MTG Survey on Spider-Man Backlash: The Catch is Who Wizards of the Coast Might Be Blaming

Wizards of the Coast (WotC), the publisher of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), has launched a new player survey to gather feedback on the controversial Magic: The Gathering | Marvel’s Spider-Man set. While any direct effort to address player sentiment is generally seen as positive, a specific set of questions within the survey has ignited a new wave of community backlash, suggesting a problematic focus by WotC.

The core controversy surrounding the Spider-Man set—part of the “Universes Beyond” line—revolves around its card design, the perceived lack of flavor and originality, and the experimental “Pick-Two Draft” format, which many players found subpar, leading to reports of low Limited Play attendance.

The Question That Sparked Controversy

The “catch” that has drawn heavy criticism from players and content creators is a series of questions that appears to pivot the blame for the set’s poor reception onto the community’s vocal critics. After a participant indicates they got their news about the set from content creators or influencers, the survey prompts with a highly specific query:

“To what degree did negative influencer commentary impact your perceptions of Magic: The Gathering | Marvel’s Spider-Man before the set released?”

The scale runs from “Greatly worsened my perception” to “Greatly improved my perception.”

Why This Question is Fueling the Fire

This line of questioning has been widely interpreted by the MTG community as WotC attempting to scapegoat content creators for a set’s perceived design and marketing failures. Critics argue that instead of directly addressing issues like repetitive mechanics (reusing Connive and Modified) or a perceived lack of “must-have” cards, the company is investigating whether “negative influencer commentary” is the primary driver of the set’s low approval, not the quality of the product itself. Some high-profile MTG players have even described the query as a “witch hunt.”

The backlash suggests two key concerns within the community:

1. Deflection of Blame: Players are concerned that WotC is avoiding responsibility for design decisions that led to the set being widely considered an uninspired or “lazy” product.
2. Intimidation of Creators: Influencers are worried that honest criticism could lead to future retaliation from WotC, such as losing out on preview cards or official partnerships, despite official company representatives stating they “don’t and won’t punish creators” for negative opinions.

The Broader Context: Universes Beyond and Set Fatigue

The Spider-Man backlash comes at a critical time for WotC’s highly profitable “Universes Beyond” initiative. While sets like Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth were record-breaking successes, the Spider-Man set, alongside the upcoming high volume of releases in 2026 (more UB sets than main-line Standard sets), is testing the limits of player goodwill and market saturation. The aggressive push into crossovers has led to heightened scrutiny, making the poor reception of any individual set—especially one with a design-experiment like Pick-Two Draft—a major point of concern for the future of MTG’s release strategy.