Last weekend, the MTG Spider-Man set surprisingly broke cover when a Scene Box was revealed out of the blue. Containing six cards, none of which are Standard-legal, this was Wizards’ opportunity to wow players. Despite this, most of the cards in Spidey’s Spectacular Showdown Scene Box are pretty meh.
Beyond not being all too powerful, there are some rather weird inclusions too. Pumpkin Bombs, for instance, are hardly the most iconic part of the Spider-Man franchise. Despite this, the weapon of choice for Green Goblin is one of the first MTG Spider-Man cards we’ve seen.
On the surface, this card appears to be pretty mediocre, as it bounces back and forth between players. Thankfully, it appears to be very possible to break Pumpkin Bombs to make it a lot more interesting.
Breaking Pumpkin Bombs
Pumpkin Bombs is here and it’s a really strange card. Discarding two cards to draw three cards while dealing some damage for two mana is worth it. The problem is you have to give control of Pumpkin Bombs to an opponent. Not only that, but Pumpkin Bombs is going to deal more damage once it changes hands. Cathartic Reunion is already an MTG card. Why use Pumpkin Bombs over that?
Thanks to cards like Wishclaw Talisman, MTG players have long known how to break effects like this. As usual, it turns out this is a very good thing to do, as it can provide a great source of value. Rather than getting a weirdly painful group-hug effect, you’ll gain access to an artifact that lets you consistently discard two cards to draw three more.
This is a card advantage engine that can synergize with the graveyard and trigger effects that care about discard. Whether you’re a Madness deck or simply want to use some new MTG Aetherdrift cards like Monument to Endurance or Cryptcaller Chariot, Pumpkin Bombs can be turned into an amazing enabler.
The easiest way to abuse Pumpkin Bombs is using Homeward Path. This land can tap to allow all players to regain control of any card that they own. In other words, you can activate Pumpkin Bombs, give it away to another player, and tap Homeward Path to regain control of it. You can even stack Fuse Counters on Goblin Bombs turn after turn to increase the amount of damage being dealt.
If you can untap Goblin Bombs on other players’ turns, Brooding Saurion can take things even further. This creature returns all cards to their owners at the beginning of each end step. This could allow you to activate Goblin Bombs four times per turn cycle.
Blink & Bounce
Past getting around the control downside directly, you can also Blink Pumpkin Bombs. This would return the bombs untapped under your control, regardless of who controls them. You will lose all of your Fuse Counters, but Pumpkin Bombs will be ready to activate once more.
Unfortunately, the only cards capable of doing this are white, which means you’ll need to have Boros in your Commander color identity to do this. Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd is the best card to abuse this synergy. Flickerwisp and Glimmerpoint Stag can also do the trick. Mistmeadow Vanisher is just as effective as Phelia, but the card will require a Jeskai color identity to use the combination.
Bouncing Pumpkin Bombs also does the trick, but frankly, it probably isn’t worth it. You would need to re-cast Pumpkin Bombs and reuse it. If Cathartic Reunion is good enough for your deck, then you might want to consider Pumpkin Bombs in a bounce synergy deck, but there are likely better options.
Daretti
Pumpkin Bombs can fill an interesting role in a Daretti Commander deck. Three different variants of Daretti exist in MTG, and all three of them can sacrifice an artifact in exchange for a benefit. Two of them also benefit from an artifact being in your graveyard, which allows Pumpkin Bombs to play double duty.
If you want to discard cards, use Pumpkin Bombs’ activated ability. If you want to sacrifice an artifact, just sacrifice Pumpkin Bombs for something better. This ensures that, no matter where you are in your gameplan, Pumpkin Bombs can help.
Politics
Ultimately, the best tool to use Pumpkin Bombs with is politics. If you can somehow convince the table to pass around Pumpkin Bombs, it can be an incredibly fun tool. Each player can target the next one, discarding cards and upticking the Fuse Counters on Pumpkin Bombs. Ideally, your deck should be able to break the parity somehow so you come out on top.
Another option is to make a deal with an opponent. Pass the Pumpkin Bombs between the two of you, and when the damage becomes too serious, start pointing Pumpkin Bombs at other players. You can even use Proliferate effects to scale your Fuse Counters at a quicker rate.
A Lot of Effort
Pumpkin Bombs is unlikely to ever be a cEDH powerhouse, but it can be worthwhile if the card advantage is good enough to jump through some hoops. Any Commander that synergizes with discard effects will want to consider Pumpkin Bombs, but how you want to use this card is something that you’ll have to decide.
On its own, Pumpkin Bombs seems like a fun Commander option in themed decks. The card could be very enjoyable between brackets 1-2 or maybe even 3 if you have a good playgroup, Outside of that, however, this card is likely going to suffer and struggle to see play.