First Look at Spider-Man’s Magic: The Gathering Crossover Revealed

Did you spot our uncover of Magic: The Gathering’s Final Fantasy crossover past week and deliberation to yourself, “video games are each good and good, but wherever are nan superheroes?” Well past do I person awesome news for you: Today we’ve comberan a first look astatine six caller cards from Magic’s upcoming Spider-Man set, arsenic good arsenic each nan products and packaging that will travel it.

Click done nan image assemblage below to spot each nan Spider-Man cards from its Commander-focused Scene Box, booster packs, Welcome Decks, and more, and publication connected to perceive astir nan group from Wizards of nan Coast.

Arriving September 26, Marvel’s Spider-Man will beryllium nan 2nd afloat draftable, Standard-legal group successful Magic’s Universes Beyond statement of products aft Final Fantasy, and nan 3rd wide aft 2023's Modern-legal Lord of nan Rings set. It won’t person immoderate preconstructed Commander decks for illustration you mightiness expect, but the cards successful nan Scene Box shown supra won’t be Standard-legal, and are alternatively designed pinch Commander successful mind.

While a Secret Lair pinch Wolverine, Captain America, and much was nan first measurement Magic took into nan Marvel beingness past year, Spider-Man will besides beryllium nan first afloat group inspired by nan comics truthful far. Wizards of nan Coast Executive Producer Max McCall says that’s because they conscionable wouldn’t person had room for each of nan characters and moments they wanted to see from Spider-Man if they had made a smaller merchandise instead.

“Spider-Man needs a afloat group to do justness to nan character, and incorporated nan galore villains he’s travel crossed complete nan years,” McCall explains. “Picking characters from nan Spider-Man canon arsenic portion of a wider group would time off acold excessively galore characters connected nan cutting room floor. We could astir apt person recovered room for Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales successful a non-Spider-Man circumstantial set, but location wouldn’t person been room for Aunt May.”

McCall says that designing for a Universes Beyond group “flips nan worldbuilding connected its head,” successful that a emblematic Magic group needs its cards to laic nan groundwork of its location and mounting while besides being nosy to play pinch successful bid to get players connected board, whereas astir group already person immoderate familiarity pinch a characteristic for illustration Spider-Man. “When we make a paper that speaks to awesome powerfulness base awesome responsibility, there’s room to adhd mechanical complexity because folks understand nan communicative nan paper is telling. We don’t person to make Universes Beyond cards that are ‘simple’ - we conscionable person to prime moments that are recognizable, and they’ll beryllium easy for fans to understand.”

As for really precisely they construe those moments and nan world astir them into a Magic set, Head Designer Mark Rosewater tells maine Magic’s colour pastry “is robust capable that we person nan expertise to show heroism and villainy successful each 5 colors.” As an example, Rosewater says Spider-Man would beryllium white, blue, and greenish (although nan circumstantial type successful nan Scene Box supra is only those first two).

“Spider-Man emotion obligated to usage his powerfulness to thief group is halfway to him being portion of nan achromatic colour pie. Spider-Man is besides nan merchandise of science, being bitten by a radioactive spider. This, and Peter’s aptitude for subject and invention (like his web-slingers) is very blue. Finally, Spider-Man's powers are based connected an animal, and nan comics person shown that location is simply a definite destiny to his relationship to some spiders and nan Spider-Man universe, which is each halfway green.”

In summation to nan Scene Box, nan group will person nan accustomed Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, Bundles, and Prerelease Packs, each of which tin besides beryllium seen successful nan assemblage supra pinch much details. And while location won’t beryllium immoderate preconstructed Commander decks, this will people nan return of Welcome Decks – those are themed introductory decks typically fixed retired by crippled stores for free truthful that caller players tin person a low-pressure measurement to study nan game.

In summation to this year’s Final Fantasy set, Wizards of nan Coast besides precocious announced a group themed astir Avatar: The Last Airbender. There will besides beryllium 2 much in-universe sets earlier that successful Tarkir: Dragontsorm and nan space-themed Edge of Eternities.

Read connected for nan full, unedited question and reply pinch Wizards of nan Coast’s Max McCall and Mark Rosewater:

IGN: Wizards of nan Coast evidently has large semipermanent plans for Magic: The Gathering’s collaboration pinch Marvel, but why did you commencement pinch Spider-Man erstwhile it comes to nan first afloat group successful that universe?

Max McCall, Executive Producer: Spider-Man needs a afloat group to do justness to nan character, and incorporated nan galore villains he’s travel crossed complete nan years. Picking characters from nan Spider-Man canon arsenic portion of a wider group would time off acold excessively galore characters connected nan cutting room floor. We could astir apt person recovered room for Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales successful a non-Spider-Man circumstantial set, but location wouldn’t person been room for Aunt May. We could see Green Goblin, but not nan afloat Sinister Six. Spider-Man has truthful galore iconic moments and characters that we wanted to make judge we comberan arsenic galore arsenic imaginable onto nan cards, and a Spider-Man group was nan champion measurement to do that.

You’ve spoken antecedently astir really you spot Universes Beyond arsenic a awesome measurement to present caller players to Magic, and Spider-Man seems primed to beryllium an particularly bully illustration of that. With that caller subordinate acquisition successful mind, did you attack this group otherwise than you would a Universes Within group successful immoderate ways?

MM: Designing Universes Beyond sets is an absorbing situation because it flips nan worldbuilding connected its head. Cards designed for a caller world for illustration Bloomburrow person to present folks to nan world successful summation to being nosy crippled pieces. Cards designed for Spider-Man don’t person to present group to Spider-Man – everyone's acquainted pinch Spider-Man astatine immoderate level – but they do person to salary disconnected folks’ conception of nan characters and nan large canon moments.

That is simply a immense opportunity erstwhile designing for an acquisition assemblage – caller players are going to admit nan communicative moments we put connected cards. So, erstwhile we make a paper that speaks to awesome powerfulness base awesome responsibility, there’s room to adhd mechanical complexity because folks understand nan communicative nan paper is telling. We don’t person to make Universes Beyond cards that are ‘simple’ - we conscionable person to prime moments that are recognizable, and they’ll beryllium easy for fans to understand.

Can you talk a spot astir really you fresh Spider-Man’s characters aliases themes into Magic’s colour pie?

Mark Rosewater, Head Designer: In position of Magic’s colour pie, Spider-Man is white, bluish and green. Spider-Man emotion obligated to usage his powerfulness to thief group is halfway to him being portion of nan achromatic colour pie. Spider-Man is besides nan merchandise of science, being bitten by a radioactive spider. This, and Peter’s aptitude for subject and invention (like his web-slingers) is very blue. Finally, Spider-Man's powers are based connected an animal, and nan comics person shown that location is simply a definite destiny to his relationship to some spiders and nan Spider-Man universe, which is each halfway green.

Are location immoderate challenges to keeping those colors some absorbing and meticulous successful a Super Hero universe?

MR: The colour pastry is robust capable that we person nan expertise to show heroism and villainy successful each 5 colors. Every colour has affirmative and antagonistic qualities allowing america to person a batch of nuances to really we usage them.

I ideate “spider typal” Commander decks are astir to get immoderate unexpected caller toys crossed this group - do you return immoderate typical considerations into relationship erstwhile a communal Magic animal type holds a very different meaning successful nan discourse of a Universes Beyond setting?

MM: Specifics matter a batch pinch issues for illustration this. Often, we’re playing successful nan aforesaid trope abstraction arsenic our Universes Beyond partners – things for illustration ‘assassins’ are seldom an issue. Spider-Man will of people incorporate galore Spiders, but a batch of nan deckbuilding hooks for those characters will cardinal much into nan Hero animal type.

The Final Fantasy group is going to agelong crossed galore different games and stories, but should we expect this group to person a circumstantial Spider-Man story, aliases are you treating it arsenic a showcase of celebrated characters, events, and locations from nan comics?

MM: Spider-Man features characters and stories from crossed its history – we're not limiting ourselves to immoderate 1 tally aliases series.

Marvel comics are beloved by a immense audience, but there’s nary denying that nan MCU has dominated nan nationalist cognition of these characters successful caller years. Was it tricky to creation astir nan comic book versions pinch that successful mind, aliases did you bask getting backmost to immoderate of their roots instead?

MR: The Marvel description s are based connected nan comics, but we’re ever alert of nan movies’ impact, truthful we find overlap erstwhile we can. Luckily, nan immense mostly of nan movie worldly was based connected nan comics.

With nan Spider-Man segment box, why did you spell nan way of including 4 legendary creatures this clip alternatively than building a container astir a azygous characteristic arsenic a small Commander starter battalion of sorts for illustration nan erstwhile ones were?

MM: Scene boxes show ocular stories. Spider-Man's storytelling is very character-driven and has a awesome rogue’s gallery, truthful we wanted to see arsenic galore characters arsenic possible. You’re mostly not going to person Spider-Man and villains successful nan aforesaid Commander deck, truthful erstwhile we committed to tons of characters, we knew that meant you wouldn’t beryllium putting them each successful nan aforesaid deck, and truthful that made for a awesome opportunity to make each villain much chopped and stress their different goals and methods successful nan paper designs.

Spider-Man is going to beryllium included, of course, but really did you onshore connected nan different 3 characters for this debut?

MM: Doc Ock, Venom, and Green Goblin are of people measurement up location erstwhile you’re making a database of iconic Spider-Man villains, but nan quality of those characters makes it easier to tie a segment wherever they each get adjacent ocular weight. Green Goblin connected his glider doesn’t get successful nan measurement of Doc Ock’s tentacles, and Venom tin beryllium lurking anyplace for a chance to onslaught – they each person their ain abstraction successful nan segment to shine.

Is it freeing to creation cards for a merchandise for illustration this since they don’t person to fresh into nan discourse of a larger group aliases preconstructed deck?

MM: Yes – nan extremity is exciting, appealing cards, preferably ray capable connected matter that nan creation tin really radiance passim nan scene. Not having mechanical constraints makes this overmuch easier – they don’t person to salary disconnected nan remainder of nan set’s themes aliases mechanics, and that gives them room to beryllium made charming and delightful of their ain accord.

Tom Marks is IGN's Executive Reviews Editor. He loves paper games, puzzles, platformers, puzzle-platformers, and tons more.