On September 10, 2025, Wizards of the Coast sent shockwaves through the Magic: The Gathering community by unveiling a highly anticipated collaboration: the Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man superdrop. This collection, set to officially launch on September 22, 2025, brings the world’s most famous web-slinger and his allies—and, of course, his iconic foes—into the beloved trading card game. For fans of both Magic and Marvel, it’s a crossover that feels almost too good to be true.
According to ComicBook.com, the superdrop consists of five distinct sets: Daily Bugle Breaking News, Heroic Deeds, Villainous Plots, Venom Unleashed, and Mana Symbiote. Each set features exclusive card treatments and artwork, making them must-haves for collectors and players alike. The Secret Lair drops are known for their limited availability and unique flair, but this Marvel partnership takes things up a notch, blending the vibrant storytelling of comics with the strategic depth of Magic.
The Daily Bugle Breaking News set is especially eye-catching. Styled after the front page of Spider-Man’s in-universe newspaper, the Daily Bugle, these cards transform five Magic staples—Fact or Fiction, Frantic Search, Scheming Symmetry, Blasphemous Act, and Impact Tremors—into headlines worthy of J. Jonah Jameson’s desk. It’s a playful nod to Spider-Man’s roots and a treat for longtime fans. The non-foil version of this set retails for $29.99, while the rainbow foil edition is priced at $39.99, as reported by ComicBook.com.
Next up are the Heroic Deeds and Villainous Plots sets, each offering a trio of Commander staples: Command Tower, Lightning Greaves, and Sol Ring. Heroic Deeds rounds out its lineup with Ephemerate and Three Visits, while Villainous Plots opts for a darker twist, including Deadly Dispute and Go for the Throat. The real kicker for fans? All the art in these drops comes from celebrated Marvel comics artists such as Todd Nauck, Elena Casagrande, Lucas Werneck, Swayart, Terry Dodson, Roberta Ingranata, and Kael Ngu. Each non-foil set is priced at $29.99, with rainbow foil versions at $39.99.
But the real showstopper for many is the Venom Unleashed set. As detailed by ComicBook.com, this drop puts the spotlight squarely on Venom, one of Spider-Man’s most complex and beloved adversaries. The set features both color and ink variants, all illustrated by Mark Bagley—renowned for his work on Ultimate Spider-Man. The cards themselves are no slouches either, with heavy hitters like Damnation, Dark Ritual, Peer into the Abyss, Surgical Extraction, and Tendrils of Agony. Considering that Damnation alone often commands a $20 to $30 price tag, the $29.99 non-foil and $39.99 rainbow foil price points make this set an appealing deal for players and collectors alike.
Rounding out the superdrop is the Mana Symbiote set, another Venom-themed offering. This set stands apart with its special raised foil card treatment, which highlights the symbiote against a dark silver background and features a colored mana symbol at its center. The set includes two cards for each land type and is priced at $59.99. As with the other drops, availability is limited to MagicSecretLair.com starting September 22, so fans are encouraged to act quickly if they want to snag these exclusive cards.
Yet the Marvel x Magic collaboration isn’t just about flashy art and collector’s items—it’s also introduced fresh gameplay mechanics that reflect Spider-Man’s signature moves. As Draftsim explains, the Spider-Man Universes Beyond set debuts a new keyword ability: web-slinging. This mechanic allows players to cast a card for its web-slinging cost by bouncing a tapped creature they control back to its owner’s hand. It’s an alternative casting cost, not an activated ability—a subtle but important distinction for Magic veterans.
Web-slinging was introduced on ten cards in the Spider-Man Universes Beyond set, including Arachne, Psionic Weaver; Peter Parker / Amazing Spider-Man; Scarlet Spider, Ben Reilly; Silk, Web Weaver; Spider-Man, Brooklyn Visionary; Spider-Man India; Spider-Man, Web-Slinger; Spider-Sense; Spiders-Man, Heroic Horde; and Spider-UK. The mechanic captures the essence of Spider-Man’s agility and adaptability, letting players bounce in and out of danger—just like the wall-crawler himself.
However, licensing restrictions from Disney and Marvel mean that these Spider-Man cards aren’t available on Magic’s digital platforms, such as MTG Arena and MTGO. Instead, digital players encounter reskinned versions with different names and art as part of the Through the Omenpaths set, known by the set code OM1. For example, Arachne, Psionic Weaver appears as Yera and Oski, Weaver and Guide, and the web-slinging ability is renamed "enweb." This workaround keeps the gameplay experience fresh while respecting the boundaries of intellectual property rights.
Magic’s Head Designer, Mark Rosewater, has hinted that the web-slinging mechanic could return in future non-Marvel sets under a different name. On his personal blog, Rosewater confirmed, "a future Spider-Man [Commander precon] isn’t off the table as a possibility." That’s sure to keep fans speculating about what’s next for Magic’s ongoing partnership with Marvel.
Web-slinging isn’t just a flavor win—it has real strategic depth. According to Draftsim, the mechanic lets players cast spells for alternative costs, provided they can bounce a tapped creature. This opens up new lines of play, especially in formats like Commander where creative combos abound. The mechanic doesn’t change a card’s mana value, so cards like Up the Beanstalk still interact as usual. And because bouncing the creature is part of the cost, opponents can’t disrupt the process mid-cast—a detail that could prove decisive in high-stakes matches.
Among the new cards, Peter Parker / Amazing Spider-Man stands out as the most expensive web-slinger, likely due to the character’s enduring popularity. Meanwhile, cards like Spider-Sense and Arachne, Psionic Weaver are already being eyed for their potential impact in Standard and Commander formats. The set even introduces the first modal double-faced cards (MDFCs) that can also transform, a rules innovation that adds another layer of excitement for deck builders.
With the Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man superdrop, Wizards of the Coast isn’t just offering up flashy cards—it’s weaving together two pop culture juggernauts in a way that feels both fresh and nostalgic. The blend of exclusive art, innovative mechanics, and fan-favorite characters has set the stage for what could be one of Magic’s most memorable crossovers to date. As the release date approaches, anticipation is running high—and with good reason. For Magic and Marvel fans alike, this is one web worth getting caught in.
