Balance Update: October 15, 2026

Hi all! This week we’re giving Thanos Fractured Frontier another small tap, trimming the strongest pieces of the Anti-Polar Magneto deck, and handing out four buffs with a Discard focus. Here are the details:

Thanos Fractured Frontier

[Old] 5/8 – Game Start: Your cards have “Quickdraw: Thanos loads an Infinity Shot.” On Reveal: Fire all loaded Shots.
[Change] 5/8 > 5/7

The last nerf to Thanos Fractured Frontier’s Shot count made filling the barrel a real trial, but he’s still a little heavy on both play rate and win rate.

This extra point should make matches where Thanos only lands a few Shots a little closer, and make the Power and Space Shots matter more when he needs to close out a location.

Overall, we’re happy with where the first nerf landed: his identity is intact and the Shot rate is down. The numbers are close enough now that a Power adjustment should get him to a stable long-term spot. We’ll keep watching, and every knob is still on the table if it’s needed.

Anti-Polar Magneto

[Old] 6/9 – On Reveal: Add a 3 or 4-Cost card from your hand to each other location.
[Change] 6/9 > 6/8

Caliban

[Old] 3/4 – Objective: Have 3 cards that are 4-Cost or more in play > Afflict the highest-Cost enemy card with -7 Power.
[Change] -7 > -6

Karen Page

[Old] 4/6 – On Reveal: Give one of your 1, 2, and 3-Cost characters +2 Power each.
[Change] 4/6 > 4/5

Anti-Polar Magneto has shot up in the ranks, using a package that sneaks some of the highest-value 3- and 4-Costs into play. The pure points offered by this deck have been too high, particularly when it’s able to make full use of cards like Caliban, En Sabah Nur, and Karen Page at the same time.

We’re taking a point off of Magneto himself, and targeting Caliban and Karen Page in particular:

Caliban’s Objective has proved easy to fulfill and has particular synergy with Magneto to trivialize it, so we’re reducing the payoff a little.

Karen Page’s point does double duty: it comes off this deck and helps keep Thanos Fractured Frontier decks in check, especially with Vampire Enchantress arriving as a new tool with similar incentives.

Now to the buffs:

Colleen Wing

[Old] 2/4 – On Reveal: Discard the card that costs the least from your hand.
[Change] 2/4 > 2/5

Apocalypse

[Old] 6/9 – When Discarded: Put this back with +4 Power.
[Change] 6/9 > 6/10

Swarm (no, not the Draft archetype)

[Old] 2/3 – When Discarded: Add two copies of this that cost 0 to your hand.
[Change] 2/3 > 1/3

Discard keeps sagging despite some buffs, and decks built around When Discarded effects haven’t caught up. With Zombie Black Cat on the horizon, now is a good time to help them out.

Colleen Wing often misses Discard lists because her targeting is less reliable than Lady Sif’s or Red Shift’s, so we’re giving her a point.

This flavor of Discard is a favorite of newer players, and we want strong Series 1 cards like Apocalypse to compete at every Collection Level. His numbers are still below average, so he gets another point.

Swarm is rarely played at full price. Dropping his Cost should make the first Swarm a more viable hit off Colleen Wing, and let an unlucky Bullseye still throw at least one bee.

Zombie Venom

[Old] 3/3 – On Reveal: Destroy your first other card here. After one of your other cards is destroyed, Horde +2.
[Change] Horde +2 > Horde +3

Zombie Venom landed below the mark, paling (and not just in the zombie sense) next to Zombie Scarlet Witch, who just picked up new support in her Queen of Chaos form. Bumping the Horde per Destroy makes the mass-Destroy dream more rewarding and lets a big Horde form even if you only Carnage a single location.

That’s everything for this OTA! Best of luck surviving the Vampires & Zombies, and we’ll see you next time!