought process, maybe reprioritize, is my feeling.
01:51:53
Speaker
Hey, I've played Giganto in War Machine, but he's the backup for Infinaut. No, I'm not saying that like you shouldn't play Giganto. I'm just saying that, like, how do I scrape off this this burdensome line of text from Giganto? That should never be... That's not a thing to... Giganto is a 614, and that's what Giganto does. That's fine.
01:52:12
Speaker
I don't know. I'd rather have a 614 Hulkling than 612 one.
01:52:19
Speaker
ah kind know um Dormammu.
01:52:26
Speaker
This is the next Series 5 card.
Exploration of Dormammu's Mechanics and Strategies
01:52:29
Speaker
7-11 with the text Game Start. Begin a summoning ritual. In other words, add Step 1 to your hand.
01:52:37
Speaker
Step 1 of the ritual is a zero-cost skill. On reveal, merge your highest power destroyed card with Dormammu to continue. And then you get Step 2 into your hand, right? That's...
01:52:51
Speaker
It's not clearly written out here, but I think that's how it works. Yes, but that is the implication for sure, right? um Assuming it it has to ah to continue. that thats That's the key word there. So it has to do successfully the on reveal in order to get the next step.
01:53:06
Speaker
Summoning Ritual 2. At one cost skill, on reveal, Dormammu steals one power from him each card here to continue. It does a Lofi, but... from a distance.
01:53:19
Speaker
um And then step three, three-cost skill. On reveal, destroy two of your characters here to summon Dormammu.
01:53:31
Speaker
Ben?
01:53:35
Speaker
Do I... is Is it time for me to have an opinion? Sell it. Okay. um Now, this is on its face, one of the more complicated cards that we have seen.
01:53:48
Speaker
Um, and that's true. I'm not going to say it's not complicated that there aren't, you know, things to, there are wrinkles and twists and turns and stuff, but...
01:54:00
Speaker
Let's just start by looking at it as a 4.11 because it's not a 7.11. It says it's 7.11, but you're not paying seven. you're There's no way to play it. for I mean, I guess you can probably generate one into your hand somehow and play it. But like, that's not that's not what we're doing here. It's a 4.11.
01:54:17
Speaker
um And you got to be playing destroy. Yeah. so Or you have to be playing some kind of destroy... You're playing some new kind of destroy deck, because this is not for the old kind of destroy deck, I don't think.
01:54:30
Speaker
um But I do think that this new kind of destroy deck probably isn't that... There are probably more than one way to build it, if I were to guess. um I don't know. I'm...
01:54:42
Speaker
I'm sorry I'm not doing a great job of selling this. I just don't think that I need to do much to sell it. It seems very strong. um Like the the the only part that seems particularly burdensome, the only part that asks something of you other than having a card destroyed early in the game so that you can start the thing ah is destroy two of your characters here to summon Dormammu. But like we play a card called Deathlock and we play him just because he does that.
01:55:10
Speaker
um So this is a really good card. I'm giving it four out of four.
01:55:17
Speaker
That is that seems high to me he because he seems to ask for so much. but He does so much while he's doing it. Only the third ritual step is like probably good for you. The second one could be stealing one power from each card here. You could play it on a lane where it hits your opponent more than it hits you. You're definitely playing it on a lane where it hits your opponent. Right.
01:55:38
Speaker
Um.
01:55:40
Speaker
Yeah, I gave him i give him a two. I think he is flavorful as hell. Super fun card. um Very thematic and all that. But like, I don't know.
01:55:51
Speaker
yeah you're so You're talking about it being a new archetype for Destroy. And I agree. Yeah, it's it's like a sub archetype for Destroy. and And I love that. I love that we're getting more variety. um Where Destroy is kind of samey. Like, it does have like...
01:56:03
Speaker
This is the Destroy Khonshu. Yeah, it has Nimrod, it has Phoenix Force, like right? Discard has a lot more options, a lot more sub flavors. This one just doesn't seem as good to me.
01:56:15
Speaker
i Like, is dropping the 11 power... um ah maybe Maybe this is running like null, too. Or maybe it's maybe you're Arnim Zola-ing your Dormammu.
01:56:26
Speaker
Yeah, I think you're still playing null, I think. Yeah, I think ah hitting hitting Nimrod with the final destroy step is pretty good. I don't know if it's good enough. I don't know if this deck can afford other Simradi things.
01:56:42
Speaker
maybe Sabertooth is real when you're when you're just like, you have the demands to destroy two characters. like Maybe in this case, you're okay with that. I know he's kind of expensive at a three. um
01:56:55
Speaker
I don't know. i just He's a lot of steps. and like you You definitely you get step one in your hand, so it's not like you have to draw the right thing Right. I'm assuming summoning Dormammu. Is it an extra There's a couple questions that there are. It says add step one to hand. And that to me suggests that it's an extra card.
01:57:17
Speaker
i think you still get your three cards and it adds step one to your hand. Oh yeah, yeah. But you could draw Dormammu early or you could sit in your deck. Ideally he sits in your deck because you're summoning him. like You don't want to waste a draw on him.
01:57:31
Speaker
um Is Dormammu in... You don't think he goes in your deck? See, I kind of thought he existed, like, banished. Like, maybe, you know.
01:57:41
Speaker
i You know, I bet he does start in the deck. I don't, I think that's stupid. Yeah, i butt I bet he starts in the deck and just absorbs the power and stuff. Yeah, I guess I hadn't thought about that part too hard. Yeah, yeah.
01:57:52
Speaker
But I think, I thought Rhi was asking if the summoning ritual counted as one of the cards in your starting hand. And I don't think it does. I think it's in addition to the starting hand. yeah That was a good point, though, too, because I think also, like, then, I just imagined Dormammu was, like, for some reason not in your deck, but that doesn't make any sense. Like, Agamotto, no, it would be, he would actually be in your deck and you could draw him, yeah.
01:58:17
Speaker
Yeah, i would I would give him an entire extra point if he if he thinned your deck. okay yeah of And yeah, I mean, maybe it is pretty reliable, actually. Like, the more I'm looking at it, maybe it's pretty reliable because you just get the step and then you play it when you're ready to.
01:58:33
Speaker
The first step is a zero cost, so you can play it on the same turn you do your first destroy. um granted, you're making a smaller Dormammu if you're killing something small, right? Like, you don't want to be destroying a hood because now your Dormammu has eight power. Also, I think there's a question that listeners might have.
01:58:51
Speaker
um I'm assuming you do actually have to have a destroyed card because it says merge your highest power destroyed card with Dormammu to continue, and we've seen that two language with, like, Gambit. You discard gamb cards to destroy, so like, the thing has to happen for the other thing to happen.
01:59:07
Speaker
Correct. And I'm very much assuming it doesn't work with cards that regen. Yeah. Yeah, they have to be in the graveyard. and Well, the third ritual step would, but not the first one.
01:59:17
Speaker
Yeah. um I'm warming on him because he's not 11 power. By the time you play him, he's... He's like 15 or something. Yeah. 15 minimum, pretty much.
01:59:31
Speaker
And then you are Amzolahem or... I don't know. Is he really squishy at that point? oh like yeah You summon him and he's just sitting there on the board? Well, you can summon him on... You can summon him on the last turn.
01:59:47
Speaker
Yeah. Isn't that what you want to do with your Nimrod scenario? Yeah. Okay, let's call it. We've been talking about it for a while. i am going to say that I would have probably landed on a three much for the same reason as last time, like strong, but narrow.
02:00:06
Speaker
I am much closer. this one goes to Ben, though. I'm much closer to Ben than Lauren on this. Because I do play a lot of decent amount of destroy. And this is all stuff you're looking to do anyway. And if this gives you a reason to... Like, a lot of times you're, like, carnaging a Killmonger. You know what mean?
02:00:25
Speaker
You're destroying your destroy cards. And you're happy to get those back. And this is, like I said, doing stuff you want to do anyway. You want to destroy your cards. So, like, where I keep saying the other stuff, where it's, like...
02:00:38
Speaker
Why do we want to do this in the decks we're building destroy? We want to destroy things. It's like, yes, this is like do more of what you want to do Have a free card start doing it and like, you know, pull back.
02:00:51
Speaker
yeah The only thing to be aware of assume then when you summon Dormammu. No, it's merged. So that card's gone into Dormammu. He doesn't become the card you merged. Okay. So think that's my land. Dormammu.
Examination of Clea's Ability and Design of Marvel Pet-inspired Cards
02:01:12
Speaker
He looks fun either way. okay you guys yeah final snap pack card is Clea. 1-2. When this permanently gains power, add Flames of the Fault Teen to your hand.
02:01:28
Speaker
And that works whether she's in your hand or in play. um And then the Flames of the Fault Teen is a 1-cost skill with on reveal, Afflict an enemy card here with negative 3 power.
02:01:43
Speaker
I... She's probably like a two. Like, it's a lot of work to generate these Flames of the Faultine. I... I honestly... I have it written down as one, but like... You combo her with Diamondback or... Or Ajax or Joaquin, and all of a sudden your Flames of the Faultine are doing more work. You don't hate things that are one fives or one six...
02:02:08
Speaker
but you have to get those the deck. Like what did you do to get those flames? there's No existing deck that uses this, right? You're not doing an, a flick deck. That's also playing Khori or, or Gwenpool or iron heart. what Like it's a really weird.
02:02:21
Speaker
Yeah. I don't know. Uh, no, going to stick with my one. I was like, you know, it's big when it happens, but I don't think it is it's such a weird deck that you have to build to support it. There's my argument.
02:02:38
Speaker
Yeah. One threes on demand. Wow. You can generate a lot of one threes. I mean, like, sure, you can look for affliction synergies to make it like worthwhile. And it's cool that they don't take up space on the board. But like, yeah, man, I i tried to give, did I try to give Nicholas Scratch a two instead of one? I think, i think that's what I said. Yeah.
02:02:59
Speaker
I, I want like, i I like Clea, all right. like i I want Clea to be good. I just don't see... to This is just like really bad, right? like This seems like a really bad card.
02:03:15
Speaker
I don't understand... I understand how... you know i love I love hand buffing things. i i've been it appeals to... It's just... Why? why any of this?
02:03:31
Speaker
Like, are are we supposed to like Flames of the Faultine because they buff Nicholas Scratch and Angela and Bishop? Like, are we just like, is this about the most instances of playing a card?
02:03:48
Speaker
Like, is that what we're really doing here? And is that the best way to do it Because I don't think it is. I think we still probably want to play like Kitty Pryde and shit. Like, I don't. I just don't think that i don't think there's anything good about this card. I think this card is like really fully worthless.
02:04:07
Speaker
Oh, harsh.
02:04:11
Speaker
Well, you both went with one. So, know, can't pick a winner. I myself, I think, would have went two for the wizard bump. But yeah, super awkward because you're not it's hard to take advantage of both sides of her. And she takes work. So I get that. But, you know, she a wizard. I'm poor Nicholas Scratch and Marilyn and Agamotto. Charlize Theron. Is that correct? Am I remembering correctly the MCU? She played. Yeah. And the brief moment.
02:04:38
Speaker
She's, you know, she pretty she's got cool scenes. I like Clea.
02:04:46
Speaker
I mean, in the comics, sorry, to be clear. I really wanted Clea in it, and she seemed all right. I liked her. She's often carrying around like the head of Strange for some reason, because he's like gotten and gotten himself killed, and now she's like carrying around his strange head while they try and resolve shit.
02:05:07
Speaker
Okay, on to our side quests. Secret homework. It was assigned by Ben this week. Ben, what was the secret homework? All right. This week's secret homework was one of our classic card design thingers, you know, and tells.
02:05:27
Speaker
a science fair i don't know point is uh the prompt this time was a hey what if it was adorable little pets because in in all these marvel multiverses there are just some of the best little aminal companions you ever did see i kind of stretched it a little bit my pet is not an animal but uh what are you gonna do Anywho, there are lots of iconic critters that they're very good. you know we do we We love these things. um
02:05:57
Speaker
I do anyway. So the character that I picked for my secret homework design this time is one of Tony Stark's robot arms from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ah first appearing in that first Iron Man film.
02:06:11
Speaker
I think that most people like that first Iron Man film. And there's a reason that they're always trying to like remind you of that stuff. You know, they, they, they always, they had to bring back, uh, his little, uh, Jensen, his, his friend from the cave. They brought him back in Iron Man. They're always bringing back shit from Iron Man one.
02:06:29
Speaker
They, they, One of the, one of these days they'll get Jeff Bridges to do some Obadiah stain stuff again. I bet that's, that's my prediction. That's me. But anyhow, little robot arm dummy.
02:06:41
Speaker
Uh, it doesn't always do exactly what Tony wants it to, but mostly it's a faithful, helpful little buddy. And, yeah, I chose to represent it in gameplay. You know, it hands you things and stuff.
02:06:57
Speaker
So I went with Dummy, one three with activate. Transfer Dummy's power to your lowest power card at another location. So like the the obvious thematic cuteness is like, oh, Iron Man, have this. It'll do you more good. you know Handing three power or whatever. Maybe it's more than three power, dummy. Can be hand buffed or whatever.
02:07:23
Speaker
um And there are other things you could do with it, too. um the Other cards care about what their power is. Captain Carter, for instance, ah you could hand her three powers. She'd know what to do with it.
02:07:36
Speaker
She'd give it to the people in the back row, share it around. um An even better use of power than handing it to Iron Man. So I don't know. There's stuff you could do with it. I thought it wasn't, you know...
02:07:50
Speaker
too nuts but i i bet it would find its way into some decks that's that's what i think that's just my hunch i think there's something to do with it not sure what it's cute i love it yeah and it would be a very fun card to play and an appropriate activate okay i'm assigning next week's homework so re tell us about your pet Oh, man. Okay, first small side tangent. I forgot when you mentioned Captain Carter, when I hit AutoZorn, Deck Builder did the coolest thing it's literally every done ever done. I have a lot of favorited titles and deckbacks and avatars, but it put together last season's Peggy Carter avatar we got, which
02:08:41
Speaker
with the PAX deckback of Captain America's shield and the title alternate timeline drifter. And I was like, bam, like Declare just dropped the mic and like walked out. I'm like, good job. Like that was a big selection to pull that. Stopped clock is right twice a day.
02:09:00
Speaker
Right? Usually have to check because I'm like, this outfit is all wrong for this deck. No, these avatars and titles and deckbacks do not go together, deck builder.
02:09:11
Speaker
um But yeah, this case got right. OK, sorry. Totally my homework. I went with this run from last year. I'm pretty sure it was last year. Marvel Unleashed, getting into this pet craze. It features a lot of the pets. It features Pizza Dog from Hawkeye, which is where we start. I believe I see Walkjaw on the cover. Walkjaw. You see, um I perpetually forget.
02:09:36
Speaker
What? What? Bats. Thank you, Doctor Strange. It's Ghost Dog. Like, I believe even Throg isn't... Yeah, there's Throg, Red Wings. So, like, all of the pets are in it.
02:09:47
Speaker
But the main character, right? We start with the dogs coming out. The main character is D-Dog, right? They meet this dog that's wearing a mask. but it Oh, you can't see. Okay, sorry. This is YouTube.
02:10:02
Speaker
But this... Pizza Dog meets this dog. Hold it in front of your face. Yes. so oh no fronter the Hold the page in front of your face. Lift the comic book in front of your face.
02:10:16
Speaker
No, but this is what the mask looks like on the dog. But it's a beat-up superhero mask that a dog finds. And because she decides, you know, it's like, ah it tugs all of your heartstrings. Like, if you know the Futurama episode of the dog that waited, the title of that, right?
02:10:34
Speaker
They have all these ones where you're like, dogs, we all know them better than people. Okay, okay. um But, like, ah so it tugs all of those heartstrings. D-Dog, who is, like, you know, gets all the pets to come together to save the day because she decided to be a super dog when she found us But she doesn't have a home of her own, unlike everyone else. And this run so great. I recommend it so heavily to start with. It's only for issues.
02:11:04
Speaker
It did slightly fizzle out the end. I'm about to spoil it. um If you i did actually want to read it, but it kind of it does end um with D-Dog sacrificing herself, of course, to save the day.
02:11:22
Speaker
but she gets to go live. but but Valkyrie comes to take her to Valhalla and she becomes the dog. That's her home. She's the dog of the Valkyries. um And finally she gets to belong. And it is definitely one of those like, and it's cute and it's funny.
02:11:39
Speaker
and even if the ending was a little bit like rushed and kind of, you know, all of that, it was still totally charming and worth reading. So the card came up with is, of course, D-Dog.
02:11:53
Speaker
And the stat line is a 2-3. And I picked that because feel like that's the most nondescript, like, stat line. You know what I mean? Of a card, like, the most generic stat line for a card in Marvel's Snap. Because, you know, like, that's the idea. D-Dog was just...
02:12:09
Speaker
you know, another German shepherd of a million who decided, who chose to like be a, to be a super dog and try to do her best save it, even though she had, you know, no actual powers. And her ability is when this is destroyed, summon Valkyrie to this location.
02:12:28
Speaker
you know. That's a good card. Cause all dogs go to Valhalla. Yeah. i love it. So that was very good. That's great. Um,
02:12:41
Speaker
I mean, I'm embarrassed I didn't think about this one on my own, but somebody, it was Adam, I believe, Adam Starr, Marvel Snap Lore, who said, Lauren has to do Aragorn. So to reference Aragorn, a different one for the second time in this episode.
02:12:54
Speaker
Yes, I did Aragorn, Valkyries, Pegasus. um The stats are a little bit hard, so maybe help me figure those out. I put it at three three one On reveal, repeat the on reveal ability of the last card you played here.
02:13:11
Speaker
then gain plus one power. um the trick I had to make it compatible with Valkyrie and um um in two different ways. One is that the plus one power at the end makes it play nice with Valkyrie. um But second, that you can actually play Valkyrie on turn five, which is a very hard thing to make effective. um The only deck that i really ever do that in is one that runs Supergiant, so she's...
02:13:36
Speaker
you know she's not actually triggering until the end of the game um but she could be a really cool priority tool if you could play valkyrie on five um and this lets you then of course trick your opponent and play her again um yeah uh
02:13:56
Speaker
Three one is what I went with um because it seems easier to control than Grandmaster, right? like Yeah, remind me, what was the like what was the on reveal again? Yeah.
02:14:07
Speaker
Repeat the on reveal ability of the last card you played here. So it's not a full Odin. Right. It's a local absorbing man. Yes, that's insane. But it's the last one here. And so at least the way I've worded it right now, I think you could leave it there for a few turns. It be separated in the timeline chronologically. Like there could have been so many cards in between. Yeah, which I actually think is kind of sick.
02:14:30
Speaker
Um... but Better in Surfer than Absman. Right? It's a three cost. You can play Surfer this turn. Surfer Aragorn, which I had that thought. and I was like, you know, there's probably too many strong things you can do to make this cheaper and they would be so perfect as the final two in your Captain Carter lane.
02:14:51
Speaker
oof Oh, yeah. Oh, Delicious. So... I think a more targeted, I think the targeting is what made Grandmaster a problem, right? That and that it has to move something to the middle and sometimes that causes problems. Well, so the body initially was a big problem. Yeah, but I'm saying that they started him at 2-1 because they thought the ability was going to be strong enough to justify that and it proved not to be.
02:15:20
Speaker
um And so that's where I'm like, you know, maybe 3-1 isn't good enough for this, but there's I'm also kind of inclined to think like there's got to be some like some big abilities that you could use with this that would justify it, especially if you could break up the timeline like that.
02:15:36
Speaker
um I think 3-1 is a perfectly fair place to start. That's what I think. I think you nailed it. That's what think. And if you do hit it with Valkyrie, then then it gets the plus one afterwards. Or if it causes Valkyrie to reproc, he ends up at a four and breaks parity so Valkyrie lane can win.
02:15:57
Speaker
I thought about an ongoing hate card because Valkyrie does not like ongoing, but we have plenty of those already. Yeah, we do. And like this card couldn't be a two, and it couldn't be a four.
02:16:09
Speaker
So i i think I really think you nailed it. That's what I think. And if as if it was a two you could have Ravonna and do Zola this, and that's just like that's too good. Yeah. um And Valkyrie herself needs to be a five. i know I've seen people propose her at four, and I just think she would be way too good at four. agree.
02:16:27
Speaker
And if she's six and she loses the ability to play... if she like Nobody would ever play Shang-Chi ever again if volrie or Valkyrie did the thing, right? like Right. Yeah. That would just but completely warp everything.
02:16:41
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, because she's kind of Shang-Chi and Shadow King at the same time. She's a lot. That's really good. Oh, if you can make her Zabu and put her at three. if you can't handle Valkyrie at her most Shadow King, you don't deserve her at her most Shang-Chi.
02:16:59
Speaker
Okay.
02:17:02
Speaker
ah okay Next week's homework. um You know, you could consider this inspired by either kind of having a cooler season on Snap lately, ah personally, or because of the publisher change, which is, you know, constantly moving forward. And we're seeing we're seeing some of the dust from their construction.
02:17:23
Speaker
But my question is, what do you most want to see from Second Dinner by the end of the year? o this is different from quality of life wishes which we've done before because this could be a feature or you could have a more abstract answer like can it be something i wish they'd done by the end of a previous year i mean then it's still hold true right yeah mean as long as it's better late than never applies then yes um wow They really, yeah.
02:17:54
Speaker
I like it. Because like if we even two of us come up with the same thing, then I think it's a pretty strong
02:18:04
Speaker
I'm sorry. The council is voted. excited i think I think there's going to be a general thing that I want from them. And I'm going to have like a specific thing that would qualify that has been discussed that I would like.
02:18:17
Speaker
ah Okay. Okay.
02:18:20
Speaker
Well, if you want to find out what that is, you'll have to tune in next week. ah If you like what you heard, like, comment, subscribe, leave a review, et cetera, you can comment on YouTube or on Spotify.
02:18:30
Speaker
um Or hit us up in Discord, where we have a tiny little corner of the Snap Judgments League Discord called the Speakeasy, and there are instructions to get there in the show notes or video description. We are proudly part of the Snap Judgments Network. That's how we glommed onto their Discord.
02:18:45
Speaker
ah Where you can listen to other great shows. We are. Where you can listen to other great shows like Snap Judgments. That's our our grand pod hosted by Pulse Glazer and Roy on Saturdays featuring all kinds of guests all the time, including community members, creators, and Second Dinner employees.
02:19:06
Speaker
um I think we've all been on that show. We took it over. yeah absolutely. At least once, maybe twice. yeah Three times? i don't know.
02:19:19
Speaker
Yes. Not recently. I would. i would. Yeah, you hear that, Glazer? I don't know if he listens. although I don't know listens either. Although, take you him call us the best Snap Podcast. That's that's that's from his mouth.
02:19:33
Speaker
Not mine. Not the sort of thing we never say about ourselves. We would never. But if you want to listen to the next episode of the best Snap Podcast, tune in next week. Same Snap time, same Snap channel.
02:19:48
Speaker
Yay, I wish we could hear the guitars. We should just play them in our ears. have them ready on the phone every time. I don't like that. That would sound great.
02:19:58
Speaker
I was talking about how people like that Iron Man and more movies should the call back to that and stuff. Hey, you know what movie didn't call back to that?
02:20:09
Speaker
And I found to be kind of a steaming turd, this new Captain America. I saw Disney Plus. Oh, my gosh. What a completely toothless movie. political thriller that less than nothing to say it like undercuts its own attempts at having anything to say like left and right it oh wow i found it to be just tripping over its own yeah the the latest captain in america I agree it struggled, but there's some really good bright spots in I loved Joaquin Torres there. was definitely one of the better parts.
02:20:49
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. It had a lot of narrative struggles. It didn't have a strong... villain i didn't enjoy him it like like the conviction to like condemn him for any of his like misbehavior or any of it and i agree think i didn i didn't like that that felt like a ah miscarriage of justice and i don't i'm not interested in stories of Badly behaved leaders getting away with it.
02:21:18
Speaker
No, that's, uh, that's what I got there. I remember when you talked about it, you were talking about how they like kind of got close to like, there might be something deep and interesting and complex about the relationship between Ross and his daughter.
02:21:33
Speaker
But they didn't not just like as a dementia, just as someone like unraveling into dimension, childlike behavior and losing their. But then they didn't lean into it. yeah And listening to Ben, I think that's the problem. because that Thaddeus didn't even feel like the real villain. The surprise villain didn't feel like the real villain. The villain was system, status quo, the bureaucracy, and then they didn't really beat it, right? So it's just like, overall, it was a satisfying like womp a bit. And the resolution with Red Hulk is that Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross, after being talked down by Captain America...
02:22:18
Speaker
sees the error of his ways, gives up the office of the presidency, and ships himself off to the raft. Oh my god, what a bunch fairy tale horse shit.
02:22:30
Speaker
I mean, it is superheroes, which are fairy tales. That's not how power works.
02:22:37
Speaker
Okay, I want to provide just slight counterpoint in that, like, yes, but also, like, Sam Wilson, I thought was, like I said, like Joaquin, a bright spot in it, and he's like a counselor.
02:22:51
Speaker
He doesn't have powers. Like, they lean into this over and again, and I agree, like, having talked them into it. It's just like the villain wasn't good.
02:23:01
Speaker
Like I said, I do feel like the villain was the larger system at Quo and they didn't actually beat it. And yeah, it's a bit of a fair time.
02:23:13
Speaker
I'm curious if, did it give you any hints about who might be in Sam Wilson's Avengers? No.
02:23:21
Speaker
No. Okay. No. This is something we're going to see later. This was a hugely skippable movie. If you don't feel excited about it, you can skip this one and just watch Thunderbolts because that movie rips and you should watch that one.
02:23:35
Speaker
And it will get you up to date. You will have the latest on what's going on with Avengers if you watch Thunderbolts.