The new Marvel's Spider-man set may not be the very worst thing ever to happen to Magic The Gathering - let us not forget Fallen Empires too hastily - but it's definitely this year's biggest loser, arriving with a sad trombone noise instead of a fanfare. We've seen under-attended pre-releases, a mere smattering of cards with any impact on Standard, and a draft format that didn't warrant a pro tour event. And somehow, this is not the worst timeline for MTG Spider-Man - because the version of the set Wizards of the Coast originally planned to make would have been worse.
Writing on the official Magic website, lead designer Mark Rosewater confirmed that Spider-Man was originally planned to have just 100 cards, without even including commons. What he didn't say - but which we can very reasonably infer - is that Spider-Man was originally planned to be a Beyond Booster set.
Beyond Boosters (and the related Aftermath Boosters) are one of the more revolting experiments Wizards of the Coast has attempted in recent years as it tries to discover the limits of what MTG players will pay for cardboard. March of the Machine: Aftermath contained just 50 cards, sold in five card 'Epilogue' booster packs, while Universes Beyond Assassin's Creed had 100 cards sold in seven card 'Beyond' boosters.
Many TCGs sell smaller booster packs than Magic, so the experiment makes sense from a business perspective - but it didn't pan out. The secondary market for Magic cards is driven mostly by the competitive scene and its demand for playable cards, not collectors trying to get full sets, and the Standard legal Aftermath and Modern legal Assassin's Creed had barely any relevant cards.
As for collectors hoping to crack packs, the experience of opening boosters from such tiny MTG sets was extremely boring. Japanese Pokémon boosters might only contain five cards, but they almost always have a larger card pool than either Aftermath or Assassin's Creed.
Wizards recognised that there was no market for tiny boosters and scrapped its plans to make any more. Another planned Aftermath set that was already in development was crammed onto a second bonus sheet for Outlaws of Thunder Junction, in the process overcooking the limited environment with a double-dose of bomb rares and mythics. It's not a stretch to assume this was the main motivator to enlarge Spider-Man out to a full draft set - though perhaps the conversion had already been greenlit for other reasons.
I am glad that we've got the full fat draft set version of Spider-Man. Well, the 2% milk version at least. The Quick Draft format for Spider-Man may not be a regular draft, but it is draftable - the boosters have a gameplay purpose, as well as being child-friendly gambling. There may be previous few cards relevant to constructed formats, but at least people will be opening them in decent numbers. Can you imagine how obscenely expensive The Soul Stone would become if it had been printed in March of the Machine: Aftermath?
I like Spider-Man quite a lot, but his outing in Magic is a deeply compromised set. A set of Commander Precons would have been a far better way to print a limited pool of Spider-Man cards, but someone with decision making chops had a bad idea very early in production. The designers at WotC salvaged as much as they could from a fundamentally flawed initial premise, and here we are. With the MTG release schedule for 2026 already absurdly packed, I have to wonder what other bodge jobs and hasty fixes are sprinkled among next year's sets.
What do you think of the Spider-Man set? How would you have pivoted from the original 100 card brief if you were in charge? Come and share your thoughts in the Wargamer Discord community!
Speaking of the release schedule for next year, make sure you check out our coverage of the MagicCon Atlanta preview - it was packed with highs and lows.