Marvel's Spider-Man: A Crossover Set That Ages Like Fine Wine (Draft)

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

Guildmages Forum Is Hosting an Event Again?

Yes, you read that right, and it really is this good! It’s time again to read an article and play an in-person draft at the same time~

First, we’d like to share some good news with you. Huge thanks to 睿卡潮玩 for their wholehearted support of limited play in Taiwan. They have teamed up with Guildmages Forum many times this year, letting newer players taste everything draft has to offer cracking packs, picking cards, and chatting nonsense.

We plan to keep running newbie-reader draft events for Avatar: The Last Airbender. If you’d like to take part, send a message to our fan page and leave your contact info. When the details are settled at the end of the year, we will contact and invite people in order of sign-up.

With the good news out of the way, let’s get back to Marvel’s Spider-Man. For me, SPM is a very special set. At first I thought Web-Slinging would be flavorful in limited, and that a few individual cards happened to fit my Standard decks and could smooth out the curve a bit, but… nothing that would shake the format to its core, right?

It turns out I was wrong, XD. At Pro Tour - Edge of Eternities on 9/26-9/28 this year, even though the constructed portion of that event was Modern, plenty of key Marvel’s Spider-Man cards still showed up, which says a lot about the potential and value of the set.

Since the experts roasted us helped us find the constructed place for SPM’s individual cards, we naturally looked forward to this draft even more, hehe. Sure enough, the gathering held at 遊戲平方 on 9/28 was fantastic. For some reason I ended up with eight rares (and I really did pick them on purpose, see the player feedback at the end of the article), and the deck felt amazingly well-balanced. The little pieces of cardboard were beautiful and powerful as ever, and veterans and newbies alike went home with their hearts, minds and bodies full.

If You Still Don’t Know What Draft Is

Since this article is promotional, please allow us to briefly introduce “draft” once more.

Straight to the point: Magic: The Gathering draft is insanely fun. You get to crack packs, pick cards from them, snag the good stuff nobody else took (usually because they aren’t playing that color this time and reluctantly pass it to you), build a deck, play matches, take home souvenirs provided by the store, and relax and trash-talk with a few friends. Or you can play seriously, so seriously that you can carry on to the Pro Tour.

This year, Wizards is promoting Pick-Two Draft, which simply means you take two cards per pick instead of one. Guildmages Forum may try it at the next event, and we’ll share our experience and how the signals differ for you then, so stay tuned.

The Event Begins

Sunday, September 28, 2025. Once again, thanks to 遊戲平方 for generously providing the venue. Before the tournament started, the Guildmages Forum crew all went to the counter to grab some singles, XD.

While we’re at it, I’d like to share my usual way of buying cards. Did you know that besides Ruten auctions, Taiwan has another powerful, real-time place to buy Magic cards? That’s 遊戲平方’s online store.

Not sponsored. We simply love using it ourselves and want to recommend it to more newbies.

I don’t often have time to visit card shops, so thankfully there’s 遊戲平方. Besides free shipping on orders over NT$2000, each reward point is worth another NT$1 (see the store website for the exact formula; it’s basically 3% back).

A screenshot of my reward point total. That’s the points, not the total amount spent, mind you. Hmm, looks like I bought too much…

Every time I mention 遊戲平方 I want to share this with you, and after holding it in too many times, I finally couldn’t resist~

That wraps up the recommendation segment. Now let’s officially dive into the highlights of Marvel’s Spider-Man: A Crossover Set That Ages Like Fine Wine (Draft).

About to crack open the regular SPM Play Boosters! I threatened everyone that nobody could open packs without smiling, and instead everyone’s smiles got stiffer?

Fine, we let everyone start drafting with enthusiasm anyway, and the smiles did look much more natural…

Talking cards and making friends is the true essence of draft.

Thanks to 睿卡潮玩 for promoting limited with us. Of course we have to take the chance to promote them a bit.

ZHAN, the real man who carries all the copy for our SPM limited analysis, seems to be picking extra seriously this time?

Okay, the other side is much more relaxed and cheerful. One long table, two different moods.

T1BloodMoon, holding a token, suddenly murmured: “I’m so hungry, I skipped lunch…”

JerobaMTG, 博升 and Jru start discussing, and 博升 later pulled off a slick Web-slinging play too.

Drafting is done and the battles begin with fervor! It’s perfectly normal to glance at what the next table is playing while shuffling.

Spider-Slayer, Hatred Honed is way too cool to be an uncommon.

Web-slinging is so flavorful.

Wrap-Up

The undefeated players that day were faintmama, who hard-swept the board every game with Villainous Wrath, and Jru, who didn’t settle on a color in the first pack and picked up the key cards of as many themes as possible. faintmama also earned the title of off-table winner of the day by picking eight rares (and had even passed three more rares…). From what we saw that day, the number of rares left everyone thoroughly satisfied.

However, winning and cards aren’t necessarily the most important part. After the event, we heard readers say, “Draft is more fun and synergistic than I imagined” and “This is the most fun I’ve had in a draft so far,” and that feedback made the point of the event very clear to us. I have to praise SPM’s Web-slinging ability once more: it lets newbies feel that they’ve made excellent decisions, and it also captures the most classic flavor of Marvel’s Spider-Man.

As for Guildmages Forum’s in-person events, there are many venue, staffing, and before-and-after communication matters to handle one by one, so for now we can only run them by invitation. If you’d like to join the next event, or have any thoughts on supporting us to keep running them, feel free to message Guildmages Forum and leave your info for our reference.

That’s the event record for Marvel’s Spider-Man: A Crossover Set That Ages Like Fine Wine (Draft). If you’re curious about how the picks went that day, please read the players’ sharing that follows.

Player Feedback

JerobaMTG’s Sharing:

What do you think was the most important pick today, and why? Please name the card.

Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer. My first pick of the day, a super bomb with a very steep casting cost. Opponents today just conceded when they saw it come down.

How did the key turns of today go?

I held off the opponent with the Spider tokens made by Spiders-Man, Heroic Horde, Wall Crawl and Spider-UK. Silk, Web Weaver pumped the whole team for one big attack, and I successfully traded off Silk and held the line.

Do you like draft? Any draft memories worth looking back on?

I don’t have any special memories of draft, but I do have one about sealed. At the 2014 Taipei GP, we played M15 sealed. As I recall, Day 1 was nine rounds, and six wins got you into Day 2. I started 5-0, then lost a bunch in a row and dragged it all the way to the last round. In that match I took an aggressive line early and pressed the opponent, then on turn six they slammed Soul of Theros. I figured that if I let them activate the lifelink I’d be done, so I had to trade an extra card to deal with it. I thought I could breathe a little, and then I saw the opponent slam Garruk, Apex Predator…

How would you recommend draft?

Draft is a great format that adds fun to opening packs: you don’t just open packs and be done, you get to enjoy the whole process. If you feel like you have bad luck, in draft you may get to pick up good stuff passed from the player upstream and soak up some good luck from your tablemates. If you already have some idea of Magic, draft lets you sharpen your sense of card power, curve building and format characteristics, and you might even discover little-known combos and find a new direction in how you play Magic.

JerobaMTG’s draft picks, left to right, top to bottom.

JerobaMTG’s deck for the day.

Jru’s Sharing:

What do you think was the most important pick today, and why? Please name the card.

Spider-Manifestation & Professional Wrestler: after testing this set’s limited, these are the two most important common curve cards for green-based decks. Creatures in this set are relatively small, and the creatures that reach 4/4 or better in power and toughness at four mana or less start at rare, except Professional Wrestler, the only common. On top of that, it can’t be blocked by more than one creature, so it’s a high-quality creature that is very hard to block. The Treasure that Professional Wrestler makes on ETB, plus the mana ability of Spider-Manifestation, also gives the deck more room for powerful big creatures. My creature curve this time was high, but with these extra accelerants the whole thing ran very smoothly, and simply casting big creatures back to back was often enough to suppress the opponent all the way.

How did the key turns of today go?

With 2 Spider-Manifestation on the battlefield, I cast 3 Professional Wrestler in a single turn with just 4 lands, and with other creatures on board that trigger when I cast a spell with mana value 4 or greater, everything exploded in an instant.

Do you like draft? Any draft memories worth looking back on?

In an EOE draft, I successfully built the infinite lifegain combo of Lightless Evangel + Susurian Voidborn + 2 Perigee Beckoner.

How would you recommend draft?

In a newbie’s first few drafts, you’ll surely have the feeling of “Who am I, where am I, what am I picking?” But as long as you consciously review and re-examine the logic behind your picks, you should make a big breakthrough within 5 drafts.

Jru’s draft picks, left to right, top to bottom.

Jru’s deck for the day.

ZHAN’s Sharing:

What do you think was the most important pick today, and why? Please name the card.

I think it was the two copies of Spider-Man India. I originally thought one was enough, but since I had no other good creatures to stabilize the board, I still took the second. I drew it reliably throughout the matches, but because of matchup dynamics, it couldn’t come down and show its advantage every game.

How did the key turns of today go?

One turn I had Spider-Man India on the battlefield, and in hand two Spectacular Tactics and too many lands. The opponent had a 4/3, a 3/3 and a 1/2. Since both of us were playing Web-slinging decks but only I had Spider-Man India, I figured the opponent would badly want to stop it, so I attacked with my creatures hoping the opponent would choose to block with everything. The opponent really did want to stop me from using Spider-Man India to widen my advantage, so I was able to use the two Spectacular Tactics to destroy the opponent’s 4/3 and give myself +1/+1, establishing a board advantage.

Do you like draft? Any draft memories worth looking back on?

Rather than saying I like draft, I enjoy playing happily with a few friends, and Magic is a great medium for that. Whether you’re a Commander player, a tournament player, or even a friend who hasn’t played in ages but remembers the rules, everyone can enjoy the charm of Magic together.
Right after I finished learning the rules of Magic, I was pulled to a draft table. I no longer remember the details, but I’ll never forget that when the opponent gained more than 20 life and I asked about it, they answered that the rules have no life total cap. I think that was the first time I felt the charm of a physical card game.

How would you recommend draft?

Draft can be enjoyed casually with a few friends, or you can compete seriously for the prizes the store provides. It’s a good format for easily enjoying the charm of Magic.

ZHAN’s draft picks, left to right, top to bottom.

ZHAN’s deck for the day.

T1BloodMoon’s Sharing:

What do you think was the most important pick today, and why? Please name the card.

Silk, Web Weaver, first pick of pack one, and Supportive Parents, second pick of pack one. Seeing her today, I kept wanting to look for an infinite combo, namely Silk, Web Weaver + Supportive Parents + two of Arachne, Psionic Weaver / Spider-Man, Web-Slinger, which would make infinite 1/1 Human Citizens. Sadly I only picked up one of the latter (lol).

How did the key turns of today go?

One turn, with Supportive Parents and two Spider-Man, Brooklyn Visionary, I kept bouncing them in and out in a single turn and dug up a huge number of lands. For each creature and two mana I could run the loop once. After two turns of that, my library had no basic lands left. It looked flashy, but I still got killed by the opponent’s fliers that game.

T1BloodMoon’s draft picks, left to right, top to bottom.

T1BloodMoon’s deck for the day.

faintmama’s Sharing:

What do you think was the most important pick today, and why? Please name the card.

Definitely Villainous Wrath, my second pick of pack two, which won me every match. Shriek, Treblemaker, my third pick of pack two, was actually crucial too, but at the time I had no idea how awesome she was, XD.

How did the key turns of today go?

Twice, with Shriek, Treblemaker on the battlefield, I cast Villainous Wrath and it resolved successfully. That was basically the win.

Do you like draft? Any draft memories worth looking back on?

This Marvel’s Spider-Man draft left a deep impression on me. Mayhem is great for splashing a third color for other heavy bombs, because discarding a card lowers color-screw risk considerably. I’m very happy with the Jund Mayhem deck I built this time.

How would you recommend draft?

You can crack packs, pick cards, build a deck, play… let me put it this way: I honestly can’t find a downside to the draft format. Pack luck doesn’t fully decide the outcome, since a solid curve and sensibly using removal to trade up are what matter. You can play it relaxed, or you can play it seriously.

faintmama’s draft picks, left to right, top to bottom.

faintmama’s deck for the day.

毓謙’s Sharing:

What do you think was the most important pick today, and why? Please name the card.

I think the most important one today was the first pick of pack two, choosing between Superior Spider-Man and the foil Hide on the Ceiling. At that point I wasn’t actually sure of my main colors, and Superior Spider-Man felt like it had a higher ceiling. Although I never got a bomb that suited it, this choice did lock me into Blue-Black.

How did the key turns of today go?

The key turn was when the opponent successfully resolved Parker Luck. By then the opponent’s hand was getting a bit dry, and I had finally controlled the board with removal, but my life total was a bit low. The two options were mainly to use Superior Spider-Man to copy Morbius the Living Vampire, or to remove the two 4/3s on the opponent’s side. One was extremely conservative and the other extremely gambling, and working backward from the result, a middle path of killing one plus making a copy might have been better.

Please share your feelings about taking part in the draft

I thought the overall atmosphere was great. Besides getting to experience a fairly new set (I wasn’t very interested originally, but after this I’m left wanting more), I also cleared up many blind spots in my picking and deckbuilding through discussion with veterans, and I feel my limited skills went up a notch. Thanks also to faintmama for the invitation, and to 睿卡潮玩 and 遊戲平方 for sponsoring this event.

毓謙’s draft picks, left to right, top to bottom.

毓謙’s deck for the day.

博升’s Sharing:

What do you think was the most important pick today, and why? Please name the card.

It should be the two copies of Rhino, Barreling Brute I picked. Although it costs 7, it has Vigilance, Trample and Haste all at once, so as soon as it hits the battlefield it puts huge pressure on the opponent, and it refills your hand too.

How did the key turns of today go?

My last match against faintmama. I set up the board smoothly early on, used a few low-cost creatures to cut down the opponent’s life, and used the Web-slinging ability to return Spider-Girl, Legacy Hero to hand to add more creatures to the board. Unfortunately, the opponent’s Villainous Wrath swept the board directly, and with too few cards left in hand, the game turned around.

Please share your feelings about taking part in the draft

This was my third time joining a draft, and I still don’t really know how to pick cards. I changed the colors I wanted to play midway through the picks, so I had some trouble at the deckbuilding stage. Luckily the other veterans were very willing to give me advice and helped me adjust colors and the ratio of creatures to lands. In the matches, my opponents were also very warm and answered my questions, which let me pull off a nice combo. That made me quite happy!

博升’s draft picks, right to left, top to bottom.

博升’s deck for the day.

Nelson’s Sharing:

What do you think was the most important pick today, and why? Please name the card.

Spider man 2099, because it’s cool (especially the alternate-art version)!

How did the key turns of today go?

The key was that after the opponent mulliganed twice, even though they had a high chance of missing land drops, I still cast Parker Luck so both of us would draw, because it’s fun, XD.

Please share your feelings about taking part in the draft

It was more fun than I imagined, and there is synergy. Before trying it, I thought draft would be more monotonous than other formats and have no tactics, but it’s actually not so.

Nelson’s draft picks, left to right, top to bottom.

Nelson’s deck for the day.