Heh.

Two weeks in, and already we’re wrapping up our team-by-team assessment of Web of Spider-Man in Sealed Pack play.

Sort of. Next week we’re going to look at how you can successfully shuffle the two main affiliations together, and which of the random X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Sentinels might make it into your deck. In the meantime, let’s get to the new set’s namesake and his pals.

If you recall last week’s column, I raved about the Sinister Syndicate’s early game, with the dizzying trifecta opening of Vulture, Hammerhead, and Rhino. The Spider-Friends don’t have any openings that are nearly as exciting. Not unlike a comic-book storyline, the villains may often make the heroes look foolish in the opening act, but the good guys triumph as the story progresses.

If you are drafting dedicated Spider-Friends, your best cards come from the 3 slot forward (whereas I feel it’s the 3 slot backward for the bad guys), but you still need to pay attention to your early curve or you can get run over by an aggressive Syndicate draw. If you don’t make a play until the third turn, you will find yourself in a deep, dark hole. Thanks to endurance gain from the old man (Vulture), I have seen endurance differentials of almost 30 points by the time turn 4 rolls around.

One-Drops

Unlike when you’re drafting the bad guys, you don’t need to spend much energy on your 1- and 2-drops. Wild Pack is really the best you have at this slot, and it is not something you need to worry about until the pack makes its second go around the table. Wild Pack is not terribly exciting, but he is a party animal compared to Prowler and Rocket Racer. If you get enough Wild Packs, you can create an explosive draft deck that rivals the Syndicate’s 1-2-3 punch. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t end up with a 1-drop, but if you get the initiative against a Syndicate deck, it is nice to be able to stun Vulture on that first turn.

Two-Drops