The Collector's Report: September '26 | Axis Inversion

Hello, fellow art aficionados, and welcome to this third edition of the Collector's Report! To first-time readers, I am Ambedo, avid variant collector, and I write seasonal op-eds regarding new cosmetics coming to Snap here at Fourth Location! (My first essay was also published here earlier this month! Check it out!)

Added features!

• Variant Origins: Cards will now explicitly display whether they are original commissions created specifically for the game or repurposed catalog pieces.
• Season Lore Summaries: The Season Showcase now features a dedicated summary connecting the seasonal theme and new card releases directly to Marvel lore.
• Variant Pack Breakdowns: A new subsection has been added to the end of the report to highlight the season's upcoming variant packs.

Always remember that the information herein is datamined and therefore subject to changes!

Best New Art

Let’s kick things off with the top 4 illustrations* to be released in the upcoming season. Let me tell you why I need to get my hands on the variants featured above!

Iceman, by Beniamino Bradi (Commission)

Iceman has been largely neglected in terms of quality variants since launch. Of his twelve available variants, only two have been worth collecting: Jésus Saiz's and Jee-Hyung Lee's. However, because both are repurposed comic covers, an original commission is welcome! Beniamino Bradi's take on the underestimated Omega-level mutant borrows Saiz’s color palette and high-energy dynamism, but ultimately delivers a more compelling piece thanks to a vastly superior rendering of the ice effects.

Juggernaut Horseman of War, by Creative House Pocket (Commission)

Selene and Gambit, CHP's first Horsemen variants, dropped back in May, and Storm should finally hit the shop by the end of this month. All three are honestly just okay, which is pretty standard for most of that studio's output. But according to recent datamines, Second Dinner kept the best ones for this season! I ended up picking Juggernaut, but I easily could have gone for Wolverine or Polaris—they are easily the most menacing pieces in CHP's eight-variant series. All three effectively outclass their Dardo Studios counterparts, which I'm a big fan of. Excellent work!

She-Hulk, by Derrick Chew (Catalog Pick)

I particularly appreciate this variant for the qualities it shares with Artgerm's work: an almost photorealistic execution, a slightly waxy finish, and a sensual aura. The raw "badass" energy emanating from the piece certainly plays a major role as well. The entire ensemble feels massive in a way very few other She-Hulk variants can match. Along with X-23, Moon Knight, and (the lore-accurate) Viking Venom, this is one of the best borrowings from Chew's portfolio at Marvel.

White Queen, by Don Aguillo (Commission)

White Queen is in a situation similar to Iceman. She's been around since day one but only has two exciting variants among her 14 available options—both of which, once again, are repurposed comic covers, this time by Artgerm and Rose Besch. As an unpredictable digital painter who hits the mark about half the time (Gladiator, Selene, Wave, and perhaps the best Copycat out there), Aguillo definitely hits the target with this illustration of Emma Frost. He also has an equally excellent Black Widow variant coming this season. The man officially has my attention now!

* Variants featured here can't be Season Pass or Conditional Bundle variants (Section 2), come from new artists (3), be the season's Conquest or Ultimate variants (4, 6) or part of the scheduled albums (5).

AXIS: Inversion's Season Roundup

The season takes its name from the Avengers & X-Men: AXIS series published in 2014. In this storyline, Red Skull steals the brain of the deceased Professor Charles Xavier to gain world-ending telepathic powers, transforming the villain into… Red Onslaught, one of the season's new cards! When fighting him, Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom unite to cast a spell designed to stop him by inverting his psyche so Xavier's peaceful consciousness may take the lead. The spell stops Red Onslaught, but it also explodes across the battlefield, inverting nearly everyone present and turning heroes into villains and vice-versa.

Now onto cosmetics! At least 76 variants are expected to be released next season. For reasons unknown, this number is well below what datamining usually reveals, leaving a fair quantity of alternate art completely unannounced. And that is not the only thing that's different next season, as you are about to see.

Seasonal Showcase

The showcase concept as we know it could already be a thing of the past. The artist commissioned to design the 3 season pass variants isn't designing the Super Premium Pass exclusive variant or the Condition Bundle variants this season. Will it be the new normal? Time will tell.

Season Pass

Ivan Fomin returns! Just like Dardo Studios last season, the Madrileño is showcased for the second time in twelve months. Indeed, the artist was featured in last October's Zombies season. That's when his best variant, season pass Zombie Scarlet Witch, was released:

Unfortunately, I'm not much a fan of Fomin's work. I think it's mostly because of the absence of a clearly defined style. His backgrounds are also a little too simple for my taste; it's especially apparent with perspective-focused pieces like Jack Flag or Magus. I do enjoy his Leech–it's actually the variant I use for the guy! His Drax Avatar of Life recently dropped, and it's the second best alternate art for that card, preceded only by Vincenzo Riccardi's conditional bundle variant. Here's his work for the Season Pass:

Conditional Bundles + Premium Season Pass Exclusive

Dataminers don't have the same reading for the Conditional Bundle variants. That has never happened before. Could be "Anime" alternate art signed by System Studios or a tagless selection by Dardo Studios. One thing for sure though: Dardo designed the Super Premium Pass Exclusive. (My intuition tells me those Bundles won't be selling as well as they usually do if they are indeed System Studios variants…)

New Blood

Sonderflex Studio makes a remarkable entry with four variants spread across the season. Besides Enchantress – undeniably the best of the lot – Nova, Captain Carter, and Sandman are also in the pipeline. Jeon's Vision is as conventional as it gets, and so is Xie's Dragon Lord, a card in desperate need of a desirable variant. That Venom, though! Like it or not, it is something else. "Urban Aztec" is Hernandez's moniker as well as his description of the style, "a combination of graffiti and ancient indigenous culture." Edgy! Datamined with a Promo tag, it will most likely debut as a daily login reward or a webshop freebie. There are also Urban Aztec Magneto and Ghost Rider variants in the data, but with no release dates attached.

The Conquest Reward

With six releases to his name so far, Zak Plucinski belongs to the hit-and-miss tier of artists. On one hand, he drew the absolute best Dormammu in the game and offered us an elegant, aerial Ancient One earlier this year. On the other hand, his sorcerer trio (Clea, Morgan Le Fay, and Merlin), as well as his latest Mystique, are incredibly underwhelming, bland variants. Killmonger definitely belongs to that second category. A lack of optimal space usage – a recurring issue within Snap's roster – is the main offender here. It's just boring.

New Albums

Glow Big or Go Home, by Dardo 

Commissions | 12 Super Rare variants (New releases only) | 14,400 gold

Ohhh yeah! That is one sick album paying homage to the realm of Dormammu as depicted in the comics! Just like CHP's Horsemen, the first variants from the Dark Dimension series appeared back in May. The Hood was alright, but Clea blew him out of the water! Thankfully, many of the other variants in that series – most of which are part of the album – follow in her footsteps. It has been a while since I was this excited about an album. Here are my top picks from the series. Aren't they gorgeous?

Cover Me Shocked

Catalog Picks | 12 Super Rare variants (All old releases but 1) | 14,400 gold

Perhaps because the original material they're based on was published before I was even born – during what's now known as Marvel's Bronze Age (1970–1985), hence their tag – I still can't bring myself to connect with these variants. While it's certainly interesting to see how some of our favorite characters have evolved visually over time, I don't find them particularly pleasing to the eye. But to each his own, and I'm sure some collectors will be hyped for the album variant reward, this war-battered Doctor Doom:

New Ultimate Variants

Death, by Divebound Studios (Commission)

Snap’s Fantasy aesthetic fits Death naturally, doesn't it? So much so that one could easily forget this piece is an official Fantasy variant. It would have been just another addition to a celebrated yet increasingly redundant series if it weren't for the reflection revealing the cosmic entity's true form. As always, to fully appreciate the value of an Ultimate variant, you have to compare it to the character's existing pool. Death's catalog is filled with variations on the same tired theme – with the exceptions of Fiona Hsieh's and Giulio Rincione's masterpieces. Ultimately, this one is absolutely worth it!

Shou-Lao the Undying, by Bosi Art Studios (Commission)

Are the developers big fans of Bosi? It certainly looks that way. Their third variant, Shang-Chi, was crowned an Ultimate last season, and now it's Shou-Lao's turn. This latest piece displays the dragon with straight teeth and prominent antlers, which is undeniably funny—and totally accurate to traditional Eastern folklore. But how does it hold up against other depictions of the Iron Fist's power source? Excellently. In fact, you could easily argue this is tracking to be the single best alternate art option available for the card.

Data trivia: one in three Ultimate variants is labeled with the tag "fantasy." Not only is that an overrepresented theme, but it also dilutes the overall value and exclusivity of the Ultimate tier.

America Chavez, by Pandart Studio (Commission)

A year ago, Pandart Studio's Enchantress was given the Ultimate treatment. It shouldn't have. Twelve months later, history repeats itself. That's all I have to say!

We’ve got a trio of studio variants this season! Despite the quality of this month's selection, the trend itself is cause for concern. I strongly believe that pieces from mass-production studios should never be gate-kept as Ultimate variants. It is simply not in a studio's DNA to push the envelope with the kind of boldness and creativity players expect for a hefty 5,000 tokens (there are rare exceptions, of course, but you catch my drift).

Upcoming Packs

The postponed What If? packs are back on the schedule for September 3, featuring 12 variants priced at 1,800 tokens apiece. The set blends classic What If? comic cover art with homages to the animated Disney+ series. Oddly, quite a few notable variants seem to be missing (such as Roger Hood and Captain Carter), while a Cerebro variant made the cut for some reason. Scheduled just a week later are the Thunderbolts packs. Now that is a stellar, eclectic selection of 16 variants—and they’re cheaper, too, coming in at 1,300 tokens each! A fantastic investment for collectors.

Anything Else?

So Riccardi is fallible!

With his Fractured Frontier Death, Vincenzo Riccardi has produced his first undeniable dud for the game. Have a look. Many of us enjoy his trippy maximalism, but this is one busy, crowded variant when it's not zoomed in like this. Its limited color palette offers no help in providing much-needed contrast. That was bound to happen. No biggie. I'm still a huge fan!

Spiderwebs, then some rust!

Second Dinner quietly introduced new spiderweb borders back in July. Does this month's equally discreet rollout of an orange distressed border signal a new trend? Fingers crossed! Cosmetic enthusiasts definitely need more colors to work with.

Animated emotes?

A few days ago, Second Dinner announced the imminent arrival of animated emotes. I believe this move is first and foremost directed at rookies; otherwise, it looks like a case of poor resource allocation on the developers' end. If your experience as a non-muting player is anything like mine, emoting definitely isn't what it used to be! Experienced players have had plenty of time to grow tired of the toxicity and spamming associated with emotes and appear to have developed the healthy habit of muting matches by default. High-CL snappers just don't bother emoting anymore unless "provoked" – hence my hypothesis. Rolling out a flashy new tier of emotes feels like the exact opposite of a true quality-of-life feature.

Conclusion

Those showcase formula changes worry me a bit, even if they could mean added diversity as a permanent change. On the other hand, I'm so excited by Dardo's Dark Dimension series! It reminds us that studios can actually be bold, just like CHP did with Collage or Wild Blue with Hieroglyphics. As more studios join the party, it's definitely a welcome surprise! And talking about surprises: it looks like this season's interesting Ultimate variants add evidence to that! On a totally different note, developers are finally giving borders some well-deserved attention and they finally brought back the classic frame border–even if it's just for a limited time game mode shop! More borders, less emotes, Second Dinner, please!

That's all for now, folks. See you in a month!

This report was made possible thanks to Snap.fan and SnapComplete.com. Thank you both for your work!