Early expectations for the MTG Spider Man set, from a competitive perspective, were not exciting. Many of the cards in Spider Man were considered weak, especially for older formats. Despite the expected failure on multiple fronts, there is a surprising number of cards winning early MTG Spider Man events. Some of these cards, after succeeding online, are even appearing at the Pro Tour.
Superior Spider-Man
For four mana, Superior Spider-Man has proven to be a lot more than just a copy effect. This essentially functions as a Zombify on a body, which has allowed it to see play in multiple formats.
In Modern, Superior Spider-Man is seeing some experimentation as a one-of in Goryo’s Vengeance decks. That archetype is shy on threats, and having another card that synergizes with Atraxa, Grand Unifier in the graveyard helps make the core game plan more consistent. The failsafe of Superior Spider-Man entering as a 4/4 makes it far better than a general reanimation spell. To top things off, Superior Spider-Man can copy creatures in an opponent’s graveyard, allowing this to become a mirror breaker. Following the Pro Tour metagame breakdown for this weekend, it appears that pro players have decided to adapt this card.
Superior Spider-Man is also seeing some early Standard play. The card is popping in 5-0 League results in Reanimator shells, which try to make Superior Spider-Man become a copy of Ardyn, the Usurper from MTG Final Fantasy. Ardyn can then reanimate even more bombs from the grave to quickly take over the game. Throw in some other haymakers, like Valgavoth, Terror Eater, combined with Overlord of the Balemurk as a threat and a consistency tool, and this deck seems very consistent at what it does. The incidental graveyard hate, like Agatha’s Soul Cauldron, that’s currently in Standard makes me hesitant about how this being more than a niche deck, however.
Dock Ock’s Tentacles
Doc Ock’s Tentacles offer a very powerful payoff for just one mana, but in a lot of cases, it’s very win-more. If you’re dropping enough five-drop creatures for Dock Ock’s Tentacles to get value, chances are you’re already winning. Despite this, there is a deck that tried Doc Ock’s Tentacles and had positive results with it.
This can do some heavy lifting in Modern Affinity decks. Doc Ock’s Tentacles can double as a cheap artifact that ramps up Affinity, and as a way to make your Affinity payoffs more significant. Cards like Thought Monitor have a rather fragile body despite being seven-mana creatures. Affinity for artifacts generally makes this creature a lot cheaper to cast, and the value is more so from drawing cards than its 2/2 Flying body. That said, Doc Ock’s Tentacles turns that into a 6/6 on entry, and can buff up Kappa Canoneer to being an unblockable 9/9 that just continues growing. These creatures come down early enough in the game that the buff that these Tentacles offer is actually relevant.
Some of the wilder decks trying out Doc Ock’s Tentacles are bypassing their equip costs with cards like Puresteel Paladin. These bizarre brews are like a weird mix of Affinity and Hammertime, utilizing Puresteel Paladin as a draw engine and a way to make Doc Ock’s Tentacles into a consistent buffing tool.
There’s still an argument in regards to whether this card is redundant or not. Affinity hasn’t widely adopted this card, but Doc Ock’s Tentacles does make sense in the deck.
Spider-Sense
Spider-Sense has seen the most play amongst the new MTG Spider Man cards in competitive formats so far. The card already has numerous Modern Challenge top eights under its belt, all under the same Affinity banner that Doc Ock’s Tentacles is seeing early experimentation with. I’ve managed two top eights with the deck in this brief period, one of which used Spider-Sense in the sideboard.
Spider-Sense is seeing experimentation as a card to replace sideboard Force of Negations with in Modern Affinity. Because of the presence of turn two-win decks like Neoform combo and Storm, you need some very cheap interaction to fight against things that go faster than you. Force of Negation may be cheaper than Spider-Sense with a free alternative cost, but Affinity is a deck that generally wants to dump its hand onto the board. It’s difficult to hold a blue card in hand without slowing down your game plan, making Force of Negation an awkward card to play with.
Affinity is known to create a ludicrous amount of threats early. Whether it’s a flying token from Pinnacle Emissary or a Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, it’s very easy to represent Web-Slinging consistently. Spider-Sense’s ability to counter instants and sorceries for one mana is what it’s mostly seeing play for, but there are a ton of relevant abilities to counter in Modern. In my experience, other sideboard options, like Blood Moon and Consign to Memory, are better in these matchups, but being able to counter things like Urza’s Saga‘s search trigger, or a Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant‘s triggered ability to play around Veil of Summer, allows the card to be incredibly flexible. The ability to bounce Thought Monitor or, in rare cases, a Warped Pinnacle Emissary, is a relevant added bonus.
Some Pro Tour players were testing Spider-Sense in their Challenge runs, and after the breakdown for Pro Tour Edge of Eternities was revealed, we now know that Spider-Sense is appearing in Affinity and Blink sideboards. Spider-Sense looks to be the early winner from MTG Spider Man, but its applications are admittedly limited. I wouldn’t be surprised if this card broke out in more formats than just Modern in the near future.