EDH: Top 8 Most Fun Commanders from Marvel's Spider-Man + Decklists!

Today, like we do whenever a new set comes out, we'll review the most interesting commanders from the new set for our beloved format. Marvel's Spider-Man gave us a good number of legendary creatures, and each of them represents a critical part of one of the most iconic comic book characters of all time.

As usual, we'll only go over the commanders in the main set. Wizards of the Coast didn't give us Commander-exclusive products this time, but they gave us something called Marvel's Spider-Man Eternal, which appears in the welcome decks that are supposed to teach beginners how to play the game. Like we mentioned above, however, we won't review the exclusive cards in this beginner-centered product.

Please note that this isn't an objective ranking either, so no card is better than the one above or below. Our goal is to highlight the most striking commanders from this set, either for their unusual game style or where they sit in the set and MTG overall.

Now, with all of that cleared up, we can finally leave the MTG multiverse and start our journey in modern-day New York.

Let's start as "tongue-in-cheek" as possible with Spider Ham, Peter Porker: this is a cheap green commander that puts a Food into play when it enters and is also a lord for a very specific list of creatures. Its second ability buffs practically all relevant animals in MTG, so it basically turns all your pet allies into a real army.

It is also a 2/2 for two mana, which is simple. We might even call it a "bear", but, in this case, it is a pig. The Food token it creates won't be enough to hold off aggressive decks, but it could open some space for artifact or Lifegain synergies. The best thing about it, though, is that it will be perfect for "animal kindreds", as we can use it and MTG's best animals to create fun, stompy strategies.

SP//dr, Piloted by Peni is not necessarily a great commander according to current community standards. It is not like other legendary creatures that can carry the entire game on their back and sit at the very center of their lists, which, in turn, can't work without them. Peni and this robot are a "win more" card. They reward decent deckbuilding and solid boards and do more for their decks than the decks do for them, unlike how the most popular Commander lists work nowadays.

The best thing about SP//dr, Piloted by Peni is that it turns all your modified creatures into card draw. Whenever they deal damage, you'll draw a card. And it even helps you do this, as it gives you a +1/+1 counter when it enters. "Modified creatures" are creatures that have an equipment card or counter attached or are enchanted with an aura. So this commander will frequently push this engine forward, particularly if you run out of options after getting hit with a Farewell, for instance.

That being said, this leader is perfect for cards like Chasm Skulker, The Ozolith, and Costume Closet, which continue to grow as the game goes on and give you something to do with the counters you lose. This commander is quite simple but can evolve a lot throughout the game.

Spider-Man 2099 is a bit of a spicy commander because of its ability, which states, "You can't cast Spider-Man 2099 during your first, second, or third turns of the game." It is really similar to Serra Avenger in that way. Vigilance and Double Strike make it quite devastating, both in attack and defense. This also gets even better when you realize that the whole idea behind Spider-Man 2099 is to buff it so you can use its main ability.

Whenever you play a land or cast a spell from outside your hand, it deals damage equal to its power to any target. Red and blue, as a color combination, has space for strategies centered around exiling cards and playing cards from the exile, Flashback, Adventure, and many other synergies. You can even do a crossover with The Tenth Doctor.

And, of course, Basilisk Collar is always incredibly fun with a commander like this.

Whenever a new Universes Beyond set comes along, we look for our favorite characters to play. Norman Osborn stands out because he is the villain from the first Spider-Man movie, the fascinating Green Goblin, played by William Dafoe. This alone is enough to conquer a few casual fans, like me.

As a card, Norman is a 1/1 that costs two mana and can't be blocked. This means he'll always deal damage, so you can always trigger his Connive ability. In turn, this ability will give you a lot of cards in a row and grow him quite a bit, which represents his upgraded body and ultimate transformation into Green Goblin. Norman doesn't need to take any super serum to grow in MTG. You just need to pay at sorcery speed.

As Green Goblin, he is in Grixis colors and has relevant keywords, like Menace and Flying, which will go great with the counters you get from Norman's Connive ability. He also has a static ability that discounts the cost of spells you play from the graveyard, like with the Flashback mechanic, for instance. However, his main ability is giving Mayhem to all non-land cards in your graveyard and thus letting you cast them from that zone. And yes, he also discounts their cost.

Norman Osborn is one of the rare double-faced cards in this set that you can play both sides. However, there is no reason to play his Green Goblin side. This side is not only more expensive, as it costs three different mana colors, but Norman's Connive is a lot more critical, as it fills your graveyard with the cards you'll cast later on with Mayhem. Furthermore, the counters from Connive are also quite welcome.

If you've read some of my other Commander articles, then you already know of my crusade against five-color commanders. Despite seeming complex to build, this type of legendary creature is nothing more than an invitation to fill your decks with as many good stuff strategies as you can. Personally, I believe they hold very little space for creativity, and we're talking about one of the most diverse formats in MTG.

This commander has Flying, First Strike, Trample, Lifelink, and Haste, so it's basically an Akroma, Angel of Wrath from the comic book world. At the beginning of combat each turn, Cosmic Spider-Man also gives all of these abilities to all your Spiders in play and turns them into a real army.

What makes me really sad about this type of effect is that it doesn't buff your "Spider Hero" creatures or something like that. It buffs any Spider you play in your deck, so they don't have to be "Spider-Men". This includes Spider-Man Noir, Ishkanah, Grafwidow, and even Avian Changeling, as well as all other Spiders. I just think this type of strategy is a bit lazy.

Iron Spider, Stark Upgrade stands out because it is simple in theory but extremely versatile in practice. It is similar to Steel Overseer but with a much wider range, as it also affects Vehicles and has Vigilance. This essentially means you can use this friendly neighborhood Spider-Man with a bit more freedom.

Another great thing about this commander is that it turns the counters you put on your creatures and Vehicles into card draw. That's how Iron Spider, Stark Upgrade really stands out, as even some artifact-centered Izzet lists struggle with consistency in the long term. The fact this commander is a card advantage engine by himself means you don't have to rely so much on other engines, so it will make lists centered around Vehicles or smaller artifact creatures a bit more stable. Furthermore, this also lets you get something out of creatures that are about to die, as you can use their counters instead of just losing them.

In the end, Iron Spider is, at the same time, a way to grow your creatures and a setup commander that turns your slow turns into resources. If you enjoy artifact strategies that scale with time, I strongly recommend this Spider-Man.

Kraven the Hunter is quite straightforward, as it essentially gives you something back for destroying your opponent's biggest threats. Whenever their most powerful creature is destroyed, Kraven grows (with a +1/+1 counter) and also draws a card. This is quite similar to Chevill, Bane of Monsters, a hunting buddy from Ikoria that also gives you something for destroying a specific creature.

The most obvious way to build Kraven would be in a Midrange list quite similar to what we see in x1 formats: something that can deal with the biggest enemy threats as it progresses its own game plan. Against multiple opponents, this commander will scale fast, particularly with spells that hit multiple targets, like Hex. Kraven, the Hunter is proof there's always new prey to hunt, and, despite being simple, we had to mention him as a highly fun commander to build.

Finally, moving on to what I believe to be the most fun commander in this set, let's see Jackal, Genius Geneticist. This Simic commander embodies the "genetic experiment" theme really well, like a Momir Vig, Simic Visionary that got lost. Jackal himself isn't that impressive, as he is only a 1/1 with Trample and really resembles a Charging Badger, but what really sets him apart from the others is his ability, which copies creatures. Whenever you cast a creature with a mana value equal to Jackal's power, he creates a nonlegendary token copy of it and also puts a +1/+1 counter on himself.

This type of design promotes natural growth, similar to a Birthing Pod. It is a puzzle of sorts, as you must play the right cards in the right order at the right time, and the deck itself needs to focus on creatures at different points of the mana curve to work. They'll support your commander and truly make him a green, mutant snowball.

In the end, this Universes Beyond really wasn't for me. The cards are cool and all, but I didn't really take to it as I took to Final Fantasy, for instance. No, all I need are some classic MTG cards to cleanse my palate from Spider-Man.

Wait, the next set is also a Universes Beyond set? Avatar?!

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

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!