Marvel Snap fans say goodbye to Zabu after latest nerf

Marvel Snap players are in mourning over the recent patch, which drastically nerfed Zabu to the point where some say he’s been “massacred.”

Zabu has been a very popular card in Marvel Snap ever since he was introduced to the game last year. Originally, he would reduce the cost of 4-Cost cards by two, but was nerfed to only reduce their cost by one just a month later. Still, he remained a common inclusion in many a deck, so of course players were mortified to see developer Second Dinner rework his ability.

As of the April 10 patch, Zabu only reduces the cost of 4-Cost cards by one until the end of your next turn. While Second Dinner also bumped his Power from two to three, it seems few players think this is suitable compensation. Some of the more extreme reactions from users on X (formerly Twitter), such as haus0fXI and SnapMaterial say Zabu has been “massacred” or “neutered.” Both Horus_Xero and Jack Dawes think the nerf has rendered Zabu “worthless,” suggesting some players will stop running the card in their decks.

One of the top posts at the moment on the Marvel Snap subreddit appears to corroborate this, with someone posting a clip from the old X-Men cartoon of Zabu being left behind by his companion Ka-Zar. Another user, Anjan_S, wrote, “RIP Zabu. You were the best kitty,” while Mean_Carrot_1746 said they “won’t ever smile again” because of the nerf.

There is one spot of hope in all this. In Second Dinner’s patch notes, the developer stated it has “a larger set of impactful changes later this year”, and Zabu’s nerf is a temporary one to “help us vet that work.” So, it’s likely Zabu will return to his former glory before the end of 2024. Although he wasn’t the only one to be seriously hampered by the recent patch. Alioth has also been radically updated, with its ability to destroy an opponent’s unrevealed cards changed to just removing their text instead.