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Magic: The Gathering x Marvel's Spider-Man was originally intended to be a small Universes Beyond set. After all, it's just Spider-Man we're talking about here: a sticky little guy followed by tragedy wherever he goes. How big could this crossover set get?

Well, according to Magic: The Gathering's head game designer, Mark Rosewater, the design team behind Marvel's Spider-Man had something of a "You're gonna need a bigger boat" moment from Jaws once they tried introducing new elements into the set.

On the Magic: The Gathering website, Rosewater wrote, "The set wanted all the things I just talked about (Sagas, double-faced cards, and one of the Infinity Stones). With a 100-card set, that was too cramped. The solution was to make the set bigger. The guiding philosophy was to let the set become the best version of itself. In the end, that would mean raising the set size from 100 cards to 188 cards. Once the set was a 188-card set, it raised the next big question. It now was big enough for a Limited format." 

And thus, this led to the creation of a new Limited format: Pick-Two Draft. Since everyone loves a Spider-Man (Peter Parker, your days are numbered. Ben Reilly, you wonderfully troubled man, please go to therapy), the design team featuring Corey Bowen, Chris Mooney, and Erik Lauer wanted to develop a Limited format that had a lower barrier to entry than your standard draft night. Pick-Two only requires four players, rather than eight, and will hopefully make it easier for new players getting into Magic because of Spidey to participate at their local game shop. 

Magic: The Gathering x Marvel's Spider-Man will be released on September 26, 2025. 

Whether you are a Commander player, a regular at your local game shop's FNM event, or simply love collecting Magic: The Gathering cards, you've landed in the right place. From Universes Beyond to the furthest reaches of the Magic Multiverse, we've got you covered here at Popverse. 

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