Missed our big reveal of Magic: The Gathering’s Final Fantasy crossover last week? Don't worry, we've got something even bigger! Get ready for a web-slinging adventure: today, we're unveiling six brand-new cards from Magic's upcoming Spider-Man set, along with a sneak peek at all the awesome products and packaging.
Click through the image gallery below to check out all the Spider-Man cards featured in the Commander-focused Scene Box, booster packs, Welcome Decks, and more. Then, read on to hear what Wizards of the Coast has to say about this exciting new set.
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 any preconstructed Commander decks, the cards in the Scene Box (shown above) are specifically designed for Commander play and will *not* be Standard-legal.
Last year's Secret Lair featuring Wolverine, Captain America, and others was Magic's first foray into the Marvel universe. Spider-Man, however, marks the first full set inspired by Marvel comics. 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 over the years. Picking characters from the Spider-Man canon as part of a wider set would leave too many iconic characters out. 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." A typical Magic set needs cards to establish its location and setting *and* be fun to play. But most people are already familiar with Spider-Man. "When we make a card representing 'great power, great responsibility,' we can add mechanical complexity because players understand the story. We don’t need to make Universes Beyond cards simple—we just need to choose recognizable moments, and fans will instantly grasp them."
AnswerSee ResultsHead Designer Mark Rosewater explains how they translate these moments into Magic: Magic’s color pie "is robust enough to showcase heroism and villainy across all five colors." For example, Spider-Man embodies white, blue, and green (though the Scene Box version uses only white and blue). "Spider-Man's obligation to help people is core to the white color pie. His scientific background and inventions are very blue. And his powers, rooted in an animal and a destined connection to spiders and the Spider-Man universe, are quintessentially green."
"We're not limiting ourselves to any one comic run or series."
Beyond the Scene Box, the set will include Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, Bundles, and Prerelease Packs (all shown in the gallery). While there are no preconstructed Commander decks, Welcome Decks will return—themed introductory decks typically offered free 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 will precede it: *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:
