Magic: The Gathering has collaborated with Marvel to create a Spider-Man set of cards. Many cards have been created using characters from across the Spider-Verse, featuring a diverse range of characters with varying levels of popularity. Here, we provide an explanation for the black creature cards in the new crossover set.
Agent Venom (2 Colorless, 1 Black)
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Card Type: Legendary Creature – Symbiote Spider-Man
Card Text: Flash
Menace
Whenever another nontoken creature you control dies, you draw a card and lose 1 life.
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #654 (2011).
Flash Thompson went from being Spider-Man’s best friend to a soldier, serving with distinction and losing his legs saving his partner. He was recruited by a secret project and bonded with the Venom symbiote. Not only did it give him the ability to walk again, but it also gave him much more power. He was still a soldier, using the venom symbiote to hold weaponry. The venom symbiote is no longer bonded to Flash, but he has an Anti-Venom suit of his own.
Black Cat, Cunning Thief (3 Colorless, 2 Black)
Card Type: Legendary Creature – Human Rogue Villain
Card Text: When Black Cat enters, look at the top nine cards of target opponent’s library, exile two of them face down, then put the rest on the bottom of their library in a random order. You may play the exiled cards for as long as they remain exiled. Mana of any type can be spent to cast spells this way.
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #194 (1979).
Felicia Hardy is the perfect cat burglar, aided by powers that cause others around her to have bad luck. Felicia is vengeful, angry, and out for herself, with the trauma she faced as a young woman making her always hold a grudge. But she has flicked back and forth from trying to do the right thing to being an out-and-out thief. Her relationship with Spider-Man is complicated. She had more affection and attraction to the Spider than to Peter Parker. She enjoys the thrill instead of the boring nerd, and their relationships have been fun and flirtatious but ultimately incompatible.
Eddie Brock (2 Colorless, 1 Black)
Card Type: Legendary Creature – Human Hero Villain
Card Text: When Eddie Brock enters, return target creature card with the mana value 1 or less from yoru graveyard to the battlefield.
(3 White, 1 Black, 1 Red, 1 Green: Transform Eddie Brock. Activate only as a sorcery.)
First appearance: Web of Spider-Man #18 (1986)..
Eddie Brock had a difficult childhood that made him angry and resentful. In his blossoming journalism career, Eddie Brock was made into a laughing stock through Spider-Man exposing him, and carried that resentment into a church where he bonded with the Venom Symbiote. That anger controlled so much of his life and his actions early on, making him seem like a much worse person than he actually is.
Gwenom, Remorseless (3 Colorless, 2 Black)
Card Type: Legendary Creature – Symbiote Spider Hero
Card Text: Deathtouch, lifelink
Whenever Gwenom attacks, until end of turn, you may look at the top card of your library any time and you may play cards from the top of your library. If you cast a spell this way, pay life equal to its mana value rather than pay its mana cost.
First appearance: Spider-Gwen #24 (2017).
In Earth-65, it was Gwen Stacy who was bitten by a radioactive spider and became Spider-Woman. The musically gifted superhero was constantly being targeted and framed for deaths she wasn’t responsible for, including her friend Peter Parker, who became the Lizard. But her Earth created a Venom symbiote of its own, which bonded to Gwen. This made me more aggressive and violent. She would lash out, nearly kill criminals, and lose control of her rage. Now, Gwen only uses the Venom symbiote if it’s a last resort.
Inner Demon Gangsters (3 Colorless, 1 Black)
Card Type: Creature – Human Rogue Villain
Card Text: Discard a card: This creature gets +1/+0 and gains menace until end of turn. Activate only as a sorcery. (It can’t be blocked except by two or more creatures.
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #547 (2008).
The Inner Demons are the enforcers for the crime lord Mister Negative. Their personalities have been corrupted and turned evil. They are both menacing and dangerous, defeating many of the older and more established gangs in New York, with their demonic masks and electrified weapons. They are scary and imposing with a lethal intent.
Merciless Enforcers (1 Colorless, 1 Black)
Card Type: Creature – Human Mercenary Villain
Card Text: Lifelink
(3 Colorless, 1 Black): This creature deals 1 damage to each opponent.
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #10 (1963).
The Enforcers are primarily known for their three key members. Montana is old-fashioned, with incredible skill with a lariat. Fancy Dan is well-dressed and suave, highly versed in multiple martial arts. And Ox is massive and brutishly strong, but has a simple mind. Once dangerous for the likes of Spider-Man and Daredevil, the trio have since lost their edge as more dangerous and serious villains have taken over.
Morlun, Devourer of Spiders (X Colorless, 2 Black)
Card Type: Legendary Creature – Vampire Villain
Card Text: Lifelink
Morlun enters with X +1/+1 counters on him. When Morlun enters, he deals X damage to target opponent.
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #30 (2001).
Morlun first appeared as one of the most deadly and powerful foes Spider-Man ever faced. He hunted totems, superhumans that were a mixture of human and animal. This made him obsessed with taking Spider-Man, able to track him anywhere, and try to drain his life force. And whilst it was believed he was dead, Morlun was just one of a whole family of Inheritors, who scoured the multiverse and murdered Spiders on many worlds. They were the main villains for the Spider-Verse event.
Scorpion, Seething Striker (3 Colorless, 1 Black)
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #19 (1964).
Card Type: Legendary Creature – Scorpion Human Villain
Card Text: Deathtouch
At the beginning of your end step, if a creature died this turn, target creature you control connives.) Draw a card, then discard a card. If you discarded a nonland card, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature.
Mac Gargan was infused with the powers of a scorpion, but was also placed in a powerful suit. This costume contained an extremely powerful tail and, later, extremely sharp pincers. But the procedure that granted his powers messed with his mind. Gargan had often been hired by someone richer and smarter than him, coming into contact with many heroes, including Spider-Man and Captain America. With Scorpions being the natural enemy of spiders, Gargan is always an extremely tough and huge challenge for Spider-Man. He was also a host for the Venom symbiote for a while.
Spider-Man Noir (4 Colorless, 1 Black)
Card Type: Legendary Creature – Spider Human Hero
Card Text: Menace
Whenever a creature you control attacks alone, put a +1/+1 counter on it. Then surveil X, where X is the number of counters on it. (Look at the top X cards of your library, then put any number of them into your graveyard and the rest of top of your library in any order).
First appearance: Spider-Man Noir #1 (2008).
A Peter Parker that lives in black and white, this version of the character found his powers in the 1930s. His customer is all black, seeing him from other members of the Spider family. He’s a much darker figure, too, not just in color. He wields guns, often seen with a revolver in his trench coat. And he wasn’t afraid to use them, killing many villains and criminals in his quest to avenge his uncle’s death. His villains always have either a noir or a pre-war aspect to their design.
Swarm, Being of Bees (2 Colorless, 1 Black)
Card Type: Legendary Creature – Insect Villain
Card Text: Flash
Flying
Mayhem (1 Black) (You may cast this card from your graveyard for (1 Black) if you discard it this turn. Timing rules still apply.
First appearance: Champions #14 (1977).
Fritz Von Meyer is an actual Nazi who developed the ability to control bees. The swarm itself consumed his body, but his consciousness is now spread along the bees themselves. He’s a skeleton covered from head to toe with bees, a true hive mind. The bees have often dispersed, left the body behind, and his skeleton has even been eaten by Venom, but there is a persistence to Swarm that means he often reforms and bothers the heroes once again.
Tombstone (2 Colorless, 1 Black)
Card Type: Legendary Creature – Human Villain
Card Text: When Tombstone enters, return target Villain card from your graveyard to your hand.
Villain spells you cast cost (1 Colorless) less to cast.
First appearance: Web of Spider-Man #36 (1987).
Lonnie Lincoln is a brutal gangster. He was born without any pigmentation, giving his skin a gray color that made him a target for bullies. He already turned himself into a man mountain, strong and intimidating. However, Lincoln was then exposed to a chemical that made his skin virtually indestructible. He’s violent and ruthless, but he operates by his own street code. Tombstone is one of the most notorious and feared gang leaders in New York, often going to war with other villains just as much as the superheroes.
Venom, Evil Unleashed (4 Colorless, 1 Black)
Card Type: Legendary Creature – Symbiote Villain
Card Text: Deathtouch
(2 Colorless, 1 White): Exile this card from your graveyard. Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature. It gains deathtouch until end of turn. Activate only as a sorcery.
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #299 (1984).
For decades, Venom was seen as a horrifying monstrosity that sent shivers down the spine. The design is frightening and vicious. The terrifying eyes, the sharp teeth, the long, salivating tongue. The stumble itself has been attached to many people who have used it for violence, and so the alien creature fed off them. So those who become the host see their aggression and anger amplified.
Venom, Eddie Brock (4 Colorless, 2 Black)
Card Type: Legendary Creature – Symbiote Villain
Card Text: Menace (This creature can’t be blocked except by two of more creatures.
Whenever another creature dies, put a +1/+1 counter on Venom. If that creature was a Villain, draw a card.
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988).
Eddie Brock and Venom are the most famous pairing. Initially, there was resentment between them. Their mutual hatred for Spider-Man gave the symbiote a bloodlust, corrupting it. However, they developed a love-hate relationship, growing closer over the years, especially after spending so much time apart from each other. When they reunited, they helped each other heal and became much closer. They became a force for good and fought evil, but with a violent twist.
Grendel (3 Colorless, 1 Black)
Card Type: Legendary Creature – Symbiote Dragon Villain.
Card Text: Flying (This creature can’t be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach.)
Deathtouch (Any amount of damage this deals to a creature is enough to destroy it).
First appearance: Scream: Curse of Carnage #2 (2019). The largest symbiote ever seen. Grendel is a symbiote dragon, crafted by Knull, God of the Symbiotes. They are a soldier for Knull, often being used to spread the Symbiotes and create more monstrous creatures.
This is not a full list, as there are some duplicate cards with variant card art and some non-specific characters. For the complete list of the characters, check out the Magic website.
The Spider-Man deck is available from September 26th.
