Magic: The Gathering | Marvel’s Spider-Man had its official debut at PAX West on August 29. The one-hour event promised “never-before-seen cards, mechanics that place you in the action, favorite characters coming to life, and some spectacular surprises”. It delivered on all counts.
Preview Cards
Mark Rosewater was the first guest of the panel, showcasing villains of the set. First was Eddie Brock, a Human Hero Villain who transforms into Venom, Lethal Protector.
Next up was a new sorcery, Behold the Sinister Six! This led into members of the Sinister Six, led by Doctor Octopus, Master Planner (previously seen at San Diego Comic-Con).
Vulture, Scheming Scavenger demonstrated the use of hybrid mana, a key component of the set’s Draft format.
Mysterio, Master of Illusion reinforces Villain themes while creating an army of Illusions.
Sandman, Shifting Scoundrel puts the rare and previously token-only “Sand” creature type on a regular Magic card.
Electro, Assaulting Battery allows players to store up red mana and “discharge” it for damage when Electro leaves the battlefield.
Kraven the Hunter’s obsession with hunting ever more dangerous foes has its reflection in its rules text, which rewards killing opposing creatures with the greatest power.
The panel then revealed a promo version of Behold the Sinister Six! for panel audience members and visitors to the Wizards of the Coast booth at PAX West.
New Mechanics
Jadine Klomparens, the next guest, spoke about the set’s mechanics, new and returning.
The first new mechanic was Web-slinging, which allows a player to cast a spell for its Web-slinging cost plus returning a tapped creature you control to its owner’s hand. Spider-Man India was the first preview card with Web-slinging.
The modified mechanic returns, a fitting addition for a setting with radioactive spider bites and teched-out superhero suits. Costume Closet demonstrates how the set uses modified.
Connive, a returning draw-discard mechanic, meets mayhem, a madness-like new mechanic, on the transforming card Norman Osborn // Green Goblin.
Pick-Two Draft
Corey Bowen, the next guest, highlighted the set’s Draft mechanics. The set was designed around the Pick-Two Draft, a four-player Draft format where players pick two cards at once while drafting.
The green and white (G/W) two-color Draft archetype focuses on Web-slinging and Spider-Man’s life in New York City, with City Pigeon demonstrating the possibilities for turning the “return a tapped creature” aspect of Web-slinging into an asset.
White/blue (W/U) emphasizes the Modified mechanic and technology themes, demonstrated by previews SP//dr, Piloted by Peni and Spider-Suit.
Blue/black (U/B) is a graveyard deck that delves deep into connive and Villain-matters mechanics.
Red/green (R/G) loves big spells and big creatures.
Black/red (B/R) focuses on the Mayhem mechanic and Goblins-matter cards.
Ultimate Green Goblin, a hybrid mana rare with the Mayhem mechanic, was revealed as a promo for Friendly Neighborhood Draft, the first opportunity to play the Pick-Two Draft format officially.
Vintage Art and Reprints
Sarah Wassell joined Mark Rosewater as the next guests, initially focusing on vintage Spider-Man comic art and how it appears on the set’s bonus sheet.
The cover of Amazing Fantasy #15, Spider-Man’s debut, forms the backdrop to Heroic Intervention.
An iconic Spider-Man No More! cover of the 1960s becomes Path to Exile.
The Amazing Spider-Man #55 uses a “glasses reflection” cover, reminiscent of a trope in Magic: The Gathering’s Duskmourn set, for Doc Ock, Armed and Dangerous, also known as Lorthos, the Tidemaker.
The Shocker appears on Shock, courtesy of John Romita Sr.
The crowd instantly knew that Spider-Man rising from the grave meant a Reanimator card, which was in fact Reanimate.
As a quick detour, Kraven’s Last Hunt received two Saga treatments, the second evoking the panels of a comic strip.
The bonus sheet goodness continued with a Todd McFarlane cover turned art for Arachnogenesis.
And 2021’s Venom #200 cover appears on Venom, King in Black, a reskin of Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon.
The segment went on to a look at the three treatments of The Soul Stone: Main, Gauntlet, and Cosmic Stone.
The Classic Cover treatment uses iconic past Spider-Man cover art while replacing the original lettering with rules text.
The Web Frame, the set’s custom frame, draws inspiration from the intricate patterns of Todd McFarlane’s take on Spider-Man.
The Showcase Panel versions of cards, meanwhile, reflect the aesthetics of comic book panels.
The Showcase Panel reveal also showed off a new preview, The Clone Saga.
Eight Faces of Spectacular Spider-Man
Next, the panelists showed off the Costume Change cards, eight versions of the card Spectacular Spider-Man, each showing a different suit in the context of a unique time and season.
The last two images reflect Spider-Man’s crossover with the Fantastic Four. The final image, featuring the Bombastic Bag-Man Suit, appears on the cover of a crossover comic for the panel audience and other PAX West attendees.
Secret Lair
The panel’s previews concluded with the announcement of a Secret Lair themed around the cover of the Daily Bugle, an in-universe tabloid newspaper where Peter Parker once worked. The first Lair card previewed was Scheming Symmetry.
The other cards in the Lair are Blasphemous Act, Fact or Fiction, Frantic Search, and Impact Tremors.
More information on this Secret Lair can be found here.
Magic: The Gathering | Marvel’s Spider-Man will have its tabletop release on September 26.
