The MTG Spider-Man First Look is finally here, and multiple core characters of the IP have been revealed. Unlike the previous Welcome Deck cards we’ve seen over the last few days, some of these are bona fide gems from the main set. Similar to what we’ve seen so far, however, many of these cards miss the mark a bit.
Miles Morales/Ultimate Spider-Man
For 60-card format fans, Miles Morales is the highlight of the First Look. Granting two +1/+1 counters to different creatures on entry is an incredible effect for a two-mana creature. This puts Miles’ far above the average statline for two mana, but you do need creatures to get maximum value from him. This card fits like a glove in the current Mono-Green Standard deck, so there should be no issue finding places to play Miles Morales.
Ultimate Spider-Man is a bit expensive for constructed, but it will likely also make Miles Morales a Commander icon. Not only is Ultimate Spider-Man very difficult to remove thanks to his Hexproof ability, but doubling counters on attack can easily push a board over the edge. Any players who can fit Miles Morales into their counters matters decks are going to do so.
Ironically, Miles Morales color identity holds him back a bit in Commander, as his Naya color identity prevents him from seeing play in the recent Counter Blitz precon. Still, this card is incredibly impressive and should be one of the larger chase cards in MTG Spider-Man.
Symbiote Spider-Man
Depicting Peter Parker getting taken over by the Venom Symbiote, Symbiote Spider-Man is simply ok. As a creature, this isn’t the most impressive rare we’ve ever seen. If you can reliably connect with Symbiote Spider-Man just once, it should create enough value to be worthwhile, but with an unimpressive statline and no keywords, this card is honestly pretty disappointing, as a creature, that is.
Symbiote Spider-Man enables itself since you can mill over additional copies of it, and from the graveyard, the card is much more versatile. Exiling Symbiote Spider-Man and granting its abilities to a more powerful creature can be incredibly interesting. This can make connecting with an evasive creature incredibly valuable.
Symbiote Spider-Man may sadly be too expensive for constructed, but the card should be able to perform well in Commander. Even as a creature, connecting with Symbiote Spider-Man should be much easier in that format when you have three opponents to attack. Additionally, in Commander, you have plenty of time to use Symbiote Spider-Man’s graveyard ability to strong effect.
Doctor Octopus, Master Planner
Doctor Octopus is incredibly flavorful, but at his mana value, he’s going to be too expensive for a majority of MTG formats. The villain buff is difficult to assess at this point, but Doctor Octopus is likely too expensive for that text to matter. Refilling your hand to eight cards, however, is incredibly powerful, and should put you firmly in the driver’s seat if you actually get to your end step with Doctor Octopus.
If Doctor Octopus meets something akin to Go For the Throat, you spent seven mana for nothing. This fragility will certainly hold Doctor Octopus from seeing play in constructed formats. The card, in a lot of instances, is a strictly worse Atraxa, Grand Unifier, after all.
Standard is the one exception to this, since Atraxa has now rotated out of the format. Doctor Octopus is a very strong option to play with reanimation strategies or as a payoff in Kona, Rescue Beastie strategies.
Otherwise, Doctor Octopus is an obvious threat in Commander. You have plenty of time to get this card into play, and refilling your hand can be curtains for the table. The only other place where this card may see play is in formats where there’s a lot of ETB hate. The card can come in as an Atraxa replacement in those scenarios.
Gwen Stacy/Ghost Spider
Gwen Stacy/Ghost Spider is a lot less exciting than Miles Morales, but could be playable. In all honesty, the card is a bit difficult to assess. If you can reliably play the card you Impulse draw then Gwen Stacy should be good, in theory. The issue is that a 2/1 that only sometimes gets value isn’t that strong.
Summon: Brynhildr from Final Fantasy does something similar. Brynhildr saw very little play at all, which suggests Gwen Stacy might end up being the same. Ghost-Spider is a good card advantage engine, but she’s incredibly expensive to get online, and isn’t worth the mana invested. Outside of Commander, this card might be a no-go.
Spider Punk
Spider-Punk is incredibly impressive for just two mana. Riot, to jog player’s memories, is a mechanic that triggers on entry, giving creatures the choice of employing Haste, or a +1/+1 counter. This immediately makes Spider-Punk playable in any Spider-based deck, as it essentially makes all your creatures Hasty.
The other effects on Spider-Punk are also incredibly unique and could make him playable in formats as old as Legacy. Making spells uncounterable is certainly interesting, but Spider-Punk can be countered himself. Making damage unpreventable is incredibly powerful, but format-specific. Making abilities uncounterable, however, is something we’ve never seen before.
Not only will this safeguard your abilities from creatures like Tishana’s Tidebinder in Standard, but it can also come in as sideboard hate against a specific type of deck. Decks that counter their own abilities with cards like Consign to Memory won’t be able to do that with Spider-Punk in play. This can catch Phyrexian Dreadnought-style decks unprepared and completely ruin their game plan. Notably, this won’t stop ETB hate like Hushbringer, however, since those abilities aren’t getting countered, but instead aren’t able to trigger in the first place.
Either way, Spider-Punk is incredibly unique and definitely has a chance to see play across a whole bunch of formats. This card solves some very specific problems that are otherwise very difficult to resolve, but outside of that, it’s just ok.