Burning Questions
Hello and welcome back to Burning Questions, your peek into the hottest topics in Marvel Snap! This week we're talking about a pair of upcoming new features—High Voltage and the Collector's Vault!
1) Will the new High Voltage mode be fun?
We finally received official information about the new High Voltage limited time game mode.
Here's what was said in the press release:
“There’s no snapping, just 3 turns with more energy and more cards to make even BIGGER power swings. In High Voltage, you will start the game with 2 cards, and draw 2 new cards each round. On each of the 3 turns, you and your opponent will gain the same amount of randomized energy to try and play out your best strategies. And to make sure it stays fast, certain locations and characters will be restricted, so no playing Magik to slow things down!”
The rewards seem nice and I love that they're giving us extra cards through these limited time modes, but the big question is if the gameplay will hold up. While I'm always skeptical of things that change the dynamics of the game (the base gameplay is Snap's greatest strength), I do like that this mode leans into what made Snap successful in the first place—fast, snappy games. A game mode that makes Snap even faster and more frenetic? That sounds like a riot! I think the variance will be really high since each game will play out with totally different amounts of energy, which will appeal to some and turn off others. I have high hopes for this mode since I think it plays to Snap’s strengths more than Deadpool's Diner or Conquest do. High Voltage starts on October 18th and will run a week.
2) Is the Collector's Vault good for the game?
At the beginning of this season Second Dinner announced a new way to get variants you may have missed out on:
“Starting on October 24th, we're introducing a new shop feature that will give you the chance to acquire rare or exclusive bundle Variants that you may have previously missed.
Once the Collector's Vault appears in your shop, you’ll see six random, unowned, and unique Variants for base cards that you already possess. The Vault opens for the first time from October 24-29th and will come back periodically.”
The issue with this is that people made purchases based on the premise that variants would be exclusive to that bundle. However, I think this is outweighed by the number of people that have that “one that got away” bundle variant that they regret passing on or came out before they were playing. The biggest reason to buy bundles has usually been the currency that comes in them anyway. From a financial perspective, letting collectors acquire the variants they want makes a lot of sense for Second Dinner. While this may affect the purchasing habits of some (personally, I'll probably pass on more bundles now), it is likely to be more than made up by people buying desirable variants that are otherwise unavailable.
So how will it work? Community Manager Griffin Bennett shed some light in the official Marvel Snap discord:
“Here's a bit of what you can expect:
- Exclusive variants will be exclusive for 1 year after they are released. Then they go to the Collector's Vault.
- The Collector's Vault is a special event, so even though formerly exclusive Variants will be offered there, there are limited shop slots and limited opportunities per season to enter the shop. So the best way to get the exact exclusive Variants you want will far and away remain be to acquire them on release.
- Pricing will come in 3 tiers. The lowest tier will be a bit more than a Super Rare Variant. The highest tier will be slightly more than a Spotlight Variant. The middle tier is between those.”
In other words, they will be more than 1200 Gold, but less than 2400 Gold. That seems pricey to me, but there will undoubtedly be big spenders happy to get them all and others willing to splurge on something special.
3) What are the best bundles variants?
Now that we know past bundle variants are coming back, which ones are worth buying. Bundles have had some of the best variants from fan favorite artists like Peach Momoko, Artgerm, Kim Jacinto, Rian Gonzalez, David Mack, Fiona Hsieh, and Inkpulp. Here are my top ten favorite bundle variants.
Now let's hop over to the official Marvel Snap discord and peek at some developer Q and As.
4) Q: Is High Voltage Replacing Deadpools Diner?
A: Deadpool’s Diner will come back as previously stated. High Voltage is not replacing it, it’s another mode
-Daniela
Author's note:
I definitely like the idea of a rotating cast of limited time mode to engage with. They help the game feel fresh and they're an excellent way to distribute some extra cards for free. Though I do hope this doesn't mean the team has abandoned the “imbalance patch” idea that they tried a couple of times. I thought those were super cool and dynamic. Also, I hope the team is hard at work on the promised draft mode—drafting is one of my favorite ways to play card games.
5) Q: How long does it take for a card to go from an idea to fully animated and released
A: It can vary, since the iterative process isn't a fixed series of changes and we might begin some seasons differently for various reasons. However, as an example I recently started exploratory design work on the May 2025 season.
-Glenn
Author's note:
Wow, that really is a long runway. Hey, maybe they'll give us Siryn, Banshee, and Black Tom Cassidy for next March! I'd also love to get seasons tied to the new Daredevil show and the Fantastic Four movie!
That's it for this week! Come find me on Twitter and share your opinion of the upcoming features in the comments!