The release of Marvel’s Spider-Man MTG set is looking messier and messier by the day. That’s saying something, considering astronomical preorder prices didn’t get things off to a good start. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the fact that this set isn’t technically coming to MTG Arena certainly doesn’t make things any better.
Now, as if all that wasn’t bad enough, it seems we’re not getting officially licensed accessories for this set either. While there’s no doubt this crossover has amazing potential, it seems the universe is determined not to make it easy.
Ultra PRO Cancels Spider-Man Accessories
According to Reddit user Aerim, Ultra PRO has cancelled their upcoming line of licensed Spider-Man accessories. Reportedly, this was revealed in an email to retail partners from Southern Hobby, a major MTG distributor. Currently, there’s no information around why this cancellation has happened, but players already have theories.
Unsurprisingly, the prevailing expectation is that meddling by Disney caused the planned accessories to be scrapped at the last minute. As Ok_Frosting3500 suggests, this could be due to Disney simply not wanting licensed Spider-Man products while Disney Lorcana exists. That said, the existence of this crossover at all shows that Disney clearly doesn’t mind some interbrand competition.
Nevertheless, there’s no doubt that Universes Beyond products have more trouble being made in general. Rather than Wizards of the Coast doing their own thing, there’s a third party, likely with more control, to contend with. If Disney doesn’t like a product, for whatever reason, it’ll have to be changed, as they’re the ones with final say.
Most of the time, tweaks and corrections can easily be made before a product’s release. However, Spider-Man is a bit different. We know this product was originally intended to be a smaller set with Beyond Boosters, just like Assassin’s Creed. Following the poor reception of this past set, however, the set grew into its current size rather quickly.
Potentially, this has meant everything is running on an accelerated schedule, Ultra PRO’s accessories included. If this is the case, there might not be time to make last-minute changes, leading to outright cancellation instead. Whether or not this is actually the case, however, is unknown, as it’s unlikely to ever be confirmed.
Problems on Problems
Unsurprisingly, MTG players aren’t too happy about this abrupt cancellation. The full release of the Spider-Man MTG set is only a little over three weeks away, and some players have already preordered products. Now, these products simply won’t exist, so these players will have to go without.
That said, thankfully, this MTG crossover isn’t the first time that Marvel has dipped its toe into the TCG space. As cleverpun0 points out, there are playmats for the Marvel Champions card game that should provide some thematic flavor. While these alternative accessories are better than nothing, clearly, this situation isn’t ideal.
Beyond not being ideal for MTG players, many expect the licensing deal to be terrible for everyone but Disney. On top of Ultra PRO’s development work now being down the drain, Wizards of the Coast hasn’t had it easy. Marvel’s Spider-Man isn’t coming to MTG Arena at all, so Wizards have been forced to create a parallel set.
As much as Through the Omenpaths is looking exciting, especially thanks to cards like Scions of the Ur-Spider, creating a parallel set isn’t a small amount of work. Not only do Wizards need to rename and recontextualize cards, but new art is required, too. We might not be able to speak to specifics, but this surely wouldn’t be a small cost.
In addition to just costing a lot of money and resources, the entire experience is left rather incomplete. New Through the Omenpaths cards are lacking distinct lore and flavor, and the set’s overall size is also controversial. Right now, it really seems like the deck is stacked against Magic’s Spider-Man set, but concern may be premature.
Time Will Tell
It’s easy to think this could be the beginning of the end for Universes Beyond at the moment. Meddling from IP holders threatens to cause tons of chaos, and these problems aren’t cheap to fix. If this trend continues for future sets, crossover set releases could become unprofitable surprisingly quickly.
That being said, it’s impossible to ignore how well the Final Fantasy MTG set performed. In one day, this set sold $200,000,000 worth of product, smashing every record that once stood. While Marvel’s Spider-Man set is unlikely to match this, especially without Commander precons, it’ll still sell like hot cakes.
Whether or not that will actually happen, however, currently remains to be seen. There’s no denying that there are problems surrounding this release, so we’ll have to see how that actually impacts sales. Personally, I don’t see how this Spider-Man set is anything but a runaway success for Wizards and Hasbro, but only time will tell.
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