Modern Set Review: Marvel's Spider-Man

Spider-Man is coming. The set that will kick off the long series of collaborations between Magic: The Gathering and Marvel will be released on September 26th, with 188 cards that bring the Spider-Verse to the card game.

Unlike Final Fantasy, however, Spider-Man is a confusing set to analyze. Originally planned as a mini-set like Assassin's Creed, the set was expanded to become a Standard-legal product after the failure of Beyond Boosters, and this consequence is noticeable in the repetitive design of most of its cards.

Consequently, the feeling is that, for formats like Modern and Legacy, the set has many potentially interesting cards, but few, if any, that are essential to the formats. In this article, we evaluate the cards with the greatest potential to impact Modern in Spider-Man! Keep in mind that despite the review, I don't personally feel any card from the set is a must-have for most decks in the format, but rather neat additions that might show up in some lists.

Arachne, Psionic Weaver feels a bit too fair for Modern, but the Web-Slinging ability brings some possibilities to Blink lists, especially as a glorified bounce effect that, unlike Ephemerate, requires us to play the card for its mana cost again—but in return, it offers two important things: information about the opponent's resources combined with a Thalia, Guardian of Thraben for a specific card type, which can stall the opponent's plans for consecutive turns.

Add cards like Solitude and Quantum Riddler to the equation, and Arachne starts to look like an interesting card worthy of some Modern play, given its abilities and card advantage from returning these creatures, though not as effective as Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd and similar Blink cards.

Rent is Due is a source of cheap card advantage in White, easily enabled with a dozen cards in Modern: Ocelot Pride if we stack its trigger correctly, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer if he connects with the opponent and we have another creature in play, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah draws a card with the enchantment the same turn it enters, and even Brightglass Gearhulk can find Rent is Due while also searching for another creature to trigger the enchantment.

It has potential and may be worth some testing, but like other cards in the set, it doesn't seem like an automatic and entirely necessary inclusion in a specific archetype.

Spider-Sense, or Peter Tingle, is a good Stifle / Consign to Memory variant that could attract the attention of Azorius Blink or other archetypes that can reuse creatures with ETBs in blue. The attached Dispel / Envelop could make it a more flexible card in the maindeck than Consign to Memory, which is currently a sideboard staple.

Archetypes like Merfolks and Izzet Wizards will most likely try this card fairly easily, although it's hard to imagine a player tapping a Snapcaster Mage to attack if the game isn't already properly controlled.

Someone will definitely try to complete a Parker Luck combo with some absurdly high-mana-value card, like Emrakul, the Aeons' Torn or Shadow of Mortality. The deck probably won't be good, but it will get a 5-0 in some Magic Online League and generate hype around the card—whether through memes or speculation.

Calibrated Blast had its moment in Modern, so maybe Parker Luck can do something interesting besides being a one-hit wonder.

Ruby Storm decks don't need Birgi, God of Storytelling, and Electro, Assaulting Battery is essentially the same card, but with the added ability to "store" mana from Pyretic Ritual and Desperate Ritual instead of generating card advantage.

Its biggest advantage is that it's another card that allows you to abuse the Legend Rule to do something explosive: a second copy of Electro essentially functions as a finisher if you play enough rituals, which it encourages along with Ral, Monsoon Mage and Ruby Medallion. Thus, Electro does a bit of everything, but it's not excellent at any of the roles—it's possible that some lists will start trading some pieces for it in the maindeck, or even that it will become part of the Wish toolbox. It remains to be seen whether this variant will be better than the current version.

Heroes' Hangout is a nice addition to Prowess variants, especially those that don't play and therefore don't have as much access to better cheap cantrips. Its first mode is a card selection similar to Sleight of Hand in red and guarantees higher draw quality for Mono Red versions, while the pump and First Strike make it worth considering even in Izzet versions as another way to pressure the opponent or force unfavorable blocks in the same slot as a cheap cantrip.

Spider-Punk is reminiscent of Frenzied Baloth from Edge of Eternities, but it can't be targeted with Green Sun's Zenith. Unfortunately, like its predecessor, the card appears to have been designed to deal with The One Ring, but it's a year too late in that regard.

Today, it could be an option for red archetypes that want to protect their spells from Counterspell or abilities from Consign to Memory but don't have access to Voice of Victory, since its restriction isn't limited to creature spells. Potential sideboard staple in the right Metagame.

Honorable mention. Lizard, Connors's Curse permanently changes the stats of a target creature of any player and can be searched with Green Sun's Zenith to turn any card that would be more troublesome in its original form into a 4/4. Worst-case scenario, it works against Emrakul, the Aeons' Torn if we ever get a tweaked version of Show and Tell in a new Modern Horizons set.

Supportive Parents has a high cost but technically functions as a Birchlore Rangers for any creature, which could have applications in go wide creature-based combo archetypes like Samwise Gamgee, Golgari Yawgmoth, and others.

It might merit some testing in the first week of the new set, but I've failed to find a clear archetype among the higher tiers that truly wants this card.

There's already fierce competition for the three-drop slots in Energy decks, and Araña, Heart of the Spider joins the list of options due to its interactions with Guide of Souls and its combat triggers.

However, the lack of ETB can hinder its means to generate card advantage if we don't have a prior setup, and not filtering out bad draws while feeding Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury like Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant or Tersa Lightshatter will likely distance this card from the most competitive lists, even in a Metagame that demands more immediate pressure.

I'm not sure exactly where Jackal, Genius Geneticist could work, but it fits the "build around" pattern that often leads to underexplored interactions in the Metagame. The possibility of creating a "ladder" mana curve can be tempting with cards like Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, but it's necessary to consider which cards fit into good color combinations for Jackal without sacrificing the consistency of an existing archetype. Perhaps there might be something with Birthing Ritual worth looking at with it.

Kraven, Proud Predator gets huge alongside the combination of Scion of Draco and Leyline of the Guildpact, allowing him to attack with 12 power and a keyword soup. However, if we already have the combination of Leyline and Scion on the board, aren't we winning the game regardless of Kraven?

Furthermore, the other cards in Domain Zoo, the main archetype that could benefit from Kraven, have low mana values ​​outside of Leyline Binding and Scion of Draco, making him too conditional to outperform cards like Territorial Kavu.

A one-mana removal that can also deal with Cori-Steel Cutter and other troublesome artifacts might be worth some sideboard slots, especially since it's less conditional than cards like Dreadmaw's Ire and forces potential two-for-one trades.

The combination of Aether Vial and Serra Avenger was once one of the most powerful plays in the eternal formats, but that was over a decade ago. Spider-Man 2099 is too close in that regard, and in a color combination that typically won't run Vial, and/or where waiting four turns to play a threat without immediate impact will be too slow for Prowess decks.

It's possible to build a list that leverages exile effects as card advantage and use Spider-Man 2099 instead of some other threat, but the number of times having two or more copies of it in your hand will mean a lot of dead cards early in the game, which is quite punishing for aggressive decks.

Doc Ock's Tentacles is a new possible Urza's Saga target in Affinity lists, where you can equip Thought Monitor to turn it into a 6/6 with Flying or amplify the explosive potential of a Kappa Cannoneer. Its low mana cost and obvious interaction with the Affinity ability also make it the type of card that, typically, won't be a problem to cast and leave on the board until you drop your bombs.

Potential staple for a specific archetype that is currently well-positioned in the Metagame.

Iron Spider, Stark Upgrade turns the +1/+1 counters in Hardened Scales decks into extra draws while also feeding all artifact creatures +1/+1 counters. Personally, I lack experience with the archetype to define how strong and necessary this card is for and without immediate impact, but at the opposite side of the table, I can imagine situations where it easily gets out of hand if the game goes on for a long time.

Peter Parker's Camera is one of those cards that will probably never be bad as part of the Urza's Saga toolbox.

Modern, especially Saga decks, tends to have a dozen activated and triggered abilities that can be easily copied by the artifact: worst-case scenario, we can always copy another Saga's ability to create more Constructs, and best-case scenario, we're copying Thought Monitor, the activated ability of Emry, Lurker of the Loch or a Planeswalker like Karn, the Great Creator, or even specific answers like the Channel from a Boseiju, Who Endures or Otawara, Soaring City, not to mention a dozen other possibilities which will make this card really worth considering in almost every Saga list, and maybe even outside it.

Potential staple. Perhaps the most relevant card of the set for Modern and Legacy.

Steel Wrecking Ball is a good addition for Karn, the Great Creator's toolbox as it operates as a colorless spot removal and artifact hate that can be cast with Talisman of Impulse in the same slot.

That's all for today.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!