The official source has their detailed explanations

Hawkeye

[Old] 1/1 - On Reveal: If you play a card here next turn, +2 Power

[Change] …next turn, +2 Power. ->…next turn, +3 Power.

Hulkbuster

[Old] 3/4 - On Reveal: Merge this card with a random friendly card at this location.

[Change] 3/4 -> 3/5

Vision

[Old] 5/7 - You can move this each turn.

[Change] 5/7 -> 5/8

Captain Marvel

[Old] 5/6 - At the end of the game, move to a location that wins you the game. (If possible)

[Change] 5/6 -> 4/5

Absorbing Man

[Old] 4/3 - On Reveal: If the last card you played has an On Reveal, copy its text. (if it’s in play)

[Change] 4/3 -> 4/5

Personal thoughts:

That’s a lot of cards that don’t get a lot of use, huh? I’m curious about the Vision and Captain Marvel changes. In theory, they’re reflections of the current Lockdown meta which got even stronger with Legion. In practice, however, there’s still the constant danger of Professor X, which neither of them can help with, and Jeff is still the one counter to that (aside from a lucky play)

Frankly, I think Vision would benefit much more from a Cost drop than a Power buff. A round 5 card that can move is just too much of a late gamble.

Hulkbuster definitely got shafted after Phoenix Force came out, but I’m curious about its re-emergence as a Deadpool or Multiple Man combo. Personally I’ve felt that one was always a bit too tight, but its a solid play whenever it happened.

Now Absorbing Man and Hawkeye are both interesting changes. Can’t say I ever see those, aside from a desperate ditch in a Hazmat deck from AM, while Hawkeye is basically a fodder card for starters until people get literally any other 1-cost. The possibility of being a Bounce addition is there, now let’s see if it happens in practice.

This is also a personal curiosity as none of those cards were ever in my rotations, aside from trying Captain Marvel a few times. At least the possibility of the whole thing shaking up the location breakers is interesting.

Thoughts?

  • @janonymous
    2•1 year ago

    Really interesting changes! I love that they went and showed underused cards some love.

    As for the changes:

    • Hawkeye getting +3 power with his ability is well deserved. I tried playing him in bounce, but it’s just too much effort to pull off for too little reward. I tried him in 1-cost Zoo, but there he is just too weak. With the change I still don’t see him actually being played a lot, but he could fit in a 1-cost Zoo, maybe with Beast and Moon Girl. In any case just a way better card to play as a beginner.
    • Hulkbuster as a 3/5 feels almost too strong considering Cyclops, but I guess he has his niches, while Hulkbuster was consistently cut. Maybe in combination with Phoenix Force there could be a deck focusing on Multiple Man and Human Torch. Don’t quite see it, though, as there is just so much competition for slots in move decks. On paper he should be great, though. Hitting either card and moving them just once already sounds pretty powerful.
    • Vision buff feels great! I’ve played him in Lockjaw and Ramp, but he was always underperforming just a bit. Will try him again, now he should make a bigger difference.
    • Captain Marvel becoming a 4/5 doesn’t feel right to me. First off, there are already too many great 4-cost cards that compete with her. Then 5 power isn’t that big of a difference at the end of the game. I’ve played her in Hela and Lockjaw, because of the limited control over how the power will be distributed. There she was a bit too weak, though, so I cut her. Making her a 4/5 will not make me reconsider, quite the opposite. Maybe I’m wrong here, but it feels more like a nerf. Also from a lore/theme perspective I feel she should have a higher cost and power.
    • Absorbing Man is the most exciting change in my opinion. I expect to see him way more now. I tried to make use of him in On Reveal decks and Hazmat. Being a 4-cost card I can see him being played in all kinds of mid-range decks with Zabu and Sera. Could even fit Destroy decks as they lack a 4-cost Destroy card and could use another.

    I don’t see them change the meta, but it’s great to have more viable cards to experiment with.