Guide to Gold Bundles in Marvel Snap September 2023
Golden Opportunities - September, 2023
Following Second Dinner’s recent realignment of Snap’s internal economy, gold–and free gold especially–is scarcer than ever. Spending it wisely can make all the difference between fast-tracked progression and cash-strapped depression. Join us now as we look for the true gems among the gold bundles to find the best opportunities to spend Snap’s premium currency. Because this is based on datamined information, details are subject to change.
Coast Along
Beach Bums
For your investment of 2,800 gold, Beach Bums rewards you with a fresh coat of paint for three series 2 cards, enough boosters to split them each once, avatars, and 3,600 credits. That is a better rate than you would get buying credits in the shop but only by a very small margin, so the bulk of the appeal here is in the cosmetics.
Each of these cards has its place, Leech and Sandman being control tools that see periodic turns in the meta and Scorpion having a home with High Evolutionary. If you have gotten bored with their base art and were thinking of spending some gold on credits already, you could do worse than this bundle. If you are looking for great progression value, however, this beach is rocky.
Beach Bums
Credits per gold: 1.29
A Splashy Sequel
Cannonball Run
Cannonball Run is almost an exact repeat of Beach Bums but with one featured card fewer. The tradeoff is that it carries a series 3 card in the form of Giganto. If you have yet to collect him, that could be enough to recommend this bundle over the previous one–though, it has to be noted, Giganto is used almost exclusively in mid-tier decks leveraging Lockjaw or Hela. Otherwise, the same advice as above applies.
Cannonball Run
Credits per gold: 1.29
In Need of a Boost
Booster Pack
Booster Packs have been a regular thing for a long while now, but it is probably best for the game if nobody ever purchases one. 300 gold to get 250 credits is an abysmal exchange, and boosters are so readily available that they are not worth spending any kind of currency on outside of conquest medals. Unless Second Dinner gives booster packs a massive boost in value, do not buy them.
Booster Pack
Credits per gold: 0.83
Token Offering
Token Tuesday
As the recurring bundle that sets the value for tokens relative to gold, Token Tuesday is definitionally middle of the road. It pales in comparison to its former glory, but the month of September is unusually light on bundles offering tokens for gold. In fact, there is only one other, Avast Ye, Admiral, and if all you are looking for is tokens, Token Tuesdays offer a better rate. You can get better returns by saving your gold for the large bundles that datamines show coming in October and November, but Token Tuesdays are a good option if you don’t want to wait.
Token Tuesday
Tokens per gold: 0.71
Stand and Deliver
Avast Ye, Admiral
This month’s best gold bundle for overall value, Avast Ye, Admiral! costs only 200 gold more than a Token Tuesday but adds 600 credits and a variant to its haul. October and November will bring us three large bundles–Forged in Night, High Stakes, and Artist Showcase: Kai Lun Qu–with better returns, but Avast Ye has the advantage of being less than one-third the price of the cheapest of those and not that far off in per-gold value.
Random variants are always a little bit of a gamble, but in this case you have the currencies acting as insurance, making for a very good purchase.
Avast Ye, Admiral!
Tokens per gold: 0.63
Credits per gold: 0.38
Arthouse Prices
Artist Showcase: Kim Jacinto
Kim Jacinto is a fantastic artist, and he is definitely worthy of showcasing. However, this is not the way to do it. With two series 4 cards, a credit return worse than the shop rate, and a massive price tag, this sinks nearly to the level of the infamous “3X Value” cash bundle from June, which, in what is probably not a coincidence, also featured Darkhawk.
It is easy to imagine a newish player who doesn’t yet understand the value of gold going for this, excited to get their hands on the much-lauded Darkhawk along with another high-series card. If that sounds like you, take a look around for context. You could get both Beach Bums and Cannonball Run for 1900 gold cheaper and come away with the same number of credits along with five variants. Last month’s Stegronosaurus Wrecks carried only a single series 4, but it came along with a card back and title, and, at the same price as the Kim Jacinto showcase, paid out 12,000 credits.
Just a few days after the Jacinto, Form and Function will premiere at the same price and supply the buyer 10,000 credits and two variants, including the upcoming series 4 card Mobius M. Mobius. Even that bundle is only average. Forged in Night, High Stakes, and Artist Showcase: Kai Lun Qu are all upcoming bundles with a higher currency value and a lower gold cost than Kim Jacinto, and the first two include more than enough tokens to buy Darkhawk in the shop if you still want him. It is hard to say not to buy a bundle with this luscious art, but at least give it a good, long thought.
Artist Showcase: Kim Jacinto
Credits per gold: 0.96
The Golden Mean
All told, September is a light month for gold bundles. There are just a handful of one-time offers and no must-buy values. The best of the lot, Avast Ye, Admiral!, comes in at a trim 1600 gold. Considering the trio of quality, high-cost bundles set to arrive in the next two months, the best strategy for September might be to save rather than spend.
Best Tokens per Gold
- Token Tuesday (0.71)
- Avast Ye, Admiral! (0.63)
Best Credits per Gold
- Tie: Beach Bums and Cannonball Run (1.29)
- Tie: Beach Bums and Cannonball Run (1.29)
- Permanent shop rate and 2 Cute 2 Furious (1.25), already ended at time of writing
- Artist Showcase: Kim Jacinto (0.96)
- Booster Pack (0.83)
Best Overall Currencies per Gold*
- Avast Ye, Admiral! (1.48)
- Beach Bums (1.31)
- Cannonball Run (1.30)
- 2 Cute 2 Furious (1.28), already ended at time of writing
- Permanent shop rate and Token Tuesday (1.25)
*Expressed as credits per gold, valuing tokens at 1.75 credits based on the Token Tuesday rate of 1 token for 1.4 gold and the shop rate of 1 gold for 1.25 credits, and adding 25 credits for each new card and variant.
We hope that illuminates the gold market for you and hope you will join us again in about a month as we take a look at the spooky season!