Summary
Marvel Snapis in a weird spot when it comes to representing some of Marvel’s most iconic heroes,as many have abilities that don’t suit the character or are too underpowered to be useful past early collection levels. Spider-Man has been oneMarvel Snapcard that never quite felt as fleshed out as he could have been, that is until a recent update completely reworked the card. Now, Spider-Man’sMarvel Snapcounterpart feels much closer to his original character and is much more at home among his fellow Spider-Verse residents in the game.
Ever sinceMarvel Snap’s Spider-Versus season, it’s become clear that Spider-Verse related characters are intended to fit within the movement deck archetype. Cards like Ghost-Spider, Miles Morales, and Spider-Man 2099 all help facilitate or benefit from decks based around card movement. Ironically, the original Spider-Man himself never fit into this archetype and tended to find his home in control and lockdown decks, but after a series of changes, Spider-Man has become a fantastic and versatile threat within the movement archetype.
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Spider-Man’s Marvel Snap Rework Does a Better Job Representing the Hero
Originally,Marvel Snap’s Spider-Manwas a 4-Cost/2-Power card with the On Reveal ability that prevents opponents from playing at that location on their next turn. The card was re-balanced several times, upping its Power to 3, then changing to a 5-Cost/4-Power card before finally settling where it is today. In the latestMarvel Snapupdate, not only was Spider-Man changed to a 3-Cost/5-Power card, but his ability was reworked entirely so that now he has the On Reveal ability to move to a random location and pull an enemy card from the location he’s played to the same one he moves to.
With this new ability, Spider-Man finally has synergy with the other Spider-Verse cards that have movement-based abilities. While he doesn’t act as an activator for cards that benefit from moving likeGhost-Spider, Spider-Man can offer a dual threat of buffing a card like Kraven when moving to his location and disrupting an opponent’s strategy by moving their cards to a random location as well. Players can throw a major wrench in an opponent’s strategy by pairing Spider-Man with Wong to get twice the movement opportunities, or they can risk it all and pair Spider-Man with Kingpin to try and sacrifice their Spider-Man card to destroy one of their opponent’s key cards in turn.
Not only does the new Spider-Man fit in with the movement archetype, but his new Cost of 3 means Spider-Man gains some versatility and can shine in aSilver Surfer deckas well. Since Silver Surfer’s ability gives each of the player’s 3-Cost cards +2 Power, players can add Spider-Man into this type of deck and he will gain the buff offered by Silver Surfer’s On Reveal ability. Spider-Man’s previously high Cost made his usage somewhat rigid as he could only really be played on one of the final turns of the match, so his new flexibility makes it easy for him to find a spot in manyMarvel Snapdecks.
While some players might miss being able to use Spider-Man in lockdown decks alongside Professor X or as a follow-up toGalactus, this change seems like a net positive for the hero. Not only is Spider-Man now a more versatile card, but his ability better represents his in-universe powers and helps one of Marvel’s most iconic heroes feel like their in-game utility matches their iconic status. Cards like Captain America and Doctor Strange are also in need of reworks, and the changesMarvel Snaphas made to Spider-Man are a good sign that Marvel’s other iconic-yet-underpowered heroes will be given their due in a future update.
Marvel Snapis available for PC and mobile devices.
