The Empress of Zenn La
In The Fantastic Four: First Steps we met a version of the Silver Surfer named Shalla-Bal, a scientist from Zenn La who was able to save her planet from Galactus by volunteering to be his Herald. In the comics, Shalla-Bal was the empress of Zenn La where her lover Norrin Rad was the one who became the Silver Surfer. In Marvel Snap, will the old Surfer and the new Surfer be lovers or enemies? As a card that gives you an extra instance of an On Reveal, the new Surfer definitely has synergy with the old one, but Norrin Rad is just one of Shalla-Bal’s potential targets.
Best Shalla-Bal Targets
The type of card our new Silver Surfer works well with is actually quite specific: a card with a powerful On Reveal that is likely to be winning a lane. It's a little bit harder than it first seems since cards like Ironheart and White Tiger don't work especially well and neither do 6-Cost cards. Here's a list of cards that are powerful or fun with her.
Rocks!
Discarders
Shalla-Bal Shenanigans
We have plenty of cards that allow you to repeat On Reveals, but what makes FS Silver Surfer unique is her timing. If you have priority and use a card like Odin, your opponent has a chance to respond. If you set things up in such a way that FS Silver Surfer goes off after turn 6, your opponent has no chance to respond. You can add extra Surfer buffs after the game to dodge Shang Chi on your Sebastian Shaw, or have a Venom or Carnage eat additional Nimrods after turn 7 to pump up Knull.
Another advantage of her timing is the flexibility that being able to play her early and get paid off later allows. This also means she can get buffs from Fantasticar if you time things properly, though she doesn't play nicely with meta darling Invisible Woman: First Steps since she'll no longer be an end-of-turn card after she copies another card.
Scosco's Day One Silver Surfer: First Steps Decks
Surf Car
There are a lot of ways to incorporate FS Silver Surfer into a traditional Silver Surfer deck, but this one plays around with the idea of having our new Surfer go off after the final turn so that it can still be buffed by Fantasticar. She can't benefit from FS Invisible Woman directly, but there are targets for both of them here.
Double Surfer
Here is a more traditional, anti-meta Surfer that can be adapted with tech cards (Mobius, Cosmo, Red Guardian, etc.) for whatever you're facing.
Shand Buff
Chavez, Forge, and Okoye are good targets here, but Sinister is one of the more fun ones.
Two Step
FS Silver Surfer can be played before or after Namora, both to positive effect. She also allows you to play a bit of a decoy Sage out early and still add power there late.
Terrax Waiting Room
Terrax is going to improve this deck, but it already seems pretty easy to use FS Silver Surfer to add extra rocks to an opponent's deck or hit it again with Cassandra Nova. Be careful with Invisible Woman! (or Malekith or Supergiant, also interesting choices for this deck). The end of turn occurs before the end of game, so FS Silver Surfer won't go off if she reveals after turn 6.
Surf2Destroy
Because FS Silver Surfer goes off at the end of the turn you can actually manage to kill a few more Nimrods off after the game has ended. I might also play around with some Magik Nimrod builds.
Wiccan Bal
You can get an extra Iron Patriot card, additional energy from Wiccan, or a second Juggernaut proc at the end of the game.
We Shall Discard
Plan A is to copy Blade, Colleen, or Swordmaster, but you might occasionally get to add an extra Shard to hand or M.O.D.O.K. twice in a row.
Variants
As with all of the First Steps cards from last season, we have a slew of studio variants. I'm partial to the Winking Studios one, but I'd love to know which one you prefer. Let me know in the comments!
Final Thoughts
The quirkiness of her timing is the main draw for FS Silver Surfer. Historically, cards that give us extra On Reveals are over-hyped but end up being playable.
You can safely wait for either:
a) other people to discover the best combinations with her and whether or not she's worth your extra money
or
b) Silver Surfer: First Steps to arrive in Snap Packs on September 2nd.
The Super Premium Season Pass is controversial, but $10 for a card you're going to play with is good value relative to other purchases available in the game. Keep in mind that if you buy the Premium Season Pass and the Super Premium Season Pass at the same time it will cost you an extra $10, but if you decide to buy it later it's $11, though the extra dollar for time to mull it over is worth it if you're not sure you want her or aren't a completionist.