The good, the bad, and what needs to be kept an eye on for Spider-Man.
With the new Marvel's Spider-Man set coming out this September, we are seeing some of the first cards for it. A lot has been made of the set so far including it being a forced pick two draft set as well as being a set of a smaller-than-normal size.
But, at the core of it all will ultimately be the cards themselves. Here's what we see as the good, the bad, and the things we need to keep an eye on.
The Good
1. Art styles
Magic always tends to go with artists who can add that special flair when needed. When Magic built up Kamigawa expansions, they always made sure to bring in Japanese artists for the aesthetic. Ixalan, likewise, brought in a lot of Latin-American artists. It makes it all the more authentic. So with Spider-Man, they have a ton of bona fide comic book artists joining in with the usual Magic artists to add that flair.
Some are even a bit unique by Magic standards. Many pieces are vintage art. So famed comic book artists like Steve Ditko get artist credits despite the notable handicap of being dead for several years.
It also works into the style of come card being part of a comic book. For example, so enchantments use comic book panels to show the progression of enchantments or what the options are.
Care has been put into this set from a visual standpoint.
2. Mixing the familiar and unfamiliar
Doing something right by comic book fans can be tricky. You go all in on characters familiar to everyone for a general appeal, and you can let them down. You go all in on the more obscure, and while fans will like it, general audiences will have no idea what everything is. I mean, what the hell is a Grendel? And why is it battling another character I have no idea who they are.
Here you have Spider-Man, Doc Oc, and others that the average Magic player can name. But in it are things for the fans, with some characters looking not too far outside the usual Magic planes. Stegron looks like he is right out of Ixalan for example. Well, sort of.
3. Working in the colors
Sometimes for sets, working in all 5 colors can be a challenge but, with Spider-Man, Wizards of the Coast managed to do it. And this is no doubt thanks in large part to having several decades worth of characters and lore to work with. Luckily Spidey has had so many allies and villains who fit in with one or more of the colors. Although they really had to dig deep for some of them. Like Spider-Man was a T-Rex at some point. Anyone building a dinosaur-themed deck is really going to have a few out of left field options now that are perfectly legal.
The Bad
1. Being Designed for Pick Two
Magic has been pushing their "Pick Two" draft for awhile now and Spider-Man was designed specifically for it.
There's nothing wrong with a four-person draft style at all, but having an entire expansion be based around that almost makes it forced. However, as seen in MagicCons, there are a ton of ways to go around this, so we could see how easily this set can be broken because of it. Players might get tired fast of it too. Feedback will be critical here - players can get creative in getting around designed parameters or working in cards from smaller sets more than they should. The banned list exists for a reason.
2. Not fitting in with the Magic aesthetic
A big gripe from many is how Spider-Man doesn't fit in with the rest of standard Magic. As a Universes Beyond, yes, works perfectly. Other crossovers, like Final Fantasy and Avatar feature natural fantasy elements with some characters, creatures, and enchantments you swear that Magic R&D came up with. But Spider-Man is set directly on more-or-less modern day Earth and isn't exactly fantasy or sci-fi. It's Superhero.
And while the argument can be made that Magic has gone to radically different themes before (Westerns, Racing, Japanese Shogunate, etc.), they were all specifically designed to be on different planes and incorporate different characters within the Magic story. This is much different than that. Spider-Man fans will love it. Marvel fans will. But what will the reaction from Magic players be on release?
3. Cards that look like they are out of the Un- series
Every expansion always has a few odd cards that look like they could maybe come from the Un-series - Magic making fun of themselves. With Spider-Man it seems like every other card can to that. Pumpkin bombs? Spider-Cat? Guy in the Chair?
Yes, all of these are from the comics or even movies, but anyone coming in without seeing them will think Magic went off the deep end. This series isn't grounded in fantasy and comes more from the real world in many cases. And a lot of people will be lost.
Let's Keep an Eye On...
Honestly, the entire expansion and how it does will need to be kept an eye on. Not sales. Magic going into different media properties does very well. Lord of the Rings, Fallout, Spongebob Squarepants Secret Lair, Final Fantasy -- all moneymakers. No, what needs to be seen is how well this set integrates into the rest, both mechanically through play and through fan reaction. Having too popular a character in there can throw a lot of people off, and not in a good way.
This has already been happening with Final Fantasy, with many players finding it strange after a bit why these cards keep showing up as they simply weren't Magic-created things. Spider-Man is going to have a much harder time bringing people into the world. And the pick two focus could upend some things down the line too. Magic has two more Marvel properties in the pipeline. If Spider-Man shows a weakness in play, through fan reaction, or even sales, things for universes outside traditional Magic can get rocky. And not even Spider-Ham can save it.
