No need to worry about you’re air supply, Edge Of Eternities is as cosmic as ever – yet there’s a new MTG set ready to web-swing in. Magic: The Gathering Marvel’s Spider-Man is the latest Universes Beyond set and it sure is a comic nerds dream! But how does Peter Parker make MTG his own?
As Magic: The Gathering themes go, even with Universes Beyond being what it Spider-Man is a collaboration I never thought I’d see adorn a Magic card. Yet, here we are with Spider-Man and many other heroes, villains and comic book references galore – and I kinda love it! Much like Edge of Eternities, there’s something exciting about seeing a fresh take on the what MTG set can and should be.
Swinging into this set, I was definitely excited. I am a Marvel fan, and I am looking forward to how the other Marvel sets approach MTG. I will however admit that Spider-Man wasn’t the first set from Marvel I expected Wizards to bring to the game. Even the mere fact that this set doesn’t have Commander Precons but features an incredible line-up of legendary creatures had me a little unsure of what this set really would be.
The Art of Marvel’s Spider-Man
Coming off the back of Edge of Eternities, Spider-Man as a set theme sure does have a high bar to live up to yet it’s almost effortless. While it’s a far cry from a typical set, with fantasy at the forefront, there’s something about the comic book styling that just hits different – if anything, I think the art and card designs could’ve gone even harder into that theming.
I will of course start from the top – MTG Marvel’s Spider-Man headliner is none other than The Soul Stone. It’s definitely a bold choice, yet each version showcases the power of an infinity stone by Marvel’s standards. While I wasn’t lucky enough to pull one, I do have my eyes on the standard mythic treatment!
Next up is the borderless classic comic cards, each feels exactly like it was lifted from the pages of a comic book. There are even a few double-faced cards featuring the treatment I am loving.
The die-hard Spider-Man fans will know that there has been many variants of the iconic Spidey suit. These appear as textured foil treatments in collector boosters. While I do really like these, it feels like we could’ve seen a few more of suit variants in the rotation and even more than one in the standard foil. I say this, because even for textured foils majority of them are worth over $800 AUD.
Similar to the classic comic book cards, the source material set showcases some truly iconic art from throughout Spider-Man’s comic book run – merging them with mainstay MTG cards. Opposition Agent in foil is definitely something. As borderless treatments, I think these are my favourite art treatments from the set.
I will admit, I’ve never been a fan of the scene cards in the past, yet the Spider-Man set feels like the first time I’ve found myself eager to collect. There are two scenes worth of cards to collect.
Look, it is a comic book set, so if there weren’t at least a few comic book-inspired card styles I’d be worried, and the panel cards definitely understood the assignment. These colourful cards collage the card art and even use speech bubbles as such with the font as well. Another favourite of mine from the set!
Part of the Spider-Man story will always be his powers in some form or another, and the web-slinger cards showcase moments and many of the Spider-variants from across the multiverse. The web framing as well really clicks with the art style on these as well.
As nonbasic lands go, there is some iconic locations from Spider-Man featured in the set.
Even the full-art basic lands are on the sauce, showcasing some signature spidey-style art.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Mechanics
After the interstellar goodness of Edge of Eternities, I definitely have a renewed sense of what I look for in a set from its art right down to its mechanics. Marvel’s Spider-Man is no exception to this, and while they do make a swing for the galaxy, it’s not quite enough to reach the same highs, with some cards even missing that extra lore-based playstyle.
Web-slinging is the standout, allowing you to cast from your hand, provided you can return a tapped. Nothing is more Spider-Man than swinging in to save the day. It’s an agile ability that can really help you keep the battlefield agile while also playing your cast triggers on repeat.
Mayhem sees players being able to play discarded cards for less mana, provided they were discarded during this turn. I didn’t get quite as much mileage out of this mechanic, but if you’re running a discard deck, these are definitely worth a look.
Connive is a pretty simple card draw, then sacrifice mechanic but it does get a bit more interesting when players choose a nonland card to sacrifice. This then allows you to add a counter. Connive’s trigger varies by card.
Transform isn’t a new thing in MTG, so if anything, it would’ve been more fun if this felt a little more specific to the theme, but after playing the creature, for an additional cost, you can flip it, revealing the creature on the backside, which here is basically the alter ego.
Modified isn’t an effect per se, this becomes a descriptor for equipment, auras and counters, so you’ll definitely want to take note if any of those are common in the play style you enjoy. Modified effects happen when another of your creatures that’s classed as a modified creature completes the stated trigger.
Infinity comes into play if you do happen to not only have The Soul Stone, but play it and also Harness The Soul Stone, players can return a creature card from their graveyard each turn. I love this mechanic built around one of the biggest cards in the set. I’m interested to see if Infinity will also return for the other stones, but we’ll have to wait and see there.
Inside MTG Marvel’s Spider-Man
While I am particularly new to sealed MTG, this set felt particularly difficult to build around and that’s because it’s not really made to be drafted. Across all the packs, I was instantly surprised by just how many legendary creatures there are. In a lot of ways, this set gives me the vibe that it would be much easier to play if it were built out slightly more, even built to be bigger, so as to account for the wider legendary creature pool.
Building around my pulls I was very out of my depth – across each colour, it felt like there was some solid stuff yet nothing that screamed synergy or an obvious deck even with some of the higher hits. Much of it was almost in competition with itself. I didn’t quite expect to have the troubles I had honestly. This could be down to my inexperience in sealed and deck building, but having had a lot of fun in sealed during Edge of Eternites, it seems like it might not be entirely my fault. I’ve even played further sealed games with that set yet here I don’t have that same urge.
Given that MTG Spider-Man is a smaller set, Wizards did reintroduce 2-card draft – a new style of drafting that allows players to pull 2 cards per booster instead of the traditional 1 card. Played with 4 players, the draft variant allows you to take 2 cards from a pack before swapping and so on. While I did miss out on playing the pick-2 draft format with Marvel’s Spider-Man, it does sound like an interesting way to optimise the smaller set drafting.
Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the cards, but it comes from more of the gimmick is basically Universes Beyond’s whole jam! Seeing Peter Parker getting cussed out for his rent being due or even a recreation of the iconic Spider-Man pointing meme is fun. Which is not to say the set doesn’t take itself seriously, it’s more that there’s a pulpy element that feels like easy fun. If anything, maybe MTG could sauce up the cards more to the theme.
I definitely also wish we’d seen some commander precons at the very least, but then I guess what heroes and villains would be chosen out of such a line-up. There is at least a ton of interesting stuff to build around and some great art treatments. The benefit of such a wide pool of legendary creatures is that your favourite character might just be perfect to build around.
Final Thoughts
While I do love the Spider-Man set theme, it feels like many of these cards are at their best when played in isolation or when built around purposefully outside of drafting. There’s a heavy swing here for the novelty of a comic book world, yet it feels like it never quite hits the bar of a standard rotation set. At it’s best though, Magic: The Gathering Marvel’s Spider-Man does at least have some great art and on-theme mechanics that frankly could’ve gone a little harder given the source material. That said, time will tell how MTG Universes Beyond goes as the crossover sets continue.
Magic: The Gathering – Marvel’s Spider-Man is available now at your local game store or TCG stockist.
NextPlay received Magic: The Gathering Marvel’s Spider-Man products, including Marvel’s Spider-Man Play Boosters, Marvel’s Spider-Man Collector Boosters, and an Marvel’s Spider-Man Bundle.
