OTA Review with Decks! | Oct. 29
Last OTA we saw some buffs to Discard and some nerfs to Anti-Polar Magneto's best targets. This week we have... the same thing! Plus, a much-deserved nerf and a much-needed buff to recent cards! Let's dive into the changes and what they mean!
Special shoutout to notmydance for the OTA images!
The Changes
Leech: 4/4 ⇨ 4/5, remove the text from 6-Cost or more cards.
Wolverine, Horseman of War: 4/3 ⇨ 4/4, Objective: This has 6 or more Power.
Scarlet Witch Queen of Chaos: 3/4 ⇨ 3/3
En Sabah Nur: 4/6 ⇨ 4/5, Apocalypse, Celestials’ Chosen: 4/9 ⇨ 4/8
The First Ghost Rider: 2/7 ⇨ 2/8
Hellcow: 4/7 ⇨ 3/5
Klaw: 4/2 ⇨ 4/3
Entropic Havok: 3/3 ⇨ 3/4
Card by Card Analysis and Decks
I can't believe they're giving Leech this point of Power in addition to the much-needed text change. The text needed to change for this card to ever have any hope of seeing play, but I also just wanted the change for the sake of consistency and logic. A Leech buff might sound scary to anyone who played in the game's first year, but this is still a meta-dependant tech card. But we just might be in the perfect meta for him to do some real damage. Rogue, Scion of Division has managed to see plenty of play in decks that struggle with a handful of her best targets. Leech doesn't hit 5-Cost cards, but he does hit most of what those Thanos FF decks are hoping to hit with Rogue. In fact, Kluh has become a pretty common poor hit for Rogue, a problem that Leech doesn't have. Leech will be great against Anti-Polar Magneto, Scorpion BND, Vampire Enchantress, Spectrum, Fin Fang Foom, and all of the other top-end cards currently dominating the meta. Zombie Giant-Man is about the only case for using Rogue over Leech at the moment, aside from the fact that Rogue never misses, while Leech can fully whiff. I do think Leech will surprise a lot of people with his utility in the coming days.
Gut Shot
It's just one extra point of Power (you still need to give him just +2 for his Objective), but this is a case of a card that was just on the fringe of high-tier status that could get bumped up by that single point. Wolverine HoW didn't feel very far off and had his fans. He's worth tinkering with as a 4/12 with upside.
Secret Power
Let's be totally honest. She definitely deserved this nerf. She's a super fun card, but she provides so much free value, whether it's with Zombies, Werewolf, Sasquatch, or just to play out a free Skill alongside a 6-Cost. She was popping up in more and more lists as a good value card. Now, she'll still be critical in the decks that lean into her synergistically, but she won't be quite so free.
One of the very best Anti-Polar Magneto decks, ESN helped smooth variance a lot by providing you one last chance to dig for a winning card at his best, but still just solid Power (usually accounting for more than his 9 Points) essentially for free off of APM. He's so good with cards like Jubilee or to clear an Afflicted card that he too was getting better and better over the last couple of weeks. This is a small nerf given what he does, but a deserved one.
Wow, 2/8 is awfully big. Could he replace Colleen Wing in some Swarm lists. Could they coexist? My real question, given how many decks are already playing Luke Cage and Shadow King, is whether or not he can find a home outside of the expected Scorn/Swarm lists. Perhaps there a small package with Ghost Rider and Gorr or Iron Man that could help some deck out there. Or we could play him behind Cosmo or Invisible Woman or after a Zero to avoid the Discard.
Swarm-shu
Cage Rider
Activate gets better the further away it gets from 4-Cost. Having more turns to play it means it's more likely you'll be able to actually Activate it. This does represent very safe Discard and I think it's best home will be in a Discard deck that's trying to pull of some final turn combo.
Klaw hasn't panned out as an Anti-Polar Magneto partner, but it's time to try again now that he's got this extra point. I do suspect there may be a more Ongoing focused build of APM deck with the cards coming out next month. I'm not sure if Klaw will manage to see top-level play in November, but it is a great month to be a 4-Cost card.
How they ever thought this card would see play at 3/3 is beyond me. It still won't a 3/4, but at 3/5 you could sell me on the kind of cool Luna Snow/E. Havok combo decks.
Energy Man
Final Thoughts
Wolverine Horseman of War and Leech are the "fun" new cards to try out this week as Vampire vs. Zombie season comes to a close. Discard has definitely seen an uptick in play, though that's not entirely due to the recent buffs. Could this pair of buffs further that progress? In particular, First Ghost Rider has become interesting – and not just for Discard. This OTA was focused on weakening a bunch of Anti-Polar Magneto's best partners. This is because that card is providing far too much free Power, but it's also to make room for some of next month's (pretty weak) card. Several of them combo very well with Anti-Polar Magneto, but no one will try them if so many better options exist. Have the nerfs in the last couple of OTAs opened enough space for them?
