Astonishing Spider-ManAstonishing Spider-Man | Art by Leroy Steinmann

It's no secret that I'm a huge Spider-Man fan. During preview season for Marvel's Spider-Man, I covered both Gwen StacyGwen Stacy and Spider-Man 2099Spider-Man 2099, but I stayed away from Peter Parker's Spider-Man, as none of his cards really spoke to me. The previews for Marvel Superheroes brought with it a few new takes on Peter's Spider-Man, and with them come new opportunities for me to rectify that. One of these new Spider-Man cards also happened to fall into my favorite colors, leaving me with little doubt about what I must do. In this deck tech, I'll be taking on Astonishing Spider-ManAstonishing Spider-Man.

What Does Astonishing Spider-Man Do?

Astonishing Spider-ManAstonishing Spider-Man is a 4/4 with reach for . When he attacks, you discard your hand and draw cards equal to the number of cards you discarded this turn. This version of Spider-Man is looking to do a lot of wheeling!

The weirdest part of Astonishing Spider-Man is how similar to Green Goblin, RevenantGreen Goblin, Revenant it is. It's so bizarre that I can't tell if it's meant to be a flavor win or a flavor fail, but making a Hero and his most iconic Villain so mechanically similar is a bold design statement either way. My take on Astonishing Spider-Man is going to be a wheels deck that plays similarly to commanders like Green Goblin, Revenant or Celes, Rune KnightCeles, Rune Knight, with the massive benefit of having access to some sweet blue cards.

Key Cards for Astonishing Spider-Man

Before getting into any draw or discard synergies, I need to make sure that Astonishing Spider-ManAstonishing Spider-Man gets to attack. More often than not, I'd expect astute opponents to point removal at Spider-Man if I ever tap out, cast him, and pass. Haste-enablers, like Arena of GloryArena of Glory, AngerAnger, and Generator ServantGenerator Servant, allow this deck to take the first several turns of the game setting up synergy engines so that Astonishing Spider-Man can hit the board and attack immediately, causing an explosion of triggers. That also means there isn't much pressure to deploy Spider-Man as soon as I've got four mana. In an ideal game, Spider-Man attacking brings about the end of the game, and I really don't want to get stuck in a death spiral of recasting him over and over again.

Now, on to the pieces that need to be set up before the attacking and wheeling starts. Rielle, the EverwiseRielle, the Everwise is a really powerful draw engine in discard decks, with an ability that effectively doubles up on the number of cards Spider-Man's attack trigger will draw, as she draws cards equal to the number of cards discarded in the first instance of discard each turn. Before Astonishing Spider-Man is in play, it turns Magus of the BazaarMagus of the Bazaar and Bazaar TrademageBazaar Trademage into Ancestral RecallAncestral Recall.

Monument to EnduranceMonument to Endurance is a Standard staple in any deck that discards a lot of cards, and it's an all-star here. It takes the input of discarding cards and converts it into card draw, Treasure tokens, and burn. It gets even better when activated abilities, like that of Magus of the Bazaar, get involved, as it can be triggered on your opponents' turns as well.

Misty Knight, Hero for HireMisty Knight, Hero for Hire is a new creature that seems to have been designed to fit perfectly in this deck. She comes out for only two mana, and for another two mana, she can be activated to discard a card and draw cards equal to the number of cards discarded this turn. Her ability can generate massive card advantage when activated after Spider-Man attacks, and in the next section I'll be going over how I'm going to give other creatures access to her ability.

This is where the deck's spice comes in. The game plan for this deck is to spend the first four or five turns setting up engines, drawing cards, and then taking a big turn where everything explodes. In that way, it very much reminds me of the Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier deck in Standard, before Vivi got banned. That deck's premise was setting up huge turns on the back of Agatha's Soul CauldronAgatha's Soul Cauldron, exiling a Vivi Ornitier to grant his mana-generating ability to all creatures with +1/+1 counters. That combo is very easily set up in this Spider-Man deck due to its incredible card velocity and how easy it is to put cards into the graveyard.

Aside from the ability to generate tons of mana by giving creatures Vivi's ability, there are a couple other abilities that Cauldron can grant that add a lot to this deck's explosiveness. Imagine having three or four creatures that can use Magus of the Bazaar or Jace's ArchivistJace's Archivist's ability in a single turn!

In order to facilitate this combo, I've included a wizardcycling package. Step ThroughStep Through and Vedalken AethermageVedalken Aethermage can find both Vivi Ornitier, Magus of the Bazaar, Rielle, the Everwise, and even Niv-Mizzet, ParunNiv-Mizzet, Parun. Additionally, they can find Tribute MageTribute Mage and Trophy MageTrophy Mage, which can fetch Agatha's Soul Cauldron and Monument to Endurance, respectively.

How Does This Astonishing Spider-Man Deck Win the Game?

The primary win condition for this build of Astonishing Spider-ManAstonishing Spider-Man is burn damage. As cards get discarded, Cool but RudeCool but Rude, Magmakin ArtilleristMagmakin Artillerist, and Glint-Horn BuccaneerGlint-Horn Buccaneer burn the table. Then, Niv-Mizzet, ParunNiv-Mizzet, Parun and Psychosis CrawlerPsychosis Crawler burn the table even more as cards are drawn. Ideally, it should only take one or two wheels from Spider-Man's attack triggers to burn the table out this way. Hawkeye, Young AvengerHawkeye, Young Avenger acts as an amplifier for all of these noncombat damage sources, and her power can be boosted by Iron Man, Armored AvengerIron Man, Armored Avenger for even greater damage amplification!

This deck doesn't have any effective ways to clear the board or fend off creatures in combat. The goal is simply to get the engines set up, slam Spider-Man and hope that he turn the corner before it's too late. Sometimes, he needs to buy just a little more time, be it an extra turn or an extra combat. That's where Temporal TrespassTemporal Trespass and Fear of Missing OutFear of Missing Out come in.

Astonishing Spider-Man Commander Deck List

Conclusion

I really enjoyed putting this deck together. Decks that base their entire strategy around wheel effects are a ton of fun, as there are few other archetypes that let you touch such a high quantity of cardboard so quickly. If that's your thing, I'd highly recommend giving this commander a shot!

As far as brackets are concerned, I'm placing my build of Astonishing Spider-Man into Bracket 3 (Upgraded). While the deck features no game changers and doesn't really violate any of the tenets of Bracket 2 (Core), it's laser focus on achieving its win condition consistently will likely result in a lot of games that end faster than many decks in Bracket 2 will be able to keep pace with.

There were a lot of cards, like Captain Howler, Sea ScourgeCaptain Howler, Sea Scourge, that were left on the cutting room floor. I'd love to read in the comments how you'd build this commander differently or what cards I should've included!