Pioneer: 5 Decks with Spider-Man (Through the Omenpaths) to try out!

Spider-Man is coming. Whether it's the Prerelease on September 19th or the totally non-Spider-Man release on Magic Arena and Magic Online with the expansion Through the Omenpaths on the 23rd, players will be able to experience the collaboration's new features at the tabletop and in ranked matches.

Despite the unexpected changes this set brought, with different names and the same abilities, we're still talking about an expansion for competitive formats and with the potential to bring changes to the Metagame with some of its key cards. And in this article, we explore Spider-Man's potential for Pioneer, with lists to try with the release of the new set!

Web-Slinging Humans

With so many Human heroes in Spider-Man, it's natural that the Humans deck finds room to experiment with some of them in its lists.

In this version, we leverage Web-Slinging to reuse the ETB effects of Thalia's Lieutenant and Reflector Mage while extracting value from Arachne, Psionic Weaver and the new Spider-Sense, which helps protect our board from sweepers while also resolving triggers from problematic cards like Cori-Steel Cutter.

Boros Discard

With Hobgoblin, Mantled Marauder, Boros Discard gains a new threat that grows with the discard effects of Seasoned Hallowblade and Guardian of New Benalia, so we can once again explore a more aggressive version of Monument to Endurance decks using the card and also with the inclusion of Tersa Lightshatter due to its Haste.

There are a dozen cards with Mayhem that may be worth testing in this list. In particular, Carnage, Crimson Chaos and Ultimate Green Goblin are interesting options, but Carnage requires a splash to work, while Ultimate Green Goblin likely has stiffer competition in Pioneer in terms of enablers.

Boros Pia Shadow

Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival disappeared from the competitive Metagame a few months ago, and perhaps now's a good time to revisit her with the new Shadow of the Goblin, which increases the deck's reach in finishing games, especially alongside Showdown of the Skalds.

The new Heroes' Hangout is also a powerful addition to the archetype. Besides offering a spell to play from exile for one mana, the power boost is relevant for triggering Emberheart Challenger's Valiant or even for increasing the power of Pia's tokens or creating unfavorable trades in combat.

Parker Luck

Parker Luck is one of Spider-Man's most fun cards and one worth considering building around. One of the main combos possible with it is putting Shadow of Mortality on top of the deck with Insatiable Avarice to reveal it and deal 15 damage to the opponent.

Besides this line, we also have cards like Unholy Annex for eight damage, and Bloodletter of Aclazotz can amplify the enchantment's life loss potential, doubling any damage it deals. Since we've included Bloodletter, it's also possible to add Unstoppable Slasher which offers a one-hit kill with the demon in play, guaranteeing us two distinct win lines that can work together.

Spider-Heroes

For those who want to enjoy their favorite Spider-Verse heroes in Pioneer, Spider-Heroes is a Legendary Human deck focused on the Spider subtype's interaction with Spider-Punk and several iconic Spider-Man characters, with most of the creatures also interacting with Web-Slinging through ETB effects.

This list is more geared towards the casual audience as a fun way of playing iconic Spider-Man characters at Pioneer tables and in your local store's tournaments, but we can't underestimate the interactive potential of Thalia's Lieutenant with Arachne, Psionic Weaver to create plays that, together with Collected Company and Spider-Punk, can create incredibly explosive board positions.

That's all for today!

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

Thanks for reading!