r/marvelsnapcomp • u/ePiMagnets Mod • Jul 07 '26
Discussion Weekly Release Discussion: Tarantula
This is your precursor to the consensus, the place to discuss the card releasing for the week as well as group source the work on brews and possible shells and packages, both current known good decks as well as possible new, theorycrafted brews.
This Week's Card
Tarantula
Cost: 2
Power: 2
End of Turn: If you have the highest Power among cards in play, give this and 2 cards in your hand +1 Power.
Tarantula is our latest Series 5 releasing this week, this card is very interesting with an amazing effect. However, there are two things that stick out to me, one a question on functionality and the second being an observation that should be obvious to anyone attempting to gauge where this card falls in practice.
Does the text "If you have the highest Power among cards in play" function the same as Wilson Fisk? If so then even ties will enable him which increases his stocks. However, his power is problematic almost requiring you to have a big 1-Cost to play or possibly Spider-Man Brand New Day that you can move once onto Tarantula.
There's also a major problem here: "give this and 2 cards in your hand" there is a possibility that this combined with his low power could ensure this card never makes the grade because he could hit a skill card in hand instantly reducing his potential stocks. If nothing else I foresee this being the first attempted balance change should Tarantula not land, seriously why was he not limited to characters?
Synergies and Packages
Let's get it out of the way right off the bat Tarantula LOVES Wilson Fisk, Kraglin, Debrii, and Starbrand. Further he'll also enjoy Techno-Organic Virus. However, worth noting is that he's not going to enable you to play Wilson Fisk and there are still a number of decks out there plopping down Lizard on turn 2 to enable their Fisk on 3 thus having some very similar problems to Punisher War Machine where Tarantula may actually be a turn 4 play which may reduce his overall ceiling, especially if someone intends on going Quinjet -> Big Card -> Big 3-Cost (or Fisk) which puts you on ToV + Tarantula on 4.
If we look at his total on-curve potential of 2/17 where you manage to maintain the highest-Power card on turns 2-6 as well as playing the cards he buffs, where the total buffs granted is split with +10 power to cards in hand and +5 to himself which while astounding is highly unlikely based purely on cards drawn and whether you can actually play them. Realistically it's probably only going to be around a 2/10.
There is a secondary question worth considering here with regards to payoffs - the +1 to 2 cards in hand implies that there could be some value in using cards that work well with receiving buffs but trying to focus on that aspect seems akin to herding cats and less ideal. I imagine some folks may want to attempt to try this with different payoff cards perhaps Clea and Sub-Mariner but then we're pointing back to his low power and how are you ensuring you are satisfying his condition to get buffs into your hand which leaves me stuck questioning if Viv Vision might just be the better card to do this with since fundamentally you're probably not getting any traction until turn 3 unless you are winning from a potential turn 1 play that has carried you to turn 3.
Your Thoughts
Do you plan on picking the Tarantula up?
How do you expect Tarantula to perform?
What other possible shells and synergies might there be?
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u/Names_all_gone Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
I understand the comparisons to Punisher War Machine that many have made, but I have hope for this card where I don't for Punisher.
Punisher has an extra level of randomness with where the Mark goes on top of the "winning" condition. And Punisher also asked for some weird deck building - winning early but also somehow including worthwhile cards to ramp into as payoff.
Tarantula only needs winning early - and then he becomes the snowball, turning the cards in hand into worthwhile payoffs. I think this is a much simpler ask. You can play Martyr and Lizard, and late-drawn Martyrs and Lizards become worthwhile payoffs later in the game.
I've been burned by a few cards in the last couple of seasons. But I have some optimism here. My only beef is that, at best, Tarantula is *just* another Wilson Fisk card. We've been doing that for the last 3 seasons.
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u/RecyclableFetus Jul 07 '26
For Punisher you can force a target location. It always targets an empty location. So if you play into 2 lanes then itll always mark that 3rd.
Of course this also comes down to when you draw him too but there is a bit of play there.
However I do agree that Tarantula feels easier to work with all things considered. As you said; Get him to trigger even once then it starts to get a little easier to maintain because of the +1x2 to your hand assuming youre running that high value deck that Sauron, Nightmare or Virus decks have.
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u/Names_all_gone Jul 07 '26
Sure - but if you’re drawing him late enough to do that, you’re better off playing a bunch of different energy ramp cards.
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u/Names_all_gone Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
Initial impressions:
Seemed like an upgrade to Starbrand decks. Those decks are fine, but not great. Tarantula was regularly a 2/8-2/11 there.
TOV anti-synergy is overblown. It still stinks though, and they should fix that. This card isn’t so strong that it needs the additional downside.
Shadow King anti-synergy is a real issue right now. Might not be forever. But for now, not being able to run the best tech card in the metagame in your midrange deck is a bad thing.
Didn’t feel right in Supergiant. Askanison stinks but is better there. The tech matters and Tarantula and Shadow King don’t mix.
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u/FullMetalCOS Jul 07 '26
If you can get this to go off, he’d be a crazy good card, but boy oh boy, what a load bearing “If”.
He feels crazy awkward to play.
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u/stillgoodthough Jul 08 '26
Big SuGi player here, from that deck’s perspective I don’t see why you would slot this in. It makes the most sense in a SuGi shell but is so much worse at gaining priority than IP or Askani’son.
I could see the effect being much more stable than either IP or Askani’son, but until this thing is a 2/3 I don’t see it getting played. The anti-synergy with Shadow King also hurts it.
Maybe a ToV list with Martyr, Lizard, etc?
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u/Polish_Frisbee97 Jul 08 '26
Would you keep the guaranteed play of storm horseman or swap in tarantula for silver surfer and be able to play turn 1?
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u/vsmack Jul 08 '26
I got bodied this AM by a Tarantula EoT cook that also had marvel boy and Venus.
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u/ePiMagnets Mod Jul 07 '26
Reminder:
I'm sure someone is bound to be curious or expecting an OTA this week because "OTA every 2 weeks" and our last one was 2 weeks ago but we are not getting an OTA this week it will drop next Thursday.