MARVEL SNAP Explained: Who Is Echo?

Ongoing cards in MARVEL SNAP are one of the best ways to win a match, as they often allow for powerful boosts and other show-stopping effects. However, a new card in the Rise of the Phoenix season pass is aiming to undermine them in a big way: Echo. With Echo joining MARVEL SNAP, here’s what you need to know about playing her in the game and how her history in the comics inspires her power.

Playing Echo in MARVEL SNAP

A 1-Cost, 2-Power card, Echo has an ability that removes the Ongoing ability from any card played at her location. Her relatively good Cost-to-Power ratio mixed with an ability that can dissuade opponents from playing an Ongoing card make Echo a strong choice for many playstyles. However, the best Echo decks will take advantage of her ability to set up potentially massive combos.

In MARVEL SNAP, decks centered around On Reveal effects, which normally include such cards as Black Panther, Wong, Shuri, White Tiger, and/or Taskmaster, can synergize in such a way as to generate a lot of Power in a short time. Still, it’s often easy to predict when an opponent is setting up such a combo, leading to Cosmo becoming a mainstay of many types of decks, as his ability allows him to stop On Reveals from happening. Now, players can use Echo early to protect those On Reveal combos from Cosmo. Outside of those On Reveal combos, Echo also dissuades opponents from playing cards that are powerful due to Ongoing abilities, such as Knull, Devil Dinosaur, and a High Evolutionary-enhanced Hulk.

There are several locations at which Echo’s usefulness is greatly enhanced. If paired with an On Reveal deck, Echo works well on Kamar-Taj, since she can protect the location from being negated by Cosmo. She can also work on any location that might otherwise be advantageous for an opponent’s Ongoing cards, such as Onslaught’s Citadel.

Despite Echo’s effectiveness, there are several potentially effective counters against her. Elektra and Killmonger both destroy any 1-Cost cards on the board, meaning that they could remove her before her ability ever really gets used. There are also several cards with disadvantageous Ongoings, including Ebony Maw and Electro. An opponent can essentially use Echo to remove those Ongoings, making their own cards more powerful in the process.

Several locations also pose distinct disadvantages to Echo. Due to their Cost requirements, Echo can’t be played at the Crimson Cosmos or Hellfire Club. She’s also vulnerable in matches with the Vibranium Mines, as that location shuffles Vibranium into a player’s deck. That 1-Cost, 4-Power card has an Ongoing ability, meaning it can easily be sacrificed to remove Echo’s effect while also overpowering her.

Echo in the Comics

Created by David Mack and Joe Quesada, Maya Lopez, AKA Echo, debuted in DAREDEVIL (1998) #9. Born deaf, Lopez can duplicate any action she sees, meaning she has photographic reflexes like Avengers villain Taskmaster. Initially misled by Kingpin into believing Daredevil killed her father, Echo’s earliest appearances saw her fighting and defeating the Man Without Fear. Echo eventually learned the truth about her father’s death, though, and has since been a hero, serving as both a member of the Avengers and as one of New York City’s street-level heroes.

Echo’s ability in MARVEL SNAP references her photographic reflexes in the comics in a direct way. Lopez’s power allows her to, in effect, cancel out what her opponent is doing by copying the action. That same spirit of neutralization thus translates into her ability in the game.

There are also other ways that Echo in MARVEL SNAP reflects the comic, one of which is particularly morbid. SECERT INVASION (2008) saw Earth’s heroes going up against Skrulls who had infiltrated the planet and were impersonating some of the world’s biggest names. NEW AVENGERS (2004) #27 dealt with the lead-up to that event, and in the pages of that title, a Skrull version of Elektra murdered Lopez. This led to Elektra and the Hand trying to resurrect Echo and turn her to their side. As such, Elektra’s ability to defeat Echo reflects an actual twist from the comics.

Echo’s various looks in MARVEL SNAP also reflect her primary costume in the comics, which has remained relatively simple. The Rian Gonzales variant , though, shows Echo as the host for the Phoenix Force. In AVENGERS (2018) #44, Echo merged with the Phoenix Force after winning a tournament designed to select who would next host the powerful cosmic entity.

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