Mother of Skaar
Caiera the Oldstrong or just Caiera the fearsome warrior, is not only the wife of The Hulk, but also the mother of Skaar. With the introduction of Caiera to Marvel Snap we now have a champion for all one-cost and six-cost cards all within a pretty decent energy-to-power ratio.
How Does Caiera Work?
Caiera is a three-cost card with four power. Its effect is ongoing and states that your 1 and 6-cost cards cannot be destroyed. This is a significant text on a three-cost card because it affects the entire board and not only the location where Caiera was played.
Immediate Thoughts
I was thrilled when I first read Caiera's card text as it seemed like a worthy contender for one of the most powerful cards in Snap. Caiera can effectively deal with the Killmonger issue, which has been a major problem for one-cost cards and decks that rely on them as a crucial part of their strategy. Additionally, she helps counter Shang-Chi in the late game when you want to play your Blob or Magneto without worrying about them being destroyed because you maintained priority going into the final turn.
Where Will She Fit?
Caiera is a unique card that may not appear flashy or powerful at first glance. However, her true strength lies in the impact she has on the cards played around her. In this regard, she has the potential to enhance certain decks in a significant way. While she may not be a commonly used card, her ability to render certain opponent's tech cards ineffective in a match-up is a powerful advantage.
JFSnap’s Day 1 Decklists
High Evolutionary Caiera
Let's talk about a deck that has been around for quite some time and is quite consistent. High Evolutionary decks usually include Sunspot, Nebula, and Misty Knight to provide reliable power while playing off curve to gain an advantage via Cyclops, She-Hulk, and Evolved Hulk. Adding Magik to the deck makes it stronger by allowing you to skip turn six and play She-Hulk and Infinuat on turn seven. This strategy works particularly well if you have Sunspot on board, as it won't cost you six energy but will gain you six power and the ability to drop 30 power on the last turn. It's important to note that using one-cost cards and six-cost cards is key to this strategy. However, this deck is vulnerable to Killmonger and Shang-Chi. That's where Caiera comes in. She can protect all of your cards from being easily destroyed, which can take this deck to the next level.
Caiera Zoo
The Zoo deck is known to be enjoyable to play and can generate a lot of power. However, it is easily defeated by any deck that includes Killmonger. Although running Armor can save one lane, it is not enough. I am eager to experiment with using Caiera to reduce the frustration of losing all of my power to a perfectly timed Killmonger.
Black Knight Caiera
I am considering adding both Skaar and Caiera to my deck since Ebony Blade has been buffed to make it nearly indestructible. The advantage of this is that all cards can be played for free, anywhere and at any time. This means I can play Skaar early without worrying about any powers being destroyed. Additionally, Caiera can protect Black Knight from getting killed by Killmonger before I can execute my combo.
Special Considerations
Caiera is vulnerable to cards like Enchantress and Rogue, but she may not be the primary target depending on the deck.
It's important to consider the locations while playing certain cards. Some locations can ruin your cards when you play them there. However, if you have Caiera on the board, you can play both your one-cost and six-cost cards to those locations without any worry. This feature is just an added advantage to her ability and not something that requires a deck to be built around it.
Conclusion
I like Caiera as a character, so I plan on getting her. However, at series 5, I'm not completely convinced that she's worth spending 6000 tokens on. If she's featured in a good spotlight week, I wouldn't mind getting her as one of my pulls. Please let me know in the comments what you think of Caiera as a card and how you plan on using her during her first week if you decide to get her.