Spider-Man's Magic: The Gathering Crossover Unveiled

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 for a treat: Today, we're unveiling a sneak peek at six new cards from Magic's upcoming Spider-Man set, along with all the accompanying products and packaging.

Click through the image gallery below to explore all the Spider-Man cards from its Commander-focused Scene Box, booster packs, Welcome Decks, and more. Continue reading to get the scoop on the set 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 series, following Final Fantasy, and the third after the Modern-legal Lord of the Rings set from 2023. Unlike what you might expect, there won't be any preconstructed Commander decks. However, the cards in the Scene Box shown above won't be Standard-legal; they are crafted with Commander in mind.

While a Secret Lair featuring Wolverine, Captain America, and others marked Magic's initial foray into the Marvel universe last year, Spider-Man will be the first full set inspired by the comics. According to Wizards of the Coast Executive Producer Max McCall, a full set was necessary to do justice to Spider-Man and include a wide range of characters and moments from his saga.

"Spider-Man needs a full set to do justice to the character and incorporate the many villains he’s come across over the years," McCall explains. "Picking characters from the Spider-Man canon as part of a wider set would leave far too many characters on the cutting room floor. We could probably have found room for Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales in a non-Spider-Man 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." While a typical Magic set must establish its location and setting through its cards, most people are already familiar with characters like Spider-Man. "When we make a card that speaks to great power bearing great responsibility, there’s room to add mechanical complexity because folks understand the story the card is telling. We don’t have to make Universes Beyond cards that are ‘simple’ - we just have to pick moments that are recognizable, and they’ll be easy for fans to understand."

Head Designer Mark Rosewater explains how they translate Spider-Man's world into a Magic set, emphasizing that Magic's color pie allows for the portrayal of heroism and villainy across all five colors. For instance, Rosewater notes that Spider-Man aligns with white, blue, and green (although the specific version in the Scene Box above is only the first two).

"Spider-Man feeling obligated to use his power to help people is core to him being part of the white color pie. Spider-Man is also the product of science, being bitten by a radioactive spider. This, and Peter’s aptitude for science and invention (like his web-slingers) is very blue. Finally, Spider-Man's powers are based on an animal, and the comics have shown that there is a certain destiny to his connection to both spiders and the Spider-Man universe, which is all core green."

"We're not limiting ourselves to any one [comic] run or series."

In addition to the Scene Box, the set will feature the usual Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, Bundles, and Prerelease Packs, all showcased in the gallery above with more details. Although there won’t be any preconstructed Commander decks, this set will see the return of Welcome Decks – themed introductory decks often given out by game stores for free, offering new players a low-pressure way to learn the game.

Alongside this year’s Final Fantasy set, Wizards of the Coast has also announced a set themed around Avatar: The Last Airbender. Additionally, two more in-universe sets will precede it: Tarkir: Dragontsorm and the space-themed Edge of Eternities.

Read on for the full, unedited interview with Wizards of the Coast’s Max McCall and Mark Rosewater: