Balance Update – November 12, 2026

Hi all! The Knights of Avalon season opens on a stable meta: plenty of decks can compete, and the leaders aren’t far ahead. With only one OTA this month, we’re using it to buff a wide selection of underperforming cards so things stay diverse through the holidays. We’re also making some changes to card text to help keep things streamlined. First, though, two nerfs.

Mobius M. Mobius

• [Old] 3/3 – Ongoing: Your Costs can’t be increased. Your opponent’s Costs can’t be reduced.
• [Change] 3/3 > 3/2

Snap has always had room for tech cards. We want players to feel they can answer whatever is on the ladder. The difference with Mobius is who pays for it: Shadow King and Cosmo hit both players, while Mobius shuts down an opponent’s Cost reduction for free and asks almost nothing of the deck running him. As tech-soup decks climb, that ease of use is what we’re targeting. A one-sided shutdown this clean should cost a little more Power, so Mobius loses a point.

Zombie Scarlet Witch

• [Old] 3/4 – After you play a card here, Horde +2.
• [Change] 3/4 > 3/3

Another Scarlet Witch takes a hit this OTA. Zombie Scarlet Witch has consistently been a powerhouse in the decks that use Scarlet Witch, Queen of Chaos and Vampire Killmonger to produce oodles of Skills. We’re taking her down a point because the ceiling on her Horde output has climbed too high.

With that out of the way, we can now get to the buffs, and this week there are nine of ‘em:

Captain Britain

• [Old] 2/2 – After you play a 4-Cost or more card, give it +1 Power and a card in your hand -1 Cost.
• [Change] 2/2 > 2/3

Captain Britain needs a particular kind of deck, and right now decks like Anti-Polar Magneto would rather cheat their 4-Costs into play than cast them from hand. She gets a point to make her a more attractive route to Cost reduction.

Mister Sinister

• [Old] 2/2 – On Reveal: Add a Sinister Clone here with the same Power.
• [Change] 2/2 > 2/3

Mister Sinister has had a low win rate and play rate across all Collection Levels. At low Collection Levels, 4 Power just isn’t worth the additional board slot. At high Collection Levels, Brood is often a far more effective way to use a deck’s Boost synergies. We’re giving him (and therefore his Clone) an additional point of Power here to make him more worth the second space in a location. It’s also part of our broader goal of keeping Series 1 cards competitive.

Sword of Fu Xi (Lin Lie)

• [Old] 2/2 – Ongoing: If Lin Lie Iron Fist is here, he has +8 Power.
• [Change] 2/2 > 2/3

Lin Lie requires you to thread a very specific needle to get the benefit, and he hasn’t been strong enough to be worth the trouble. We’re buffing his Sword to give a point to the package and to match Mister Sinister’s new rate. (This also means you don’t have to remember two different Power values for Lin Lie, which is a plus.) The combo should feel a touch more worth it, whether you move Lin Lie to his sword or copy him.

The Ten Rings (Shang-Chi, Master of the Rings)

• [Old] 2/2 – On Reveal: Give one of your other cards here +1 Power.
• [Change] 2/2 > 2/3

The Ten Rings (Shang-Chi, Master of the Rings) (upgraded)

• [Old] 2/3 – End of Turn: Give your other cards here +1 Power.
• [Change] 2/3 > 2/5

Shang-Chi, Master of the Rings has underperformed for a while. The upgraded Ten Rings is powerful, but losing one of your starting draws costs a lot of consistency. The base Ten Rings now beats Domino when you have a card to buff, and the upgraded form gets more Power so the games where you assemble the combo hit harder.

Shanna

• [Old] 3/4 – On Reveal: Add a random 1-Cost character to each location.
• [Change] 3/4 > 3/5

Like Lin Lie and Mister Sinister, Shanna pays a real board-space cost that her Power never covered. She gets a point to make up for that, and for the randomness of what she drops, which should give her a shot at shining in swarm-y lists.

Kang the Conqueror

• [Old] 3/4 – Game Start: Replace this with 4 Kangs with text from random cards that Cost 3 or more.
• [Change] 3/4 > 3/5

Kang hasn’t been conquering for some time. He and his variants each get a point, and since several Kangs usually hit the board in a game, it adds up. His variance only grows as more cards release, and he’s exactly the kind of card we want players excited to try, so now is the right time.

Spider-Man Noir

• [Old] 4/5 – On Reveal: Set the top character of your deck’s Power to 8. If your other cards in play cost exactly 8 total, add it here.
• [Change] 4/5 > 4/6

Spider-Man Noir’s effect can be incredible, but he takes a lot of detective work to use. The extra point rewards the fans who already run him and tempts lists with flexible curves to give him a try.

Onslaught

• [Old] 6/8 – Ongoing: Your other Ongoing effects here apply an additional time.
• [Change] 6/8 > 6/9

Onslaught is another Series 1 card that can be a huge source of joy for new Snappers. Nowadays, however, he’s more often seen behind Wong or with The Living Tribunal in combo decks than supporting cards like Mister Fantastic and Klaw. He gets a point to help him, and early Ongoing decks in general, keep pace.

 

Card Text Changes

As Marvel Snap has grown, we’ve begun using the terms ‘ally’ and ‘enemy’ more. With this OTA, we’re doing a pass over all of the cards in the game to standardize our usages of ‘ally’ and ‘enemy. In doing so, we’re also shortening a whole lot of card text to keep the abilities “Snappy”.

For clarity, ‘ally’ will refer to all of your cards on the field. As an example, Blue Marvel will now read:

5/3 – Ongoing: Other allies have +1 Power.

 

That’s everything for this week! Nine buffs is a lot to try out, so: which one are you building around first? Good luck in the land of Avalon. We hear there are dragons about!