With the Avengers and X-Men putting down their shields, hammers, and claws to hug it out, a new season for Marvel Snap (Free) is dawning. This time instead of good guys fighting other good guys, it’s bad guys who are pretending to be good guys. Or maybe bad-ish good guys? I can’t keep track of what this team is anymore, but it’s time for the Thunderbolts to make their arrival in Marvel Snap! Which Thunderbolts? Let’s dig in and find out all the gritty details. I doubt we’re seeing Beetle or anything though, so don’t be disappointed.
Okay, so as usual Ben Brode (?) and friends (Bens?) have put together a very entertaining video explaining things. You should watch it if you’re able to, as it not only introduces everything but also gives you some ideas for which cards to match up with the new ones. My words are here to sum things up for people who are peeking at work, or whatever the case. I have your backs, friends. So let’s go look at that Season Pass card first, eh?
Naturally, it’s Baron Zemo. It has to be, doesn’t it? He’s a 3-Cost 5-Power card with an On Reveal ability that recruits the lowest-Cost card from the opponent’s deck to your side of the location. Well, that’s pretty nifty. I can see now why Second Dinner was tinkering around a bit with cards that swipe from the opposing deck. Pair him with locations or cards that trigger his ability multiple times and you could really ruin your opponent’s party. Not a bad Season Pass card at all, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating as usual.
Okay, on to the other new cards for the season. I don’t necessarily think of Red Hulk as a Thunderbolt, but I see which Thunderbolts they’re going with here and he does fit in that context. He’s a 6-Cost 11-Power card, and if he is in your hand or in play he will gain +4 Power whenever your opponent ends a turn with unspent Energy. Oh, wow. This is going to be this season’s beast card, I’m sure of it. Keep those Shang-Chi cards up your sleeve, folks.
Next, it’s U.S. Agent. This is starting to look like it was supposed to be a tie-in for a certain delayed movie, if you ask me. Anyway, he’s a 2-Cost 3-Power card and his Ongoing ability gives 4-, 5-, and 6-Cost cards at his location -3 Power. Presumably that’s for both you and your opponent, so plan carefully before using him. He’s like a less restrictive Goose, I suppose.
Red Guardian is up next, and yes this is very clearly connected to the MCU movie that is coming, like, next year. Well, what can you do? He’s a 3-Cost 3-Power card, and he has an On Reveal ability that gives the lowest-Power enemy card at his location -2 Power and strips their text. Interesting. I can see some potential here, but he’s going to be a tricky one to deploy strategically. Iron Man better watch out, at least.
Phew, long month. White Widow is the next new card, and she’s of course the sister of Black Widow in the movies. She’s a 2-Cost 2-Power card, and she follows in her sister’s footprints by sending a Widow’s Kiss to the opponent’s side of the location she’s played at. What does the Widow’s Kiss do? Well, it’s a 0-Cost 0-Power card that has an Ongoing ability of having -4 Power until the location is full. Oh, that’s going to be a pain in the butt.
Rounding out the new cards is Valentina. She’s the one played by Elaine in the movies. She’s kind of the Nick Fury of the team in the MCU, and she seems to have a very Nick Fury like set-up. She’s a 2-Cost 3-Power card whose On Reveal ability adds a random 6-Cost card to your hand. The good news? It’s -2 Cost. The bad news? It’s -3 Power. Still a pretty cool ability, though.
We also have two new locations coming in for this season. Castle Zemo does a very Zemo-like thing: the first card you play there will switch sides. Then we have Thunderbolts Tower, which as the dark counterpart to Stark Tower will give all cards at the location -2 Power after the fifth turn. This whole season is very heavy on debuffs, and I’m kind of intrigued by that approach.
That’s the lot for this new season of Marvel Snap. What do you think of all of this? Looking to add any of these cards to your decks? As usual, we’ll let things settle in for a few days before delivering our new deck building guide. Feel free to comment below with your thoughts on this or anything Marvel Snap!
