Spoiler Highlight: Spider-Punk in Legacy

Greetings, Legacy community! We've barely left the immeasurable distant galaxies in the Edge of Eternities but have already fallen right in the neighborhood of... your friendly neighborhood Spiderman!

I confess that, 20 years ago, I would never have imagined we'd get a set based around the spiderverse, but here we are. And WotC's fast-paced schedule has once again thrown us into a new spoiler season. One of the first cards they revealed was Spider-Punk, which, straight away, I could tell had a lot of potential for Legacy!

The creatures that usually see play in Legacy are either extremely efficient threats for their cost, combo pieces, or creatures that change the way the game is played entirely. In that last group, you'll find cards like Orcish Bowmasters (which changes how we draw cards), Magus of the Moon (which affects nonbasic lands), Archon of Emeria (which disrupts decks that play lots of spells per turn), Collector Ouphe, and Clarion Conqueror (which both disable certain types of activated abilities), to name a few. Our new punk hero fits this group rather well.

Officially, Spider-Punk is a 2/1, but it does meet the bare minimum standards to be playable in Legacy: because of its Riot, it can turn into a 3/2 if you need to, and isn't an easy prey to Orcish Bowmasters. Now that we know that, we can look at its abilities.

The first one will probably be the most useless one because it doesn't seem like any Spider Kindred deck will become meta anytime soon. But you should still keep in mind that most of the new cards in the next set are Spiders or create Spider tokens, so Punk could be useful occasionally if we find a playable partner for it in this set. In any case, it will be a bonus for certain situations, not the reason this card will see play. The real reason it will see play is its next ability.

We can't deny that making cards uncounterable is a great ability in Legacy. Cavern of Souls, Voice of Victory, Defense Grid, and Trinisphere, besides the now banned party pooper Vexing Bauble, regularly show up in tournaments. When Spider-Punk is in play, particularly in decks that don't or can't use counterspells, the way the game is played changes entirely.

It really reminds me of how useful Voice of Victory is: it demands an answer from your opponent, or you'll be able to do whatever you want with your deck. Spider-Punk also makes your abilities uncounterable. It's less useful, but you can always catch a Stifle off guard with it.

Finally, its last ability doesn't seem that interesting at first, considering damage prevention isn't very relevant (when was the last time you saw something like Moment's Peace on the board?). However, there is a very relevant type of prevention in the game: Protection!

You know The One Ring's extra turn? Well, Punk will put a stop to that! Is Mother of Runes ruining your day? I'm sorry, momma, but Punk won't let you do whatever you want.

Overall, all of these abilities will be quite relevant considering its cost. Furthermore, the fact it is a Human is also a bonus, considering some decks can play this friendly spider with Cavern of Souls and make sure no counter gets in their way.

Decks that Could Use Spider-Punk

Spider-Punk might be a red card that looks like a lock piece, but it shouldn't see play in the most popular red deck in the format, at least not the way it is built now: this card's abilities go directly against two of the main cards in Red Stompy - Chalice of the Void and The One Ring. Actually, it will be great against it, not in it.

But there's another Stompy that could probably use this Spider really well: Boros Initiative! Most of these lists use Swords to Plowshares instead of Chalice of the Void, considering you want to pick Human with Cavern of Souls and this deck already uses the Dungeon instead of The One Ring. If Punk resolves, it will give you another way to go over Force of Will and the protection of the ring.

Another red deck that would be interested in pushing spells over counters is Painter. Using Punk with Pyroblast and Painter's Servant might seem counterproductive, but it's still a Vindicate for 1 mana, even if it does disable half of this card's counter ability. And, in these cases, you'll be free to play your combos.

A valid option is also playing Spider-Punk in Human Kindred lists. This deck is a great toolbox, and our Punk friend is a way to make sure your cards are efficient and unanswerable.

Relevant global effects tied to aggressive bodies, like this one, usually see play in Legacy. As Spider-Punk can survive the everpresent Orcish Bowmasters' "ping" with its +1/+1 counter, it has space to prosper. I trust it will make quite a scene in this format!

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!