Langley, BC
Sunday Oct 26, 2025


Stiff Competition
This was a bit a rough event, it was on the same day as another, larger destination event in the same area. It was also Spider-Man limited, which people have not been excited about. We ended up with only 8 players, so we jumped right into the top 8 draft, this was unfortunate because it meant that the event was also single elimination, which makes it pretty mopey for people who lose in round 1. I ran all the rounds untimed because otherwise we'd have to contend with awkward sudden death rules, which would really only make the event even mopier.

Unlimited Procedure
I didn't call the draft because it always feels a little goofy at RCQs, but did remind the players not to look at their picks during the draft. There was also a little confusion about whether the draft was "pick two" since all the Spider-Man drafts on Arena are, however with 8 players there's no reason to do a pick two draft. Finally the players also wanted to know whether to keep the basic land in the pack or not. It used to be policy that we would take it out, since it was always just a basic land. However in the current era that slot can hold any number of things that might be desirable to draft, and the policy was changed a while ago to abolish the "take the land out" rule, now the only things we take out are tokens.

I had players register their pools on paper decklists. I'd been initially planning on taking photos of decks and pools for the top 8, since having to do paper registration twice is kind of awful, but since we went straight into top 8 I felt like one registration period would be fine. I ended up giving each player three copies of Shoot the Sheriff since we had so many extra promos, as a bit of a "thanks for showing up", after checking with the organizer first, of course.

Manifestated Mana
AP controls Spider Manifestation and taps it for mana, then casts Spider-Man, Brooklyn Visionary for its Web-Slinging cost, will AP be able to tap Spider Manifestation for mana again, before returning it to their hand? No. Spider-Man, Brooklyn Visionary only "becomes cast" once AP has finished paying for it, this includes returning Spider Manifestation to their hand. (CR 601.2i)

...In Conclusion
The most interesting thing about this event is that it was the first time I saw many of the Spider-Man versions of the cards, I've been playing Through the Omenpaths on Arena, so I haven't engaged with the set in paper until now. It's very interesting, because I actually quite enjoyed a lot of the Omenpaths cards. Many of them hinted at new, unusual worlds, or expanded on the lore of existing worlds. Orris, Last of the Web Lords gives the impression of a crumbling spider-based civilization, while Wardens of Silverweb Summit shows us another example of this human-spider world with stunning artwork. Ezekiel Sims, Spider-Totem and Spider-Gwen, Free Spirit by comparison are bland and uninteresting, these character's stories are told, and don't cause me to ask any questions. Favored Fighter seems to tell the story of a decorated one on one fighter adorned with medals a lot better than the much flatter "professional wrestler". Damage Control Crew is incredibly modern and pedestrian, while Selesnya Archivist is much more whimsical (though I do have to admit I understand the flavor of the damage control crew more). This isn't to decry some of the excellent work of the design team on the Spider-Man set. Spider-Punk's art and flavor is very on point, while the Omenpath's "Kraza, the Swarm as One" feels a little confusing by comparison. But I think, for me and likely for many of us, we come to Magic for interesting and fantastical worlds, not billboards for other IPs that already exist. I think Universes Beyond has a place in Secret Lairs, and is a neat sprinkle every now and again, but I've yet to be sold on it as a large set experience. Or perhaps the universe of "New York" just isn't as appealing to me as it is to other people.