Digital ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Games Will Omit Spider-Man And Future Marvel Sets, Replace Them With “Mechanically Identical” Cards
In a move so typical of the wall-crawler’s struggles that one can’t help but smirk before being annoyed by it, Wizards of the Coast has announced that rather than being able to play with either the upcoming Spider-Man set or any potential future Marvel Entertainment-themed cards, players of their digital Magic: The Gathering: Online and Magic: The Gathering: Arena offerings will instead be receiving IP-less-but-“mechanically identical” replacements.
The next in the ‘Universes Beyond‘ line of crossover releases, which first kicked off in 2020 with The Walking Dead and has since expanded to bring such franchises as Doctor Who, Fallout, and even Hatsune Miku, the Marvel’s Spider-Man set is tapped (no pun intended) to add a variety of cards based on the titular web-slinger, his closest friends, and his worst enemies to the popular TCG.
Per the set’s official Wizards Play Network product listings, its full roster will consist of 349 total cards – 231 of those being specific Spider-Man cards (bearing the set tag SPM), 26 being ‘special’ cards (SPE), and 40 being general Marvel-themed ones (MAR) – as distributed across Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, Welcome Decks, and a special Scene Box consisting of six exclusive “art-only scene cards”, which when placed together depict a scene of Spidey battling against Venom, Doc Ock, and the Green Goblin.
Seeking to avoid any game design issue between them and mainline releases, Wizards of the Coast had originally chosen to be heavily restrictive as to the use of Universe Beyond cards in certain play formats, as such barring them completely from Standard play, allowing reprints in Pioneer, Modern, Brawl, Timeless, and Penny (as well as the ‘common-only’ Pauper depending on rarity) and placing no restrictions on them in Legacy, Vintage, Oathbreaker, and Commander.
In other words, while Captain America, Zangief, or Optimus Prime could make appearances in ‘fun’ formats, the flagship competitive Magic scene would stick to the franchise’s original creations.
That was until October 2024, when in recognition of the fact that their 2025 release schedule consisted of three Universes Beyond sets – Final Fantasy, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Avatar: The Last Airbender – and three in-world sets – Aetherdrift, Tarkir Dragonstorm, and Edge of Eternities – the publisher announced that “starting in 2025, new Universes Beyond booster sets will be legal in all Constructed formats, just like what you’d consider ‘normal’ Magic sets like Bloomburrow.”
The initial shock of Universes Beyond is well behind us at this point,” wrote Magic: The Gathering Vice President of Design Aaron Forsythe in announcing the change. “I like to think the care we’ve put into designing these sets is evident and that playing with them has proven fun for fans of both Magic and our partners alike. For those reasons, I’m pleased to fully treat them like ‘real’ Magic sets going forward and letting them be fun for everyone, everywhere.”
However, given the slight differences in their digital set releases and Standard-format rotations, the addition of Universe Beyond cards in the desktop-based Magic: The Gathering Online and mobile-oriented Magic: The Gathering Arena was instead done on a case-by-case basis.
And in a disappointing decision for those digital players excited who were excited at the prospect of web-slinging, the case of the Spider-Man set seems to have ended with a definitive ruling of “Not gonna happen”.
Rather, as explained by Wizards of the Coast Communications Director Blake Rasmussen via an April 21st update made to the official Magic website, Online and Arena players will instead be presented with the first in a new line of digital-exclusive Through the Omenpaths sets.
“Through the Omenpaths releases will be digital sets that are Universes Within versions of Universes Beyond sets that otherwise wouldn’t be coming to digital Magic platforms,” said Rasmussen of set, its name taken from the mechanic through which the game’s characters are able to travel its multiverse. “These digital cards will be mechanically identical to their Universes Beyond tabletop counterparts but with unique creative treatments, different art, and different names.”
“We will not be creating Through the Omenpaths sets mirroring every Universes Beyond set, only the ones that will not be coming to digital platforms,” he added. “This lets our formats remain mechanically at parity with one another digitally without having to create patchwork solutions here or there. We are also currently only planning to create Through the Omenpaths releases for full sets that are legal in all formats.”
To this end, Rasmussen then confirmed that while the Final Fantasy and Avatar sets were on track to join Arena and Online, “Marvel’s Spider-Man (as well as future Marvel sets) will not be coming to digital Magic platforms.”
“Instead,” he ultimately concluded, “we will release our first Through the Omenpaths set on September 23. We’ll have more information on that set as we get closer to the release date.”
At present, neither Wizards of the Coast nor Marvel Entertainment have provided any specific reason for the latter’s declining to allow their IP in digital versions of Magic.
However, given that this restriction only applies to the digital versions, one wonders whether a desire to avoid splitting the Marvel Snap player base and reducing their own profits (as thanks to having licensed the Marvel IP, proceeds from the Spider-Man set would overwhelmingly if not completely go to Wizards of the Coast) played any role in the decision.
Meanwhile, for those interested in any of this year’s Universes Beyond sets, Final Fantasy breaks through on June 13th, Marvel’s Spider-Man is officially scheduled for a September 26th, and Avatar debuts on November 21st.
More About:Tabletop Games & RPGs