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Sure, Friday Night Magic is a lot of fun, but after a while, the draft format can feel a little repetitive for some. Enter, a whole new draft format, courtesy of Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man crossover set.  

At a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2025, Aaron Forsythe, the vice president of design at Magic: The Gathering, dished on the novelty experience that Marvel’s Spider-Man will bring to Magic as a whole. Forsythe said, “We’ve long been looking for a way to make that experience a little bit faster, a little more casual, so we came up with a new set of rules called Pick Two draft. It works best with four players instead of your typical eight. And you’ll do it pretty much the way you always have, you’ll open up a pack, and instead of taking one card at a time, you take two at a time. It makes the draft a lot faster and you can play games against each of the three other folks at the table to see who reigns supreme that way… This set was actually developed with that in mind.” 

It’s a fitting choice for Spider-Man. Peter Parker zooms around New York, and often doesn’t get the chance to slow down and chill out for a second (Tom Holland’s portrayal of the character in the MCU makes the character practically breathless the entire time he’s onscreen). Though, it should also be noted that Spider-Man has taken the opportunity to aura farm quite a bit when he’s in an emo mood and/or missing Gwen Stacy. This is what happens when you spend too much time around Daredevil. 

Anyways, Wizards of the Coast is anticipating that Marvel’s Spider-Man will bring in lots of new players to Magic: The Gathering. So what better experience could there be for new players to learn a new format alongside seasoned veterans? Good times to be had by all. 

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

• All upcoming games in 2025 and beyond
• Gamify My Life, our weekly gaming column designed
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• How to play every GTA game in order
• Why the GTA 6 budget isn't as crazy as you think
• The Magic: The Gathering x Spider-Man crossover set wouldn't exist without the Spider-Verse

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