Massively impactful Marvel Snap update rebalances Loki, Blob, Dr. Octopus, Leech, and more

It’s difficult to remember a more substantial Marvel Snap update than the one that just went live today.

The Aug. 1 OTA update for Snap centers around balancing decks that have become prevalent since Arishem joined the game, including big changes for some of Snap’s most popular cards.

Marvel Snap Aug. 1 OTA update patch notes

Loki, now a three/five, will now also “replace your deck with your opponent’s starting deck” and “give those cards -1 cost and draw a card,” meaning this is basically a rework of the card that’s been dominant in several metas before.

“It took a few shots to land Loki in the right spot, but the goal had been accomplished,” Second Dinner said. “However, as time has passed, our preference for using Loki as a buildaround for decks that generate extra cards has shifted. It’s proven too stifling to cards like Snowguard and Agent Coulson, who can’t really stand on their own anywhere, as well as future designs we’ve worked on internally.”

The other big change in this patch is for Dr. Octopus, who has been wreaking havoc of late. He’s gone from a five/10 to a four/eight and will now only pull the lowest-cost card in the opponent’s hand.

“The good Doctor had settled into a career as a niche player in the Snap metagame for quite a while, until Arishem showed up,” Second Dinner said. “While Arishem is enabling more aggressive Ock plays, the true lesson has been that when Ock is seeing a lot of play…that can get fairly frustrating. Given we find ourselves in a spot where we have a card we kind of don’t want people playing in volume, that makes it a solid candidate for a rework. Our goal here isn’t specifically a nerf, but rather to continue capturing the fantasy of the card with an implementation that’s more fun and will be a healthier addition to the metagame.”

Leech, another controversial card, is now a four/four and will only affect six-cost cards by removing all text, while Blob will now stop growing at 13 power instead of 15. Elsewhere, Widow’s Kiss will now be negative-three power, War Machine gets a one power buff, and Apocalypse gets a two power buff.

For all the patch notes, check out Marvel Snap’s post on Twitter/X.