It seemed like everyone was playing Marvel Snap in 2023 when it finally exited beta. However, things have changed, and many players have abandoned the game. And they’re missing out because Marvel Snap is better than ever in 2024.
Critics and card game aficionados alike lauded the game for its genius design choices: primarily, the three random locations and small decks. And while that praise hasn’t turned into much criticism, the excitement around Marvel Snap – and anecdotally, the people I know that regularly play – has dropped off significantly.
This is a shame because, as someone who has found time to play almost daily for nearly a year and a half, Marvel Snap is in the best place it ever has been in 2024.
I state this with full confidence despite knowing that in the Marvel Snap subreddit and general community, the prevailing opinion is that the release of Blob in mid-December led to one of the worst metas in the card game’s short lifespan. These takes are not wrong: Blob’s original ability that absorbed every card in your deck and added its power to him made decks involving him and Thanos pretty much the only consistently good ones.
Blob might’ve eaten the meta whole and killed the game if patches came every three or four months, as seen in other competitive games. The upcoming card releases wouldn’t have dethroned the big guy. Yet, one of the reasons Marvel Snap is so great is Second Dinner’s frequent over-the-air patches and infrequent regular patches that allow them to roll high on cards.
After a month of terror – elongated by the development team’s Christmas break – Blob has been sufficiently nerfed, like Alioth before him. Now the meta has a Blob-sized vacuum to fill, once again making logging in, putting together an old favorite deck, and jumping into ranked or Conquest mode a guaranteed fun time – until the next broken deck is discovered, at least. But even then, I have faith that Second Dinner will adapt.
Related: Marvel Snap Reveals Card Customization in 2024 Roadmap
Weekly card releases don’t hurt, either. Back when I played Hearthstone, I lost interest in the long waits between expansions that overwhelmed me with the sheer amount of cards released at once. The vast majority of the cards saw little play; on the other hand, even terrible releases (such as Havok, Hercules, and Miek) see some experimentation in the community and have the promise of future buffs. In fact, in the recent patch notes that saw Blob nerfed, Hercules received a small buff, along with Second Dinner noting that they may change his ability.
Even without frequent patches and new releases, almost every match feels different than the last due to the three random locations and frequent introduction of new ones that dramatically change the way each deck plays. Without them, not getting the best possible starting hand against a top-tier deck would make for an instant retreat. With them, every half-decent deck has a shot at getting lucky and stealing cubes after some bizarre and hilarious sequences, such as Bar Sinister spawning four Spider-Men that whip around the board or changing a location like Bar With No Name on the last turn to win it.
I do have concerns about the new player experience, given how card acquisition has changed to the Spotlight Key method. As someone who plays a bit literally every day – usually on the treadmill after my evening workout – I’m still six cards short of a full collection. While those cards I’m not currently interested in nabbing anytime soon, I can imagine the sheer uphill battle a new player faces to make a halfway decent deck.
Still, all frequent updates and additions have Marvel Snap feeling just as fresh – if not more engaging – in 2024. I don’t know how long Second Dinner can keep it up, but with the promise of new game modes, ways to customize the appearance of cards, and new card mechanics that create new decks and change the way established decks play, I’m sure I’ll continue playing daily well into 2025.
Marvel Snap is available now on mobile and PC.
