Last week's reveal of Magic: The Gathering's Final Fantasy crossover got you thinking about superheroes? Fantastic! Today, we're unveiling six new cards from Magic's upcoming Spider-Man set, along with a look at all the accompanying products and packaging.
Browse the image gallery below to see the Spider-Man cards featured in the Commander-focused Scene Box, booster packs, Welcome Decks, and more. Then, read on for insights from Wizards of the Coast.
Marvel's Spider-Man x Magic: The Gathering - First Card and Packaging Reveal
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Launching September 26th, Marvel’s Spider-Man will be the second fully draftable, Standard-legal set in Magic’s Universes Beyond line (following Final Fantasy), and the third overall after 2023's Modern-legal Lord of the Rings set. While you won't find preconstructed Commander decks, the cards in the Scene Box (pictured above) are specifically designed for Commander play and will *not* be Standard-legal.
Following last year's Secret Lair featuring Wolverine, Captain America, and others, Spider-Man marks Magic's first full set based on a Marvel comic. Wizards of the Coast Executive Producer, Max McCall, explains this choice: "Spider-Man needs a full set to do justice to the character and incorporate the many villains he’s faced. Picking characters from the Spider-Man canon for a smaller product would leave out too many key figures. We could have included Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales in a non-Spider-Man set, but there wouldn't have been room for Aunt May."
McCall describes designing a Universes Beyond set as "flipping the worldbuilding on its head." Typical Magic sets require cards to establish setting and gameplay, whereas most players are already familiar with Spider-Man. "When we create a card representing 'great power, great responsibility,' we can add mechanical complexity because players understand the narrative. We don’t need to make Universes Beyond cards 'simple'—we just need recognizable moments for fans to connect with."
AnswerSee ResultsHead Designer Mark Rosewater explains how Magic's color pie accommodates heroism and villainy: "It's robust enough to portray both across all five colors." He uses Spider-Man as an example, noting his alignment with white, blue, and green (though the Scene Box version uses only white and blue). "Spider-Man's obligation to help people aligns with white. His scientific background and inventions are blue. His powers rooted in an animal and his destiny within the Spider-Man universe are green."
Besides the Scene Box, the set includes Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, Bundles, and Prerelease Packs (see gallery). While there are no preconstructed Commander decks, Welcome Decks will return—introductory decks often provided by game stores to help new players learn the game.
Following this year's Final Fantasy set, Wizards of the Coast recently announced an Avatar: The Last Airbender set. Two more in-universe sets are planned before that: Tarkir: Dragonstorm and the space-themed Edge of Eternities.
Read the full, unedited interview with Wizards of the Coast's Max McCall and Mark Rosewater below:
