I’m still here
The start of the season always brings new cards, both from the season pass and regular releases. For this initial release of the new season, we are introducing Dr. Moira Ann Kinross MacTaggert, also known as Moira X. Although she may not be as well-known as many other characters in the Marvel Universe, Moira X has been a part of the franchise since the 1970s and plays a significant role in mutant history.
She possesses the power of reincarnation, allowing her to retain the memories of all her past lives. This unique ability enables her to guide mutants along their paths across different timelines. But how will she influence the timeline in Marvel Snap?
What does she do?
The card features a straightforward instruction: "When this is destroyed, get a copy of your opening hand." It is a respectable yet average card, costing just 1 and providing 2 power. This low cost allows you to play it early and increases the chances of it being destroyed. With its primary purpose being to give you copies of the three cards in your opening hand, we should gear our thinking to why that is useful.
How is this useful?
I personally love having extra copies of cards when playing a game. But, I need to use them effectively or have them benefit me for it to be worth the price. The first benefit is the asymmetrical information, as I know which cards I have duplicated, but my opponent does not. However, since your opening hand is random, you have less control over which cards you can gain copies of, compared to using Frigga or Moon Girl. The other benefits come from playing with certain cards like Victoria Hand or Devil Dino. Victoria Hand has become a staple in the metagame because she thrives on having multiple copies of cards. Therefore, having Moira X as an additional way to acquire numerous cards seems beneficial. The challenge, though, is figuring out how to incorporate Moira X into a deck that isn't primarily focused on a destroy strategy.
Enablers
The easiest and most efficient way to enable Moira X is by using Killmonger. While cards like Carnage and Venom can also do the job, they don't offer as much flexibility as Killmonger. Kid Omega is another option, but he is a bit slower. However, Kid Omega does provide greater flexibility since his ability is an Activate type and can be used at any time after he has been on the board for one turn.
Nico is a decent alternative, but her reliability can be inconsistent. Deathlok is also capable, but his effectiveness is limited, as he serves only one specific purpose. Lady Deathstrike could be a viable late-game option, but using her would mean doubling up your starting hand on turn 5 instead of potentially earlier.
When building your deck, I recommend focusing on Killmonger and Lady Deathstrike as the best potential options.
Other Partners
When dealing with copied cards, there are a host of cards that love to partner up together. For Moira X, there are a few that work well together. Those include:
Victoria Hand seems to be the best card among those listed here, while the others are slightly niche and may not be worth it in the long run. The Collector likely requires much more than just Moira to be effective. Eson is too late a play for the majority of decks. Quinjet is decent, but if Killmonger is your destroy card of choice for Moira, it could make Quinjet a bit awkward to use. Devil Dinosaur might be a good idea since I can see Moira's last-minute destroy adding cards to your hand, which could boost Dino by 6, a significant advantage, especially in a game where Killmonger is best played on the final turn.
JFSnap's First Week Deck Lists
Ok, so that's enough of the info, how would we actually use her in a deck?
The Hand of Resurrection
The first deck is a Victoria Hand deck. Victoria Hand decks have been popular since her release, and they perform particularly well when paired with Misery and other card-generating cards. This deck can effectively include Killmonger, making Moira X a valuable target for the late game, mainly if your starting hand includes Victoria herself. While this strategy may come across as overly complex or a bit slow, Moira will fit naturally into Victoria Hand decks that are utilizing Killmonger.
More Death
This next deck is intriguing because it combines elements of a Destroy and Phoenix Force strategy. The goal is to create one or two significant threats while utilizing a hopefully cheap Death to secure the win. Moira X is included to help generate multiple threats, as well as to create multiple Deaths potentially. While she isn't the primary focus of the deck, her ability to generate extra destroy cards or Death can be quite beneficial.
Several deck variations could fit into this category. Additionally, Moira X would also be valuable in decks that feature Nimrod instead of Phoenix Force or those with a more traditional destroy theme, similar to this one.
Extra Death
Either way, decks that naturally run destroy cards and want extra copies can use Moira well enough.
Tuccrr Surfer
This deck isn't originally mine; it was theory-crafted by Tuccrr, who often builds decks on stream before card releases. However, I really liked the concept of using Surfer and Daken alongside Moira X. Surfer decks can naturally incorporate Killmonger, so there isn't any stretch to destroy Moira. Imagine if you were able to get multiple Surfers and Dakens; that would be a significant amount of potential power.
Cheap Extras
Moira X adding cards to your hand is beneficial for Devil Dinosaur decks, but lower Collection Level players typically prefer these decks due to their available card pool. However, this deck has the potential to perform exceptionally well. With the amount of card generation available, the Collector is likely to become quite powerful, and Devil Dinosaur will probably be at full strength. Additionally, the card generation provides much utility for this deck, especially with Snowguard's Bird and Bear, as well as Cable's ability to steal cards. Regardless of its power level, this deck is a fun option to try out because it is full of surprises. For even more unexpected outcomes, you could include Agent Coulson to add even more random cards.
Horn Tootin Society of Men & Women
Variants
Moira X comes to the game with several different variants to choose from, with 2 being available on release, as well as her spotlight variant. I personally prefer the Dan Hipp version, but it is currently unreleased, and we do not yet know the release date.
Conclusion
Moira X feels like she could be really good, but also could be kind of a dud from the get-go. There isn't an easy way to destroy her and combine her effect with a consistent strategy, and even when you do, the payoff of having double your starting hand might not be that useful. I'd give her a solid 2 out of 5 for my rating. Let me know what your rating is with your Discord username for a chance to win PAX Borders or a Visions of the Future Season Pass! Please state what prize you'd like. A winner will be given their prize on September 5th.