Strategic Updates in the Latest Card Game Patch: Balancing and Enhancements
This week’s over-the-air update introduces several minor adjustments to Power, alongside more significant enhancements for two villains from the Age of Ultron.
Lady Deathstrike
- Lady Deathstrike
- Previous Stats: 5/7 – On Reveal: Destroys each card here with 3 or less Power.
- Updated Stats: 5/7 -> 5/6
We’re pleased that the recent update has allowed Lady Deathstrike to find her place in the metagame. However, her performance has slightly exceeded our expectations. Recently, Lady Deathstrike has emerged as one of the strongest cards, even outperforming Annihilus in certain deck builds—indeed, she has been more dominant than Annihilus himself! Observing that these decks have been slightly overperforming, we’ve decided to slightly reduce her Power to balance the gameplay.
Darkhawk
- Darkhawk
- [Old] 5/4 – Ongoing: +2 Power for each card in your opponent’s deck.
- [Change] 5/4 -> 5/3
Darkhawk has continued to dominate since its shift to a 5-cost card, frequently achieving the highest win rates in the game.
Despite giving it a few weeks for the metagame to adjust and show the healthy dynamics we prefer, the situation hasn’t changed much. We aim to keep Darkhawk as a significant player in the metagame, but we need to maintain a delicate balance, hence the power reduction from 5/4 to 5/3 to prevent it from overshadowing other cards like Rock.
Leech
- Leech
- [Old] 5/3 – On Reveal: Remove the text from cards with On Reveal abilities in your opponent’s hand.
- [Change] 5/3 -> 4/2
Leech hasn’t been a dominant force on the SNAP ladder for some time now. Changing Leech to only affect On Reveals has reduced the frustration it previously caused. However, with stats at 5/3, Leech has struggled to hold its ground against other 5-Cost cards, even considering its unique effect.
The rise of Hela’s energy gain abilities has especially diminished Leech’s effectiveness in preventing major resurrection strategies. Now adjusted to 4/2, Leech is better positioned to counteract popular threats like Hela, Annihilus, Jane Foster, and Cannonball. Additionally, our affection for this courageous Morlock character, especially after his appearance in X-Men ’97, makes us particularly eager to see him succeed.
Psylocke
- Psylocke
- [Old] 2/1 – On Reveal: Next turn, you get +1 Energy.
- [Change] 2/1 -> 2/2
Previously, we reduced Psylocke’s stats to 2/1 due to Thanos’s high win rates, where Psylocke played a significant role in bolstering the Mad Titan’s effectiveness. Now, with Thanos achieving a more balanced performance and upcoming game adjustments on the horizon, we believe it is fair to restore Psylocke to her original 2 Power.
Sauron
- Sauron
- [Old] 3/2 – On Reveal: Remove the abilities from all Ongoing cards in your hand and deck.
- [Change] 3/2 -> 3/3
Much like Psylocke, Sauron was slightly nerfed during a period when he was excessively dominant. Now that this era has concluded, we are restoring his Power to its original state.
Klaw
- Klaw
- [Old] 5/4 – Ongoing: The location to the right has +6 Power.
- [New] 5/4 – Ongoing: The location to the right has +8 Power.
The rise of Ongoing-based decks in the top ranks has been thrilling to witness this past week. However, Klaw continues to find itself in a challenging “in-between” position as a 5-Cost card with considerable restrictions. Given Klaw’s unique restrictions and gameplay rewards, we are enhancing the Power of its Ongoing effect to better highlight these distinctive features.
Ultron, Drone
- Ultron
- [Old] 6/8 – On Reveal: Deploy four 1-Power Drones to each other location.
- Drone
- [Change] 1/1 -> 1/2
Ultron, once a formidable threat in the early metagame, has seen a decline in effectiveness as decks have evolved to fill each location and concentrate power more efficiently.
Ultron’s Drones are already vulnerable due to the presence of predators like Killmonger and Lady Deathstrike in the metagame, and Ultron himself is susceptible to Cannonball. While this update significantly boosts Ultron’s power, we may need to reassess and possibly reduce it in the future. However, we’ve opted not to make preemptive adjustments at this stage. We’re eager to see Ultron regain prominence rather than continue to underperform.
That wraps up this week’s update. In conclusion, we suggest looking at a more detailed analysis of the new game balance. Until we meet again, enjoy your games and happy snapping!