Last week, rumors started swirling in some Magic: The Gathering circles that the upcoming Spider-Man set would be limited to just one print run across all of its products, including Play Boosters – but today, Wizards of the Coast unequivocally told IGN that is not the case.
When asked for comment on these claims, a WOTC representative told IGN “there is no truth to any rumors about SPM Play Boosters being a single print run,” with SPM being the set code for the Spider-Man crossover.
While it’s not uncommon for products like the more expensive Collector Boosters (which include special art and foil treatments) to be limited to a single printing, the rumors around Spider-Man set off alarm bells because of the inclusion of Play Boosters specifically (they’re still available to preorder at Amazon). Play Boosters are the basic, bread-and-butter booster packs of nearly every set, and are typically printed as needed to meet demand for sets that are legal in Magic’s Standard format, which Spider-Man is.
If those packs were more limited than usual, it could have wreaked havoc on the supply of cards that are meant to be broadly accessible and empowered scalpers to jack up prices. For instance, WOTC CEO Chris Cox said they “couldn’t produce enough” of the recent Final Fantasy set, and prices soared as a result – and that was in spite of the fact that they increased the set’s pre-release production four times, Cox explained.
While false, one reason this rumor might have taken hold is because it wouldn’t have been the only atypical part of this release. WOTC previously announced that the entire Spider-Man set will be reskinned with in-universe art and concepts for its digital release on both MTG Arena and Magic: The Gathering Online, which is a first for a Standard set. This isn’t the first time one of Magic’s Universes Beyond crossovers hasn’t been made available digitally, but those have generally been Commander products like Doctor Who, whereas a Standard set has the potential to impact a wide variety of competitive formats.
While it’s reassuring to hear there is no limitation to a single print run in place, WOTC did not say what the supply of the Spider-Man set will look like overall, nor did it comment on part of the rumor claiming the limitations were due to the licensing agreement with Disney that allows them to use Marvel properties in the first place – although, that’s not exactly surprising given it is broadly refuting those rumors as a whole.
Reveals for the Spider-Man set started rolling out at San Diego Comic-Con late last month, with another set built around Avatar: The Last Airbender (which will be available digitally) hot on its heels. The Spider-Man set’s proper debut is scheduled for August 29, with a paper release the following month on September 26.
Tom Marks is IGN’s Executive Reviews Editor. He loves card games, puzzles, platformers, and puzzle-platformers.
