As a card-battler, Marvel Snap has a rigid set of rules when it comes to building a deck. However, some of its rarest and most powerful cards end up breaking the established rules in ways that can be hard for players to account for. Recently, the permanent Series 5 card Galactus has been on the rise in the meta for Marvel Snap, giving many players a major headache when playing against him due to his rule-bending ability.
Each of the big bads featured as permanent Series 5 cards have had some controversy surrounding them due to the way they alter specific mechanics of the game. Thanos received a nerf recently to address his position as the king of the Marvel Snap's meta, and Kang the Conquerer broke the game with an unintended infinite loop scenario when he was first added. However, while Galactus has been present in the game for some time, his recent surge in popularity has left many players frustrated with the way he interacts with the game's mechanics, making him a likely target for developer Second Dinner's next round of nerfs.
Galactus Undermines One of Marvel Snap’s Core Mechanics
One of the key aspects of Marvel Snap's gameplay is the fight to control two out of the three locations on the playing field. The average Marvel Snap player builds their deck around this concept, and the majority of the cards in the game are designed to support this style of gameplay. However, Galactus completely erases this mechanic with his ability to destroy the other two locations where he is not played, turning the game from a battle over three lanes to a battle for one.
While many players find Galactus' presence in the Marvel Snap meta annoying, others claim he is easy to play around. The signs that an opponent is planning to play Galactus are pretty obvious, as they will usually try to fill up two spaces with cards like Nova, Wolverine, and Bucky Barnes early on. The sure sign that Galactus is coming is if one location is intentionally left open as Galactus' ability only activates if he's the only card the player controls at a location. On turn 3, Galactus players will usually play Electro or Wave to try and play the 6-Cost card as soon as possible.
The ultimate goal of a Galactus deck is to catch the opposing player off guard by reducing the playing field from three lanes down to one and finish off with Knull on turn 6, since his ability gives him the Power of every card destroyed during the match. This Galactus-centric meta has forced players to equip their decks with cards for the specific purpose of countering Galactus players. Debrii is a common card used for this purpose, as her ability adds a rock to both other locations for both players, preventing opponents from having an open lane for Galactus. Cosmo's ability to prevent On Reveal abilities from activating is also useful if players can predict where Galactus will be played.
Another aspect that makes this card so controversial is the emotional response evoked when Galactus taunts the player with his unique "kneel before Galactus" voice line that plays when his ability activates. Not every card has a unique voice line and animation for when they are played, making it all the more frustrating to hear Galactus utter those words as the other locations crumble away. Currently, Galactus is relegated to Series 5, meaning he's a very rare drop from Collector's Reserves and costs 6,000 Tokens in Marvel Snap's Token Shop, making him somewhat difficult for the majority of players to obtain. Nevertheless, he may be a heavyweight in Marvel Snap for the foreseeable future.
Marvel Snap is available now for PC and mobile devices.