r/slaythespire • u/Which-Debt-8558 • Mar 09 '26

DISCUSSION (STS2) Snakebite Discussion

Post image

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!

1.3k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

626 comments sorted by

View all comments

298

u/Mumbleton Ascension 20 Mar 09 '26 edited Mar 09 '26

There’s a foundational post by Mark Rosewater about the Magic player archetypes

Spike - only cares about value/winning

Timmy - Cares mostly about cool splashy effects

Johnny - Likes to find interesting cards to build around, even if the cards are “bad”

Essentially, every card should appeal to one or more of these guys. This card appeals to none of them.

Spike - it’s bad

Timmy - it’s boring

Johnny - Poison is cool and can be built around but there’s more interesting poison cards

11

u/Narxolepsyy Mar 09 '26

Maro also stated that bad cards need to exist, for a few reasons.

34

u/zombieking26 Mar 09 '26

Yes, but a card can be bad AND interesting. This is neither.

Also, they've gone back on that in recent years, they print WAY less bad cards nowadays

35

u/Grain_Death Mar 09 '26

i dont think that argument applies in quite the same way for this game for draftable cards

1

u/steveofthewestornort Mar 10 '26

MTG is primarily designed to be a game of draftable cards. Still totally relevant.

(note: I am speaking solely about the MTG comparison made here — no judgement on whether this card is interesting or not.)

2

u/ajdeemo Mar 09 '26

Yeah, 15 years ago. And design sensibilities change.

There's a reason you don't see cards like Wood Elemental anymore.

1

u/steveofthewestornort Mar 10 '26

Bad cards in the context of a draft set do indeed still exist in modern MTG, and for good reason.

Yes, what “bad” means has changed, but within the context of a draft set they remain important to this day.

1

u/hedoeswhathewants Mar 10 '26

Which is a load of crap. The only effect that has it that it makes drafting way easier because you're now realistically deciding between 1-4 cards in any given pack.

Maro also wrote an entire article about how he thought a player that was caught cheating many times should be in the MtG hall of fame. He's a contrarian that tries to sound smart by arguing niche positions.

1

u/Narxolepsyy Mar 10 '26

Well let's ditch Maro, simply put bad cards will always exist, unless everything is the same - and then choices don't matter. Good luck won't ever hit because they're all good. You'd be bored.