Here Are Two New Spider Men Cards From The Magic: The Gathering – Spider-Man Set

In June, Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy became the fastest-selling MTG expansion of all time, as it sold $200 million in product in a single day. Wizards of the Coast is hoping lightning will strike twice with Marvel’s Spider-Man, the next MTG expansion, which launches on September 26.

We have an exclusive look at two cards included in the Spider-Man set, both of whom share a moniker: The Scarlet Spider! We have Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker cards to reveal, with each Scarlet Spider taking from a different combination of the Magic color pie.

First, here’s Scarlet Spider, Ben Reilly:

• Scarlet Spider, Ben Reilly
  • Legendary Creature – Spider Human Hero
  • Costs one generic, one red, and one green mana to cast
  • 4 power/3 toughness
  • Web-slinging for one red and one green mana (You may cast this spell for one red and one green mana if you also return a tapped creature you control to its owner’s hand.)
  • Trample
  • Sensational Save – If Scarlet Spider was cast using web-slinging, he enters with X +1/+1 counters on him, where X is the mana value of the returned creature.

Ben Reilly is a card that on the surface sounds explosive, but it’ll require a bit of setup in order to bring the most value. It’s an interesting card in that it encourages the player to hold off on casting until later in the game.

A 4/3 trampler for three mana is definitely powerful, but if you can send back a six- or seven-mana creature you’ve just attacked with via web-slinging, suddenly Ben is a 10/9 or 11/10 creature with trample–and with the reduced mana cost, you may be able to recast the creature you sent back to your hand. If that’s, say, Gladiolus Amicita from Final Fantasy, not only do you get a beefy Ben, but Gladiolus will let you search for another land to drop onto the table.

Next, we have Scarlet Spider, Kaine:

• Scarlet Spider, Kaine
  • Legendary Creature – Spider Human Hero
  • Costs one one red and one black mana to cast
  • 2 power/1 toughness
  • Menace
  • When Scarlet Spider enters, you may discard a card. If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on him.
  • Mayhem for one red or black mana (You may cast this card from your graveyard for one red or black mana if you discarded it this turn. Timing rules still apply.)

Kaine highlights the Spider-Man set’s new Mayhem mechanic, which is an improved version of the old Madness mechanic. Madness allowed you to cast a discarded card, but you had to cast it immediately after discarding, or it went to the graveyard. With Mayhem, you have until the end of your turn to cast the discarded card from your graveyard, giving you some wiggle room for strategy when bringing the discarded card back.

Kaine’s 2/1 body isn’t too impressive for two mana, but Menace will allow him to swing in unblocked if your opponent only has one creature on their board. That can be three damage if you decide to discard when casting him thanks to the +1/+1 counter–and if that discarded card also has Mayhem, you can eventually cast that from the graveyard before the turn ends if you choose.

Magic: The Gathering – Marvel’s Spider-Man launches in local game stores and big box retailers on September 26. Prerelease events will kick off September 19-21 in local game stores.