J. Jonah JamesonJ. Jonah Jameson | Art by Borja Pindado

From the Edge of Eternities, now to the Universe Beyond of New York City, Magic's newest set has arrived: Marvel's Spider-Man!

Now I'm not the biggest fan of Spider-Man (I quite enjoy the Toby Maguire movies), but I know enough of the world to appreciate it. Unfortunately, once again, there aren't any Minotaurs featured in this set. But there are still plenty of new cards that can assist Minotaur typal strategies.

For those new to my reviews, I analyze cards from the perspective of Minotaur typal and how they can be used in the various sub strategies available, those currently being Aggressive Combat, Discard, and Magar Big Spells. Each has their own nuances, but all broadly rely on the same core Minotaur typal backbone.

So with that, lets web-sling and cause a bit of mayhem as we delve into Marvel's Spider-Man.

Agent VenomAgent Venom

This Venom card wasn’t something that initially grabbed me. His sole value will come from Minotaurs dying, which is something we ordinarily don’t want to happen. However, I examined this line of thinking and realized I wasn’t looking at it the correct way.

While it’s true he does nothing if Minotaurs don’t die, having flash means we’re meant to play him when our Minotaurs do die.

Therefore, he’s creating an opportunity for us to rebuild in the face of a board wipe or a high casualty combat. By drawing a bunch of cards, it gives us a chance to stay in the game and take advantage of everyone else having to rebuild as well.

Then, having menace helps quite a bit with SethronSethron decks. By including him, we also end up strengthening the menace sub-theme, due to Sethron's ability to grant menace to Minotaurs.

Finally, I realized that Agent Venom is just a better version of Species SpecialistSpecies Specialist, a card I'm already fond of in typal decks. So, it just makes sense to add Agent Venom alongside or in the place of Species Specialist.

Hobgoblin, Mantled MarauderHobgoblin, Mantled Marauder

When I saw HobgoblinHobgoblin, I think my eyes went wide. This is the kind of card discard Minotaur decks have been looking for. Its cheap casting cost means we can get it swinging early. In addition, him having flying should allow us to attack each turn without having to worry about blockers.

The real strength comes from his ability to buff his power by simply discarding a card. If we were to cast a wheel effect and discard seven cards, Hobgoblin is going to hit like a truck with fifteen power.

In other words, we’re trading cards for two damage, and this gets especially scary if we have effects that allow us to discard at instant speed. This gets even more absurd if we can load up our hand, let's say with NecropotenceNecropotence. Then play a card that discards our hand , like Neheb, Dreadhorde ChampionNeheb, Dreadhorde Champion or One with NothingOne with Nothing, and we can one-shot just about anyone on the table.

So I’m excited to see how Hobgoblin performs. Even though I think there's very real chance he’ll become a kill-on-sight card at my local game store, given the right circumstances.

J. Jonah JamesonJ. Jonah Jameson

Mr. J. Jonah Jameson not only has incredible flavor, but he's going to be incredible in Sethron, Hurloon GeneralSethron, Hurloon General decks. I would almost think they were made for each other.

Jonah’sJonah’s first ability is versatile as suspecting one of our creatures makes them more aggressive. However, we can also suspect an opponent’s creature so they can’t use it to block. This is handy if an opponent is turtling or to prevent them from chumping with a creature they want to die.

Jonah’s second ability is where the profit is. Sethron’s activated ability gives all Minotaurs one power, haste, and menace until end of turn. With Jonah in play, we'll be generating so many Treasure tokens for each combat, and then we can use that mana to play extra combat spells to make even more mana.

This snowball of ramp is important as Minotaur decks often end up behind in the mana curve so, so Jonah might just be the key to securing our victory.

Shadow of the GoblinShadow of the Goblin

Here’s the thing. Neheb, the WorthyNeheb, the Worthy has a fever, and the only prescription is more discard! Shadow of the GoblinShadow of the Goblin is that medicine. For just two mana, it sets up the entire game plan Minotaur discard decks want by rummaging at the start of our main phase.

This is important, because we’re essentially drawing two cards a turn while also giving ourselves an outlet to discard cards. Allowing us to more easily tap into the deck's synergies and more easily cast our cards with madness and mayhem.

The second part of the text, which pings if we play cards from anywhere other than our hand, is neat. It essentially means our madness and mayhem cards also now hurt our opponents, but I’m just not sure how relevant it will be in the context of Commander.

While chip damage can be the deciding factor in a game, its hard to evaluate, especially when players have 40 life.

Spider-PunkSpider-Punk

Damage can’t be prevented. Spells can’t be countered. If that isn't punk rock, I don't know what is. And it might honestly be good enough to be the single best guy to a Minotaur party.

When I saw that Spider-Punk only gave riot to other Spiders, I was disappointed. Then I saw that he stops the card effects that shut down Minotaur strategies. And immediately I was in love.

I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to cast Deathbellow War CryDeathbellow War Cry, only for it to be countered. Or to swing with overwhelming amounts of damage, only to get FogFog cast on me. WELL NO MORE!

At two mana, this is very easy to slot into any Minotaur list and shuts down the two ways to hold back Minotaurs. If we can play our cards and ensure we can’t be fogged, then nothing but a Wrath effect can stop us on the field of battle.

Carnage, Crimson ChaosCarnage, Crimson Chaos

What excites me about Carnage is that he has a cheap mayhem casting cost. This means we can be very aggressive, especially since we temporarily resurrect a low-cost creature.

The difficulty Minotaur decks have is that they have a higher mana curve than most other typal creatures, outside of Dragons and Dinosaurs. The main cluster of our creatures falls in three to five mana. So being able to cast Carnage, Crimson Chaos for two mana is kind of a big deal, especially with his stat line.

Obviously, CarnageCarnage is most at home in a discard deck, like with Neheb, the WorthyNeheb, the Worthy or Neheb, Dreadhorde ChampionNeheb, Dreadhorde Champion. However, I can see him having a place in Sethron decks, because even casting him at four mana is more than worthwhile given his stats and effects.

Regardless, Carnage is going to live up to his name as he'll unleash crimson chaos when he's played.

Scarlet Spider, KaineScarlet Spider, Kaine

Kaine is really unique because he can chain discards. If we discard him, we can cast him for one mana. Then when he enters we can discard another card, potentially playing another madness or mayhem card. If our stars align, we can explode very early into a game.

This is really interesting for the Minotaur discard decks. He can be used for early game aggression, but if he's drawn later, he can be utilized for discard payoffs once our board has been established. I like that flexibility in creature as in Commander there isn't a guarantee when we'll draw him.

If I'm going to play a low-cost creature, then I want to make sure its not a dead draw if the game goes long.

Ultimate Green GoblinUltimate Green Goblin

The Ultimate Green Goblin fills a similar role to Shadow of the GoblinShadow of the Goblin. By this, I mean that it's a consistent discard outlet to facilitate our discard synergies. Unlike Shadow of the Goblin though, we aren’t drawing cards but making Treasure tokens.

In some ways this is better because Rakdos has a ramp problem in Commander. The only way Rakdos decks can accelerate in mana is through ritual spellsritual spells, mana rocksmana rocks, and Treasure tokens. So we need as much Treasure as possible to keep up with decks that can tutor lands.

With this mindset, in the early game trading cards for mana is overall worth it. I would much rather get rid of useless cards in my hand to get us to our threats sooner. And if we're playing a discard themed deck, then we're just getting gravy in the process.

Then there's the fact that Ultimate Green GoblinUltimate Green Goblin is massive for just three mana. Even if we don’t make much mana with him, he's punching well above his rate, with no discernible downside.

Ultimate Green Goblin is here to take names and mess up everyone’s day. As is his right.

Conclusion

And with that our tour around The Big Apple of Marvel's Spider-Man comes to a comic book close. While I wasn't very excited about this set going in, I was really impressed by what Magic managed to pull off with the set. There are obvious criticisms levied toward it, but as far as Minotaurs are concerned, this was alright, and honestly better than some sets we've had in the last year.

Lets hope that continues as we head toward the next Universe Beyond set of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Until next time, be sure to check out the other set reviews found on EDHREC for more broader analysis on everything Marvel's Spider-Man has to offer.

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