Counter cards inMarvel Snapare plenty, yet very few of them can have their effect happen even before the card is played. The classic counters like Cosmo or Shang-Chi require predicting where your opponent will play their cards, and at times even guessing what the goal of their deck is. The cards that affect unplayed cards have either a limited use like Black Bolt, or such a massive use that they inevitably get nerfed, like Leech.
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Spider-Ham has such an elegant use that it can fit anywhere while not being so powerful that it needs a nerf. And while you could just add him to any deck, there are certain synergies to keep in mind while using the hammering ham.
10Spider-Ham
Spider-Ham’s effect is as disruptive as it is informative. For only one energy you not only transform their highest-cost card into a mostly useless pig, but you also get to see which card was transformed.
Often the high-cost cards give you a good indication of the deck your opponent is playing, and you may adjust the rest of your plays accordingly. The most common cards to hit with the Ham are five and six costs, which more often than not are the centerpiece of any deck.
9Viper
Once you play your Ham all you’re really left with is a one-power body, and there’s not much you may do with it. You know who else can’t do much with it? Your opponent, so you might as well send it over.
A Viper deck is all about disruption and filling your opponent’s side with garbage. While there are better targets to send over, Spider-Ham still has use in that deck since he can serve as double disruption; neutralizing something in their hand and occupying a spot on their location.
8Sauron
The popularity of Spider-Ham comes not only from its amazing ability but also from its availability. It was the first newly released card to be 3000 tokens instead of 6000, and it will likely drop lower than that. That means that a lot of people are running it, and a good way to counter the pig is to embrace it.
A Sauron deck is more than happy to get something neutralized, since that’s what the deck is all about, plus you may still use Spider-Ham yourself since other one-cost cards don’t fit as nicely.
7Iceman
Iceman is very similar to Spider-Ham in that they both fit many decks and are very annoying, yet you shouldn’t underestimate their joint power. Most of the time they will hit two different cards, which is great; the odds of you killing whatever combo your opponent was trying to do is quite high.
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But Iceman can make it so the Ham has more targets to choose from, especially if you trigger their On Reveal more than once. They might think their Iron Man is protected behind Onslaught from the Ham, but with Iceman that is no longer the case.
6Beast
Playing Spider-Ham in a bounce deck is very different from playing him in others. What you normally want to do is wait a few turns before playing him, so you give your opponent time to draw their biggest card, yet if you plan to play it more than once you want to do things differently.
You would play the card right away and likely hit a three or four cost, then play Beast on top to bounce him over and then replay it for zero energy, likely hitting a different card the second time around.
5Absorbing Man
Taking advantage of a good On Reveal is something Absorbing Man is known to do far too well, and most people don’t expect him. A deck with just pure On Reveal cards has plenty of good hits for him, and Spider-Ham is no exception.
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Much like how you’d use the Ham in a bounce deck, you want to play him early to hit a low cost, then follow that up with Absorbing Man and get whatever they recently drew transformed into a surprise extra pig.
4Iron Lad
The king of the On Reveal archetype has to be none other than Iron Lad, who already has plenty ofgood cards to synergize with. Spider-Ham is no exception.
If Iron Lad hits him you are more than happy; You get a six-power body with a killer effect on turn four, and on five you may attempt to hit a different card with the real Spider-Ham, and you’d have energy to spare to play something else. Or you could even not play him at all, since the effect is all that matters.
3Lockjaw
Still considered one of thebest decksin the game right now, the Lockjaw gameplay style might seem random but if you build it correctly, it is incredibly consistent. Yet with a lot of people replacing Thanos with High Evolutionary, there is room for one more card to toss into the Lockjaw, so you can bring up your big cards.
While not mandatory, a list with Spider-Ham gives an extra edge to your deck, since it normally runs no counters to whatever your opponent might be planning.
2Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus is a card that has a hard time finding the right place. While it sure shines in a Galactus deck, if your plan isn’t to destroy that location chances are your opponent is going to win it. Yet with Spider-Ham, they will most likely have a dead card on their hands, especially if they run some of theincredibly powerful zero-power cards.
With Doc Oc you are very likely to catch that pig and force it on the playing field, ensuring a high chance of a win on that location.
1Shadow King
Shadow King is another card that struggles since its ability to return cards to their base value is niche at best. Most of the things he counters are covered by other cards, and those other cards counter even more things that Shadow King can’t.
Yet in a build with Spider-Ham the King really shines, since what you are trying to target is their Pig. Whatever big thing you hit with the Ham, Shadow King can turn it into the Pig’s base value: zero. A better synergy than this is hard to find.
