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Image via Marvel Snap

Will Zabu and Silver Surfer get Nerfed in Marvel Snap? Answered

Curb your Enchantress staple in every deck.

In expectation of the Patch Notes, Friend Mode, and cards dropping from their high tiers, the community is wondering when will Zabu and Silver Surfer get nerfed already. These two cards work in a multitude of decks, or even worse, in a deck that incorporates both of them, and they are a plague to the ladder, and being utterly dominated up to the point where you’re either playing these cards in your deck or you’re just not playing the top ranks of the ladder (80 to Infinity let’s say).

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Prima Games has some findings about the nerf of Zabu and Silver Surfer and we’re ready to deliver them.

When Will Zabu and Silver Surfer get Nerfed in Marvel Snap?

It is certain that with the patch that arrives on January 31st, 2023 Zabu, and Silver Surfer will not be nerfed. However, an official from the Marvel Snap team, Glenn Jones, has tweeted on the matter:

Glenn Jones Tweet on the matter of Zabu and Silver Surfer

Basically, this means that some balance changes are coming on January 31st, 2023 and that Silver Surfer and Zabu will be addressed later.

How Will Zabu and Silver Surfer Get Nerfed in Marvel Snap?

If you ask me, Zabu will probably be bumped to 4 or even 5 mana (with or without Power Adjustment) or the cost decrease will not be 2 anymore. When it comes to Silver Surfer, it will probably add +2 Power instead of +3 Power. I do not see the Energy cost changing for Silver Surfer.

Is it Morally Correct to Nerf Cards that People Paid Money for Just a Month ago?

There are two sides to this story.

One side of the story is that the developer reserves the right to change the effects of the cards in the game in order to keep things balanced and that players are supposed to know the rules of engagement by now.

Related: When Did Spending Thousands of Dollars in Video Games Become the New Normal?

The other side of the story is that the developer should have committed more than one hour of playtesting of Silver Surfer and Zabu because realistically, some bells were supposed to be ringing in that time period. Zabu was deemed broken from the first moment his spoiler saw the sunlight on Twitter. I mean, this brings back terrible nightmares caused by some other developers who paywalled stuff you (almost) couldn’t play the game competitively without. M.O.D.O.K. seems a bit safer to some extent, though.
So, we can’t really tell if the developers of Marvel Snap had a predatory intent in mind when releasing those two cards or not because it would really not be moral to print out absurdly OP cards and then nerf them when all money for them was milked.
Some season pass buyers will definitely claim that they were damaged by this decision, and others will claim that they “got their money’s worth” for the time they played the cards at their full strength and will compare it to a cinema ticket or something along those lines.
You draw your own conclusion and form your own opinion.

Related: M.O.D.O.K. – New Marvel Snap February Battle Pass Card Leaked


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Author
Image of Nikola L
Nikola L
Nikola has been a Staff Writer at Prima Games since May 2022. He has been gaming since being able to hold an Amiga 500 joystick on his own, back in the early 90s (when gaming was really good!). Nikola has helped organize dozens of gaming events and tournaments and has been professionally attached to gaming since 2009.