All Gods Must Die
The last but not least card releasing to Marvel Snap this season is none other than Gorr the God Butcher. Noted as one of the most powerful super villains he is definitely not one to be messed with. For most people, Gorr is recognizable by his appearance in the cinematic universe with Thor: Love and Thunder but he has been around in the marvel universe since 2013. While that technically makes him young he still packs a massive punch.
What does Gorr do?
Gorr is a 6-cost card that has an ongoing ability that states, +2 Power for EACH On Reveal card in play. With the majority Marvel snaps cards being on reveal cards there is a lot of upside potential to Gorr especially because he says “in play” meaning he counts all possible cards on both sides of the board. That can lead to some really big numbers.
Let's do the math
So, how big is he going to be? Well, he gets +2 for each on reveal on the board. Technically there are 24 board spots combined between the players meaning if he is on the board there are 23 other spots that can be filled with On reveals. That leads to a possible max power output of 45 I'd the entire board is filled. Now, is that likely? No, but it's good to know the max output. Either way, what is a number that will make him worth it? Right now the biggest 6-cost cards are on average 10-13 so if he fits in the range he would be just about average. To get to 13 power all he needs is a total of 7 on reveals between both players. Honestly, that seems incredibly doable. I am guessing he might even be closer to 20 power more often just because he combines both players cards. That seems like a big enough payout to me.
Who is friends with a God Butcher?
While Gorr likes to kill Gods in his free time is hard to see him making a lot of friends but at a quick glance there are some cards that will pair nicely with Gorr.
Bast and Agent Venom
Gorr has a base power of -1 which isn't that great but, when paired with a Bast or Agent Venom we can mitigate that negative very easily.
Mystique
With any ongoing, mystique is a great pairing to double the possible power output on different lanes. While Gorr does cost 6 and is more often going to be a final turn play there are ways to get him out early which make using mystique and copy effects worth while.
Ravonna Renslayer
Speaking of which, Ravonna is great for trying to get Gorr cheaper. While she doesn't actively help gain him power, having a 5 cost 20 or so power card is a lot better than having a 6 cost card.
Mister Negative
Probably the easiest thing to think about when looking at Gorr because why would I want to pay 6 when I could just have him for free. Mister Negative decks are getting an exciting new tool that might push them over the edge to being relevant. Maybe.
Anti-Venom
Speaking of having something for free, Gorr is a great pairing with Anti-Venom because it has zero downside if it is hit. Being hit by Anti-Venom means both cost reduction and a power buff for Gorr. That's a great combo in my book.
Taskmaster
Because Gorr is ongoing he comes down with lots of power and with every big show of power Taskmaster is always a great friend to have near by.
But, he does have enemies?
While that is a short list of some of the friends Gorr has there are also some cards that he wants to be weary of.
Rogue
The counter to any good single ongoing card. Rogue is extremely useful at taking what is someone else and using it for herself.
Enchantress
While a lot less common than Rogue, Enchantress is also a fantastic counter to Gorr and can be a massive power swing if pulled off correctly.
Echo
While not exactly a counter because it can be avoided. Echo blindness is more real than players want to admit. If it happens to you just make sure you check yourself in the rest of your games.
Killmonger, Silver Samurai, & Lady Deathstrike
While these might seem like odd counters, they all attack Gorr in some interesting ways. Gorr thrives off of On reveals but if those are destroyed his power diminishes. Killmonger getting rid of all the 1-cost on reveals a massive power swing from both Gorrs power and the 1-costs being destroyed. This same theory applies to Lady Deathstrike. With Gorr being -1 base power he is a prime target for Silver Samurai. While our Samurai friend isn't that commonly played. It's possible if Gorr makes a big enough impact that players will use anything they can to get rid of him.
JFSnap’s First Week Decklists
While talking about Gorr’s buddies and counters, decklists are really what is important so let's get to some decklists we can try out on his release.
Ive killed negative Gods today
While nothing super novel this is the list that a lot of people are going to be trying right off the bat. While it only includes 6 on reveal cards itself we deemed that we only really needed 7 for Gorr to be decent and I'm guessing the opponent will also have some. Also, if we hit Gorr with Mister Negative he is just a free almost 20 power card with just the on reveals we have in our own deck.
Who invited him to the party?
Being able to cheat Gorr out because of cost is fantastic but what about using lockjaw to help get him out? The Asgardarians provide a lot of on reveals with lots of stats which is perfect for Gorr. Also, with the introduction of King Eitri from diner it is a lot easier to get your extra 0-cost on reveals into your hand and to the board. This deck has the potential to burst out tons of points on the last then if the game with all of the hammers as well as lockjaw.
Small mighty Gods
While this might seem weird because typically you want multiple cards for the last turn of the game in Bounce and not just one big card I think Gorr is great for this type of deck. Swan can help you play all your low cost cards and Gorr during the last turn and if you didn't notice almost every card in the deck is an on reveal. That's a lot of potential power. Also, Agent Venom can help boost him even more.
Mad Titan Butcher
I've been having a lot of fun with Thanos zoo recently and I think Gorr could be a good addition as a last turn power drop alongside Mockingbird. The majority of the stones are on reveals which means you have a lot of cheap threats that put a lot more passive power on the board.
Odin replacement
Lastly we have a simple on reveal deck that I think will be pretty good especially for those players that have lower CLs. While typically Odin is the final turn play having ravonna in here means both Gorr and Odin can be used. Either way, Gorr should be a nice big power drop on the final turn if that's all you need.
Spotlight
Gorr is in spotlights alongside Havoc and Legion. While both are decent cards they are not meta defining or really deck defining cards. Instead, they are useful pieces if you have them. I'm not sure I would go out of my way to get them but if you've been wanting them this is a good week to try. While Gorr seems really fun and interesting, I don't think he will become as meta defining as people might want and just join a host of other big 6-cost cards that people need to be wary of and use their tech cards against. So unless you really want Havoc and Legion or are missing multiple cards this week might be a skip. Or waiting until later in the week when a lot more people have done the work with Gorr to determine his viability and then opening is probably the safest bet. The same applies to using your tokens, and even then to me there are a lot more proven cards worth 6000 tokens at the moment.
Conclusion
Gorr looks like he can be a powerful card with a lot of different uses. I wouldn't be surprised if he finds a place but I don't think he will change the game too much in the final week of the season. However, he seems interesting enough that I think a decent amount of people will pick him up. Especially because he is one of the only cards with multiple variants on release, including a Dan Hipp.
What are your plans? Are you picking up Gorr?