ComicsXF Is Addicted To Marvel Snap, Here’s Why

Marvel Snap is new a mobile card game featuring Marvel Comics characters. Since some of us here at ComicsXF have been charmed by the game, we decided to have a roundtable discussion about its merits and what could be improved.

Why do you play Marvel Snap?

Armaan Babu: I like having a collection of what I call “podcast games”. Something for me to fidget with while I listen to something. Up until now, Marvel Puzzle Quest has been my go-to, but this has proven to be way more fun.

Dan Grote: I saw people talking about it on Twitter, and it looked like it might be fun, give me something different to play in bed besides Candy Crush Saga.

Latonya Pennington: I kept hearing about the game via Twitter and I couldn’t resist a cool looking mobile card game, so I wanted to give it a try.

Adam Reck: Mainly peer pressure! Our ComicsXF Slack started saying how fun it was and wouldn’t you know it? They were right! 

Zack Jenkins: I was also peer pressured into this.

Ian Gregory: I am a fiend for card games, and I enjoyed Early Hearthstone (where design was led by Snap designer Ben Brode), so thought I’d try this out.

Rasmus Lykke: Like Ian, I’ve enjoyed Hearthstone (and continue to do so, though mainly in Battlegrounds these days), which led me to Ben Brode. I’ve been awaiting his next game and ever since Marvel Snap was announced, I’ve eagerly been awaiting its global release!

How have your previous gaming experiences prepared you to play Marvel Snap?

Armaan: I’ve been playing online Marvel since the old Facebook-hosted Avengers Alliance came out, and one thing I’ve learned is patience — the stuff I really want to unlock will come, inevitably, and in the meantime it’s best to just focus on having fun. Trying to be the best when there is so much extremely clever competition would drive me mad. 

Dan: I’m not much of a mobile gamer, so I guess if anything “prepared” me for Marvel Snap it would be the 1990s trading card game Marvel Overpower and also playing Hearts and Solitaire on every PC in that same decade. I’m old.

Latonya: When it comes to card games, playing Yu-Gi-Oh! video games helped prepare me when it comes to making a good deck and using good card combinations. As for mobile gaming, I think playing the mobile card game Night of The Full Moon allowed me to get used to the fast paced card battles. I also agree with Armann in that this game is more about having fun than being competitive and it makes it more enjoyable when you keep this in mind.

Adam: I have zero gaming experience with a card game like this, so when some of our crew started comparing it to MTG, I had to ask, What does that stand for? The closest comparison I could make when I suggested the game to my daughter was “It’s like War but with characters and lots of fun extra rules.” 

Ian: I’ve been prepared too well, perhaps. Adam and I are coming from opposite ends of the spectrum here, as I play a lot of MtG and almost every other collectible card game. Snap does a lot of new things, but at the end of the day you’re building a deck and doing straightforward one-on-one matches. I think people with a basis in card games will not be too surprised.

Rasmus: Been playing Hearthstone since the beta, playing at least a little almost every day. Played a bit of MtG in school too. And like Armaan, I used to play Marvel Avengers Alliance on facebook (before I escaped that hellsite). So I think I was pretty well prepared, both for the mechanics, as well as the “just focus on having fun” aspect of it.

Zack: SNAP, at least in the early stages, has a lower level of complexity than games like Magic: The Gathering so the basics of things like “card advantage” and game theory really help build separation between the skilled players and the ones having fun.

What are your favorite aspects of Marvel Snap?

Armaan: I like how unpredictable it can get. I’ve been playing it almost daily since it came out, and I’m constantly finding out new ways even my most familiar cards can interact with each other, or with certain locations. I’m constantly finding new surprises.

Dan: I like unlocking new cards and seeing what characters I get. The animations are shiny. Also I like that Quicksilver is, like, the base card that everyone starts off with, the Rattata or MySpace Tom of Marvel Snap, if you will.

Latonya:  I like how each card battle only lasts 3-5 minutes; it allows me to get my card gaming fix in short bursts. Like Dan, I also like unlocking new cards and seeing what characters I get. 

Adam: So far I haven’t felt compelled to pay for it which is great? And I keep finding solid combinations of new cards that I can use to crush my opponents. I also win pretty frequently? Like, I’m moderately okay at this silly game and that’s a nice serotonin boost. 

Ian: I never really got into playing card games on mobile, because I hate being locked in to lengthy online matches when I might need to get off my train, or answer an email, or look where I’m going. Snap solves that by never committing you for more than three or so minutes, and also makes surrendering (‘retreating’) into a tactical decision where bailing on a match early doesn’t punish a player – and is in fact often the right choice.

Rasmus: It’s a combination of what a lot of the others have said: Unlocking new stuff and how that sometimes completely changes the cards you already have, the short battles, but mostly it’s the unpredictability of it. Every battle brings something new. The changing locations, the different decks you go up against. With these types of games, there’s a lot of talk of the meta. Where a certain kind of deck will just be the best for an extended period of time. But there’s very little of it in Marvel Snap, because the locations change every game and there’s frequently being added new ones, making you adapt almost daily. It also means that all kinds of decks are viable. I have six different decks and they all win (and lose) at about the same rate, even if they’re wildly different. That’s exciting.

Zack: It’s fast and doesn’t ask me to pay to win. It has a very addicting “one-more-game” quality to it, which is useful because it can get very swing-y on turn 5 and 6.

What are your favorite and least favorite cards in Marvel Snap?

Armaan: This changes a lot — this game is still new — but my latest favorite is The Infinaut. A power of 20, cost of six, he can only be played if you basically skip your fifth turn. Your opponent just assumes you have an unlucky hand, and then boom. You turn the tables last minute. They don’t see it coming. It’s delightful. 

Also a little evil. 

So doubly delightful.

My least favorite is the Hulk, I think. He’s not bad, he’s just quickly become very boring considering all the other cards there are!

Dan: I like the Mister Sinister card, both because I love the character and because he clones himself and fills up whatever arena he’s in.

I don’t know that I have a least favorite, although I do tire of throwing out Quicksilvers to start the game. Don’t you have some Terrigen mists to huff or something?

Latonya: I like the Odin card because he lets you activate the special abilities of certain cards a second time. Using Odin alongside cards that gain power or add power to other locations or cards is a fun way to turn the tables. 

Adam: This is just a weird character to love, but I really do love the Klaw card because I can get reasonable amounts of points in two locations! My least favorite so far is when someone puts down Hobgoblin. I don’t have him, but it’s just a mean card to force negative points on your opponent. 

Ian: I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of Enchantress, who removes ongoing effects at her location. Lots of decks in the earlier ranks rely on ongoing effects like Blue Marvel and Ka-Zar to buff up their little guys. Sometimes a well-placed Enchantress doesn’t just help you lock down one location, but the entire board. It feels very mean, and I like being mean.

Rasmus: I’m glad I’m not playing against Armaan, because I loathe the Infinaut. I can often tell when he’s coming and there’s just no countering it. Knowing that something that huge (and unfair) is coming is just awful. It’s led to a lot of strategic retreating on turn five.

My favorite is the same as Adam’s, actually. Klaw is just a lot of fun. You get a decent amount of power on the location you play him plus a good amount on another. Pair him with Onslaught and it’s just cruel (and delightful).

Zack: Lockjaw isn’t a consistent card but might be the most fun card I’ve played in any TCG.

Jessica Jones is among my least favorite just due to her high power and utility. Becomes a pretty boring drop in the midgame.

How do you make a good deck that suits your playing style?

Armaan: Right now, I’m enchanted enough with the weird character effects that I build decks based off of cool stuff I want to see happen in the game. I’ll pair Carnage with Nova and Wolverine because it’s cool watching what happens when the latter two die. If I want to win by a few thousand points, I’ll put Iron Man in with a bunch of Ongoing improvers like Spectrum and Onslaught — I might only rarely get the effect I want, but when it does happen it feels awesome!

Dan: No idea. All I know is by the end I get to play the Hulk and he smashes and goes “RAARRRRGH!”

Latonya: l happened to end up with a bunch of “on reveal” cards, i.e. cards that activate their special abilities when flipped over and revealed on the board. Once I realized that they all add power to a location or each other, I decided to make a deck around that. 

Adam: As an X-Men obsessive, I first tried assembling a Krakoan deck, but you can’t really make a competitive deck with just one corner of the Marvel Universe. Once you figure out how you like to play (power-ups, moving cards around, etc) you have a lot of options. My favorite decks lean into cards that can power-up other cards or spark On Reveals/Ongoings. It’s so satisfying when your opponent is ahead and you drop one card that changes your whole side of the board. 

Ian: Snap distributes cards only semi-randomly. Early on, everyone is getting new cards out of the same pool of 100 or so. Once you fully collect that pool, you get moved into collecting random cards from a second pool. As a result, the game has a natural tutorial for deck building and learning different archetypes (ongoing decks, on-reveal decks, discard decks, and so on). I would say trust the signals the game gives you – if you get a card that wants to be discarded, you’ll likely find more enablers and pay-offs in that same genre.

Rasmus: As I mentioned, I got around six decks, each focusing on a specific play style. So I don’t know that I got one that suits me, because it depends on what I’m in the mood for (which is a lovely choice to have in a TCG). That being said, it does help to focus on one mechanic and build around that. All Ongoing cards or all On Reveal cards, etc. This usually leads to the biggest payoffs in the end.

Zack: My play style is very strategic. This makes sense because I am a smart and special boy. I like to look at cards that will direct an opponent to play the game on my terms, whether that’s by containing them to specific locations or punishing them for misplays. I want them off their guard so I load up on cards that are less big and splashy and more consistent and controlling.

What aspects of Marvel Snap could be improved?

Armaan: I would love to be able to play a match against my friends, including everyone here at this Round Table. Put in their username, play a live match, it would be fantastic.

I’d also like there to be something more interesting to be done with the Gold Bars we earn, because right now they seem kind of useless. Other than that? No complaints, this game is great!

Dan: Needs a Pete Wisdom card.

Latonya: I agree with Armaan, I would like to play a match against friends as well. I would also like the random cards you unlock to be more balanced in terms of high cost cards vs low cost cards. 

Adam: I’m with Armaan, I’m hopeful they will one day let us play against each other. I also just want more ability to customize my look. Even just a wider selection of avatars based on the cards I have would be fun instead of constantly seeing the same images. If Dan gets a Pete Wisdom card, there should eventually be an Isca the Unbeaten card that automatically wins the round. Likewise, I’d love if there were additional power-ups to cards beyond “Frame Break,” “3-D” etc. Like, what if classic Storm became Punk Storm all the way up to Regent of Arakko? Of course, then they wouldn’t have variants to sell us. But all that aside, I’m loving the game the way it is for the most part! 

Ian: The things that are most frustrating about Snap are also some of its best design decisions. There’s not much to spend currency on, and there’s no way to get specific cards. This means that the monetization system is not very aggressive, and the developers aren’t incentivized to hide more powerful cards behind higher rarities to boost sales. But it also means that sometimes that deck you want to play is fifteen hours out of reach, and it can feel like a slog just playing until you hopefully get a cool card to let you try something different.

Rasmus: What everyone else has already said, really. I’d love to play against my friends. The good news is that developer Second Dinner has confirmed that they’re very much working on this, so it is coming (and it sounds like it’s a priority for them too).

That and the things Ian mentioned. There’s actually not a ton to spend money on. Which is nice! We all know how awful most Free-to-Play games are. This very much isn’t. I’ve played a lot and haven’t felt the need to shell out cash yet. In fact, I’ve actually wanted to, but haven’t found a good way to, because just playing the game seems the best way to unlock things. Which is great, because the game is super fun to play!

Zack: There needs to be a quicker path to more strategic cards. Pool 1 is mostly good but it’s hard to justify running anything but a Ka-Zar deck. I’ve seen what comes in later pools and it really changes how you play the game. Let’s find a way to let players get there without their only option being an unrelenting grind.