Spider-Man - Master of the Way of the Spider

Welcome back to another one of my thematic (and strong) decks!

This deck came to mind the moment FFG revealed the new Martial Artist cards and archetype. It is inspired by the comic run where Spider-Man temporarily lost his Spider-Sense and had to learn martial arts from Shang-Chi, eventually developing what became known as the Way of the Spider.

This deck is my reflection of that story. We're turning Spider-Man into a Martial Artist and using his new skills to absolutely demolish schemes while also mitigating one of Peter's biggest weaknesses: thwarting.

As with my other thematic decks, this one is built to be genuinely strong. Just don't expect to see every staple card here. You can, and will, absolutely demolish scenarios with this deck!

Core Strategy - This Is the Way

This deck is actually pretty easy to pilot. Spider-Man is already a very strong and straightforward hero, and the Martial Artist package gives him a clear game plan.

Learn the Arts. Become the Artist.

The first thing you want to look for is either Stick or Blindspot. This is because Spider-Man can only become a Martial Artist while you control a Martial Artist card, which is the requirement for Black Belt.

We have three copies of Black Belt in the deck, so finding the Belt itself isn't particularly difficult. The tricky part is finding a Martial Artist to actually be able to play it on Peter.

Try to mulligan for Stick or Blindspot, but depending on the villain, you could need to postpone it a bit. It is your priority though, the deck does not really flow if you are not a Martial Artist. Use One Way or Another and Skilled Investigator to cycle through the deck quickly and find one.

And that's pretty much the core of the deck. Once you've established Black Belt, the rest comes down to the board state and the villain you're facing.

I will say that Innate Perception is a must-have for me. Having a guaranteed 2 THW Spider-Man at the beginning of the game is crucial for clearing side schemes and keeping the board under control.

Once Black Belt is online, you're free to control the game and slowly build toward those massive Swinging Web Kick attacks.

There's also a really cool synergy with Blindspot. You can play Webbed Up to stun the villain and then use Blindspot to confuse them. It's a little difficult to pull off, but when you do, you can potentially lock the villain down for three turns. That's a lot of time to set up and prepare your finishing blow.

Cloak and Dagger are newer additions, and I tell you, do not sleep on them. Even though they were originally included for thematic purposes, they quickly became two of my favorite Justice allies.

Having Cloak consistently thwart for 2 without taking consequential damage, while Dagger can chump block and then come back whenever you need her, is incredibly powerful.

By the way, the other copies of Black Belt aren't dead weight. You can always put them on your allies! I recommend attaching them to either Black Cat or Cloak.

If you ever need to defend with Spider-Man and don't need the extra defense that Stick provides, your allies are also excellent targets for that extra point of thwart or attack.

Both Stick and Move in Shadow are excellent ways to trigger Stealth Training and stun whoever you want. Keep that interaction in mind when planning your turns!

Battlefield Benevolence and Ghost Rider are here to confuse the villain. Against more difficult villains that don't give you much breathing room in true solo, those Confuses are extremely important.

Run Them to Ground is another excellent card for giving you some breathing room and helping you establish your board during the early game.

Feats of Battle

All of my games with this deck were played in true solo Expert, but it can easily be adapted for multiplayer. Here are some of the successful matchups:

• Full Fear No Evil Expert campaign
• Kingpin Expert (standalone, not in campaign)
• Ronan Expert

This deck absolutely demolishes easy to medium difficulty scenarios. You really need to move into the much, much harder villains before it starts becoming difficult to manage.

A lot of the changes I made to the deck came from playing against Ronan, for example. Those Confuses are really important against him, and the extra breathing room they provide can make a huge difference.

Card Highlights - Why These Choices?

I think most of the card choices are pretty self-explanatory. It's the new Martial Artist archetype, so you really can't go wrong with it!

I did want to include as many cheap cards as possible, though, because I wanted to get the most value out of Move in Shadow. Other than that, this is pretty much every new card you'd want for the archetype, with a few odd additions here and there to make the deck work better in true solo.

Other Card Considerations

Turn the Tide

This deck is somewhat lacking in damage. Your main sources are basic activations and Swinging Web Kick, so games can occasionally stall in true solo.

That's one of the reasons I included Second Chance, allowing me to recur Swinging Web Kick and finish the game.

Turn the Tide can be a good alternative. It not only triggers Move in Shadow very easily, but it's also extremely easy to play because you're going to be clearing a lot of side schemes throughout the game.

I wouldn't consider it for multiplayer, though. You wont need more damage if you are a dedicated thwarter. I'd rather lean further into its control and thwarting capabilities.

Clear the Area

Another cheap card that works extremely well with both Stealth Training and Move in Shadow. It also gives you some additional deck manipulation through its Scry.

Unfortunately, I didn't have much room for it. I'm already at 42 cards, which is two more than I wanted to have in the first place.

I did use Clear the Area a lot in the first iterations of the deck, though, and I would strongly consider it for multiplayer. You could replace Battlefield Benevolence and Ghost Rider with it.

Multiplayer

Like I mentioned in the previous section, I would replace Battlefield Benevolence with Clear the Area.

I would also consider adding another copy of Move in Shadow to lean even further into heavy thwarting. The rest of the deck can remain as it is.

Strengths

• Excellent board control
• Strong archetype
• Great thwarting for Spider-Man
• Mitigates Peter's weaknesses

Weaknesses

• Awkward if you cannot set up Black Belt quickly
• Lacks damage in true solo

Final Thoughts

I absolutely love these new cards! This deck is a blast to play.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Spider-Man in Marvel Champions, even though he's my favorite hero, but this deck really sold me on him. I had so much fun building it and playing it!

I can't wait to see the new cards for this archetype that will be released with Elektra and Iron Fist. I'm especially excited about the Elektra cards, since there's a new Shang-Chi ally coming that will make this archetype even more thematic!

I hope you enjoy the deck, and stay tuned for more thematic decks. Next one will be the Man of Wonders himself!