Sometimes life comes at you fast. Today marks the final day of Spider-Man preview season, which is a strange feeling after so many months of hype in the run-up. Days like this are always bittersweet, but thankfully, Wizards seems determined to go out on a high note. We’ve received a number of powerful new MTG spoilers today, including the remarkable Mister Negative.
This is a legend with some of the most ridiculous raw card draw potential we’ve ever seen on a single card. It feels like a big swing design-wise, which is something a few previous Spider-Man spoilers have also done. It’s joined today by a number of other experimental designs, all of which have potential in one format or another. Most Magic preview seasons end with a bunch of underwhelming commons, so it’s refreshing to see Spider-Man buck that trend.
Mister Negative MTG
- Mana Value: 5WB
- Type: Legendary Creature – Human Villain
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Card Text: Vigilance, Lifelink.
When Mister Negative enters, you may exchange your life total with target opponent’s. If you lose life this way, draw that many cards.- Stats: 5/5
Mister Negative is a pretty insane MTG card on multiple axes. First of all, it’s the first time we’ve seen a life swap ability like this attached to an enters trigger. That’s immediately hugely abuseable, particularly in Blink or Reanimator decks that can get the card in and out of play multiple times. With an effect like this on tap, you’ll often find it difficult to lose games.
Of course, the real spice here is the card draw potential. Griselbrand is currently banned in Commander for its near-limitless card draw potential, and Mister Negative could actually fill a very similar role. While it’s more conditional, as you need an opponent with more life than you to use it, the potential value here is off the charts. There are ways to use it consistently, too, like by making an opponent’s life 13 via Tree of Perdition. Assuming you’re at 40, this will open up the door for Mister Negative to draw you 27 cards.
In situations like these, Mister Negative will more than likely win you the game on the spot. Even in games where you’re just five life ahead of an opponent, however, it’ll still be fantastic. It being legendary means you can even run it as your Commander and gain access to absurd draw power when you need it. I expect this card to be a new Orzhov staple in casual Commander, and possibly even do some work in cEDH, too.
Jackal, Genius Geneticist
- Mana Value: GU
- Type: Legendary Creature – Human Scientist Villain
- Rarity: Rare
- Card Text: Trample.
Whenever you cast a creature spell with mana value equal to Jackal’s power, copy that spell, except the copy isn’t legendary. Then put a +1/+1 counter on Jackal. (The copy becomes a token.)- Stats: 1/1
Mister Negative isn’t the only wild new MTG card we saw today. Jackal, Genius Geneticist very much falls into that category, too. The ability to copy your creatures and make them nonlegendary to boot has a huge range of applications.
Even just starting small in Standard, you can follow up Jackal with Llanowar Elves and Genemorph Imago in Simic Midrange. This will let you enter turn four with a 3/3 Trampler, two 3/3 Fliers, and six mana available, assuming you hit your land drop. That’s an absurd amount of value, and a legitimately scary Aggro curve even in a Vivi Cauldron format.
Going further back, Jackal could even have legs in Modern. While Simic colors aren’t widely played, the potential to create a second, nonlegendary Ragavan, or another Psychic Frog, feels too good to resist. Something like Domain Zoo could even copy Ragavan, Territorial Kavu, then Phlage, for the ultimate value line.
Basically, any deck with a low curve has a lot to gain from running Jackal. The fact that it’s also a scaling Trample threat itself is just the icing on the cake. I see this one making more impact in constructed formats, but players are already discussing its cEDH potential online, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see it there too.
Hide On The Ceiling
- Mana Value: XU
- Type: Instant
- Rarity: Rare
- Card Text: Exile X target artifacts and/or creatures. Return the exiled cards to the battlefield under their owners’ control at the beginning of the next end step.
Some Magic: The Gathering cards are good because of their raw power, while others get by on their flexibility. Hide on the Ceiling actually delivers both, presenting one of the best, most versatile mass blink effects we’ve ever seen.
This comes down at instant speed and can hit any number of artifacts or creatures. There’s no ‘you control’ or ‘your opponents control’ clause here: this can hit whatever you need at the time. The possibilities here are endless. You can blink your own board to dodge a board wipe or to re-trigger enters effects. You can bounce an opponent’s board to clear the way for an alpha strike. Or you can mix and match the two and build the perfect situation for your win.
Hide on the Ceiling will obviously do its best work in Commander, but I think it could have legs in Standard, too. Being able to hit Vivi and Agatha’s Soul Cauldron is a big deal. Blinking Vivi will reset its counters, while Blinking Cauldron will reset its pool of exiled creatures, thus disabling a lot of synergy. It’s not particularly mana-efficient, but there are so few ways to cleanly answer the deck that this is most welcome.
Arachne, Psionic Weaver
- Mana Value: 2W
- Type: Legendary Creature – Spider Human Hero
- Rarity: Rare
- 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.)
As Arachne enters the battlefield, look at target opponent’s hand. Then choose a noncreature card type.
Spells of the chosen type cost 1 more to cast.- Stats: 3/3
Arachne is a funky spin on the classic Thalia effect, applying a tax to noncreature spells, but only those of your choice. This means it’s less punishing to run alongside interaction than Thalia, giving your deck more options. Arachne also gives you a look at your opponent’s hand on entry, which helps you pick the option that screws them over the most.
For three mana, this package is unexciting, but Arachne is only one mana with Web-slinging. In the kinds of decks that want an effect like this, disposable one-drops are a dime a dozen. In Standard, you can use Novice Inspector, and older formats have a lot more options than that. Unfortunately, the fact that Lightstall Inquisitor has Vigilance prevents the dream disruption curve in Standard, but given how restrictive that would be, it’s probably for the best.
While it’s a fun and interesting design, I’m not sure how much play Arachne will end up seeing. There’s an argument for it in Pixie decks in Standard, but it’s a little clunky there. Those decks aren’t doing particularly well at the moment, either. Further back, I don’t expect the likes of Modern or Legacy to get much out of it either. It could be an interesting hate card in Stax decks in Commander, but beyond that, its prospects look uncertain.
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