MALEKITH

[kingts]

The Asgardian Legends are in full force as the Dark Elf enters with vengeance on his mind. Anything is better then that awful Thor 2, no offense. Will Malekith boost the meta or fall flat. Beginning NOV 12th-19th

This is to discuss the cards themselves and I always caution 1-key and to build those keys up to a minimum of 3, 4 or more, and not to go more than 1-key if you can help it. A vital resource to maintain. You decide, no one should be telling you to use this resource. Stick to the discussing the cards and stay on topic.

MALEKITH- The idea here is to pull something from your deck, hide it until the end. The good news is you can be precise to your deck constructs. You are also adding to that six power in a double reveal to secure a lane or wanting the effect to come late. It has some drawbacks right off the bat that I see. Board space for one, for playing this late may kill you, junk clog, mill, and the big one, Alioth. They keep introducing cards that are asking you to count on or do more in a fast paced Snap game. I feel Malekith is too restrained here. Once thing to see is if cost reduction puts other high cost cards into his ability, for example, an Elysium, Zabu, Ravonna, will it allow him to grab higher cost cards in your deck in his ability range, if so, you deck constructs can become very interesting indeed, but is that work worth it. The reverse Zemo, or hidden Valentina, it depends. Like Giant Woman, I feel players should take a wait and see approach to his acquisition. Something bothers me about this card. A new entry by Mello and Ryan.

https://marvelsnapzone.com/cards/malekith/

Subject to change, but if they stay as is.

THENA-The Eternal enters her first spotlight and boy if you don't have her, you may be wise to try. Whether you see her as Angela, Bishop or other conditional cards that require key actions to augment. She is easy to use, still pretty strong in a lane with good numbers. Dropping to rank 98, she has a solid 56.7% win-rate when played and solid cube share, but she is all about the double play per turn. On curve she can be deadly if ignored. One of their few +3 power entries that the ability was not touched. She is a solid card and great in double execution decks. Permanent Ability cards are hard to deal with and Thena to me is one of the strongest Eternals, solid at her 2-cost and will get stronger as more cards enter the game that she can use, like Agent Venom. Don't sleep on Thena. New Variant skin by Art Tree Studios

https://marvelsnapzone.com/variants/thena-08/

VALENTINA- Just gets a bum rap at times. Not that hard to add Cage to make your decks get a free 6-cost early to give you more options late, but boy just not seen. Ranked 213, Valentina has decent numbers and can fit many archetypes with a 56.1% when played and and okay cube share. She is dead drawn late, and the RNG element is all a gamble with a standard 2-cost stat line. I have seen played multiple times in a game. Truly becomes what you pull that determines her true effect, so clearly she is risk and reward. Six costs are mostly situational, and you can pull a much needed Red Hulk, Blob, or you could get Destroyer, or Hela with nothing to call back on. She is really about what theme you create, not just to include her, to include her. Even if you don't pull Cage or include him. She can still serve a purpose. I like the idea of Valentina, much more than Hulkling. If you get her and don't have her, some interesting ideas you can try. A new variant skin by Mello and Ryan.

https://marvelsnapzone.com/variants/valentina-06/

With an OTA coming. Things could improve this spotlight which I feel is not bad. Thena is a fine get, and Valentina is not as weak as she looks with a new card if you hit to try, but to me Malekith is not something you rush to. I am high end, I will get him, but You do you.

Be wise with your keys, enjoy the discussion gang and gaming. My best to you all. Cheers

[Zlehtnoba]

Hmmm.

Is this worth building around? Just what would you hope to hide behind him? Or do you just use him as deck thinner? One thing to note is that it's very possible you will know exactly what is hidden behind him, and opponent may blow their Alioth on an imagined threat while you go for another lane.

I'll get him, because I'm end-game and collection-complete. This seems like a medium week. Thena is probably the best card in the cache, if you don't have her you might consider using the keys to get her.

[Stranger]

Hard pass. At least for what I have none of these are going to move the needle for me. Agreed, that Thena seems the most useful, maybe in an Agent Venom deck, but it would be a lot more vulnerable than a Sutur deck and a lot less reliable.

Hopefully Beta Ray Bill gets put out next week.

[Tray]

I'm missing every card for his week so I'll probably end up pulling him, deck thinning is good, but I'm not sure how to build around him to make him worth it.

[BobbyGun]

What does "gold card" mean? Is it about a color if the boundary?

[kingts]

Good luck in your pulls tomorrow.

[groovador]

maybe in a metagame where cosmo and alioth aren't being played in every other deck, we could begin discussing whether or not malekith could be good, but alas... i'm not very hopeful for him. perhaps the card "draw" is enough to get him by?

[kingts]

Originally posted by groovador:

maybe in a metagame where cosmo and alioth aren't being played in every other deck, we could begin discussing whether or not malekith could be good, but alas... i'm not very hopeful for him. perhaps the card "draw" is enough to get him by?

Well Groov, The Meta is the Meta. Again why do you play? Is it to reach to the top, is it to have fun, is it to enjoy the ability combinations. People play for their own reasons.
I try to be pretty accurate with my assessments, not just in what the card does, but the over-all analytics of it.

This is clearly a deck thinning card, that could hurt certain card elements, but to me there are two major flaw in their development.

Adding so many sub-archetypes, with just enough to make it work, but not enough in combination with all the others. This is not really rock, paper scissors from an analogy, its rock, paper, water, animal, scissors, fig leaf, etx. and that can become paralyzing and clearly defining in one over the other consistently.

6-turns, this plays on curve, you thin you deck to get something to land in combination to the card. I usually test first with power.
So lets think about it, a 1/5 and above, a 2/5 and above, a 3/7 and above. Well now the card is a 4/11 or higher in theory is all. Does the power element alone make it a better card than people think. Is that meta defining or is it an obvious tell, a deck recognition give away that can lead to bad results.

Will that be Meta defining every game? It also hurts say a Darkhawk or cards that count on your deck size.

However, what about other cost elements, the effects, and then what archetypes and sub-archetypes exploit this weakness. There are some troubling deck constructs that can ruin this idea. The Hidden part, what if you don't have prio, and I eliminate your board space in that lane, what if that late pull makes no difference in that lane. Does the card matter to the power drop late. Then location or out of sequence scenarios. How does the card perform or not perform in those situations. Its always the body of work in multiple deck constructs, I went 35-12 in this one, I went 23-24 in that one, or it died a horrible death in this concept that I felt was its strongest deck theme.

The Second issue I see, is they have truly over complicated this game to a dull state.
Imagine this game at double the card size.
All card games begin to fall into the Meta decks and everything else.
I will play the highest percentage cards in the highest percentage results to give me the best chance to WIN a two lane game, but not everyone thinks that way and not everyone plays to that parameter.

Many reasons why, one, no reason. What is the incentive of winning constantly in this game, what do I win? See...I find it more interesting the few cards I don't have by choice, than what I do have follow.

You do you, as I always say.

[Tray]

Welp hit Mel first and Thena second, so I guess I have to figure out something for him I guess.

[kingts]

I saw the Rivals-Snap December cards, now this card starts to make sense, in that some of the combinations coming will make this card much more potent. Take a wait and see approach, but more potential. Want to build your keys and tokens.

[Zlehtnoba]

A quick note: looks like Malekith is not working as intended. He pulled a War Machine from my deck, after I played Zabu on turn one.

[kingts]

Originally posted by Zlehtnoba:

A quick note: looks like Malekith is not working as intended. He pulled a War Machine from my deck, after I played Zabu on turn one.

Yes, its a bug, I did bring this up in my initial analysis of the card my man. If Zabu or location altered his mechanic.
Personally I would leave it, it makes the card stronger, but apparently Glenn feels it's fine as is. I think this is a terrible decision and once again, too restrictive and cautious, but to be fair to the team I have seen the massive list of cards coming and I can totally get why this would be a problem. A lot of powerful cards coming that Malekith can pull from. With Iron-Patriot, Malekith, you may see a change to Valentina as well to solidify this type of mechanic.

Glenn-Develop Team-This is a bug."

There is an OTA coming I am sure it will be adjusted then.