Spider-Man 2099 Decks to Try on Day 1 and Strategy Guide: Did Move Just Get a Dedicated Shang-Chi?

Spoiler – probably not.

Comparing the new card to what is probably one of the best reactive tools in the game is likely an extreme exaggeration. Indeed, the word “random” on Spider-Man 2099 is enough to discourage a large part of the player base when it comes to its potential. It’s the same reason why Enchantress sees more play than Rogue even though it costs an extra energy to play – only one of those two never misses.

This minor difference, in addition to Spider-Man 2099‘s other condition, should lead to the card being considered niche at best. I can see it slotted in Move decks (obviously), but it might still compete with Shang-Chi in those decks. There is, however, one notable exception: decks that value points over possible disruption.

Indeed, while Shang-Chi can win you a lane on Turn 6, you almost never play the card on curve. On the other end, Spider-Man 2099 is a solid drop on Turn 4 since it contributes six points in addition to representing a threat if it were to move in the future.

Variants

Spider-Man 2099

The first time this moves to any location, destroy an enemy card there.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Spider-Man 2099

As such, although the card is niche, I can see Spider-Man 2099 being worth running in a few archetypes that are either fully committed to the Move synergy or at least able to splash enough to represent a threat with the new card.

Strategy and Synergies

When looking at Spider-Man 2099, I see two very different things.

First, I see a card that is rather easy to abuse. I can play it on Turn 4 or 5 for six power and follow it up with a solid movement effect such as Heimdall or Ghost-Spider (two cards with a solid power for their cost). Then I just let Spider-Man 2099 destroy something and enjoy the nice tempo swing I created.

Variants

Heimdall

On Reveal: Move your other cards one location to the left.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Heimdall

Variants

Ghost-Spider

On Reveal: The last card you played moves here.

Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Ghost-Spider

Ultimately, I think this is the way the card will be played – if it ever makes it into the metagame as a solid card. Nevertheless, if one wants to maximize the card’s impact on a game, it feels like they would need to go the extra mile to create the perfect situation.

The tools to create such a situation do exist, but they require a lot of investment in deckbuilding, as well as some dedicated play patterns. For example, we could use the “move your opponent’s cards” abilities to rework our opponent’s positioning and maximize our chances of hitting a nice target with Spider-Man 2099.

Variants

Juggernaut

On Reveal: Move away all enemy cards played here this turn. (including unrevealed cards)

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Juggernaut

Variants

Polaris

On Reveal: Move an enemy 1 or 2-Cost card to this location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Polaris

Variants

Aero

On Reveal: Move the last enemy card played anywhere to this location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Aero

Variants

Stegron

On Reveal: Move an enemy card from here to another location.

Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Stegron

Another way to attack the problem could be to have disruptive cards in order to discourage our opponent from playing on a location. Cosmo, in particular, is one that comes to mind since most player tend to play their biggest card on its location and feel protected from Shang-Chi. One could also think of Nebula in order to force our opponent to play somewhere, logically limiting their play on the other locations.

Variants

Cosmo

Ongoing: On Reveal abilities won’t happen here.

Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Cosmo

Variants

Storm

On Reveal: Flood this location. Next turn is the last turn cards can be played here.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Storm

Variants

Nebula

Each turn your opponent doesn’t play a card here, +2 Power. (except the turn you play this)

Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Nebula

To conclude this synergy part, I think it’s important to talk about cards that can limit our opponent’s ability to play in general. After all, the fewer cards our opponents can play, the more chance we get to hit the target we intended.

Variants

Iceman

On Reveal: Give a card in your opponent’s hand +1 Cost. (maximum 6)

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Iceman

Variants

Killmonger

On Reveal: Destroy ALL 1-Cost cards.

Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Killmonger

Variants

Spider-Ham

On Reveal: Transform the leftmost card in your opponent’s hand into a Pig, keeping its Power and Cost.

Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

view card details Start a deck Decks with Spider-Ham

Good Cards Wave Gains a New Threat

Good Cards 2099

Created by den

, updated 10 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

3x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

1x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

4.1

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Every single time Second Dinner is going to release a 4-cost with a decent power and ability, I will start by testing it in this deck. In the end, what better place than the “Good Cards” archetype to know if a card is good or not, right?

In this one, we are not trying to go all in on moving our cards (although we could replace Dagger with Ghost-Spider if we wanted more help triggering Spider-Man 2099). Instead, the idea is simply to get a very strong Turn 6 with Heimdall, which would buff Dagger and destroy an enemy card with Spider-Man 2099. This sounds like enough to win a match where the opponent can only play one card because we played Wave on Turn 5.

Lately, this archetype has flown a little under the radar; Wave lost quite a bit of momentum in this Lockjaw and High Evolutionary dominated metagame. Still, against decks looking to leverage big cards because of Wave, Spider-Man 2099 might be in the best environment to shine because it limits how many bad targets the opponent can get in the way.

This archetype is also easily customizable to work around the new card. Cosmo, Iceman, Killmonger, and other disruptive cards can easily be slotted in to help.

Just Replace Shang-Chi in Move Decks

Move 2099

Created by den

, updated 10 months ago

0

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

3x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

5x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

3.4

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

5.2

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

As explained in the intro already, Shang-Chi tends to be a card we play on Turn 6 (sometimes Turn 5). As such, we limit our ability to play our expensive cards, the ones that usually provide the strongest abilities for our synergy, during those turns. With Spider-Man 2099 in the deck, we can now play the card whenever it’s convenient and continue to focus on our synergies through the whole game.

I don’t have much merit for this particular deck; I took JungCAT’s deck, which recently won a large online tournament, and replaced Shang-Chi with Spider-Man 2099.

While Shang-Chi might remain the better option after further testing (which would be quite the blow to Spider-Man 2099), we don’t have a better core to slot it into at the moment, apart from the Good Cards one where it would benefit from Zabu.

Control Your Opponent’s Board to Maximize Spider-Man 2099’s Ability

Surfer Move Control

Created by den

, updated 10 months ago

0

2x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

1x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

3

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

While the card provides three more points, there is no denying that Shang-Chi‘s ability is miles ahead of Spider-Man 2099‘s when it comes to how simple it is to use. It never misses and only requires that it is played at a location where it can reveal safely. The other needs to move to a location in order to destroy a RANDOM enemy card there. Just for this word, “random”, I can see why someone would prefer Shang-Chi.

Still, randomness is something we can have an impact on as players, so there might be something to explore in order to create the perfect conditions for Spider-Man 2099 to hit a nice target consistently.

That was my intent with this last deck, as we are packing several abilities that impact where our opponent’s cards will end up, such as Polaris, Juggernaut, and Aero. Also, we get to include a card I expect to become a great friend of Spider-Man 2099 in the future: Killmonger.

Indeed, the 1-Cost cards might end up being the most annoying ones for the new Series 4 release, as they will likely represent its worst targets in a lot of scenarios. As such, we need to be prepared for those 1-Cost cards, either by moving them around to keep Spider-Man 2099‘s intended location rather empty or destroying them before moving the new card.

It might be way too complicated of a strategy to pull off in the end, especially because Shang-Chi exists and is ready to be slotted in without much inconvenience. Nevertheless, if the metagame is ever about cards with solid power that rarely reach the nine threshold, this could be something to consider.

Closing Words

If I didn’t like the Good Cards Wave deck a little too much, I wouldn’t see much upside to Spider-Man 2099 to be honest. Let’s be real: With Shang-Chi in the game, alongside several decks looking to capitalize on cheap cards doing well in the metagame, it is hard to picture Spider-Man 2099 wreaking havoc on the Marvel Snap metagame.

It might be a little sad when you think about it, as this means Move might need even more help than it received this month. Sure, a few players managed to post solid results with their own take on the Move synergy; it might be the majority’s fault for not experimenting more. Either way, I wish Move didn’t have to be compared to some of the strongest cards in the game so often because they lose the comparison most of the time.

With the new Spotlight Cache system announced (which should drastically reduce everyone’s Collector’s Token income), the resource is now at a premium for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine spending 3,000 tokens on a card with Shang-Chi as its direct comparison. Still, if I ever open Spider-Man 2099, I will definitely have a fun time trying to surround it with a deck so I can get a few lucky shots!

As usual, you can find me on the Marvel Snap Zone community Discord, or follow my Twitter page where I share decks and biased opinions about the game.

Good Game Everyone.