One in every 24 MTG Spider-Man play boosters, and every Collector Booster, contains a card from the "Source Material bonus sheet". These are reprints of cards from Magic's past, featuring artwork from the Spider-Man comics. Many of these cards are powerful staples that will slide into any Commander deck as easily as Spider-Man slings his way across the New York skyline. And then there's Shock…
There are some genuinely excellent full art reprint cards on MTG Spider-Man's Source Material bonus sheet. Heroic Intervention is the best green protection effect in the game; Path to Exile is a one mana removal spell that has defined Modern for more than 15 years; and Rest In Peace is the worst enemy of anyone trying to play a graveyard deck.
Mixed in among all these heavy hitters, however, is the decidedly underwhelming Shock. It's a one mana red burn spell, designed to be weaker than Lighting Bolt, and is strictly worse than a whole bunch of comparable cards.
Play With Fire does the same amount of damage, for the same cost, but lets its controller scry when they target a player. Wild Slash tacks on an effect that prevents damage negation, and Burst Lightning has a kicker effect that lets it deal more damage. Shock, by comparison, just kinda sucks. So why is it on this bonus sheet, among such superior company? Well, we know why.
The card's artwork depicts the Spidey supervillain Shocker doing what he does best: blasting out some electricity. Get it? Shock? Shocker? It's very funny. OK, it isn't a bad pun, but the gag isn't worth sliding a dud card onto a bonus sheet that's otherwise pretty powerful.
This isn't even the only time Wizards of the Coast makes this joke. Shock is in the main set as well as on the bonus sheet, and, sure enough, Shocker is in the artwork for the regular card too.
Besides all that, Shocker has his own card anyway. Shocker, Unshakable is a six cost, 5/5 Legendary Creature that, on entering play, deals two damage to a creature and two damage to that creature's controller, effectively casting Shock twice.
We're all for 'committing to the bit' here at Wargamer, and we respect Wizards' effort in service to the mighty pun gods. But bonus sheet cards are supposed to be a glittering incentive to dive harder into a set, cracking more packs or buying the punishingly expensive collector boosters in exchange for unique, rethemed versions of existing, widely playable cards for your decks. For that, they have to be all killer, no filler, and Shock (punny or not) doesn't fit the bill.
What do you think? A shocking misjudgement, an electrifying choice, or some other lightning related play on words? Join the free Wargamer Discord community, and share all of your hot takes about the upcoming Spider-Man set.
For details on the upcoming release of MTG Spiderman, our impending return to the MTG Multiverse with Lorwyn Eclipsed, and everything else going on in Magic, check out our full MTG release schedule - or grab a history lesson with our list of all MTG sets in order.