With Great Power Comes Great Design

When Wizards of the Coast first announced Spider-Man: Universes Beyond, there was a level of excitement as Final Fantasy had reminded everyone how enjoyable a Universes Beyond set could be. This wasn't about tossing a superhero into Magic: The Gathering for novelty. It was about establishing a foundation for how Marvel could live, breathe, and sling webs through Magic's mechanical and storytelling framework.

The design team behind the set didn't treat Spider-Man as a one-off. They treated it as an ecosystem. Every card, from the cityscapes of New York to the web of allies and villains, had to feel unmistakably Marvel, yet unmistakably Magic.

Building the Web of a City

The first challenge, according to the design team, was worldbuilding. "We had to figure out how you build a [Mountain] in New York City," one designer laughed. It sounds like a throwaway line, but it speaks to the meticulous thought behind each land. How do you make Central Park feel like a Forest card? What does a Swamp look like in Manhattan?

The team took inspiration from the city's geography, the five boroughs, and the skyline itself. "We explored the idea that New York's five boroughs could almost parallel the five colors of mana," one designer explained. "It became a fun design challenge, making a city famous for concrete feel alive and organic within Magic's color pie."

Ultimately, the decision to focus on bridges, boroughs, and rooftops gave Spider-Man's setting a sense of vertical motion. This served as a nod to the hero's iconic web-slinging. "Spider-Man's entire identity is tied to movement," said one developer. "That cinematic swing between skyscrapers, that sense of elevation and momentum, we wanted players to feel that through the art and the gameplay."

A Question of Access

During the roundtable, I brought up how Spider-Man became the first Magic: The Gathering set that truly caught my 12-year-old son's attention. For him, Spider-Man wasn't just another set, it was a gateway into my hobby. It was a way for him to connect to Magic: The Gathering without feeling like he had to learn about the in-universe worlds that make the game tick.

The team lit up at that story. "That's exactly what we're aiming for," one of them said. "Every Universes Beyond set has the potential to bring in players who might never have touched Magic before. The key is making sure they stay."

Retention, they explained, isn't just about card design, it's about building a bridge between brands. "A Spider-Man fan comes in because they love the character," said one developer. "They stay because they fall in love with Magic. The trick is giving them the tools to explore both worlds."

That means ensuring the mechanics and flavor text are readable for newcomers, while still rich enough for veterans. "If this is your first time playing Magic, you need to feel like you can compete, but also like you're stepping into something deeper every time you shuffle up," said another team member.

Representation and Responsibility

Representation wasn't a footnote, it was a design pillar. The team discussed how they approached the inclusion of modern Spider-Man figures like Miles Morales, Silk, Web Weaver, and Sun-Spider, Nimble Webber. "We wanted the set to reflect the entire web of Spider-Man's world," one designer said. "Not just Peter's story, but all the stories that make this universe what it is."

They described balancing Peter Parker's classic iconography with newer heroes whose cultural identities are essential to their character. "Marvel has given us so many opportunities to explore diversity," one artist said. "We wanted to show that Spider-Man isn't just one person. It's an idea that connects people across cultures and generations."

That commitment carries through mechanically, too. Characters like [Silk, Web Weaver] and [Sun-Spider, Nimble Webber] were designed to feel distinct from Peter Parker without losing the connective thread of teamwork and agility that defines the Spider-family.

Heroes, Villains, and the Line Between

If Spider-Man's world is defined by motion, it's equally defined by Uncle Ben's famous line "[With great power...] comes great responsibility". The world of Spider-Man has always dealt with heroism and sacrifice, or the line between selflessness and selfishness. That duality is where the set finds its gameplay heartbeat.

The designers spent considerable time balancing hero and villain archetypes. "You can't have Venom, Eddie Brock without Spectacular Spider-Man," one developer said. "So we made sure the villains had mechanical identities just as interesting as the heroes."

Villains like Eddie Brock // Venom, Lethal Protector and Carnage, Crimson Chaos embody mechanics tied to the graveyard, emphasizing corruption and recursion. Heroes, on the other hand, rely on synergy and teamwork, reflecting their ability to support each other in play. Antiheroes like Black Cat, Cunning Thief blurred the lines entirely. "We debated how to classify her," a designer admitted. "Is she a hero? A rogue? Ultimately, her card mechanics leaned toward independence, she's a thief first, and that's core to who she is."

That overall approach, designing for personality rather than allegiance, keeps the set feeling dynamic. "Our job isn't to tell players who the good guy is," said another team member. "It's to give them the tools to explore what that even means."

A Universe in the Making

It's no secret that Spider-Man: Universes Beyond is just the beginning. With Marvel Super Heroes already announced as a follow-up, fans are wondering how deep this collaboration will go.

The team explained that while the Marvel Secret Lair and Spider-Man sets overlapped in production, they served different purposes. "Secret Lair was like our test flight," said one developer. "It let us experiment with tone and presentation. By the time Spider-Man came around, we had a much clearer idea of how to integrate Marvel storytelling into Magic's mechanics."

That learning process wasn't just technical, it was also philosophical. The designers described their approach as layering: starting with recognizable heroes and slowly expanding into deeper cuts, creating a universe within Magic: The Gathering that can grow with each release. "You're going to see us go deeper into Marvel's world," one designer hinted. "But we're always making sure each piece still feels like Magic."

Designing Mayhem

Every Magic set has its mechanical identity, and for Spider-Man, that's Mayhem. The keyword captures the fast-paced chaos that defines both comic book action and web-slinging combat. "We wanted something that made the battlefield feel alive," said a designer. "Mayhem gives you that unpredictable, momentum-driven feeling, every fight could turn in an instant."

Of course, not every idea survived the process. One designer revealed they toyed with a "monologue" mechanic inspired by classic hero-villain banter. "It was about dialogue between characters during combat," they said, laughing. "We even tested names like 'quip' and 'pose.' Unfortunately it never quite worked as it slowed the game down instead of adding energy."

That willingness to experiment and cut ideas is what keeps Wizards of the Coast's design team agile. "You can't be afraid to throw out something clever if it doesn't play well," said a developer. "We'd rather have clean mechanics that tell a story naturally."

The Future of the Marvel Multiverse

With Spider-Man now swinging into the multiverse of Magic: The Gathering, fans are already what they want to see next. The team wouldn't confirm specifics, but the tone was clear, this partnership is built to last.

"We want to make what players want," one designer said simply. "If that means more Spider-Man, we're listening. The beauty of Universes Beyond is that it lets us explore, connect, and expand. And if we do our jobs right, every fan who comes for Marvel stays for Magic."

That sentiment sums up what Spider-Man: Universes Beyond really represents: not just a fusion of two iconic worlds, but a living bridge between them. Whether it's a kid discovering Magic through Spider-Man, Peter Parker, or a veteran player swinging through a new mechanical skyline in Standard, it's clear that with great power the team is also focusing on great design.