I would like some feedback on the Spider-Man set. Tell me everything you liked and didn’t like about the product.
Let's start with the good:
As a commander player, I liked the variety of different legendary creatures, allowing for a bunch of different playstyles. The implementation of their mechanics into magic was pretty inspired, in particular cards like Hydro-Man and my personal favorite, the Superior Spider-Man.
It did seem to bring some of my friends into Magic for the first time! I had a buddy of mine ask me to build him a Spider-Man, Peter Parker deck, so that's great.
Even if it probably wasn't your original plan, I did like the alternative arts featured in "Through the Omenpaths", though part of me wishes that we didn't have to stick with the "Hero" and "Villain" creature types so more could be done with the story. "A bunch of artificers with animal-themed powers fight an inter-dimensional spider invasion" is a concept I would love to actually see someday.
Some things I'm less excited about:
I would classify myself as against Universes Beyond sets in general, and ones set in variations of *our* universe in particular. I don't just play Magic because it's fun, but also because of its pulp fantasy setting and the interesting stories they tell of traveling the planes, about how magic is practiced differently among universes and how cultures clash as these planes draw ever closer. UB hits this issue two-fold - not only does it mean fewer sets with "actual" MTG in them, the characters within seldom interact with characters in the Magic universe. This is exacerbated by the UB being set in a place that I, the human behind this blog, have actually been before. I think, for me, planes like New Capenna lack this issue due to obvious "Magic" influences and the like, but straight up NYC is a bridge too far. Final Fantasy and LOTR were alright, but this feels like too much. This is one of the major reasons I'm also not a fan of the TMNT UB.
Spider-Man as a set overshadowed Edge of Eternities, which I really liked. The re-framing of the five colors, Warp as a mechanic, and the return of classic cards in new forms (i.e. Tezzy, Cosmogoyf) was very cool, and I dislike how soon Spider-Man came out after EoE.
"Hero" and "Villain" as creature types really didn't stick for me. I guess they make more sense as "Superhero" and "Supervillain", but it's a funny implication that savior of the multiverse Gids isn't "Hero" enough.
This is more of a nitpick, but Web-slinging and Mayhem feel *just* different enough from Ninjutsu and Madness to really throw me off.
What I think I would have liked out of this set:
I think my major gripe with Universes Beyond is the lack of reciprocity. It feels too much like Magic used as an advertisement platform for external IPs rather than an attempt to promote both brands, and that makes me feel pretty bitter. I think I'd be a lot less sad about it if Magic was also promoted by whatever crossover IP they were peddling. Maybe an in-character round of Standard or Commander via the MCU, or a few skins in Rivals, or a crossover comic. I really like Magic for its universe and story, so seeing that be spread would be something I'd enjoy.
TL;DR: Don't like real-world settings / less overtly "magical" settings for UB, don't like Hero and Villain as creature types, did like how the characters and cards were implemented.























