Fleem, Goben's Creation | Art by <a href="https://www.cosmicdaydream.studio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nicholas Gregory</a>
It's no secret that I'm excited to get my hands on cards from the upcoming Marvel's Spider-Man set. I've written a lot of articles covering a wide variety of legends from the set, many of which I plan on adding to my personal collection.
In the days leading up to the prerelease weekend for the set, I got to channel some of that excitement by participating in the early access event for Through the Omenpaths on Magic: the Gathering Arena. This is the second of these events I've taken part in, and I'd like to thank the folks at Wizards of the Coast for having me back!
Through the Omenpaths is a digital-only set that features all of the cards from the Marvel's Spider-Man set but with card names and artwork set in the Magic universe. Each mechanically unique card having two different names and artworks was definitely difficult, as I couldn't really rely on my visual memory when drafting. However, I actually prefer many of the Through the Omenpaths cards to their paper counterparts when considered in a vacuum.
Lots of Magic characters from all over the game's history can be found in this set, and I felt almost as "at home" as I did with Tarkir: Dragonstorm because of it.
<h2>Limited</h2>
I was incredibly confident going into my first Through the Omenpaths Draft. After all, I've spent the last couple of months poring over the cards in Marvel's Spider-Man, and thinking about their different applications in limited. There were two archetypes I was excited for in particular: Azorius () modified and Gruul () big spells.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rhino, Barreling Brute"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wraith, Vicious Vigilante"></div></div>
All that confidence was crushed as I looked at my first pack and realized that making the connection in my brain between these cards I'd never seen before and their paper equivalents was not going to be the walk in the park I expected.
Despite that, I managed to cobble together what felt like a pretty mediocre version of the Azorius modified archetype I was so excited about.
<a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/UW-Modified-Deck.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-165039" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/UW-Modified-Deck-300x137.png" alt="" width="883" height="404" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/UW-Modified-Deck-300x137.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/UW-Modified-Deck-768x350.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 883px) 100vw, 883px" /></a>
One of the most interesting aspects of this Draft format is how small the set is. The Through the Omenpaths set only includes 188 cards. This resulted in me being able to pick up a ludicrous amount of copies of a lot of commons. In that draft, I ended up with a total of five copies of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mob Lookout" href="#" target="_blank">Mob Lookout</a> in my pool!
After several drafts, I can confidently say that all the limited archetypes in this set are pretty fun to play. I was also pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to splash additional colors in this format. I played with and against several four- or even five-color decks that seemed to be able to get to their colors just fine.
<h2>Constructed</h2>
Compared to Edge of Eternities, Through the Omenpaths offers a much smaller number of cards that are likely to see play in Standard. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Multiversal Passage" href="#" target="_blank">Multiversal Passage</a> is likely to be the most played card from the set, and I don't find that particularly exciting.
I do think it's funny that both Universes Beyond sets released on Arena so far have introduced an untapped land that can tap for any color. I expect <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Multiversal Passage" href="#" target="_blank">Multiversal Passage</a> to see a fair amount of play at first and then it will fall off if and when the second half of the Ravnica shock lands are printed into Standard.
I wanted to see if I could come up with a deck that could heavily feature a few of my favorites from the set's limited environment and I settled on a build of Azorius Auras.
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="UW Auras" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Enchantments]
*2 Authority of the Consuls
*4 Curious Inquiry
*4 Ethereal Armor
*2 Lightwheel Enhancements
*4 Sheltered by Ghosts
*2 With Great Power...
[/Enchantments]
[Creatures]
*4 Entity Tracker
*4 Optimistic Scavenger
*4 Skyward Spider
*4 Wraith, Vicious Vigilante
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*2 Get Lost
*2 Spell Pierce
[/Instants]
[Lands]
*4 Floodfarm Verge
*4 Island
*4 Multiversal Passage
*8 Plains
*2 Starting Town
[/Lands]"></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wraith, Vicious Vigilante"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Margot, On the Case"></div></div>
While I wouldn't recommend this deck to someone testing for the Pro Tour, it proved to be very venomous against the unrefined or convoluted decks I expected people to be trying out in early access.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Margot, On the Case" href="#" target="_blank">Margot, On the Case</a> (also known as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wraith, Vicious Vigilante" href="#" target="_blank">Wraith, Vicious Vigilante</a>) is a high risk, high reward kind of threat. On one hand, she can't be blocked and is almost certain to kill the opponent in just one or two combat steps with a little help from <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ethereal Armor" href="#" target="_blank">Ethereal Armor</a>. On the other, she's a 1/1 that's vulnerable to every removal spell in the format before that <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ethereal Armor" href="#" target="_blank">Ethereal Armor</a> resolves.
Heck, she isn't even an outlaw for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shoot the Sheriff" href="#" target="_blank">Shoot the Sheriff</a> purposes. Personally, I consider that a flavor fail.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="With Great Power..."></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chosen by Valgavoth"></div></div>
It can be really hard to include a lot of four-mana cards in an aggro deck like Azorius Auras. I included just two copies of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chosen by Valgavoth" href="#" target="_blank">Chosen by Valgavoth</a> to test the waters and I can't say that I'm disappointed with the results. This Aura can create a lethal attacking threat and, in longer games, completely blank the opponent's combat step.
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
I had a lot of fun with this event! I'm happy to report that Through the Omenpaths and its limited formats lived up to my expectations. I'm planning on making it out to a paper event when the time comes to see how the two experiences compare.
All this excitement has me champing at the bit even more to get my hands on the likes of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spider-Man 2099" href="#" target="_blank">Spider-Man 2099</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhino, Barreling Brute" href="#" target="_blank">Rhino, Barreling Brute</a>.
<h3>Read More:</h3>
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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="FvLPwNN05o"><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-best-instants-and-sorceries-in-marvels-spider-man/">The Best Instants and Sorceries in Marvel's Spider-Man</a></blockquote>
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Through the Omenpaths Early Access Write-Up

On Tuesday, September 16th, Wizards of the Coast announced their next fundraising collaboration with <a href="https://www.extra-life.org/Wizards">Extra Life</a>. Extra Life is a program in conjunction with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, an organization that helps treat thousands of children annually. Wizards of the Coast is always proud to collaborate with Extra Life to this end. And this year, they're bringing in another Hasbro property to help with this year's fundraising Secret Lair drop: Play-Doh!
<h2>Secret Lair x Play-Doh: Squishful Thinking</h2>
Squishful Thinking is a new Secret Lair release to coincide with and benefit Extra Life. The drop contains four cards, each reprinted in true SLD style with new, innovative artwork. The artwork in question is hand-sculpted from real Play-Doh and photographed to accentuate the sculptures. See for yourself with the renders below!
<a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Academy-Manufactor.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-164904" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Academy-Manufactor.jpg" alt="Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Academy-Manufactor.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Academy-Manufactor-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Academy-Manufactor-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Greensleeves-Maro-Sorcerer.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-164905" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Greensleeves-Maro-Sorcerer.jpg" alt="Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Greensleeves-Maro-Sorcerer.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Greensleeves-Maro-Sorcerer-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Greensleeves-Maro-Sorcerer-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Polyraptor.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-164906" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Polyraptor.jpg" alt="Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Polyraptor.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Polyraptor-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Polyraptor-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Wurmcoil-Engine.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-164907" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Wurmcoil-Engine.jpg" alt="Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Wurmcoil-Engine.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Wurmcoil-Engine-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Wurmcoil-Engine-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a>
Secret Lair x Play-Doh: Squishful Thinking releases on September 29th and will be available online through November 9th. Furthermore, the drop is available at MagicCon Atlanta's merch booths from September 26th through September 28th in limited quantities. The drop is billed to be printed to demand. The nonfoil drop will sell for $39.99, while the foil drop will sell for $49.99. Half of the proceeds from these sales benefit Extra Life.
<h2>Other Interesting Extra Life Information</h2>
In addition to a new Secret Lair, there are more Extra Life goodies on the way as well! For one, you can get card cosmetics for the above drop's contents on Magic Arena. Furthermore, you can get a special sleeve with the leonin Planeswalker Ajani on Arena (as shown at the top of this article) as well. All proceeds from these sales (minus any transaction fees) will go towards Extra Life, specifically to benefit Seattle Children's Hospital. Squishful Thinking's card styles will cost players 3,000 Gems, while the sleeve style will cost 600 Gems to acquire.
Furthermore, UltraPro will soon release their collaborative T-shirts and playmats, both bearing the same art of Ajani that you can see at the top of this article. The shirts cost $29.99, while the playmats cost $32.99. They aren't up on the site at the time of writing, but you can visit <a href="https://ultrapro.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopPbsVAkzKFjDsbhwY5juguHlt0AuwOyR3JgET39su6AAzEhGbS">their website here</a> to look for yourself!
Finally, according to Wizards' article on their collaboration:
<blockquote>The wizards of, well, Wizards of the Coast, are taking over <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/twitch.tv/magic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">twitch.tv/magic</a>! The Magic x Extra Life Game Day livestream runs from 11 a.m. PT to 10:30 p.m. PT on November 8. It'll feature Magic like you've never seen it before for a cause that you know and love! Join us as we raise funds for Extra Life while playing Magic.
But that's not all the fun to be had on twitch.tv/magic. Wizards of the Coast employees will be streaming live each day leading up to the event. Tune in from November 3–7 to see what shenanigans we'll be getting up to (for a good cause, of course).
If you're interested in learning more about the stream or donating to Extra Life, you can visit <a href="https://www.extra-life.org/Wizards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ExtraLife.Wizards.com</a> where Wizards of the Coast and several members of our community will be supporting this amazing organization.</blockquote>
And now, let's open the floor to you, dear readers! Are you excited for Wizards' newest collaboration with Extra Life? Will you be purchasing any of these products? Do you like the Secret Lair x Play-Doh drop or its contents? Sound off in the comments below!

mtg arena

Through the Omenpaths Early Access Write-Up

Secret Lair Play-Doh Collaboration Announced for Extra Life 2025