MARVEL SNAP News

PLEASE NOTE: If you haven’t updated your game yet, get the latest in the App Store![h2]PATCH HIGHLIGHTS[/h2]Activate more Activate!previously announced, we’re updating two older cards to now feature the new Activate mechanic: Black Swan and Hellcow. The Balance section below will cover this in more detail.

• Black Swan
  • [Old]3/5 - On Reveal: Until the end of next turn, your 1-Cost cards cost 0.
  • [New]2/3 - Activate: Until the end of next turn, your 1-Cost cards cost 0.

 

• Hellcow
  • [Old]4/8 - On Reveal: Discard 2 cards from your hand.
  • [New]4/6 - Activate: Discard 2 cards from your hand.

 [h3]Changes to Gold offers:[/h3]

• We're evolving our Gold bundles to bring you more frequent, balanced, and exciting deals on the Webshop.
• The current Bonus Double Gold offers will be phased out 30 days after this patch, so if you've been waiting to take advantage of these offers, now's the time!
• While we know these offers have been popular, they've also had unintended effects on the overall balance of the game's economy. That's why we're making this change to ensure a healthier economy moving forward.
• New players will no longer see these offers, but they'll have access to the new offers.

 

• Black Swan
  • [Old]3/5 - On Reveal: Until the end of next turn, your 1-Cost cards cost 0.
  • [New]2/3 - Activate: Until the end of next turn, your 1-Cost cards cost 0.

We revealed earlier that Black Swan and Hellcow would be changing to Activate as a bit of an experiment in seeing how the mechanic could be used to freshen up some older cards where On Reveal wasn't quite getting the job done. We didn't reveal that doing so would also come with some stat updates. Making an effect an Activate can be riskier, because it requires playing the card earlier in the game to time it properly. For Black Swan that's extra true, because playing Swan on turn 5 still won't be fast enough to get the Cost reduction–remember, Activate resolves with your other plays, so you can't activate for a same-turn Cost discount. So we're dropping the Cost to ensure more opportunities to get Black Swan into play.It's possible this update won't land Black Swan in a better position, and we're open to a reversion in that case. However, the risk seemed appropriate given Black Swan has been languishing on multiple metrics. 

• Hellcow
  • [Old]4/8 - On Reveal: Discard 2 cards from your hand.
  • [New]4/6 - Activate: Discard 2 cards from your hand.

So if we moved Black Swan down to 2-Cost, why are we shrinking Hellcow? Well, not all effects are created equal! Being able to time the discard on Hellcow makes it substantially stronger than the On Reveal in a couple of key ways, not the least of which is you can now curve Hellcow into MODOK without risking losing your MODOK. To reflect that shift in strength, we weakened Hellcow a little bit while we see how strong it proves to be. 

• Sword Master
  • [Old] 3/7 - On Reveal: Discard a card from your hand.
  • [New] 3/7 - On Reveal: Discard an odd-costed card from your hand.

Similar to how we updated Moon Knight, we've decided to create an alternate option with Sword Master. We did debate changing the stats–and yes, it does look weird that Moon Knight is a 3/3 and Sword Master is bigger. However, in addition to discarding an enemy card, Moon Knight just has more and stronger synergies: Apocalypse, Proxima Midnight, Stature, and even Wolverine. Sword Master has X-23, Ghost Rider, and maybe a different kind of Hela deck? Given the gap and our Sword Master decks not feeling too scary, we decided to wait and see rather than preemptively adjust the Power down. [h2]Card and Location Logic Fixes in 32.x[/h2]

• Restored the check order of cards like Mystique hidden behind effects such as Invisible Woman or Dark Dimension to its former behavior
• Players now can properly retreat from a match on Turn 6 if Mount Vesuvius is destroyed
• Players now can properly retreat from a match on Turn 6 if Mount Vesuvius is disabled by an effect like Snowguard Hawk
• Resolved an issue with Forge that could cause an infinite looping Fast Forward to play under certain circumstances

[h2]Card and Location Art Fixes in 32.x[/h2]

• Fixed an issue where one of Cannonball’s variants didn’t display split backgrounds properly in-game
• Cleaned up Namora’s VFX timeline to be a bit snappier
• VFX for The Ice Box should no longer display differently between players
• Hand Full VFX should display properly when Black Knight is in play but Ebony Blade can’t be added to hand upon discard (ex: Helicarrier discarded)
• Nocturne’s VFX now plays properly when moved to another location by another card
• Resolved an issue that could result in Professor X’s VFX being removed from a location if he was forcibly moved
• Fisk Tower’s VFX no longer triggers inadvertently when cards move away from the location
• Fixed an issue that was causing Mockingbird’s VFX to trigger at the start of a match before any other cards were in play
• Silver Samurai’s base card art no longer loses its split background when upgraded to Frame Break quality
• Copycat’s SFX should no longer trigger for the opposing player when drawn
• Blue Stardust no longer has green particles
• Sakaar’s art asset has its background returned
• Fixed a rare issue that could result in Foil finishes displaying as Gold or Prism on occasion
• Copycat’s VFX no longer displays an exclamation point

[h2]Other Fixes in 32.x[/h2]

• Fixed a number of asset related exceptions that were occurring and causing noticeable performance issues and Aw Snap errors
• Resolved an issue that could result in a perpetual loading spinner when you restarted the app after a League had ended
• League-related toast messages should no longer occasionally appear at the start of matches
• Card Effects and Flares should no longer occasionally be over-sized when viewed in certain Card Detail and Reward Detail views
• Displayed Card Backs no longer revert to the default in Conquest after the first round
• Fixed an issue that was causing the “Hold to Confirm” text prompt to only display if the player was already holding on the button and not when they tapped
• Upgrading a card in the post-match screen and then clicking on a card in play from post-match should no longer result in overlapping card detail views

[h2]Alliance Fixes in 32.x[/h2]

• Players should be able to properly search for Alliances even if they do not meet the requirements to join the Alliance
• Fixed a timing-related issue with completing Alliance bounties that could result in a single bounty being claimed more than once
• Cleaned up some clipping and z-fighting issues for Bounty icons
• Alliance descriptions with multiple line breaks no longer causes the roster to be unable to scroll to the bottom
• Member icons and avatars no longer clip into the surrounding UI when the roster is scrolled through

[h2]PC Fixes in 32.x[/h2]

• [PC] Fixed an issue that was preventing card backgrounds from displaying for cards shown in the carousel

[h2]Existing Known Issues Fixed[/h2]

• Fixed the volume of some VO lines in certain languages that were too low
• Text descriptions for some custom borders no longer have overlapping text in Vietnamese
• The infinity split button should now be properly disabled when all possible splits for a card have been unlocked
• Emote assets should no longer blink into existence when viewing Album rewards

The metagame has largely been settling into a time of peace. Arishem's play rate has steadily trended downward since our last change to Loki, and hasn't appeared to hit bottom yet as of these notes. Symbiote Spider-Man has shaken things up, but no decks new or old are presenting as outliers on win rate and cube rate at this time. As such, we're taking a light touch on the competitive changes and mostly pushing up a few older cards. 

• Sandman
  • [Old] 5/6 - On Reveal: Players can only play 1 card next turn.
  • [New] 5/7 - On Reveal: Next turn, cards cost 1 more. (maximum 6)

We've relied on Sandman to be a negative pressure against strong decks that can threaten several cards at the end of the game. However, we've seen over time that when the metagame provides Sandman with that kind of an opening, those decks tend to become a frustration unto themselves. In some ways it's reminiscent of Leech, and we're pursuing a similar adjustment. Softening the penalty on Sandman will make it less effective at locking down the game, while still meaningfully impacting enemy plans to play tons of cards. 

• Mockingbird
  • [Old] 6/10 - Costs 1 less for each of your cards in play that didn't start in your deck.
  • [Change] 6/10 -> 6/9

Mockingbird has been one of the strongest cards in a couple dominant decks lately, so we're taking away a Power here. It's not uncommon for some players to assume that a 6/9 may be stronger than a 6/10, due to the vulnerability to Shang-Chi, but this has never been the case in the past. If, by some chance, it proves true for Mockingbird, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. 

• Aero
  • [Old] 5/9 - On Reveal: Move the last enemy card played anywhere to this location.
  • [Change] 5/9 -> 5/10

We're aware one of Mockingbird's roles of late has been providing some amount of support for Skaar, so we looked for a few candidates near 10 Power that felt ripe to receive a buff. Aero was just such a card, and an ideal candidate among 5-Costs given the ability isn't strictly beneficial. 

• Black Cat
  • [Old] 4/9 - If this is in your hand after the turn, discard it.
  • [Change] 4/9 -> 4/10

Likewise, Black Cat's seen a big dip following adjustments to Hela and Black Knight, so we're adding a Power here as well to see how it impacts the play rate. 

• Ghost Rider
  • [Old] 4/3 - On Reveal: Bring back one of your discarded cards to this location.
  • [Change] 4/3 -> 4/4

Ghost Rider's an exciting card, and we'd like to find the right spot for it to feel like a fun miniature combo for decks to play. We know from the early days of the beta how strong 3-Cost Ghost Rider was, so we decided not to risk such a drastic change. We'll see how some Power goes and evaluate from there. 

• Moon Girl
  • [Old] 4/4 - On Reveal: Duplicate your hand.
  • [Change] 4/4 -> 4/5

Another card capable of fueling some unique combos, Moon Girl's time in the sun faded pretty fast once Loki hit the timeline. We'd like to explore pushing this card back toward some of that former glory, and in fact we started by trying a 3-Cost version internally… but it was totally cracked, so don't expect to see that change anytime soon. We might have considered more Power here, but given how strong decks with Mockingbird have been lately we erred more cautiously. 

• War Machine
  • [Old] 4/7 - On Reveal: Until the end of next turn, nothing can stop you from playing cards anywhere.
  • [New] 4/7 - Ongoing: Nothing can stop you from playing cards anywhere.

Many players noted that the new activate keyword had the potential to benefit War Machine. We also thought that might be true, but it turned out that even at 3/5 War Machine wasn't quite as effective as one would hope–a card that packs most of its punch leading into turn 6 just isn't an ideal home for activate. So we're going with the backup plan here, changing the On Reveal to an Ongoing. 

• Agatha Harkness
  • [Old] 6/14 - Agatha starts in your hand and plays your cards for you.
  • [New] 6/14 - Agatha starts in your hand. She plays your cards for you on even turns.

We're as excited as everyone else to see Kathryn Hahn back for Agatha All Along, so we decided to celebrate by letting our own Agatha out to play a little bit. You'll find Agatha more interested in an equal partnership these days, sharing turns with the player rather than keeping them all to herself. We haven't adjusted any other functionality–you'll still see her showing up in your hand as a bonus card, too! — That's all for this week. Until next time, happy snapping!

Swing into action with The Amazing Spider-Season! See what we did there? This month, we're introducing our first ALL-NEW ABILITY: Activate. And we're unleashing the power of Symbiote Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero in his iconic black suit. If you thought YOU looked good in black, wait until you see Peter! With newfound strength and agility, he's ready to tackle the city’s toughest challenges. But beware—this suit comes with a dark side!  Activate is Marvel SNAP’s FIRST BRAND NEW ABILITY. The best part about this new Ability is that YOU get to choose when the Ability triggers.Cards with Activate must be played and resolved prior to using their Ability. On the following turn, press and hold the Card until the “Activated!” message appears. To deactivate the ability, simply press and hold the Card again until it's deactivated, or click the Energy icon and select the “Undo All Actions” button.This new mechanic opens up even more potential strategies, as YOU get to choose when their ability will trigger! Do you activate it as soon as possible? Or keep your opponent guessing and wait until turn 6? We’re super excited about all of the new possibilities, so let’s check out the new Activate cards coming this season!  Go web! Fly! Up up and away web! Hmmm… I know… ACTIVATE! Symbiote Spider-Man is swinging in with Marvel SNAP’s NEW CARD ABILITY, ACTIVATE!!! This is HUGE! When Symbiote Spider-Man’s ability is Activated, the Symbiote absorbs the lowest-Cost card at your location, and copies that card's text. Any On Reveal abilities will happen again as if they were just revealed![h2]NEW CHARACTER: Symbiote Spider-Man[/h2]


Activate: Merge your lowest-Cost card here with this. Copy its text like it just revealed.
[h2]SEASON REWARDS[/h2]

  With great new powers, comes great responsibility to learn new ways to play! Check out the super fun new ways to play this season with our new Characters.[h3]SERIE 5[/h3]


On Reveal: Steal 2 Power from the top card of your opponent’s deck. [h3]SERIE 5[/h3]


Ongoing: You can move one of your other cards away from here each turn.


[h3]SERIE 5[/h3]


Activate: Give the next card you play +2 Power and move it to the right.


[h3]SERIE 5[/h3]


Activate: Add an exact clone of this to another location.
 [h2]So, when can you expect new cards?[/h2]You can expect new cards to be released weekly - starting with last month’s Season Pass Card, Kate Bishop, releasing as a Series 5 card on Sep 3rd.

• Sep 3rd: Kate Bishop - Series 5 Release
• Sep 3rd: Silver Sable - Series 5 Release
• Sep 10th: Madame Web - Series 5 Release
• Sep 17th: Arana - Series 5 Release
• Sep 24th: Scarlet Spider - Series 5 Release

New Series 4 and Series 5 cards appear in the Spotlight Cache and the Token Shop. As you level up your Collection Level, Spotlight Caches become available for you to unlock a Series 4, Series 5 card, Spotlight Variants, or more. [h3][/h3] [h2]Sep 3rd:[/h2]

• Silver Sable
• USAgent
• Mockingbird

[h2]Sep 10th:[/h2]

• Madame Web
• Alioth
• Silk

[h2]Sep 17th:[/h2]

• Arana
• Sage
• MsMarvel

[h2]Sep 24th:[/h2]

• Scarlet Spider
• White Widow
• Skaar

 [h3][/h3] 

• Brooklyn Bridge: You can't play cards here 2 turns in a row.

• Otto’s Lab: The next card you play here pulls a card to the enemy side from their hand.

 [h3][/h3] Get all new Avatars, Variants, and Emotes by completing new albums!

Name two more SAVAGE than Alex Horley and The Hulk. I’ll wait. And while I wait check out this new album dropping September 5th!

• Collect 3: Annihilus Avatar
• Collect 6: Hulk Rage Emote
• Collect 9: 1 Spotlight Cache Key
• Collect 12: Annihilus Variant

Spider-Man is never short on Villains, and Green Goblin is always rolling deep. Squad up with this fresh ‘Me and the Boys’ emote on September 12th.

• Collect 3: Green Goblin Avatar
• Collect 6: 2000 Credits
• Collect 9: Green Goblin Variant
• Collect 12: Me and the Boys Emote

With great collections, comes great rewards, and great Spider-Man Reactions! Check out the Spider-Man themed Album on September 19th.

• Collect 1: Spider-Man Avatar
• Collect 3: 1000 Credits
• Collect 5: Spider-Man Variant
• Collect 7: Spider-Man Reactions

With all these webs flying around, you know Miles had to swing in! Check out the Miles Morales themed album launching September 26th for all new Unmasked Reactions!

• Collect 1: Miles Morales Avatar
• Collect 3: 1000 Credits
• Collect 5: Miles Morales Variant
• Collect 7: Miles Morales Unmasked Reactions

 [h3][/h3] Who’s excited to see more Blade? Check out the latest shop takeovers for your chance at awesome new Variants!
A savage Alex Horley album deserves a savage shop takeover. Check out the shop takeover happening from September 5-6th to see two brand new variants including Man-Thing and Blade!
Nikola Čižmešija will be taking over the shop from September 12-13th! Go check out some of our favorite variants like Electro, Sandman, and Rhino to help you fill up your new album! [h3][/h3] 
Watch your favorite MARVEL SNAP Twitch streamers play with the new Activate ability and earn Boosters, Credits, and a Mystery Variant! Drops will be available from September 3rd-10th. Don’t miss out!

• Watch 2 hours to earn: 65 Symbiote Spider-Man Boosters
• Watch 4 hours to earn: 350 Credits
• Watch 6 hours to earn: Mystery Variant

Head over to marvelsnap.com/twitchdrops to link your accounts today. [h3][/h3] With all of these new web-slingers, variants, and a BRAND NEW ABILITY, this is sure to be the most fun season yet!!! Get out there and have some fun, and let us know what you think of Activate!

Activate is Marvel SNAP’s FIRST BRAND NEW ABILITY, and the best part is that YOU get to choose when the Ability triggers. [h2]What is Activate?[/h2]Activate is a new Ability that lets the player decide when the Card’s text will trigger.Cards with Activate must be played and resolved prior to using their Ability. On the following turn, press and hold the Card until the “Activated!” message appears. To deactivate the ability, simply press and hold the Card again until it's deactivated, or click the Energy icon and select the “Undo All Actions” button. [h2]When is Activate Releasing? [/h2][h3]SERIE 5[/h3]


Activate: Merge your lowest-Cost card here with this. Copy its text like it just revealed.
Our first ever Activate card launches in just a few days! If your Spidey sense is still tingling, that’s because two more Activate Characters are coming during The Amazing Spider-Season! [h2]Finding the Fun! Inside look at designing Activate[/h2]Our goal with a new Ability was to expand the kinds of cards we could make while staying true to our philosophies about accessibility and fast-paced play.When you play a card with Activate, nothing happens–yet. On a future turn, you'll be able to tap and hold the card to activate it, queuing its effect in the same way that you drag a card from your hand to a location. Just like the order in which you play your cards determines the order in which they'll reveal, when you activate the ability determines when you'll get the effect. So if you activate a card, then play one from your hand, the Activate ability happens before the other card reveals. If you play the card first, the Activate happens last instead.

In fact, the simplest way to think about an Activate ability is that it's like an On Reveal ability you use at a later time, rather than immediately. I'm sure we've all played a 1-Cost, a 2-Cost, and then looked at the Ironheart in our hand, wishing there was some way to get a third target into play for that extra +2 Power. If Ironheart had Activate instead of On Reveal, it'd be no sweat–you just wait until turn 4, play a card, and activate away.No, we're not planning to change Ironheart to an Activate card; we enjoy all the existing points of synergy with Mister Negative, Wong, and Odin. This is just an example to illustrate the differences–though perhaps a future card could fill the gap? [h2]Iterating on Activate[/h2]Before settling on this execution, we explored a handful of different ideas about how to build this mechanic. We tried multiple uses, extra rules, and even considered inventing new resource types. However, we mostly boiled down to a pair of options:

• We could attach additional costs to the abilities, and let cards be activated the same turn they were played
• We could make Activate free to use, but require cards to be in play for a turn to use it

As you can see above, we wound up going with the latter. The biggest reason was that the more often an Activate card was used immediately, the more like an On Reveal card it tended to feel and perform. That wasn't ideal, since we already had that mechanic–it would make the cards less novel. Another was that playtesting with versions of the mechanic that had additional costs to use tended to confuse people and make the play experience considerably more complex. Last but not least, the actual range of reasonable costs was smaller than we expected. We tried some things like a 2-Cost card with an Activate that costs 3, but the designs just weren't satisfying because they were so conditional–the majority of our costs wound up being 1 or 0 anyway.We decided to keep it simple and go for the cleanest version of the mechanic on the first run. It does have a fairly meaningful drawback to navigate–playing a card with Activate on the last turn of the game isn't very useful. However, that gives us the license to put a little more strength into Activate than we might on an On Reveal card at the same Cost, further differentiating both mechanics. [h2]A Time To Activate[/h2]So that's how Activate works, and why it works that way. But why are we adding it to SNAP, and why now? Funny enough, the Activate mechanic was an ability that was on the table in the early days of design. It wound up being cut from launch consideration, but it stayed on our wishlist for functional additions to the game. Why?
As a mechanic, Activate is a bit of a workhorse for us. Currently, there's not a lot of gameplay space between executing similar effects like Gambit and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. We can adjust the conditions of the latter in a variety of ways, but most cards with singular effects either happen immediately or ask the players to do something specific later. That's rather limiting when it comes to the variety of ways we can build cards.For example, situational effects like Elektra or Polaris can be difficult to squeeze into decks sometimes because they're inflexible–the effect fires immediately, and waiting to play the card later can prove costly. Activate is a tool that can be explored to make more flexible designs like these.(No, we're also not changing them.) [h2]Araña Gonna Be My Girl[/h2]One of the decks most constrained by dynamics like these has often been Move. Many of the cards that enable movement have to be played either immediately before or immediately after the target. While there's a decent amount of variety, the play patterns ask for more specific sequences.There are some exceptions, such as Heimdall, but mostly that's just how it works. It's difficult to balance, because we can't always make combos stronger based on the difficulty level. There's a point where the improvement is just "win more" and not actually more fun on either side.When we decided to set Activate live in a season dedicated to our favorite eight-legged legends, it was a no-brainer to aim one of the Activate cards at improving the Move archetype with another option.
[h3]SERIE 5[/h3]


Activate: Give the next card you play +2 Power and move it to the right.

Like Iron Fist, you use Araña to move another card. Unlike Iron Fist, you can play Araña much earlier in the game and bide your time, waiting to Activate at the perfect spot. Is Araña strictly better than Iron Fist? No–for one thing, they move in different directions. But Iron Fist can also resolve immediately, which means the effect works on turn 6 and also can't be disrupted by a card like Killmonger earlier in the game. Araña requires more setup, but offers a potentially stronger reward. That's the kind of thing that makes Activate interestingly different from On Reveal.
 [h3]The Fate of Activate[/h3]
[h3]SERIE 5[/h3]


 Activate: Add an exact clone of this to another location.

You can expect to continue seeing new Activate designs pop up from time to time, just like any other mechanic. It's just another tool in the box for design to use to make fun, interesting cards. As time goes on, we may identify a handful of existing cards that might be better off as Activate, and in those cases we'll update them accordingly. In fact, we have a couple coming in a future patch! But by and large, Activate is going to be used to make new designs, not rehash old ones.
Is it possible that we'll update Activate further, or consider adding some ideas like the aforementioned Energy costs or repeat uses into the mix later? Sure, that could happen. But for now, we're content to explore the mechanic with you all and just make some fun cards. We hope you enjoy them! [h2]Frequently Asked Questions[/h2]

• When is Activate coming to Marvel SNAP?
  • The first new card with Activate will arrive with The Amazing Spider-Season. Our newest Season Pass Card, Symbiote Spider-Man, will be swinging in on September 3rd!

• Will more Activate cards be coming?
  • Three brand new Activate cards will be in The Amazing Spider-Season, and keep an eye out for a few existing cards that could be getting a rework in a future patch.Holy Cow! Did a Swan just fly by my window?
• How does Activate work?
  • Activate abilities cannot be triggered until the turn after they are played. After that, Press & Hold to Activate the ability!
• How many times can I use Activate?
  • Each ability can only be used once per game!
• Does it cost anything to use Activate?
  • Nope! Just Press & Hold to Activate.
• How does Activate work with other cards?
  •  The Activate ability will resolve prior to the next card revealing.
• Can anything stop me from using Activate?
  • Destroying Araña will prevent her ability from happening.
• But what about Cosmo?
  • Cosmo only prevents On-Reveal abilities!
• How can I search for Activate in my collection?
  • There’s no dedicated button for Activate yet, but searching for the key word or specific characters will work.

 

 We're closing down Young Avengers season with another OTA! This week's changes aim to tweak a handful of major metagame players and buff a couple others, while also reworking some older cards that could use their day in the sun. Let's get to it!

• Attuma
  • [Old] 4/10 - After each turn, destroy this if you have another card here.
  • [New] 4/10 - After each turn, destroy one of your cards here with less Power.

This would-be warlord of the seas saw some meaningful play early on, combining with Armor or Zero to be an efficient 4-Cost source of Power. However, the surge in strength of cards that can fill enemy slots at a location has made it very difficult for Attuma to justify play in any deck even with synergy cards like Skaar. Given we also want more cards that are good against these clog strategies, we decided to "UNO Reverse" with Attuma here and rework the design to focus on maximizing Attuma at the cost of the other cards. This simultaneously makes Attuma an enabler for things like X-23 while also a counter against cards like Green Goblin. 

• Loki
  • [Old] 3/5 - On Reveal: Replace your deck with your opponent's starting deck. Give them -1 Cost and draw a card.
  • [New] 2/2 - On Reveal: Replace your deck with your opponent's starting deck. Give those cards -1 Cost.

When we updated Loki earlier this month, we said we'd come back quickly if necessary. While some doubted its strength early on, we've since seen Loki's performance prove that the updated card was one of the strongest in the game. That overshot our goal by a bit, though we were happy to see some of the resulting shifts. We're going to try and tone Loki down by making the Power less efficient for the Cost as we remove the draw and move the card down the curve. If this doesn't work, we may return to adjusting the effect.Why not just take away the draw and leave it at 3/5, or maybe 3/4? Well, one element of Loki we heard loud and clear from our earliest playtests was that the number of "Loki cards" you can access was a big part of enjoying the card. Three often felt too low–that's why we added the draw in the first place last time. 

• Copycat
  • [Old] 3/5 - When you draw this, steal the text from the bottom card of your opponent's deck.
  • [New] 3/5 - When you draw this, copy the text from the bottom card of your opponent's deck.

We're making a light tweak to Copycat here, as the card has seen a more dramatic play rate than we expected and decks have also been shuffled more often than we guessed they would be. Stealing a card's ability isn't a huge part of the fun for the Copycat player–getting an exciting ability and the information is most of the play. The ability being stolen has mostly turned out to just be a frustrating part of the opponent having the card, so we're replacing it with a simple copy. 

• Beast
  • [Old] 2/2 - On Reveal: Return your other cards here to your hand. They cost 1 less next turn.
  • [Change] 2/2 -> 3/5

While it's true that Bounce decks have been very strong lately, that's only part of why we're making this update. We have some upcoming new cards and changes to existing ones that will impact Beast's strength, and we determined the most appropriate solution was to return to "big Beast" and move it back up the curve to 3-Cost. 

• Taskmaster
  • [Old] 5/0 - On Reveal: Set this card’s Power equal to that of the last card you played. (if that card's in play)
  • [Change] 5/0 -> 6/0

This change might seem a bit more out of left field, but it's oddly similar. Players sometimes ask about cards like Silver Surfer and Killmonger being design constraints, and they can be–Taskmaster has quietly been another as well, offering a clean and consistent way to duplicate pure Power. While it's been a while since Taskmaster was truly problematic, our most competitive playtesters identified some upcoming decks where 5-Cost Taskmaster was just going to be Way Too Much.Normally, our default practice is to let the metagame sort itself out in these kinds of situations–discovering something busted is often pretty fun! However, in this case the concerns were so substantial, and the deck so strong, that we've decided to shortcut to the post-nerf state (which we still believe supports some great decks). Have fun looking for them! You shouldn't expect to see this sort of preemptive action often going forward, either. 

• Cannonball
  • [Old] 5/7 - On Reveal: Move the highest-Power enemy card here away. If you can't, destroy it with a Rock.
  • [Change] 5/7 -> 5/8

We adjusted Cannonball's Power down in an abundance of caution earlier this year. The card's play rate and win rate were very high, and we wanted to ensure (in concert with other changes) that the metagame would shift appropriately. It has, and we're comfortable returning Cannonball to 5/8 now. 

• Destroyer
  • [Old] 6/16 - On Reveal: Destroy your other cards.
  • [New] 6/14 - On Reveal: Destroy your cards at other locations.

We're sure many of you have a soft spot for Destroyer from those early Series days, using Zero, Armor, or Cosmo to dodge the downside–maybe with a side of Warpath to win the second location. However, this rad card has struggled to find its legs in later-stage play, so we've decided to change the effect to give it a better chance at supporting cards like Nimrod and Death. Given how well Destroyer can challenge to win its own location now, we're also taking back a bit of Power as compensation. — That's all for this week. Until next time, happy snapping!