Spider-Man Joins Magic: The Gathering: First Look Revealed

Did you catch our reveal of Magic: The Gathering’s Final Fantasy crossover last week and wonder where the superheroes were? Well, you're in luck because today we're unveiling six exciting new cards from Magic's upcoming Spider-Man set, along with a detailed look at the accompanying products and packaging.

**Click through the image gallery below** to explore all the Spider-Man cards featured in the Commander-focused Scene Box, booster packs, Welcome Decks, and more. Dive deeper into the set with insights from Wizards of the Coast.

Marvel's Spider-Man x Magic: The Gathering - First Card and Packaging Reveal

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Set to launch on September 26, 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 the Modern-legal Lord of the Rings set. While this set won't feature preconstructed Commander decks, **the cards in the Scene Box shown above** ***won’t*** **be Standard-legal**; they are tailored specifically for Commander play.

Although Magic's first foray into the Marvel universe was through a Secret Lair featuring Wolverine, Captain America, and others last year, Spider-Man marks the first full set inspired by the comics. According to Wizards of the Coast Executive Producer Max McCall, a smaller product wouldn't have been sufficient to capture the essence of Spider-Man and his extensive cast of characters and villains.

"Spider-Man needs a full set to do justice to the character and incorporate the many villains he’s encountered over the years," McCall explains. "Including characters from the Spider-Man universe in a broader set would mean leaving too many characters out. We could have included Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales in a non-specific set, but there wouldn’t have been room for Aunt May."

McCall highlights that designing for a Universes Beyond set "flips the worldbuilding on its head." Traditional Magic sets must establish the setting and be enjoyable to play, but with a well-known character like Spider-Man, there's an opportunity to add mechanical complexity. "When we create a card that embodies great power and great responsibility, we can include more complex mechanics because fans already grasp the story behind the card. We don’t need to simplify Universes Beyond cards; we just need to select recognizable moments that resonate with fans."

Head Designer Mark Rosewater explains how they translate Spider-Man’s world into Magic's color pie, which is versatile enough to represent heroism and villainy across all five colors. He notes that Spider-Man embodies white, blue, and green traits. "Spider-Man's sense of obligation to help others aligns with the white color pie. His origin from a scientific accident, his aptitude for invention, and his web-slingers fit into blue. His powers derived from an animal and his destined connection to spiders and the Spider-Man universe are quintessentially green."

"We're not limiting ourselves to any one \[comic\] run or series," Rosewater adds. Alongside the Scene Box, the set will include Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, Bundles, and Prerelease Packs, all showcased in the gallery above. While preconstructed Commander decks are absent, the set will feature the return of Welcome Decks—introductory decks distributed for free by game stores to help new players learn the game without pressure.

In addition to this year’s Final Fantasy set, Wizards of the Coast has also announced a set themed around Avatar: The Last Airbender. Before that, two more in-universe sets, Tarkir: Dragontsorm and the space-themed Edge of Eternities, are on the horizon.

*Continue reading for the complete, unedited interview with Wizards of the Coast’s Max McCall and Mark Rosewater:*