Black Tarantula Joins Marvel Contest of Champions: A Skill-Class Spider With Killer Evades and Self-Fueling Healing

Black Tarantula, aka Carlos LaMuerte, is the newest Skill-Class Champion in Marvel Contest of Champions. His kit revolves around a high-risk Evade that only triggers when he charges into danger, inverted Regeneration Rate that fuels constant healing, and a Cunning-stacking loop that unlocks a devastating Special 2.

Black Tarantula has crawled into Marvel Contest of Champions, and Kabam's newest Skill Class Champion plays unlike anyone already in the roster. Carlos LaMuerte is a self-healing, Cunning-stacking bruiser who Evades by charging headfirst into danger — a high-risk, high-reward fighter built to turn the opponent's own debuffs into fuel.

Who Is Black Tarantula?

In Marvel lore, the Black Tarantula mantle has been passed from father to son in an unbroken line for more than 700 years. Carlos LaMuerte, the current bearer, was content to rule his corner of South America with an iron but honorable fist — until his wife, scandalized by his extrajudicial activities, fled to New York with their son and heir. Carlos followed, dragging his considerable strength into a city crowded with super heroes, super villains, and, in his own words, "so many ninjas." That crime-lord-turned-antihero pedigree carries straight into the Contest, where he fights like a predator happy to take a hit if it means landing a far bigger one.

Base Stats at a Glance

Black Tarantula is available from 4-Star all the way up to 7-Star rarities. Here is how his core numbers scale across the tiers:

The stats and abilities below are based on an Ascended Rank 5, Level 65, 6-Star Champion with all Class Collectives at Level 1.

How Black Tarantula Plays

Black Tarantula brings several unusual tools to the Skill Class. His defining trick is a powerful Evade that only fires when he charges into oncoming danger, so players have to lean into Special Attacks instead of backing away from them. He also flips Regeneration Rate modifications on their head, converting effects that would normally weaken healing into fuel for his own constant recovery. Learn to manage his Evade timing and you unlock his devastating Special 2 as a finishing blow.

Attacker Summary

• His Special 2 starts on cooldown, which is reduced by gaining Cunning.
• Build combo and throw Special 1 to gain Cunning.
• Evade Special Attacks by Dashing into them to gain Fury. When Awakened, he also gains Combo and inflicts Halt.
• This Evade has a cooldown that is reduced by Medium Attacks.
• Regeneration Rate modifications are reversed, boosting a recurring Regeneration.
• Non-Damaging Debuffs grant Combo and have a high chance to be Purified into a Spectre.

Defender Summary

• Immune to Poison and able to Critically Hit into Block.
• Has a chance to Evade non-Medium Attacks and inflict Stun; the Evade starts on cooldown and the Stun is shortened by Prowess.
• Evades non-Medium Attacks after his Special Attacks.
• Constantly Regenerates a small amount — shortened by Prowess and boosted by Regeneration Rate reductions.
• High chance to Purify non-Damaging Debuffs into Spectres.
• Special 2 starts on cooldown but can deal massive bursts, even into Block.
• Special 1 grants Spectre and Cunning, shortening the Special 2 cooldown.

Abilities Breakdown

Always Active

• Black Tarantula is Immune to Poison.
• His unerring resolve lets him land Critical Hits into Block and disables the opponent's Inequity Mastery.
• The base duration of his personal Stun and Regeneration effects is reduced by 25% for each Prowess effect on the opponent.

This section is full of things that are useful to know as we go forward, but the full impact isn't really clear yet. You'll see why he needs to disable Inequity and why you'll want Prowess to answer his personal effects later on.Kabam Dev Notes

Cunning Adversary

• When his Combo Meter reaches a multiple of 20, he gains an indefinite +24% Cunning Passive (max 30 stacks).
• When inflicted with one or more non-Damaging Debuffs, he gains +3 Combo. As a Defender this is doubled, and he starts each fight with an indefinite Combo Shield Passive.

Black Tarantula wants as much combo as possible to fuel his Cunning Passives, which are his primary source of damage. The first Passive is the most important, but all 30 matter — and any fight feeding him non-Damaging Debuffs will dramatically accelerate his Combo gain, and therefore his Cunning.Kabam Dev Notes

Underworld Evasion

• Has a 5% chance to Evade all non-Medium attacks. As a Defender fighting non-Science Attackers, this is inactive for the first 15 seconds of the fight, and its Ability Accuracy cannot be modified by non-Mutant Champions.
• When Evading a hit, he gains a +1,097.4 Fury Passive for 20 seconds, paused during his own Special Attacks (max 2 stacks).
• When Evading Basic Attacks, he inflicts a 2-second Stun Passive, unaffected by Ability Accuracy; while it is active, the opponent cannot become Untouchable.

There is a background chance to evade at all times, but Medium attacks are safe and it only comes online after a delay, so you have time to get your Evade answers ready. Slow and Decelerate from non-Mutants will not help. The extra danger is the Stun Passive when he Evades — though enough Prowess completely negates it.Kabam Dev Notes

Face First Into Danger — Special Evade

• Has a 100% chance to Evade when he would be struck by a Special Attack while Dashing forward or Dodging back.
• As an Attacker, this Evade then goes on cooldown for 20 seconds or until he performs 6 Medium Attacks.
• If his Dexterity Mastery is prevented when he would Evade a Special Attack, he Evades the rest of it and ignores the cooldown.
• As a Defender, he Evades the first incoming non-Medium attack for 2 seconds after the final hit of his Special Attacks.

This is the core of Black Tarantula's unique gameplay. The most reliable way to Evade is to Dash into an oncoming Special Attack. There is no cooldown at all if the opponent is preventing Dexterity — and it even works when Dashing into the first hit of a Special, despite Dashes not triggering Dexterity.Kabam Dev Notes

Storied Resilience

• He does not benefit from Willpower. Instead, every 5 seconds he gains a Regeneration Passive recovering 904.92 Health plus 50% of his stored Adrenaline over 5 seconds.
• All modifications to his Regeneration Rate have their potencies reversed, to a maximum gain of 400%.
• When inflicted with a non-Damaging Debuff other than Spectre or Petrify, he has an 80% chance to Purify it and gain a 25% Spectre Debuff for 30 seconds (max 6 stacks).

He is the first Champion to invert Regen Rate modification, similar to how Attuma interacts with Ability Accuracy. The Spectre Debuffs he places on himself actually help rather than hurt him, as does the opponent's Despair Mastery.Kabam Dev Notes

Heavy Attack

• The first hit refreshes his personal Spectre Debuffs — useful in fights with fewer debuffs to keep his Spectres, and the extra healing they bring, topped up.

Special Attack 1

• On activation, he gains a personal Spectre Debuff.
• The final hit grants 2 personal Cunning Passives unless it is Well-Timed Blocked.

The Special 1 is a multi-purpose ramping tool. It gives you a Spectre, increasing your Combo and Regeneration, and two Cunning Passives, increasing your damage and bringing you closer to the Special 2.Kabam Dev Notes

Special Attack 2

• Starts each fight on cooldown for 60 seconds, reduced by 5 seconds each time a personal Cunning Passive is gained.
• On activation, inflicts an indefinite 964.29 Vulnerability Passive (max 4 stacks).
• Each beam hit deals a burst of 8,230.5 Energy Damage; on a Critical Hit the burst uses his Critical Damage multiplier and can trigger through Block.

The Special 2 is the primary damage cashout, unlocked by gaining Cunning and letting time pass. Because the Vulnerability Passive is permanent, Black Tarantula also hits harder with every other attack for the rest of the fight.Kabam Dev Notes

Special Attack 3

• Can only be used twice per fight.
• Reduces the max duration of the Special 2 cooldown by 7.5 seconds and increases his Vulnerability stack limit by +1.
• Inflicts a personal Vulnerability, grants 2 personal Cunning, and deals a burst of 8,230.5 Energy Damage.

The Special 3 raises the ceiling of Black Tarantula's damage loop — it lets you use the Special 2 more often, ramps you, and increases how high you can ramp.Kabam Dev Notes

Signature Ability — Our Name Means Death

• When he Evades, he gains +12 Combo.
• When Evading, he inflicts an 8-second Halt Passive; Critical Hits pause this Passive for 1 second.

His awakening significantly increases the payoff for Evading early and often. The Combo gain feeds his Cunning and his Special 2, and the Halt lets him ignore most opponents' Unstoppable abilities, as long as he keeps Evading.Kabam Dev Notes

Synergy Bonuses

White and Black and Black and White — Unique (6-Star+)

With White Tiger and Mister Negative:

• White Tiger: The Bleed on her Special Attack 2 cannot have its duration or chance reduced.
• Black Tarantula: Gains Immunity to Nullify.
• Mister Negative: Light and Dark Energy gain 40% increased duration.

Puño Cerrado — Unique (5-Star+)

With Daredevil (Classic) and Absorbing Man:

• Black Tarantula: Purify Ability Accuracy is increased by 200% while Stunned by non-Mutant Champions.
• Daredevil: Evading during the opponent's Special Attacks grants a +15% Fury Passive for 20 seconds (max 3 stacks).
• Absorbing Man: Punishing a Special Attack with a Light Attack pauses Omni-Morph Forms for 3 seconds.

Dark Spiders — Unique (4-Star+)

With two Champions still to be announced:

• Black Tarantula: Medium Attacks cannot be Evaded, and while a #Spider-Verse Hero opponent is Halted, they cannot Evade.
• Two additional partners are listed as "Coming Soon."

Heavy Lies the Mantle — Unique (3-Star+)

With Falcon (Joaquín Torres) and Kushala:

• Black Tarantula & Falcon (Joaquín Torres): Personal Furies gain 25% increased duration.
• Kushala: When a Blessing expires naturally while she is at max Blessings, all Blessings pause for 3 seconds.

Recommended Masteries, Stat Focus & Relics

• Masteries — Recoil + Liquid Courage: His Poison immunity and steady Regeneration make him a solid fit for the Recoil tree, though because he ignores Willpower, Double Edge does mean taking some real damage.
• Offensive Stat Focus — Special Damage: His crit stats are already good, so bigger beams are the priority (this does not boost the bursts).
• Defensive Stat Focus — Block Penetration: He is difficult to block profitably, and Block Pen makes that even worse for opponents.
• Relics: The Black Panther battlecast is a strong pick, as it is for many crit-focused, Special 2 cashout Champions; statcasts that boost Critical Rate or Damage with a Special Damage secondary also work well.

What This Means for Summoners

Black Tarantula is a genuinely fresh archetype for the Skill Class: a Champion who rewards aggression, punishes hesitation, and thrives against the debuff-heavy content that usually wears attackers down. His inverted Regeneration Rate and self-Purifying Spectres make him a nightmare on defense, while his Cunning-into-Special 2 loop gives skilled players a satisfying damage payoff on offense. Summoners chasing him will want to practice the Dash-into-Specials rhythm early — it is the key that unlocks everything else in his kit.