I don’t like superheroes, but Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man set has a redeeming quality some great sets didn’t have

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I’ll be straight with you, superhero movies just aren’t my thing. I find them so predictable, but honestly, it goes deeper than that – they just don’t grab me. The last one I really *watched* was probably *The Dark Knight Rises*, and that was only because I was already invested in the Batman trilogy and felt I needed to finish it – that was over a decade ago! Even though everyone raves about *The Dark Knight* trilogy, and it scores so highly on sites like IMDB – even better than some of my all-time favorite films – I never really connected with it. Superheroes just don’t resonate with me personally. So, a Spider-Man set for *Magic: The Gathering* in 2025 was a complete surprise, but here we are thanks to Universes Beyond!

I never really got into superheroes, but I surprisingly love a card from the latest *Magic: The Gathering* set called City Pigeon, which is based on Spider-Man characters. It might sound strange, but the reason is the gameplay itself. While I’m not a fan of the superhero artwork on many of the cards, I have to admit Wizards of the Coast did a great job with how the set plays, particularly in the Limited format.

Limited is a way to play Magic: The Gathering where you create a deck during the game using cards you open from booster packs. This happens in formats like Draft or Sealed.

Why I Enjoy MTG’s Spider-Man Set Despite Disliking Spider-Man As a Whole

I really enjoyed the gameplay of *Magic: The Gathering*’s Edge of Eternities set, and since I’m not a big fan of superheroes, I figured I’d skip the Spider-Man set. I was pleasantly surprised, though! I’m willing to try most things once as long as they’re safe and don’t hurt anyone, so I decided to check out the Spider-Man pre-release, and I’m glad I did.

Many cards in this set have interesting combinations of abilities that really change how the game plays. For example, the City Pigeon creates a Food token when it’s removed from play, letting you use it as an attacker, temporarily remove it for a stronger card, and then easily bring it back for a low cost. Black and blue villain decks are enjoyable because they let you discard cards to set up future plays while also drawing new ones. Playing a Grixis deck with Green Goblin and cards that cause mayhem was a particularly fun experience in Limited – I even got to try it after trading decks with my friend. While the Standard format is different, and it’s unclear how well Spider-Man fits in, this set truly excels in the Limited format.

I pulled Behold the Sinister Six! from a booster pack, which immediately inspired me to build a Black and Blue villain deck. I already owned cards like Doc Ock, Sinister Scientist, and a few gangster-themed cards, so focusing on villains and manipulating the discard pile felt natural. While I didn’t win every match, I had a surprisingly good time-much more fun than I anticipated from a *Magic: The Gathering* Spider-Man set, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting much at all.

MTG’s Spider-Man Finally Does Hybrid Mana Justice

The *Magic: The Gathering* set featuring Spider-Man has a surprisingly large number of cards that require hybrid mana. Even though the set is relatively small with only 188 cards, 16 of them use hybrid mana costs. Here’s a list of those cards:

  • Cheering Crowd (Red/Green)
  • Gallant Citizen (Green/White)
  • Mary Jane Watson (Green/White)
  • Mob Lookout (Blue/Black)
  • Pumpkin Bombardment (Black/Red)
  • Rhino’s Rampage (Red/Green)
  • Scarlet Spider, Kaine (Black/Red)
  • Shriek, Treblemaker (Black/Red)
  • Skyward Spider (White/Blue)
  • Spider Manifestation (Red/Green)
  • Spider-Woman, Stunning Savior (White/Blue)
  • Sun-Spider, Nimble Webber (White/Blue)
  • Symbiote Spider-Man (Blue/Black)
  • Ultimate Green Goblin (Black/Red)
  • Vulture, Scheming Scavenger (Blue/Black)
  • Web-Warriors (Green/White)

Scarlet Spider, Kaine, doesn’t use traditional mana for some of his abilities. Instead, he uses a resource called ‘mayhem’ – it functions similarly to mana in this case.

Hybrid mana is really helpful in Limited and formats like Pauper. It lets cards have abilities connected to multiple colors without requiring you to commit to those specific colors in your deck. This is great because you don’t have to worry as much about getting *exactly* the right mana sources, and it’s easier to play cards even if you’re not drawing enough of a certain color. I’ve always found it frustrating when you can’t play cards simply because you’re unlucky with your land draws, getting too many of one type and not the one you need. That’s why I often play Blue commanders or decks with Blue in them – Blue lets me draw more cards and avoid mana problems.

Hybrid mana is a really cool mechanic, and I’d like to see it used more often in the game. It’s surprising that even in sets with strong color combinations, like Magic: The Gathering’s Tarkir: Dragonstorm, it wasn’t used very much. Tarkir: Dragonstorm focused on three-color clans, but only 10 out of 271 cards actually had hybrid mana costs.

Should You Give MTG’s Spider-Man Set a Try?

Overall, I’m really pleased to learn that upcoming *Magic: The Gathering* sets will include more hybrid cards. Mark Rosewater, the game’s lead designer (often called MaRo), recently explained on his blog that the increased number of hybrid mana cards in the Spider-Man set is intentional. He said this change is part of a new design approach meant to improve gameplay in Limited formats. Even if you’re not a fan of the Spider-Man set, it’s hard to deny that this is a positive change for the game in the long run.

Ultimately, should you try the Spider-Man set even if the theme doesn’t appeal to you? I can’t decide for you, but I went into it expecting to hate it, and I’ve actually been enjoying how it plays. You really need to try it yourself to understand what I mean. It’s not a flawless set, but aside from the theme, it’s a genuinely fun experience, especially in Limited, and it works really well on its own. Surprisingly, it’s better than some sets considered all-time greats. Will this make me a Spider-Man fan? Definitely not, but if you enjoy building creative decks in *Magic: The Gathering*, this set delivers that feeling, even just in the Limited format.

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2025-09-25 23:12