Though early signs weren’t great, Magic: The Gathering’s Spider Man set is looking pretty solid now that we have the full thing. There are a lot of potent cards here, from combo-enabling Villains to possible eternal playables. There are also some surprisingly juiced commons here, too, which is great news for Pauper. To celebrate this fact, we’ve broken down the five best Spider-Man commons for the Pauper format.
While it doesn’t quite hit the heady heights of Edge of Eternities, there are still commons here that punch well above their weight. The set packs excellent combat tricks, new Aggro threats, and one of the best mana dorks Pauper has ever seen.
5 | Spectacular Tactics
- Mana Value: 1W
- Type: Instant
- Rarity: Common
- Card Text: Choose one —
- Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control. It gains hexproof until end of turn.
- Destroy target creature with power 4 or greater.
Spectacular Tactics sets a new benchmark for flexible combat tricks/removal spells in Pauper. We’ve had Moment of Valor since 2023, but three mana was just too much for it. Getting almost the same effect for just two mana totally changes things.
It’s not just the mana cost that’s better here, either, but the effect as well. Getting a +1/+1 counter rather than +1/+0 for the turn is great, and Hexproof is better than Indestructible most of the time in Pauper. It lets you dodge non-destruction-based removal like Sleep of the Dead and Deem Inferior, which you see a lot in the dominant blue decks in the format. You can still lose your creature to Krark-Clan Shaman, but that’s less likely with the counter. The ‘power 4 or greater’ removal here is the same as on Moment, and it remains relevant against Tolarian Terror, Writhing Chrysalis, and more.
The main issue with this card is that white isn’t seeing a ton of play in Pauper right now. It’s most likely homes are Bogles or Caw-Gate, but neither is particularly well-positioned currently. Maybe a new brew of Mono-White Heroic will gain some ground with it, but I’m not sure it’s enough to boost a deck on its own. In any case, it’s definitely one to watch going forward.
4 | Spider-Man, Web-Slinger
- Mana Value: 2W
- Type: Legendary Creature – Spider Human Hero
- Rarity: Common
- Card Text: Web-slinging W (You may cast this spell for W if you also return a tapped creature you control to its owner’s hand.)
- Stats: 3/3
Spider-Man, Web-Slinger is very simple, but it’s also one of the best new Pauper commons in the set. This is just a 3/3 creature for three that has a Web-slinging cost of one. This means you can bring down a highly aggressive threat on the cheap in the right deck. The right deck, in this case, could be one of several options.
For starters, the card looks excellent in Esper Affinity. While it can’t bounce your artifacts, it can bounce your other bounce creatures, like Glint Hawk and Kor Skyfisher. You can then cast those again to keep the value train going with cards like Tithing Blade and Cryogen Relic. You can even bounce Refurbished Familiar and recast it for cheap thanks to Affinity. All of these creatures have Flying, which makes it easy to get them tapped and make use of Web-slinging.
The card could also see use in Boros Synthesizer for similar reasons, and possibly even Mono-White Aggro. This is a fringe deck at best, but it did put in some good showings after Final Fantasy. Bouncing Choco/Mog for an extra anthem effect is nice, and even just bouncing a turn one Novice/Thraben Inspector to get a 3/3 on board and an extra Clue is pretty good. Bounce effects like this have a proven track record in Pauper, and Spider-Man, Web-Slinger is one of the most aggressive we’ve ever seen.
3 | Swarm, Being Of Bees
- Mana Value: 2B
- Type: Legendary Creature – Insect Villain
- Rarity: Common
- Card Text: Flash.
Flying.
Mayhem B (You may cast this card from your graveyard for B if you discarded it this turn. Timing rules still apply.)- Stats: 2/2
For a while now, Madness Burn has been one of the consistent top performers in the Pauper format. The combination of hyper-efficient burn and discard synergy with Fiery Temper and Sneaky Snacker has proven incredibly potent. While slots in this deck are tight, Swarm could well end up filling some before long.
Swarm is immediately comparable to Kitchen Imp, a card that sees play in some builds of Madness Burn. Both are 2/2 Fliers that you can cast for one, at instant speed, if you discard them. What sets Swarm apart is the fact that it trades Madness for Mayhem and Haste for Flash.
This makes Swarm less effective as a proactive threat on your turn, but much better as a reactive play. Thanks to the wording on Mayhem, you can wait until the end of the turn to cast Swarm, unlike Madness, where you’re forced to do so right away. This means you can discard it to a Blood activation and wait to see if you draw something better first. You can also hold it up alongside removal.
To top it off, Swarm is legendary and therefore immune to Cast Down. It’s also cheaper to cast for its full cost than Imp, which will come up in some games. Ultimately, this will be a case where testing will determine the better card, but I think Swarm could easily come out on top.
2 | Masked Meower
- Mana Value: R
- Type: Creature – Spider Cat Hero
- Rarity: Common
- Card Text: Haste.
Discard a card, Sacrifice this creature: Draw a card.- Stats: 1/1
As with Swarm, Madness Burn looks like the most likely home for this stray Cat. This is an aggressive deck that cares about discarding cards, so what could be better than a Haste creature that lets you do just that? Madness Burn decks used to play Insolent Neonate regularly, and Meower is better the majority of the time.
In more recent lists, it competes with Voldaren Epicure, but it probably wins out there, too. Haste means it’ll likely replicate Epicure’s damage-on-entry, and saving a mana on the Blood activation later is a big deal. Epicure sees a lot of play in traditional Mono-Red Aggro in Pauper, too, so we could well see Meower tested in those lists as well.
Outside of Aggro, Meower could easily see play in Dredge decks. Instant-speed draw like this is fantastic in the archetype, and it can even pitch your Dredge creatures early on. Dredge isn’t very popular in the format right now, but sometimes a new tool like this is all it takes. Masked Meower was one of the first commons we saw from Spider Man, and it’s looking like one of the best for Pauper.
1 | Spider Manifestation
- Mana Value: 1R/G
- Type: Creature – Spider Avatar
- Rarity: Common
- Card Text: Reach.
Tap: Add R or G.
Whenever you cast a spell with mana value 4 or greater, untap this creature.- Stats: 2/2
Whether it’s Jund Wildfire or Gruul Ramp, Pauper has plenty of decks that fit Manifestation like a glove. Both of these decks play a ton of creatures that cost four or more, which means it’s easy to untap Manifestation or your turn. This opens up the possibility for early multi-spell plays.
For example, if you drop Manifestation on two, you can follow it up with Writhing Chrysalis on three, then cast a Utopia Sprawl or Wild Growth with your extra mana. On turn four, you’ll then have access to eight mana minimum. Alternatively, you can keep Manifestation untapped and use it to hold up interaction, like Lightning Bolt or Pyroblast.
This alone would make Manifestation incredibly exciting, but it’s also a decent body on board, too. A 2/2 is more than capable of swinging in in Pauper, and Reach lets it hold off the many Fliers in the format. Whether it’s Sneaky Snacker or Delver of Secrets, you can trade into it with Manifestation when needed. While the decks it fits aren’t top-tier right now, I think Spider Manifestation will be the most impactful new common in the set, regardless.
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