<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Parker Luck" href="#" target="_blank">Parker Luck</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.raoulvitaleart.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Raoul Vitale</a></em></p>
<p>Hello and welcome. Today was going to be a deck tech on another <em>Spider-Man</em> commander option, but a video from the <em>Tolarian Community College</em> got my attention, and I'd like to take this opportunity to respond to it.</p>
<p>The one I'm referring to is "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nms5vaZ_4-k&amp;t=814s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How I Feel About Magic: The Gathering's Marvel's Spider-Man The Expansion Set</a>," where The Professor (whom I have much respect for) discusses the soon-to-be released <em>Spider-Man</em> set, and its shortcomings.</p>
<p>I'd like to offer my views on it. However, I'll take this chance to say that, if you enjoy the set and the cards, continue to do so. I'm not going to ruin that for you, and neither should anyone else. But, it's important to stress that it could be so much more.</p>
<h2>What Is This? I Can’t Even</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Fourteenth Doctor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cosmic Spider-Man"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ezio Auditore da Firenze"></div></div>
<p>I admit it; I was lukewarm about the <em>Spider-Man</em> set when it was first previewed. That said, I had a tab on it for a reason. Last year, I assembled two decks over the winter holidays, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Fourteenth Doctor" href="#" target="_blank">The Fourteenth Doctor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ezio Auditore da Firenze" href="#" target="_blank">Ezio Auditore da Firenze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. One was assembled from an advent calendar (with some singles outside of it), and the other because I enjoyed the deck.</p>
<p>I saw both the <em>Doctor Who</em> and <em>Assassin's Creed</em> sets as "Commander Kits" to assemble a certain (often) five-color option. In this light, I had one eye out for our headliner Spider-Man card to assemble a new five-color deck from the set (<em>Final Fantasy</em> is its own beast. You can see why in <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/beyond-the-multiverse-the-final-fantasy-sendoff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this article with a large batch of decks I assembled</a>).</p>
<p>With the full spoiler now out, I can say that my suspicions were confirmed: The set was not to my liking, putting it lightly. Sure, there were a few cool cards in there, but the rest didn't resonate with me.</p>
<p>I tried to assemble the list, but the set needed outside help before it could stand on its legs, especially with the lands and ramp. This was an issue I had with my Ezio list...WAIT A MINUTE. Do I see a pattern? Eh, it's probably nothing.</p>
<p>All right, fine. I'll make another concession. A while ago, I listed <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-top-5-universes-beyond-set-releases-so-far" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the top five <em>Universes Beyond</em> releases</a>. In that article, I placed <em>Assassin's Creed </em>ahead of the <em>40K </em>precons. If I were writing that today, I'd switch the two around. But I still maintain that the lackluster mana bases (compared to the other UB precons) are what keep <em>40K</em> back. It's only now, with the <em>Spider-Man</em> set, that I see my folly.</p>
<p>Anyway, to make things worse, I wasn't really awestruck by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cosmic Spider-Man" href="#" target="_blank">Cosmic Spider-Man</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Keyword soup, and giving other Spiders said soup, is nice, but it's not exactly flashy.</p>
<p>At this point, I suppose you're asking a question I'm about to get to: What does The Professor's latest video have to do with this?</p>
<h2>My Response</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rent Is Due"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hot Dog Cart"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Taxi Driver"></div></div>
<p>In the video, The Professor stresses that this isn't a video about <em>Universes Beyond.</em> While I do agree, the comments told another story. And because of those comments, I found myself at such a low point that I wrote this article early like it was a therapy session (don't worry; I'm fine now).</p>
<p>His comparisons to the <em>Assassin's Creed</em> set were especially striking: Even though one was straight to Modern, they both followed an identical formula (Though, <em>Assassin's Creed </em>did it better). A part of the video that soured my views on the set, and now looking to take apart my Ezio deck soon.</p>
<p>As many viewers know, he isn't a fan of <em>Universes Beyond</em>, and I accept that (and not everyone liking it for that matter). My main gripe with the product line more has to do with recent decisions since <em>Foundations</em> released, but I digress.</p>
<p>A reason for The Professor's dislike of the <em>Spider-Man </em>set is that it fails to translate well from the original IP to the cards themselves. One thing I loved about UB sets is that each card tells a story, and tells me about a character. I research it online, and poof, there it is. <em>Spider-Man</em> did not have that. Thus, I frankly agree with The Professor here.</p>
<p>Another big reason for the dislike of the <em>Spider-Man</em> set is something we both agree on: the immersion breaking. Sure, we've had detectives and race cards, but this set went extreme. Hot dogs, taxis, cell phones, etc.</p>
<p>Oh, and by the way, your <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rent Is Due" href="#" target="_blank">Rent Is Due</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Gotta pay up!</p>
<p>Not to mention this all takes place in a fantasy land known as New York City *cue dinosaur screeching overhead* (My favorite part of the video).</p>
<h2>Further Points</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sharp-Eyed Rookie"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lavaspur Boots"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Found Footage"></div></div>
<p>In that same vein, The Professor pointed out that it wasn't a big leap to reach this point. In recent years, we've had everyone dress up as Sherlock Holmes in <em>Murders at</em> <em>Markov </em>(I mean <em>Karlov</em>)<em> Manor. </em>Cowboys in <em>Outlaws of Thunder Junction</em>, and '80s horror with <em>Duskmourn</em>. And don't get me started on <em>Aetherdrift</em>.</p>
<p>It took these baby steps to reach what we see here with the <em>Spider-Man </em>set. And that has been spilling over into in-universe sets, which does torture my boomer heart a bit.</p>
<p>The Professor also touches on the small set size, especially when a considerable portion of it are all Spider-Men (-Women, and -Everything else). Considering the decades worth of content, plus a small set size, it's easy to conclude that the set was trying to do too much with so little space.</p>
<p>I'm also not seeing the flavor on the cards, like I implied above. It's just not there like it was with other UB releases. I'm not a comic book person, so take this with a grain of salt.</p>
<h2>What Could Be Improved?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faithful Mending"></div></div>
<p>Like I said in the introduction, the set could've been so much more. Its rushed production certainly didn't help it. As Mark Rosewater <a href="https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/790085318829277184/i-would-appreciate-you-not-lying-to-ign-about-why" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a>, the <em>Spider-Man</em> set was to be a small release, akin to <em>Assassin's Creed</em>, but the initial reactions to that release gave off the red flags necessary for the change.</p>
<p>Secondly, speaking of rushing, it would've been great for the releases for be more spread out, so each one can breathe. This also would have the result of the set being better handled, and the set would be bigger to accommodate more stuff, too. This point has been uttered to death, so I won't feed it beyond that.</p>
<p>There's also the massive wrinkle with the digital rights, but again, this point is outspoken, but also irrelevant to the Commander side of things.</p>
<p>We know there's going to be future <em>Marvel</em> set releases, so the best way to salvage this situation is to not rush the set. Let it sit and breathe, so it can be better enjoyed by everyone. And, of course, make the sets bigger.</p>
<h2>Moving Forward</h2>
<p>I maintain that, for a lot of the reasons The Professor has said, the newly minted <em>Spider-Man</em> set does not shine brightly. However, if someone enjoys the set and wants to play with the cards, I won't stop them. One person's trash is another's treasure.</p>
<p>In addition, I also take a stand, and say that <em>Universes Beyond </em>doesn't deserve all the hate it does. Both <em>The Lord of the Rings </em>and <em>Final Fantasy</em> sets (the latter I wrote a love letter for a few weeks back, the same letter with all those decks) stand among the best sets released in the product line. Those two, among others, show UB at its best.</p>
<p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/edhrec.com/post/3lxajold4o626" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A recent poll</a> rating the worst sets in all of <em>Magic</em> listed as "All UB Sets" being second only to <em>Aetherdrift</em>. A poll I can't take seriously (largely because the <em>Spider-Man</em> set had only a few cards to its name at the time, among other reasons). Like I said, the contempt is unwarranted, though I make a few concessions.</p>
<p>All of this stuff had been in my mind since I began writing here. It was only now that I made the call to write this piece. Come back next time when we visit <em>Spider-Man</em>...from a different part of the Spider-verse.</p>
<h3>Read More:</h3>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="IT77NVaZPs"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-top-10-universes-beyond-secret-lairs/">The Top 10 Universes Beyond Secret Lairs</a></p></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="A5JrcJkcwl"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/building-ezio-auditore-da-firenze-using-only-universes-beyond-cards/">Building Ezio Auditore da Firenze Using Only Universes Beyond Cards</a></p></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="TGvLvPoVQG"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/what-marvel-set-should-magic-do-after-spider-man/">What Marvel Set Should Magic Do After Spider-Man?</a></p></blockquote>
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is spider man a good set

My Response to The Professor's Spider-Man Video