It was recently revealed that the Spider-ManMagic: The Gatheringsets will be including many variants of the character in the game, and at San Diego Comic, even more versions of the web-slinger were confirmed to be joiningMTG. While all the cards have yet to be revealed in the upcoming Universes Beyond set, the confirmed Spider-Man cards coming toMagic: The Gatheringseem like great additions to players’ collections.
The one card that is stirring a lot of interest currently is Spider-Punk. He has recently become afan-favorite iteration of Spider-Man, making the card sought after by fans ofMagic: The GatheringandSpider-Man. However, the card’s effects are drawing a lot of attention, possibly making or breaking players' strategies.
Spider-Punk Is an Interesting Spider-Man MTG Card
Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man set represents multiple iterations of the web-head from different universes, but its interpretation ofSpider-Punkcould be one of the most powerful in the collaboration. The card is a legendary creature, giving players the option to use it as their commander. He costs one colorless and one red mana, making him very cheap to cast, and this low mana cost is very useful for his abilities.
Fitting with the attitude of theAnarchic Spider-Man, the Spider-Punkcard has Riot, giving players the option to give him either a +1/+1 counter or Haste as he enters the battlefield. This is already useful because of its 2/1 power/toughness, so players are able to pump the card immediately. He isn’t the only card this choice applies to, though, as Spider-Punk gives all other Spiders the player controls riot. This makes the card a very good choice for Spider-themed decks, which many players are likely to build with the main Spider-Man set as well as its Eternal cards.
There are a few strategies that can be used to give Spider-Punk more staying power on the battlefield. As a legendary creature, those playing inMagic: The Gathering’s Commander formatcan continually cast him from their Command Zone, though players may expect to pay a lot of Commander Tax each time he leaves the battlefield. Instead, Swarmyard can be used to keep this card in play for longer, assuming opponents don’t use cards like Pongify to prevent regeneration.
Having Riot and giving this ability to other Spiders makes Spider-Punk a fairly good card for some players to use, but this isn’t where Spider-Punk truly shines. The rest of his effects state that spells and abilities can’t be countered, and damage can’t be prevented. These abilities bring Spider-Punk up from a decent card to one of the best cards in theMagic: The GatheringSpider-Man set.
MTG Spider-Punk Is High Risk, High Reward
The Wrong Set-Up Can Lose Games
The ability to completely prevent counters to spells and abilities and ensure that damage cannot be prevented makes Spider-Punk an incredibly strong card, but this does come with a caveat. These effects do not state that they only affect the player using Spider-Punk, meaning that every player benefits from this card being on the board. This fits with the anti-authoritarianpersonality of Spider-Punk, ensuring that no player can wield power to deny the actions of another, including the player who cast this card.
If used incorrectly, Spider-Punk could set players up for a loss. Passing the turn to a player who has a combo prepared could be handing them a win, allowing them to set up their own strategy uninterrupted by spells and abilities. Spider-Punk is still one of the best cards from the Spider-Man set so far, but unless players effectively build and play their deck around this card to guarantee a victory, it’s unlikely to see much play outside very nicheMagic: The Gatheringplaystyles.
Spider-Punk Can Guarantee Victory
While Spider-Punk can be a major benefit to opponents, players can work around this to make sure that he works in their favor. Having the card in play for multiple turns means that opponents can take advantage of its effects, so withholding it can prevent this from happening. Once the player has the cards necessary to play their combo, Spider-Punk can then be cast to stop the strategy from being interrupted by counterspells and abilities.
As amono-RedMagic: The Gatheringcard, Spider-Punk already works best in a deck that focuses on playing fast and setting up quick combos early. Considering the card’s low cost and game-changing ability, Spider-Punk could be the final piece players need to secure victory. Spider-Punk is only useful to other players if they are able to play another turn, so setting up a combo as early as possible can make sure the game ends with that strategy.
Though Spider-Punk may not be the strongestMarvel commander inMagic: The Gathering, especially considering the limits of his color identity, there are still positives to having him in the Command Zone. Players using the card in their deck will want to use him as their final piece to their strategy – once everything is set up and in place, Spider-Punk can be brought out to stop anything from countering the player’s combo.
Spider-Punk can also be used as support within other decks, including those centered around more cards from the upcomingSpider-Man Universes Beyond set. Spider-Punk can support any card with the Spider creature type, which includes many of the Spider-Man heroes. Players wanting to set up a devastating combo while sticking to the Spider-Man theme would find a lot of value in the Spider-Punk card.
