MARVEL SNAP Explained: What Is Rock?

There’s no thrill in MARVEL SNAP quite like drawing a Rock. While simple on the surface, a Rock can completely change the game, and now a new bundle will allow players to show their support for the card with a special avatar and title. With the Rock finally getting its due, here’s what you need to know about playing the card in MARVEL SNAP and the shocking ways its mechanics connect to the comics.

Playing Rock in MARVEL SNAP

A 1-Cost, 0-Power card with no ability, players can’t build a deck with Rock in it, as unrestricted access to that kind of power would certainly unbalance the game entirely. However, there are a few ways to get the formidable card.

Locations are one of the most common ways to get Rocks. Lechuguilla and Subterranea, for example, will add several Rocks to a player’s deck. The Collapsed Mine generously fills itself up with Rocks, though players must be cautious, as skipping a turn will get rid of those cards. In terms of friendly cards, the 3-Cost, 3-Power Debrii will add Rocks to the locations at which she wasn’t played for both players.

While Rocks are, on their own, extremely potent, there are ways to make them even stronger. Patriot gives cards without abilities +2 Power, which can make a Rock stronger than the likes of Iron Man, Adam Warlock, and Kang the Conqueror. Ironheart, Cerebro, Ka-Zar and other buff cards can be used to further strengthen those Rocks, turning them into unstoppable threats.

When it comes to great locations for Rocks, there’s no place quite like Washington, D.C., which gives an additional 2 Power to any cards played there that don’t have abilities. Rocks are also great for filling up The Raft, which gives the first person to fill it up a free 6-Cost card. That card might not be as great as four Rocks, but free is free.

However, Rocks can cut both ways, and players should take caution to make sure their opponents don’t end up rocking them right back. The location Eternity Range, for example, rewards the losing player with a Rock after turn 3. Additionally, Korg and Rockslide add Rocks to an opponent’s deck, giving them access to the juggernaut that is the Rock.

Rock in the Comics

A staple of media since the days of cave paintings, Rock is one of the oldest anythings in the Marvel Universe, rivaling the likes of Galactus in terms of age. While often quiet and unassuming, Rock has survived every major Marvel event, including SECRET WARS (1984), SECRET WARS II (1985), and SECRET WARS (2015). That’s reflected in MARVEL SNAP by the card’s ubiquity. Hardly a game goes by without players, in some way, seeing or feeling the effects of a Rock.

Rock’s relationship to Korg and Rockslide in MARVEL SNAP also reflects the comics in a few big ways. While those two characters are certainly not the only ones to draw on the incredible strength of the Rock, the two are prominent examples of characters made from the substance.  Both have proven themselves to be major players, time and time again, and Rocks are the reason why.

That’s not the only way Rock in MARVEL SNAP reflects the comics, as Rock has teamed up with countless Marvel heroes and villains over the years. For instance, in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #22, Mole Man emerged from Subterranea, the rock-filled world located beneath the Earth’s surface, to fight the titular team for a second time. During his battle, Mole Man tried dropping a boulder—which is, of course, a particularly large type of Rock—Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and even Marvel’s original geologic hero, The Thing. Luckily, the Fantastic Four were able to stop the deadly Mole Man/Rock team-up in time. Otherwise, they might have found themselves turned from Marvel’s First Family into Marvel’s First Pancakes!

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MARVEL SNAP is available now on Android, iOS and Early Access Windows PC!