Quick little recipe to make at home: take a little Hearthstone for the accessible side, add a pinch of GWENT for the strategic side and finally, sprinkle some Marvel for the superheroes. Cook for a few months to obtain a fairly simple deck of cards, but which will reveal all its aromas after a few bites.
Marvel Snap is therefore a card game, on mobiles and on PC, developed (among others) by Second Dinner, a studio formed in particular by former members of... Hearthstone! So some experience! Are you going to tell me, another card game? And yes, one more... but wait, you'll see that Marvel Snap still has more than one trick (of cards, ha ha) up its sleeve.
How to play ?
The main difference with other traditional card games lies in the length of its games. Indeed, those of Marvel Snap are short. Very short. 2-3 minutes to break everything. Each game takes place in 6 rounds during which you will put your cards on three separate locations. The goal is to have more points than the opponent on at least two of the three locations to win.
Each card will cost a certain amount of Energy to play. On the first turn, you only have one Energy. Then we gain one more each turn (so 2 Energy to spend in the second turn, 3 Energy in the third, etc.). The cards have attack points, which will be added to the total of the location where they are placed. And some also have various effects that can be activated, just like in any other card game.
The difficulty will therefore be to build your deck of 12 cards in a balanced way (no need to put only overpowering cards that cost 6 Energy) and to have certain synergies between them, to multiply their effects. Certain cards, such as Bucky Barnes, for example, can return to the field even more powerfully when they are destroyed. It can be interesting to couple them with a card like Carnage, which "eats" the others on the space where it is placed, becoming stronger. Bucky Barnes will then return as the Winter Soldier, with higher attack points.
Also keep in mind the three slots, which themselves have random effects. Some are rather beneficial, such as the possibility of having extra Energy to play, of drawing a random card. But others are much more troublesome, like the one that destroys cards after a certain number of turns. You will therefore have to include these different effects in your strategy. Especially since each effect is only revealed gradually (one in the first round, another in the second and the last in the third). The parts can therefore follow each other, but not resemble each other at all.
Bluff and par
One of the rather original mechanics of the game is the Snap, which gives it its name. With each victory or defeat, we will gain or lose points, which will push us up the rankings. In general, it is 2 points at the end of the match which will therefore be added or deducted. But it is possible to "bet" more points. If we have confidence in his card draw. Or if we feel like bluffing. By snapping, the number of points can therefore increase to 4. And if the opponent snaps afterwards, it is 8 points that we can win (or lose).
Note however that there is the possibility of abandoning the fight. This will then reduce the number of points lost. Very useful if the draw is really not favorable, so as not to fall too much in the ranking.
Economic model
Marvel Snap is Free-to-play. So you can play it as you want without having to buy it. And after two rather intensive weeks of play, it must be said that the economic model is rather healthy and does not encourage purchases too much.
To progress in Marvel Snap, the main way is to get new cards. As much to be clear, there is no card to buy directly in the shop. This is rather a good point. Instead, it is via a Collection system that we will be able to obtain new ones.
In Marvel Snap, it is indeed possible to improve its cards to obtain new aesthetic effects on it (the character coming out of the frame, then a 3D effect, then it is animated, its logo becomes shiny, etc.). But this has no impact on its stats and combat effects. A card will always retain the same stats. On the other hand, you can thus obtain Collection points, allowing you to pass ranks and win various rewards, including new cards.
Add to that a classic Battlepass, because it's clearly fashionable, the price of which is set at € 10,99 (with however certain ranks that you can have without buying it). To be frank, I found the price a bit expensive and didn't even buy it (although I usually succumb easily). Especially since there are no real advantages with it, apart from an exclusive card (Miles Morales), but which will join the Collection later.
Of course, there is still a Shop, which offers variants, and allows you to improve cards and buy credits and gold.
Final notice
Marvel Snap is a very simple game at first sight. The gameplay is very accessible, the games follow one another very quickly and there is real satisfaction in seeing the synergies between the cards activate and multiply their effects. Especially since the cards you get at the start of the game allow you to put in place real strategies from the start.
But when you scratch the surface a little, you see that Marvel Snap is easy to access, but clearly not simplistic. You just have to see the number of different builds that you can come across. Very varied combinations are possible with our decks and from a certain rank, they become even more numerous.
And a mobile game, free-to-play, with a rather healthy economic model, is rare enough to be underlined.
For all of these reasons, I can only recommend checking out Marvel Snap...whether you're a Marvel fan or not.
