Marvel Snap’s New Battle Mode Is Live

marvel snapThe battle mode update is now live, and my biggest problem right now is that no one wants to play. Is it because my handful of marvel snap friends and colleagues are afraid of the awesome power of my decks? May be. Is it because it’s 2:30 PM ET on a business day? Also very possible. But I’ve been waiting for this update ever since the devs told me about it months ago, and after the little taste I’ve had of it so far, I’ve hunger for more.

For starters, don’t do what I do and try to enlist your marvel snap agnostic boss or partner to play against you. Break won’t allow you to play battle mode unless you’ve completed the game’s tutorial and reached rank 10. But once you meet that minimum requirement, jumping into a match is extremely easy. In BreakIn the game mode menu — the little controller icon next to the “Main” button — you can either generate a code to give to your friends to connect to your match, or enter a code shared with you, and you are in it.

The first thing you’ll notice in the battle arena is that the cubes are an angry red and there’s a life bar below your player avatar. I’ve already covered the details of Battle Mode, but to put it simply: the cubes bet become damage inflicted by the winner on his opponent. Deal 10 damage and win the match. This results in games that go beyond the typical regular one-and-done flow. marvel snap matches and can trip people who are out of the loop. In a match against my colleague and The edge editor Kevin Nguyen, he thought the game was over and hung up his phone since I won the first round. Depending on how aggressive you are with your slam, matches can last anywhere from two to four rounds. If you are both conservative snappers, in the fifth round the game begins with you betting two cubes to raise the stakes.

One of the last games I played before I forced myself to put my phone down and write it was against Kenneth Seward Jr., a friend and colleague. It was a stunning, dragging fight – the kind of match that would make for great viewing when marvel snap tournaments are launched. We traded turns early with modest wins, but as the game progressed I got cocky and snapped when I shouldn’t have, resulting in massive health loss. One more lost lap would have made me lose. I managed to backtrack until we were both down to three hit points. We then both cracked down to make sure that no matter what, the seventh round would be the last of the game. I won by single digits, but it was so exciting to have this kind of deck back and forth that just can’t happen in a normal situation. Break match.

I love this mode so much. I have to think a little more about what game I’m playing and who I’m playing against, and that kind of brain engagement is something I unabashedly love about trading card games. Since Break the decks are so small that after a turn or two, I know what the other person is working with, and have to figure out how to swing and weave between their combos and traps. And sometimes I can’t. My first match was against my friend and former Kotaku my colleague Zack Zwiezen, and he embarrassed me because his Dracula always sacrificed the right card to completely ruin the leads I had on him. And it’s always an added layer of interactivity when you can message your opponent after the fact to congratulate them on a sick combo or a well-executed play.

All in all, I love this new addition to Break. 10 out of 10. Minor ratings. (A friends list would be a nice addition now that Battle Mode is live.) I feel like a kid on the playground with a new toy she wants to share with everyone. Please come and play.