Summary
Even thoughMarvel Snapisn’t structured solely around adapting theatrical Marvel or MCU endeavors and largely celebrates obscure comic book characters, it still certainly takes advantage of the latest shows and movies in its monthly seasonal content when appropriate. This was true ofMarvel Snap’s popular Spider-Versus season, and it’s true of its current Loki For All Time season, which is celebratingLoki’s second season launching on Disney Plus early next month.
This season hasn’t been terribly significant with regard toMarvel Snapmetas as not many players have found an optimal function for the mobile hit’s new Loki card.Loki’s On Reveal abilityreplaces the player’s hand with cards from their opponent’s starting deck, with each card having one less Cost. This seems strong depending on what the opponent possesses and as long as players are malleable to whatever cards someone’s deck may be composed of, but rather weak otherwise. The true wild card that this season has introduced, however, is the new location Mount Vesuvius.
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Marvel Snap’s Retreat Feature is a Blessing and a Curse
Marvel Snap’s Mount Vesuvius location makes it so players can’t retreat after turn five. This locks players into the match if they had made it that far, but there are already a number of ways to counter this location if players want to be able to retreat as late into a match as possible, including playingMagik, Storm, or Scarlet Witch on that location.
So while many players might be perturbed by the idea of having their retreat feature confiscated, it’s likely that opponents will play location-swapping On Reveal cards atop it anyhow. If not, players need to be committed to the cards they’re playing. Indeed, the retreat feature had its own pros and cons to consider before Mount Vesuvius was debuted—it is an advantageous way for players to lose more Cubes than they’d like if they know they’re going to lose, for example, but is also easily exploited for the same reason.
Opponents may alsoretreat as soon as a player decides to Snap and wager more Cubes, which leaves players winning matches with meager Cubes to show for it when opponents are constantly forfeiting if they have few Cubes to lose. The retreat feature is more complicated than simply choosing to bow out of a match gone south, though, especially when the player’s overall rank is considered. It can seem as if losing a match sends players hurtling back downward in multiple ranks, whereas winning a match might not even gain them a single rank.
Marvel Snap’s Mount Vesuvius Might Incentivize Retreating Early
Cubes wagered and lost inMarvel Snap’s deck-builderonly make this more tragic since players need to bet more to win more quickly, and retreating at any point in a match makes any hopeful or preemptive Snap a waste. Mount Vesuvius doesn’t seem to alleviate this problem, though, and in fact it might exacerbate it further.
Now that players know there could possibly be a turn where retreating is no longer available, they might be more inclined to retreat early if they don’t feel as if their hand is satisfactory by turn three or four. In theory, it seems poised as a location meant to upend players who normally like to retreat, but in actuality, it might push more people to retreat than ever before if they feel at all at odds with their opponent, as opposed to staying put and seeing if they might get the luck of the draw in the last couple of turns.
If retreating is a feature that some players don’t even use then they’ll be indifferent to it anyway, but at least it could take the place of a Jotunheim or Oscorp Tower in a match. The most interesting element to Mount Vesuvius is that there’s always a possibility it will show up as the third location, giving players only two turns to decide if they want to retreat inMarvel Snap.
Marvel Snapis available now on mobile devices and PC.
