Spotlight Cache Week of November 22, 2023: Are Annihilus, X-23, and Daken Worth It?

Welcome back to our new weekly series Cache-ing In! Each week, we break down what cards will be available in the new Spotlight Caches, as well as the Spotlight Variants! The goal is to help you determine if you should “Cache in” for the content, or hoard for a better week.

Spotlight Cache Week of November 22, 2023

This week, the featured cards will be the new card Annihilus, as well as X-23 and Daken!

Annihilus

Variants

Annihilus

On Reveal: Your cards with Power below 0 switch sides. Destroy those that can’t.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Annihilus

This week’s new card is none other than Annihilus! He is a 5-Cost, 7-Power card with the ability “On Reveal: Your cards with 0 or less Power switch sides. Destroy those that can’t.” This card is the key card Junk decks need to become meta relevant. It allows you to make more risky plays when trying to fill an opponent’s lane, while removing clutter or negative power from your own.

Junk decks (or clog decks) aim to disrupt your opponent’s plan by filling their lanes with useless cards or negative power cards. This includes Green Goblin, The Hood and Sentry‘s The Void (with Viper), and Debrii. Junk decks can often find times where decks like Bounce can make a Goblin or a Viper target fail to swap sides.

Annihilus comes in to help remove that issue by giving those cards another chance to clog the opponent’s board, or removing them entirely. He basically mitigates the risk that Junk decks run into, while also providing more clog opportunities.

Safety’s Junkrats

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 5 months ago

1

3x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

2.5

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.7

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Annihilus is good for more than just junk decks. He also can be a tech card against other junk decks, and utility for some underutilized cards. Take this deck for example: While this deck runs many similar cards to junk decks, Annihilus provides a new way for many cards to see more play than in junk decks alone.

You can play Sentry on turn 4 and use Annihilus on turn 5 for a crazy power swing. You of course could do this with Viper, but Annihilus guarantees The Void will either change sides or be destroyed, and it doesn’t require an empty lane like Viper does to be a safe play.

You can also use Annihilus to remove opponent’s attempts to clog you, or send back a Widow's Bite that you had to play. The rest of the deck mixes the Darkhawk package and Man-Thing to capitalize on your junk cards.

Good Stuff Anni

Created by PulseGlazer

, updated 5 months ago

0

1x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

7x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

3.1

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.5

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Overall, I think Annihilus is a strong card. His performance the first few weeks will be challenging though. If lots of players pick him up on launch week, you will see lots of junk decks. This means if you don’t draw Annihilus, you lose the mirror. If both players draw him, the player who plays Annihilus second will have the advantage.

Annihilus also struggles against destroy decks, which are very popular in the meta right now. If your junk and negative power cards are easily removed, you will have a very difficult match to win. Once the initial wave of Annihilus dies down, I can see this card moving junk decks into a place in the meta.

X-23

Variants

X-23

When this is discarded or destroyed, regenerate it at a random location and you get +1 Energy next turn.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with X-23

X-23 sees another spotlight appearance this week! If you don’t already own this card, she is a strong tool for destroy decks. Her ability allows Destroy decks unique lines of play that have pushed decks like Deadpool to the top of the meta rankings.

She synergizes well with Knull by both adding extra power and letting you play Knull on turn 5 or on turn 6 with Deadpool. She also helps consistently lower Death‘s cost for massive final turns. Her ramp ability also allows for you to play Knull on turn 5 and Arnim Zola on turn 6 for an additional win condition.

Deadpool Destroy

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

2

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

1x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

2x Series 5 Ultra Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 5)

3.2

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

2.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

Utilizing X-23‘s additional text, you can use her in Discard decks! This newer take on Discard decks is thanks to the new Strong Guy buff to be 3 Power. It operates like a typical Silver Surfer deck, but you can both discard X-23 and destroy her with Killmonger to play Sera on turn 4. This can help you to empty your hand by turn 5 and activate Strong Guy.

You also use many 3 Cost cards in this deck, including this week’s other spotlight card Daken. This makes Silver Surfer a great finisher to put extra power on the board.

Discard Surfer

Created by den

, updated 6 months ago

2

4x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

4x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

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

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

2.7

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.4

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

As more seasons release, X-23 continues to show her strength and capabilities. If the discard deck proves anything, it’s her ability is incredibly strong and will continue to be utilized in a range of decks for many seasons to come.

Daken

Variants

Daken

On Reveal: Add the Muramasa Shard to your hand.

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

view card details Start a deck Decks with Daken

Daken is this week’s final Spotlight card, as previously mentioned. Daken is a card that doesn’t see a ton of play, but the decks he does appear in are strong Discard decks. You don’t often see his Destroy function used much, but Discard found a nice home for his ability. The strongest of his decks is definitely with Dracula and Apocalypse.

Utilizing MODOK, Colleen Wing, and even Blade, you can consistently discard the Muramasa Shard. This basically provides you with a consistent 3/8 body to help contest multiple lanes, while Morbius and Dracula provide the additional big power.

Discard Dracula

Created by den

, updated 5 months ago

3

5x Collection Level 18-214 (Pool 1)

2x Collection Level 222-474 (Pool 2)

3x Collection Level 486+ (Pool 3)

2x Series 4 Rare – Collection Level 486+ (Pool 4)

2.9

Cost

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

3.8

Power

0-
1
2
3
4
5+

If you are a fan of Discard decks, Daken isn’t a must have for your deck. He is a fun addition though and is worth having if you missed his Season Pass.

Spotlight Variants

If you already own the card the Spotlight Cache offers, one of these variants will take it’s place! If you own none of the cards, the variants will appear after you open all 4 caches. Spotlight variants are time exclusive to their release week, with no estimated time on when they will be available again. So if any of these Spotlight variants feel like a must have for you, make sure to Cache In if you have enough caches saved to guarantee the pull.

This Annihilation variant is from artist Ron Lim. He has a total of 5 artist credits so far, with the most notable being a Elsa Bloodstone variant and Venomized Deadpool.

Popular artist Rian Gonzales debuts her X-23 variant this week!

Is this a Rian Gonzales featured artist week? The Chibi version of the Daken variant is also debuting this week!

Should I Cache In?

This week, both Daken and Annihilus make their first Spotlight appearances. All 3 cards are Series 5 cards, and none of them have any scheduled releases after this week though at least January. X-23 and Daken have strong decks they frequently slot into, and Annihilus looks like a fun, promising card.

My recommendation this week is to Cache In. The value of this week is incredibly strong, especially if you didn’t buy Daken‘s season pass. With all cards being in Series 5 and not having any planned upcoming caches, missing this week may mean missing those cards for quite a while.

The only way I would recommend Hoarding Your Caches is if you already own Daken and X-23 and despise playing Junk or clog decks. Besides that, this week is a slam dunk for value in my opinion.

Wrap Up

Do you think Annihilus will be a good card? Will you be Cache-ing In this week? Let us know in the comments!

For the full schedule, check out our guide below: