Marvel Snap Balance Update (May 21, 2026): Gambit Nerf, Discard and Destroy Buffs
Second Dinner has dropped a Marvel Snap balance patch focused on reining in Gambit Horseman of Death while pumping power into Discard and Destroy archetypes. Ms. Marvel and Awesome Andy also pick up small but meaningful boosts mid-Daredevil season.
Second Dinner has rolled out a fresh Marvel Snap balance update for May 21, 2026, targeting Gambit Horseman of Death with the day’s most notable nerf while sending support to lagging Discard and Destroy archetypes. The patch lands mid-Daredevil season and continues the team’s effort to settle the metagame after a heavier balance pass several weeks ago.
Gambit Horseman of Death Gets Reined In
The day’s headline change is a nerf to Gambit Horseman of Death. The card moves from 3/3 with up to 4 total Cost of destruction down to 3/5 with up to 3 total Cost of destruction, after the same Objective trigger.
Gambit Horseman of Death
- Old: 3/3 – Objective: Play 6 total Cost of created cards. → Randomly destroy up to 4 total Cost of enemy cards. (0/6)
- New: 3/5 – Objective: Play 6 total Cost of created cards. → Randomly destroy up to 3 total Cost of enemy cards. (0/6)
The Second Dinner design team frames the change as a long-term sustainability call. As more cards have been printed that can copy Gambit or otherwise scale his Objective output, his destruction ability “happening repeatedly at this level of effectiveness is something we don’t want to entertain for the long term.” Past attempts to increase his Objective’s difficulty didn’t bite hard enough—so this time the developers cut his total destruction ceiling and bumped his Power to compensate.
Crucially, the new destruction cap of 3 means 4-Cost cards are now safe against Gambit—a clean line that should give opponents a known floor to play around.
Discard and Destroy Get Targeted Buffs
The other half of today’s patch sends help to two archetypes that haven’t scaled the way Second Dinner expected after the team’s last big balance sweep. Destroy and Discard have both seen their win rates improve, but “not quite at the rate that we would like.”
Destroy Buffs
- Angel: 2/3 → 2/4. When one of your cards is destroyed, this flies out of your hand or deck to replace it.
- Deathlok: 3/5 → 3/6. On Reveal: Destroy your other cards here.
Angel hasn’t cracked competitive lineups in a while, and Deathlok’s ceiling as a more aggressive enabler should give Destroy a higher floor when scaling pieces aren’t coming together cleanly.
Discard Buffs
- Hellcow: 4/6 → 4/7. Activate: Discard a card from your hand.
- Lady Sif: 3/5 → 3/6. On Reveal: Discard the card that costs the most from your hand.
Discard has had an even harder time than Destroy. Second Dinner notes that targeting Hellcow and Lady Sif—two of the archetype’s most reliable enablers—should better improve its standing without overcommitting on a single power piece.
Power Bumps for Awesome Andy and Ms. Marvel
Standalone Buffs
- Awesome Andy: 2/2 → 2/3. Activate: Give one of your cards at each other location +2 Power.
- Ms. Marvel: 4/5 (Ongoing: adjacent locations with 2+ cards and no repeated Costs +5 Power) → 4/5 with +6 Power on the trigger.
Ms. Marvel in particular picks up two effective points when her quest is satisfied, bringing her in line with more recent 4-Cost payoff cards that demand similar deckbuilding effort. Awesome Andy’s extra Power should keep him in striking range against the larger 2-Cost statlines that have crept into the meta.
What This Means for Marvel Snap Players
This is one of Second Dinner’s smaller balance passes—the team itself calls the Snap metagame “in a good spot as the dust continues to settle from the OTA several weeks ago.” Don’t expect a metagame upheaval, but expect Discard and Destroy pilots to start finding their footing again, and expect Gambit Horseman of Death ladder representation to drop now that 4-Cost cards are guaranteed safe. With the Daredevil season still in full swing, this patch keeps the focus on smoothing the existing meta rather than reshaping it.