Marvel SNAP patch notes: All card buffs, nerfs, and location changes in Marvel SNAP January updates

It's about damn time.

Marvel Snap art featuring Wolverine, Deadpool, and Venom.
Image via Nuverse

Second Dinner, the developer of Marvel SNAP, has released a new update for the card game that includes balance changes, bug fixes, and quality-of-life (QoL) updates.

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The new patch most notably nerfed Leader, who was one of the most OP 6-cost card inside Marvel SNAP. The developers have taken away some of its power “for now” and will explore further changes for Leader in the future.

While Leader got a highly-awaited nerf, cards such as Drax, Groot, Hazmat, Black Cat, and Nakia have been slightly buffed to see if this increase both their pick rate and win rate.

Today’s patch notes had already been leaked over the internet, but now the official notes are available. If you haven’t updated your game yet, get the latest version on the app you’re playing. Here are the official patch notes for Marvel SNAP‘s Jan. 10 update.

Marvel SNAP Jan. 10 patch notes

Patch Highlights

  • NEW FEATURE: Artist Credits! You can now tap the Variant Label above the cards in your collection to see information about who the illustrators are!

General Updates

  • The collection view automatically filters to your favorite variants when editing a deck.
  • When cards trigger each other in a loop that lasts too long, the game will now “fast forward” to the end of the loop. We’re looking at you, Wong-Onslaught-Mystique-Ironheart!
  • Orka’s issue has been fixed, and the card is now in Series 4.
  • Russian language support.
  • For new players who want to jump right in, we’re releasing a one-time purchase, ‘Pro Bundle’ with 12,500 Credits and enough boosters to upgrade 8 cards from Common to Infinity.
  • Reserves now reward different amounts of Collectors Tokens once you collect all Series 3 Cards. The individual amounts vary from 200-600 instead of only 400. However, the token earning rate remains the same.

Audio

  • New Location Sounds: Asgard and Daily Bugle
  • New Card Sounds: Aero and Polaris

Art & Visual Effects

  • New Visual Effects for Aero and Polaris.

Balance Updates

  • Aero: 5/8 -> 5/7

Developer Comments: Aero’s effect can be a very powerful disruption and control tool. While previously, we buffed Aero up to her current statline, players have since learned to utilize her to great effect, so we think it’s appropriate to reduce her Power a bit.

  • Galactus: 6/3 -> 6/2

Developer Comments: Even at the highest ranks of play, Galactus and decks using him are demonstrating concerningly high cube-gain and win rates. Not all of these decks overtly herald his approach, and the range of cards that can complement him has proven wide and difficult for some decks to counter. We’re taking one Power away from Galactus now and evaluating whether or not we should make more meaningful changes to his design in the future.

  • Leader: 6/4 -> 6/3

Developer Comment: Leader’s effect is proving to be very frustrating to many players and polarizing in its ability to lock down games and discourage playing some other 6-Cost cards. We are taking a bit of power away from him for now and exploring further changes to the card in the future.

  • Nova: 1/2 -> 1/1

Developer Comment: Nova’s effect makes him much stronger than an average 1-Cost card, so we don’t think it’s appropriate that he has the stats of an average 1-Cost card.

  • Drax: 4/4 On Reveal: If your opponent played a card here this turn, +4 Power. -> 4/5 On Reveal: If your opponent played a card here this turn, +3 Power.
  • Groot: 3/3 On Reveal: If your opponent played a card here this turn, +3 Power. -> 3/4 On Reveal: If your opponent played a card here this turn, +2 Power.

Developer Comments: We believe the Guardians’ effects create fun moments, but they can feel too sink or swim. We’re giving Drax and Groot a small buff to their baselines to make them less risky to play and hopefully open them up as more viable contenders in the 3 and 4-Cost slots.

  • Hazmat: 2/1 -> 2/2

Developer Comments: While we are aware of the Hazmat combo decks that may feel strong, Hazmat is actually doing fairly poorly overall. We’re giving the decks she enables a small buff with this update.

  • Black Cat: 3/6 -> 3/7

Developer Comments: Black Cat sees virtually no play, so we’re giving her an extra Power to make running her more worthwhile.

  • Nakia: 3/1 -> 3/2

Developer Comments: We think Nakia’s effect is a fun mechanic to play with, but she’s currently seeing very little success. We’re hoping a small buff will make her a more appealing option.

Location updates

  • Oscorp Tower will no longer swap card sides if Professor X is there.
  • Raft and Vibranium Mines text-only updates.
  • Warrior Falls will appear less often.

Bug Fixes

  • Localization improvements for some Titles.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause players to get kicked out of games when Black Panther activated many times in a turn.
  • Fixed an issue that caused some card buffs to not be added if there were multiple doubling effects active at the same time.
  • Attilan activating no longer causes games to get stuck.
  • Fixed an issue that causes shop timers to break if you change device time.
  • Power values larger than 2 digits no longer display stretched.
  • Fixed an issue with certain locations stalling the game, such as Warrior Falls and Gamma Lab.
  • Deadpool now displays Power correctly if he’s destroyed while temporarily buffed.
  • Updated Carousel for Season Pass to say “Season Pass” instead of “Battle Pass.”
  • Fixed an issue that caused certain cards to display with stretched textures if upgrading to Uncommon at the end of a match.
  • Updating Time Stone to grant Energy even if it’s destroyed.
  • Isle of Silence Visual Effects are no longer split.
  • The Title page scroll now goes in the correct direction.
  • Fixed an issue in the Rewards Claim tutorial that could result in a player getting stuck.
  • Re-positioned the Sort/Filter buttons on iOS.
  • Tapping location 2 after Attilan activates no longer displays a random card instead of the location preview.
  • Removed the navigation bar from showing on certain screens where it should not.
  • The Fast Upgrade section should no longer disappear from the shop.
  • Buy buttons no longer disappear if you’ve purchased a variant in the shop, and the shop refreshes.
  • Season Pass spotlight card “Variant” text no longer overlaps with the card itself.
  • End Turn button should no longer show 1/6 then 0/6 then 1/6 again at the start of a match.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause players to sometimes get stuck ~25% into the loading bar.

Marvel Snap v11.18 Jan. 31 card updates and patch notes

The developers continuously monitor Marvel Snap’s meta and have made necessary changes to two cards in the Jan. 31 patch to balance the game.

Leader: 6/7 On Reveal: Copy all cards your opponent played to the location to the right, but on your side.

Developer Note: Leader is a prominent “finisher” in the current Snap meta, and we’re not happy with some of the card choices and play patterns he encourages, especially his strength against other cool 6-cost cards. We’re changing Leader to only copy cards played at the location to his right, with more base Power to compensate. We hope that this change will reward clever predictions and reduce the frustration of playing against him.

Wolverine: 2/2 When this card is discarded or destroyed, regenerate it at a random location with +2 Power.

Developer Note: Wolverine sees virtually no play at the moment, which is a bummer given how iconic he is. We’re giving him a substantial buff to reward players for activating his effect and create new deckbuilding options at both low and high collection levels. Note: We have updated his text from “play” to “regenerate” to better reflect his gameplay functionality. This is purely a flavor and clarity choice.

The developers of Marvel SNAP are also aware there are a bunch of problems in the game at the moment that will be fixed at a later date. You can check out the full list here.

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Scott Duwe
Staff Writer (Call of Duty lead)
Senior Staff Writer & Call of Duty lead. Professional writer for over 10 years. Lover of all things Marvel, Destiny 2, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and more. Previous bylines include PC Gamer, Red Bull Esports, Fanbyte, and Esports Nation. DogDad to corgis Yogi and Mickey, sports fan (NY Yankees, NY Jets, NY Rangers, NY Knicks), Paramore fanatic, cardio enthusiast.
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Leonardo Biazzi
Staff writer and CS:GO lead. Leonardo has been passionate about games since he was a kid and graduated in Journalism in 2018. Before Leonardo joined Dot Esports in 2019, he worked for Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte. Leonardo also worked for HLTV.org between 2020 and 2021 as a senior writer, until he returned to Dot Esports and became part of the staff team.
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Jalen Lopez
Freelance Writer with over three years of experience at Dot Esports. Mainly covers VALORANT, Call of Duty and other FPS titles.