Whether you are looking for classic comic heroes or cinematic versions from the MCU, knowing which box holds your favorite web-slinger matters. Here is a straightforward breakdown of every Spider-Man-related hero, mastermind, and villain group by expansion.
Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game originally came out in 2012, and the full universe of the game now covers some 7,200 cards and over 300 playable characters - which is a LOT. I thought about writing a full guide to the expansions, but that feels more like a Wikipedia page instead of a Geeky Guide article.
So today’s post may be one of many Legendary-related guides, and this first one will focus on Spider-Man, one of my favorite comic book characters. The original base set included a Spider-Man character built around 2-cost cards, which was pretty cool. But he was the only member of the Spider-Friends team, so he didn’t have any team synergies right out of the box. Any serious Spider-Man fan getting into Legendary is pretty much obligated to invest in expansions in order to make an actual Spider-Friends lineup to face classic Spider-Man villains. This article should help you navigate the many, many expansions and help you make smarter purchases.
The original Spider-Friends-focused expansion is an automatic Must Buy for any Spider-Man fan with 4 Spider-Friends characters and classic villains Carnage and Mysterio. This set also introduces the Wall-Crawl keyword, which pushes the card to the top of the deck for more immediate impact on the game.
- Symbiote Spider-Man: A more aggressive Spider-Man that works with the original 2-cost concept. Probably one of the best of the 2-cost characters and works really well with the original Spider-Man.
- Spider-Woman: All about recruiting and Wall-Crawl for her own cards. Actually has a Spider-Friends-based ultimate ability, but may not see as much play just because she can feel a little mid when mixed in with other characters.
- Scarlet Spider: I have a strong affinity for Ben Reilly as a character, and this Spider is pretty versatile, even if he doesn’t play solely in the 2-cost range. He actually works pretty well on his own without too many Spider-Friends, which nicely reflects his character.
- Black Cat: Yes, she’s a Spider-Friend with really diverse abilities with a surprise Bystander synergy in her ultimate. But she’s a little hard to set up during the game, so you may not see immediate impact until later on.
This is a big expansion to pick up for just one Spider-Friend, but it’s also a solid character. The set also brings in Sidekicks, which help address the many turns when you can only recruit 2-cost cards.
- Ultimate Spider-Man: It’s Miles Morales, and he makes the most of new mechanics like Sidekicks (introduced in the set) and two-color cards. He’s also a 2-cost hero that works with the original Spider-Man, as he should. Bringing in Sidekicks helps him scale well to hit the Mastermind eventually.
Another big expansion, and the set brings in 3 more Spider-Friends. But again, it depends on your preference for these particular characters.
- Agent Venom: Another aggressive Spider-Man with a diverse range of card costs. His reliance on patrolling different city spaces to trigger bonuses isn’t the most fun, but the fact that all of his cards include both Recruit and Attack symbols opens doors for synergies Versatile cards. But I think I like the character enough to always want to recruit him.
- Silk: Another 2-cost Spider-Friend, but probably a lesser-known character for most. She’s not particularly exciting with other Spiders, as her greater focus is color diversity to trigger Spectrum powers.
- Spider-Gwen: Still a 2-cost hero, but also has a lot of Patrol-based bonuses that can be hard to trigger initially while clearing the city. Her ultimate feels like a variation of the original Spider-Man, and thus feels a little underwhelming versus some of the others. I really want to like her, but Patrol is not one of the better keywords during the early game when the City is often full of villains.
This set does not feature actual Spider-Friends characters, but it does have an Avengers-aligned Peter Parker that still plays in the 2-cost realm. Just not super exciting, so more of a nice-to-have set in the context of this guide’s focus.
This small expansion includes one Spider-Friend - the now more familiar Spider-Man Noir. Plus, we now have the Investigate keyword, whose need to view the top of your deck actually works best with various Spider-Men.
- Spider-Man Noir: He’s an Investigate-focused 2-cost hero with some diverse colors and simpler synergies. It’s really more of a flavor acquisition, as his ultimate is a little underwhelming unless everyone has a lot of 2-cost cards in circulation.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
If you don’t mind having stills from the movie as card art instead of comic-style art, this MCU set is still pretty interesting. The new Danger Sense keyword lets you peek at the Villain deck for bonuses, but it can be a little tricky to trigger at times.
- High Tech Spider-Man: The movie Spider-Man is a 2-cost hero that’s generally okay but not particularly exceptional. At least his ultimate has the Coordinate keyword originally seen in the Encounters games.
- Peter Parker, Homecoming: Weird name for a card and super-focused on Danger Sense, which rather limits his utility. At least he’s still a 2-cost hero who can work with the core Spider-Man characters.
- Peter’s Allies: This is a supplemental protagonist set that’s all about recruiting and Coordinate abilities.
2nd Edition Core Set (2026)
If you don’t own the original Core Set, get this one since it has the superior (small S) Spider-Man, who has been updated to help him better keep pace with later characters. Plus, the box gives you Doctor Octopus as a Mastermind and a whole new Miles Morales character.
- Spider-Man: New art and new abilities - but still focused on 2-cost hero synergies. He includes more direct ways to get bonuses, some Sidekick synergies, and a more dramatic ultimate card.
- Spider-Man (Miles Morales): This version of Miles (using his more recent comic book costume that many may not be familiar with) is a little trickier to play, as he’s more about hand manipulation. But it’s an interesting strategic path, and he’s still a 2-cost hero.
The Bad Guys
What are Spider-Friends without matching Masterminds and Villain Groups to fight? Getting these same expansions and core sets will give you a good mix of Masterminds and Villains to help you craft any Spider-Man story. Paint the Town Red is essential, especially if you want to relive Maximum Carnage. The only exception is Secret Wars: Volume 1 (it’s really just Ultimate Spider-Man in the box), as Volume 2 at least gives you the Spider-Infected Henchmen group, who are just okay.
Final Thoughts: Building Your Spider-Verse
If you love Spider-Man and want to build a functional, synergistic deck around the 2-cost mechanic, you don't need to buy every box on this list. Here is the smartest way to build your web-slinging collection:
- Essential: There’s no getting around the need for Paint the Town Red. It’s literally the Spider-Man expansion.
- Modern Upgrade: The 2nd Edition Core Set is hard to ignore given the upgraded Spider-Man, the new Miles Morales, and Doctor Octopus, and the support of the Sinister Spider-Foes and the Sinister Syndicate.
- Theme Options: Noir and Homecoming really depend on how much you like those versions of the characters, but aren’t the most exciting sets on their own. Noir gives you that moody pulp vibe. Homecoming is really about celebrating the MCU iteration of the character.
- Keep Them Secret: In terms of bang for your buck, Secret Wars Volumes 1 and 2 are not the best if you ONLY want to get Spider-Man-related cards. Those sets have a lot of other reasons to get them, so if you can check those boxes, then you get some Spiders to boot. Buying a big box expansion like either of the Secret Wars or Civil War expansions for just one Spider-Man character really isn’t cost-efficient.
So have you tried using a team of Spiders to face big cosmic threats like Galactus or Thanos? It’s not impossible, but expect a lot of late-game turns when you draw your entire deck. Enjoy!
