It’s been a big week for Marvel Snap, especially with the launch of the game’s first Nexus Event, as well as a huge balance patch that really shook up the meta. Specifically, big changes to some key Pool 1 cards like America Chavez, Strong Guy, and Kazar have resulted in a popular and competitive Pool 1 deck feeling a lot clunkier to play.
As noted in a previous article, I’m not a huge fan of these changes, as Kazoo was pretty much the only viable competitive deck that newer players could build with the cards at their disposal. This problem was exacerbated by the fact that it was possible to get matched up against players who were already deep in Pool 3, which didn’t feel great.
While I’m still not a fan of the idea of nerfing the most viable cards for newer Pool 1 players, the patch does also introduce some balances to the matchmaking system in Marvel Snap. Second Dinner had previously stated in a Q&A session on their official Discord that they were planning on adjusting the matchmaking bands, and while this wasn’t explicitly stated in this week’s July 19 patch notes, it looks like the changes are already live.
According to a Marvel Snap rep, matchmaking optimizations aren’t complete just yet, but right now, players will only get matched with other players in similar Pools. Here’s a rough breakdown of how the matchmaking bands are set up:
- Band 1: Pool 1
- Band 2: Early to Mid-Pool 2
- Band 3: Late Pool 2 to Early Pool 3
- Band 4: Mid-Pool 3 and Beyond Pool 4
Marvel Snap is now available in closed beta on mobile devices in North America, Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand.