Marvel's Spider-Man Showcases Multiple New Cards

<p style="text-align: right;"><em>Spider-Man Saves the City | Art by <a href="https://www.dandossantos.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dan Dos Santos</a></em></p>
<p>Spider-Man isn't a franchise I ever would've expected <em>Magic: the Gathering</em> to do a crossover with. And, while I'm trying to maintain my typical skepticism of these Universes Beyond sets, this one is definitely cracking my resolve. I'm champing at the bit to find out how the <em>Magic</em> design team has chosen to tackle the Spider-Man cannon and to see how deep into the lore they're going to take us.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Venom, Deadly Devourer"></div></div>
<p>The first wave of previews left me feeling a little underwhelmed, but there is one standout card from the bunch I'm excited to take a look at in this deck tech: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Venom, Deadly Devourer" href="#" target="_blank">Venom, Deadly Devourer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<h2>What Does Venom, Deadly Devourer Do?</h2>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Venom, Deadly Devourer" href="#" target="_blank">Venom, Deadly Devourer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is, put simply, a really buff <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scavenging Ooze" href="#" target="_blank">Scavenging Ooze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Venom is a four mana 4/4 with vigilance, menace, and a very versatile activated ability: For three mana, Venom can exile a creature from any graveyard and put a number +1/+1 counters equal to the exiled creature's toughness on himself.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scavenging Ooze"></div></div>
<p>Most importantly, this ability can be activated at instant speed, meaning opponents often won't know how much damage they're on the hook for when deciding whether or not they want to block Venom.</p>
<p>This deck will fall somewhere under the Voltron umbrella, using +1/+1 counters rather than Auras or Equipment to deal lethal commander damage. My goal for this deck is to use Venom as the ambush predator that he is.</p>
<p>The primary play pattern will be swinging with Venom while holding up a bunch of open mana, letting opponents make their blocking decisions, then tossing a creature into exile at instant speed, eating it with Venom and either tearing through the creatures that blocked him or dealing lethal commander damage if an opponent ever makes the mistake of leaving Venom unblocked.</p>
<h2>Key Cards for Venom, Deadly Devourer</h2>
<p>In order for Venom to really do anything, he needs creatures in the graveyard to eat! Thankfully, there are a lot of ways to do that while keeping opponents in the dark until it's too late.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Entomb"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Survival of the Fittest"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bitter Triumph"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Entomb" href="#" target="_blank">Entomb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the signature card of graveyard strategies like this. For only one mana, it sends any card straight from the library to the graveyard at instant speed. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Survival of the Fittest" href="#" target="_blank">Survival of the Fittest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> serves the same function, alongside its cousin <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fauna Shaman" href="#" target="_blank">Fauna Shaman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, while also serving as a discard outlet to dispose of large creatures that get stuck in the hand.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bitter Triumph" href="#" target="_blank">Bitter Triumph</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is often a two-for-one deal, destroying an opposing creature and discarding one from the hand, giving Venom two creatures to exile for just two mana.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bristly Bill, Spine Sower"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Branching Evolution"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ouroboroid"></div></div>
<p>Unfortunately, Venom won't get enough +1/+1 counters to one-shot an unsuspecting opponent in just one activation without a little help. Even exiling a creature as large as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Impervious Greatwurm" href="#" target="_blank">Impervious Greatwurm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is just shy of allowing Venom to deal the necessary 21 points of commander damage.</p>
<p>To get the rest of the way there, Venom will need a little help from cards that can double the counters on him. I love <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bristly Bill, Spine Sower" href="#" target="_blank">Bristly Bill, Spine Sower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as yet another instant speed activated ability that can be held over the defending player's head during combat.</p>
<p>Alongside the instant speed methods of sending creatures to the graveyard, I've included some self-mill and recursion engines to provide the deck with some much needed card velocity.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Six"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Life from the Loam"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Six" href="#" target="_blank">Six</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Life from the Loam" href="#" target="_blank">Life from the Loam</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> work together to create an engine that I severely underestimated until I got to play with it. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Life from the Loam" href="#" target="_blank">Life from the Loam</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> picks up lands to discard as part of the retrace cost to cast permanents from the graveyard with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Six" href="#" target="_blank">Six</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s ability and fills the graveyard as it gets dredged back each draw step.</p>
<p>I've included some permanents to bolster this synergy, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seal of Primordium" href="#" target="_blank">Seal of Primordium</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Haywire Mite" href="#" target="_blank">Haywire Mite</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> instead of more conventional artifact and enchantment removal. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Life from the Loam" href="#" target="_blank">Life from the Loam</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is also fantastic on its own as a way to recur lands, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Strip Mine" href="#" target="_blank">Strip Mine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boseiju, Who Endures" href="#" target="_blank">Boseiju, Who Endures</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <a href="https://edhrec.com/lands/golgari#fetchlands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fetchlands</a>.</p>
<h2>How Does this Venom, Deadly Devourer Deck Win?</h2>
<p>This deck wins like any other Voltron deck: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Venom, Deadly Devourer" href="#" target="_blank">Venom, Deadly Devourer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will get into the red zone and kill all three opponents all by himself.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tainted Strike"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tainted Strike" href="#" target="_blank">Tainted Strike</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can speed up this process, drastically reducing the amount of +1/+1 counters Venom will need to one-shot at least one opponent. Often, this card comes in handy in the longer games where Venom dies a couple of times and the deck's resources are being stretched thin to string together one last combat step to end the game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lord of Extinction"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Victimize"></div></div>
<p>I've included one alternative to the normal combat damage plan. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord" href="#" target="_blank">Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can sacrifice a large <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Venom, Deadly Devourer" href="#" target="_blank">Venom, Deadly Devourer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and burn the whole table out. Venom isn't even the only reasonable creature that can be used to burn out the table in this way. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lord of Extinction" href="#" target="_blank">Lord of Extinction</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will often be more than large enough in the later stages of the game. Even better, Jarad recurs himself and provides a very enticing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reanimate" href="#" target="_blank">Reanimate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> target.</p>
<p>Executing this plan is more high-investment than simply attacking with Venom, but the resources that go into it are very much worth the reward.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rest in Peace"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bojuka Bog"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wheel of Sun and Moon"></div></div>
<p>The biggest barrier to winning the game with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Venom, Deadly Devourer" href="#" target="_blank">Venom, Deadly Devourer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is opposing graveyard hate. Cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rest in Peace" href="#" target="_blank">Rest in Peace</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> render the game entirely unplayable for this otherwise unstoppable Symbiote.</p>
<p>I've tried to protect against this with a lot of generic non-land permanent removal. However, a well timed piece of graveyard hate can still render this deck inert despite Venom's best efforts to subvert it. I think it can be fun for decks to have fatal flaws like this, and I find it very funny that <em>Magic</em>'s version of Venom is more vulnerable to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bojuka Bog" href="#" target="_blank">Bojuka Bog</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> than he is church bells or fire.</p>
<h2>Venom, Deadly Devourer Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Venom, Deadly Devourer Deck" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Venom, Deadly Devourer
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Abrupt Decay
*1 Assassin&#039;s Trophy
*1 Bitter Triumph
*1 Dark Ritual
*1 Entomb
*1 Heroic Intervention
*1 Noxious Revival
*1 Return of the Wildspeaker
*1 Revitalizing Repast
*1 Snakeskin Veil
*1 Snuff Out
*1 Tainted Strike
*1 Tamiyo&#039;s Safekeeping
[/Instants]
[Creatures]
*1 Agonasaur Rex
*1 Altanak, the Thrice-Called
*1 Amzu, Swarm&#039;s Hunger
*1 Barrowgoyf
*1 Brawn
*1 Bristly Bill, Spine Sower
*1 Corpsejack Menace
*1 Daemogoth Titan
*1 Death&#039;s Shadow
*1 Delighted Halfling
*1 Fanatic of Rhonas
*1 Fauna Shaman
*1 Generous Ent
*1 Haywire Mite
*1 Impervious Greatwurm
*1 Incubation Druid
*1 Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
*1 Krosan Tusker
*1 Lord of Extinction
*1 Ouroboroid
*1 Six
*1 Skull Prophet
*1 Street Wraith
*1 Titanoth Rex
*1 Tree of Perdition
*1 Tree of Redemption
*1 Troll of Khazad-dûm
*1 Warped Tusker
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*1 Buried Alive
*1 Culling Ritual
*1 Damnation
*1 Demonic Tutor
*1 Into the North
*1 Life from the Loam
*1 Malevolent Rumble
*1 Nature&#039;s Lore
*1 Reanimate
*1 Three Visits
*1 Toxic Deluge
*1 Victimize
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*1 Branching Evolution
*1 Innkeeper&#039;s Talent
*1 Insidious Roots
*1 Seal of Primordium
*1 Sphere Grid
*1 Survival of the Fittest
[/Enchantments]
[Artifacts]
*1 Lavaspur Boots
*1 Shadowspear
*1 Sol Ring
[/Artifacts]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Grist, the Hunger Tide
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 Bloodstained Mire
*1 Blooming Marsh
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Boseiju, Who Endures
*1 Cavern of Souls
*1 Darkbore Pathway
*1 Deathcap Glade
*1 Golgari Rot Farm
*1 Llanowar Wastes
*1 Marsh Flats
*1 Misty Rainforest
*1 Necroblossom Snarl
*1 Nurturing Peatland
*1 Overgrown Tomb
*1 Polluted Delta
*1 Prismatic Vista
*4 Snow-Covered Forest
*4 Snow-Covered Swamp
*1 Strip Mine
*1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
*1 Twilight Mire
*1 Underground Mortuary
*1 Undergrowth Stadium
*1 Urza&#039;s Saga
*1 Verdant Catacombs
*1 Wastewood Verge
*1 Windswept Heath
*1 Wooded Foothills
*1 Woodland Cemetery
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>This build of Venom should easily fit into Bracket 3 (Upgraded) tables. The slightly high count of tutors, particularly <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Survival of the Fittest" href="#" target="_blank">Survival of the Fittest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and the "ambush predator" strategy are definitely worth bringing up in pre-game discussions to prevent opponents from feeling completely blindsided by a 36/36 Venom killing them on turn five, however.</p>
<p>I'd recommend this deck to players that enjoy commander damage strategies, graveyard decks, or fellow Spider-Man fans that just appreciate the flavor of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Venom, Deadly Devourer" href="#" target="_blank">Venom, Deadly Devourer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and the strategies he lends himself to. I definitely fall into all three categories.</p>
<p>The only con of this deck I anticipate is that the strategy is very streamlined. The games this deck wins will all look very similar to one another and the games the deck loses likely will as well. This might limit replayability a good bit. But for all I know there will be cards in <em>Marvel's Spider-Man</em> that have yet to be revealed that could add some more mechanical depth to Venom's strategy.</p>
<p>I'm a little sad that there won't be Commander precon decks for <em>Marvel's Spider-Man</em>, as when the set was originally announced I was really hoping for a precon with either Eddie Brock and Venom or Cletus Kasady and Carnage as partner commanders. I'm holding onto some hope that those characters might get printed on dual faced cards that transform like the <em>Innistrad</em> werewolves.</p>
<p>But in the unlikely event that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Venom, Deadly Devourer" href="#" target="_blank">Venom, Deadly Devourer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the only Symbiote that gets printed, it's cool enough on its own that I could live with that.</p>


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