Edge of Eternities spoilers just concluded a few days ago, so, of course, spoilers for the next set need to begin. The first Marvel’s Spider-Man spoiler was just revealed, and while it may not look exciting, the card is quite powerful. There’s a little bit of a weird flavor fail, but Origin of Spider-Man looks like a great rare tailored to see play in Standard.
Origin of Spider-Man
Origin of Spider-Man is a two-mana saga that, essentially, can create a 3/2 temporarily Double Striking creature for two mana. The card is a bit more flexible than that, however, since you can put its various buffs on creatures other than the Spider you create. Flavor-wise, you probably shouldn’t be able to do this on the Spider token itself, but from a playability perspective, this makes Origin of Spider-Man a great two-drop – at least for Standard.
Despite the ability to play this card as part of an aggressive curve on turn two, it may actually be best to wait a bit before playing Origin of Spider-Man. If you can get a few more creatures into play first, you can ensure the second and third modes of the Saga find targets. This also allows The Origin of Spider-Man to continually get stronger as the game goes on. Giving Double Strike to a larger three drop is a lot stronger, after all. Following a turn-one Lightstall Inquisitor from Edge of Eternities puts the opponent under the gun quick.
Outside of Mono-White Aggro, Origin of Spider-Man could see play in Standard Yuna, Hope of Spira decks, as well as in counters-matters decks if the Mono-Green shell has a decent reason to go into Selesnya. In Standard Yuna, Origin of Spider-Man can turn many of the cards that Yuna reanimates into one-shot kills with Double Strike, and can otherwise be reanimated itself after creating a decent board presence on-curve.
Selesnya mana is, notably, atrocious once rotation hits; however, so unless Spider-Man releases some good land support for those colors, it likely won’t see play.
Outside of Standard, Origin of Spider-Man may not be strong enough for most constructed formats. It potentially has a chance in Enigmatic Incarnation and Mono-White decks in Pioneer, but the card is likely far too slow for Modern and beyond.
Origin of Spider-Man in Commander
Origin of Spider-Man is definitely viable for Standard, but the card is interesting in a wide variety of Commander decks, as well. Like many Sagas, this card offers compelling value, especially if you get all three chapters out of it. Where this card will be really interesting, however, is in Saga-focused decks, such as those led by Tom Bombadil.
Beyond just offering Saga-based synergy, Origin of Spider-Man should actually be pretty useful in this archetype. Saga Commander decks don’t tend to have a lot of efficient early plays, so this Saga fills that void somewhat. Unfortunately, while a great fit for Sagas, the color identity may well keep this card out of Spider Typal decks, since they rarely allow access to white.
At the end of the day, Origin of Spider-Man seems like a card that’s tailored towards constructed. The type of value this card presents is immediate, and it’s easy for the card to overperform as long as you have creatures to target with its ability. In Commander, these modes are a lot less impactful in longer games.
Does This Kick Off MTG Spider-Man Spoiler Season?
No, this early spoiler doesn’t mean that spoiler season for MTG Spider-Man is starting. There is a big announcement for MTG Spider-Man at San Diego Comi-Con this weekend, but even that announcement shouldn’t kick off the Spider-Man spoiler season. Instead, it should act as a sort of First Look for the main set.
So, if you’re interested in seeing more MTG Spider-Man reveals, keep your eyes peeled this Friday. We have all the information you need, but we’ll also be sure to show off anything that was revealed in this space, so stay tuned.