Marvel Snap gets a lot of things right. The frictionless deck-building, the gorgeous 3D animations and art, the fast-paced, snappy matches that you can knock out in five minutes or less… Marvel Snap stands out from the competition because of how quickly you can get through a match, making it the perfect pick up and play game, while also retaining a sense of depth that’s crucial for its longevity.
Enter Conquest Mode, which is Marvel Snap’s brand new game mode that allows players to battle each other, tournament-style, to earn new cosmetic rewards and farm Medals, which can be used to purchase more rewards and currencies. Conquest Mode is based off the previously released Battle Mode, which were friendly battles that locked you into one deck, and you had to continuously battle the same opponent with the same deck until your health was depleted.
This process can be expedited by utilizing the snapping mechanic, where you essentially double the stakes. The first match can go up to eight cubes, and since each player only has 10 health to start, you could theoretically finish the battle in two matches, assuming both players snapped in the first match.
The problem is, in Conquest Mode, players need to work their way up the ranks to earn Tickets that get them into the next level of Conquest. You start from the Proving Grounds, then Silver Conquest, Gold Conquest, and Infinite Conquest which becomes available during the last week of the season. You’ll have to beat two opponents in Silver, and three opponents in Gold, and when you take into consideration the fact that every opponent starts with 10 health, these matches can go on for quite a while.
Because players don’t want to lose their Tickets, they’re going to play much more cautiously, and they may be more hesitant about snapping. You could lose eight cubes in your first match, then slowly claw your way out of the hole by winning all your subsequent matches, two cubes at a time. All of a sudden, you’re spending up to 30 minutes on a single Marvel Snap opponent, and getting through Gold Conquest could actually take up to an hour if all your matches end up going that slowly.
One of Marvel Snap’s biggest selling points is the fact that the matches are quick and low commitment, and it’s hard not to feel like Conquest Mode goes against that design ethos a little. It’s worth noting that Conquest Mode’s tournament-style gameplay should come with the expectation that you should be ready to sink in a good amount of time into your matches if you’re looking to climb, but there are definitely things Second Dinner could do to help streamline the process a little.
For starters, the turn timers could be adjusted. The timers for the first two turns of the game are way too long, especially for a game where you’re usually not making game-defining decisions in turns one and two. Another way Second Dinner could alleviate this issue is by allowing players to wager more cubes than they have health left. For instance, even if you only have two health left, you should still be able to snap to double the stakes and potentially get your opponent to lose four cubes, or eight if they snap back.
Don’t get me wrong; more modes and more ways to play the game are great, and barring some questionable balances and updates, Marvel Snap has only grown into a more robust game over the past few months since its release. Conquest Mode offers players the chance to interact with the game in different ways while earning more rewards, the matches just need to keep feeling snappy and less like a draggy time sink.
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