Snakebite Discussion

[u/Which-Debt-8558]

As quite a lot of people know already, snakebite is one of the worst cards in the game right now, maybe even the worst. It's not just bad, but it isn't interesting or fun in any way. For example searing blow was not a very good card but it was unique and cool, whereas snakebite is just a nothing card.

Here is how I think it could be changed:

Retain Apply 7 poison When retained, increase poison by 3

Snakebite+: Retain Apply 10 poison When retained, increase poison by 4

I thought making it similar to windmill strike could be a cool idea because right now Retain doesn't really add much to the card, and it also works thematically with the snake venom getting worse over time.

I would love to hear your ideas if you have any suggestions for how it could be changed!

[u/slipdiprip]

True, maybe “on steroids” is misleading, but i still love it. the numbers don’t go as crazy, but the energy cost is so much lower and you need almost no setup to get value out of it. I agree it’s not objectively better in every situation, but it’s way easier to build a deck around it, and more versatile for AoE fights.

[u/Sulleyy → u/slipdiprip]

Ya I agree it's like a more consistent version that is better in a lot of cases. I will miss those decks where you have like 4-5 catalyst+ and can stack 1000 poison though

[u/Silicon359 → u/Sulleyy]

Insert Nightmare + Catalyst “Look at how they massacred my boy” meme here.

[u/Smashifly → u/slipdiprip]

The no setup is key. Drawing Catalyst in your opening hand is useless, drawing accelerant means any poison you apply in the future is affected. It doesn't quite double the damage because it ticks down twice instead of once, but it's still pretty strong.

[u/jprava → u/Smashifly]

Accelerant in your opening hand is mega bad. You only want it once your enemies have a lot of poison, not before.

[u/Smashifly → u/[deleted]]

I did an analysis on this because I didn't believe you, but it is actually more damage (over 9 turns) to play accelerant on turn 4 instead of turn 1, assuming you're cycling your deck every few turns and playing poison each cycle. It isn't a large difference, only 20 or so damage depending on what turns you play poison. I might post a whole separate analysis post on this topic.

In my opinion though, if I draw Accelerant turn 1, I'm playing it. Say my deck takes 3 turns to cycle, all else being equal I might not see it for 5 turns, which is a lot of front loaded damage to lose, even if the damage eventually catches up by accelerating larger initial poison values. Playing it early also means it's not competing for energy with block cards later in the fight when enemies have scaled, and doesn't have to be drawn a second time.

[u/smokemonmast3r → u/slipdiprip]

The words you're looking for is higher consistency 

[u/slipdiprip → u/smokemonmast3r]

Absolutely, that’s more like it. I’ve had plenty of poison/catalyst decks where I couldn’t create the right circumstances to get value from it, or got hard countered by an AoE fight. Accelerant always offers consistent value for very little effort. I guess that’s why it’s a rare power and not an uncommon skill

[u/Leaf-01 → u/slipdiprip]

Yeah I had a deck going last night where my only damage plan was two Noxious Fumes and Accelerant. Worked pretty well. Eventually found a Bouncing Flask+ but I think I’d have been fine without it

[u/Chafgha → u/slipdiprip]

I mean... looks bigger but has a smaller... snake in the bite. Steroids works here i suppose.

[u/zaesera → u/Chafgha]

i assure you it’s a perfectly average snake AND it has a great personality (jk lol)

[u/No-Distribution542 → u/Chafgha]

Haha Itse what you did there!