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?

  • @Ethalis@jlai.lu
    4•11 months ago

    I think you’re spot on for Vision. If the last Phoenix Force buff taught me one thing, it’s that the difference between a 4-cost card that can move and a 5-cost card that can move is truly massive. I guess Vision got a bit more appealing for a Shuri combo and a last turn move to bait Shang Chi though, that’s probably something I’ll want to try out.

  • Kajo [he/him] 🌈English
    2•11 months ago

    The most interesting upgrades for me are Absorbing Man and, in a lesser extent, Hawkeye.

    Absorbing Man, 4/3 was a way under the curve and it was hard to find an on-reveal effect to compensate this weakness. But 4/5 is pretty standard, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see AM duplicating Carnage, Venom, Korg, Debrii, Thor… Also, I feel like there’s something new to do with Black Panther (maybe in a Eletro Zola deck ?)

    About Hawkeye, there is a niche for a 1/4 card: between the 1/3 cards with double-edged effects (Blade, Zero) and stronger cards with stronger drawbacks (Ebony Maw, Titania) or specific triggers (Human Torch, Winter Soldier). And I agree with you: with bounce back effects, there may be interesting things to do with this humble card.