Greetings. This post is my evaluation of a card in Slay the Spire II.
This is Snakebite, a card that somehow became really controversial in the community. It costs 2 Energy, Retains, meaning it doesn’t leave your hand at the end of your turn, and applies 7 Poison to an enemy. In a game where Energy is a very important resource to manage, Snakebite doesn’t seem to be that efficient, especially since another card, Deadly Poison, applies 5 Poison for 1 Energy. The math doesn’t seem to be in favor of Snakebite.
However, the keyword “Retain” means the opportunity to play Snakebite doesn’t go away if you draw the card at an unfortunate time. The best time to play Snakebite is when the enemy isn’t attacking, meaning it’ll stay in your hand until you apply that 7 Poison, which, despite being only 2 more than Deadly Poison, matters a lot. Poison will keep dealing damage even when your other means of damage are out of the picture (say, fighting the Entomancer or killing a Kaiser Crab’s claw as the other one gains 99 Block), and, over say, three turns, Snakebite alone will deal 18 damage; compare it to Deadly Poison’s 12 along with general Poison upkeep with Bubble Bubble, Noxious Fumes, and Envenom, and this card does a lot more than what simple math will tell you.
So yeah, Snakebite is actually pretty good. It even works well against some Act I elites, like Skulking Colony, Terror Eel, Byrdonis, and Bygone Effigy (kind of, you’d rather use Shivs for this one). But don’t pick up Poison Potion from a Merchant, though, that one’s a snake-oil salesman selling that.
– Ira Bernales
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