As you probably already know, tonight marks the official debut for Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man set. Much like Final Fantasy, there’s a ton of hype riding on this one. It’s the first phase of Magic’s multi-year Marvel collaboration, so there’s a lot of pressure here to impress. To whet our appetites for the event, which starts in just a few hours, Wizards has released a pair of early MTG Spider-Man spoilers.
There were previews planned for yesterday on the official schedule, so these may well be those, just later than intended. Alternatively, this could’ve been Wizards’ plan all along. In any case, the two cards revealed today are very interesting in their own ways. One is an Aura that encapsulates Spider-Man as a character, and the other is our first glimpse at the set’s MAR Bonus Sheet. Taken together, they’re the perfect entrée before tonight’s main course.
With Great Power…
- Mana Value: 3W
- Type: Enchantment – Aura
- Rarity: Rare
- Card Text: Enchant creature you control.
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 for each Aura and Equipment attached to it.
All damage that would be dealt to you is dealt to enchanted creature instead.
With Great Power… is undoubtedly one of the most important cards in the set. Anyone who knows Spider-Man, and likely a lot of people who don’t, has heard this famous motto. It was crucial that the card representing it lived up to that, since, in a way, it represents Spider-Man as a whole. Thankfully, Wizards have knocked it out of Central Park here.
We’ve seen a few variants of a similar scaling buff effect in the past on cards like Thran Power Suit and Strong Back. It’s potentially very dangerous, but for four mana, the rate isn’t great. With Great Power… doesn’t protect the enchanted creature, either, which leaves you open to brutal two-or-more-for-ones from your opponent.
What really makes the card, however, is its second ability. It lets the enchanted creature take on the burden of all your direct damage, which is a massive flavor win. We’ve seen this effect before on Pariah and Pariah’s Shield, and it has some devious applications. Slap it on a Brash Taunter, for example, and you have a near-endless way to redirect all the damage you take. Stuffy Doll and Barbed Servitor work well, too. You can even use the latter in Standard, for a nifty two-card combo.
Thanks to the buff effect, you don’t have to use With Great Power… exclusively on creatures like this, mind you. In a Voltron deck, this can serve as an aggressive play and protection in one. It stops you from worrying about crackbacks from your opponent if the enchanted creature is big enough, which is huge for the archetype. I expect this one to see decent play in Commander as a result, though four mana is likely too clunky for Standard.
Relentless Assault
- Mana Value: 2RR
- Type: Sorcery
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Card Text: Untap all creatures that attacked this turn. After this main phase, there is an additional combat phase followed by an additional main phase.
The second card from today’s early MTG Spider-Man spoilers is exciting more for what it represents than what it is. Relentless Assault is the first card spoiled from the MAR Bonus Sheet, which players have been speculating about for months.
Turns out it’s something akin to what we saw in Final Fantasy with Through the Ages: a series of reprints with new borderless artwork taken directly from the property in question. In this case, the art comes from the cover of Miles Morales: Spider-Man #14, by Federico Vicentini. Hopefully, the rest of the MAR sheet does something similar, as it’s a great way to honor the series’ real comic book roots.
In terms of the card itself, Relentless Assault is nothing special. It was first printed way back in Visions, which makes it nearly 30 years old now. Unfortunately, that’s probably the most remarkable thing about it. Extra combat effects were more novel back then, but now we get new options in the category pretty much every set. Paying four mana for a single extra combat feels lackluster when you can use the likes of Najeela and Aggravated Assault to do so repeatedly.
That said, the card does see some play in Commander, in go-wide decks like Krenko, and those that really care about combat like Isshin. As a result, it’s not a total bulk rare, with low-end copies still selling for around $2.50. Overall, it’s a pretty underwhelming introduction to the MAR Bonus Sheet, but I’m sure we’ll see some bangers down the road. It took Edge of Eternities a while to unveil Ancient Tomb, after all.
Next Issue Coming Soon!
These early MTG Spider-Man spoilers are just the beginning. The real juice will more than likely come tonight, during the set’s official debut at PAX West. This will take place at 3:30 PM Pacific Time, and you can watch it live on YouTube right here.
As with all Magic: The Gathering debuts, we can expect to see a nice batch of previews here. The exact number is unknown, of course, as these events often vary wildly.
In any case, there’ll be some fun new Magic cards to check out tonight. If you can’t make the live event itself, don’t worry. We’ll be covering all of the new spoilers as they drop right here on MTG Rocks. If there are new meta-breakers and wallet-shakers among tonight’s spoilers, you’ll find out about them here first.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage!