Each year, every Upper Deck employee receives an exclusive card from the company as a personal thank-you for his or her hard work and commitment. In past years, these cards have featured some of the biggest names in the sports industry. This year, however, employees received an exclusive Vs. System trading card in addition to the sports card.

The first card in the game to feature an original Alex Ross image, this card will also appear in the Avengers set that will be released in August. The version of the card in the Avengers set will have the same game mechanics, but it will feature different original artwork and won't appear in the extended art format.

Both the employee card and the version from the Avengers set will become tournament legal on September 1. Each Upper Deck employee was given an Alex Ross Spider-Man card, and there aren't any other planned distribution methods for it.

The Avengers and JLA sets will feature original packaging art by Alex Ross, and he will also have one character card appearing in the JLA set. I've been keeping an eye on the fan sites, and I've yet to see anyone who has correctly guessed the character. In addition, Organized Play support materials for these sets, such as game mats and posters, will feature Alex's artwork.

While Spider-Man is currently a member of the Avengers in the comics, this version was designed as a legacy character to support the Spider-Friends team and the evasion mechanic. His anti-KO'ing ability is useful for any build and powerful in decks that pack lots of characters with evasion, since you won't have to worry about Finishing Move-type effects. His cost point also allows him to fill an important role in a Spider-Clone deck.

We hope that you've enjoyed this early Avengers preview. Be sure to check back on July 15 for additional spoilers and the start of our Avengers pre-release coverage. And no, sorry, my card isn't for sale . . .