An Iconic Magic: The Gathering Deck is Suddenly Stronger…

While not all Magic: The Gathering players are or have been happy with the addition of more Universes Beyond sets to the release schedule and Standard as a format, there are merits to them that can even go beyond the simple fact that they bring in more new players. The general rule of thumb should be to skip sets or cards one doesn't like, which is only feasible in some formats, but the way the current rotation works and how Magic: The Gathering combos are used, it's quite uncommon to see a lot of a single set in any deck. For better or worse, this may change for an iconic deck once Spider-Man drops.

Although MTG's Spider-Man set is more on the smaller side compared to other ones, it tries to tell most of the IP's stories with its best-known characters and settings. Wizards of the Coast recently started sharing more of what's to come in the Spider-Man set scheduled for a September 26 release, including alt-art cards with moments from the comics or even the famous "With great power comes great responsibility" phrase in the new With Great Power... Enchantment card. Among the new cards are several versions of the infamous villain called Green Goblin, and they can really bring a lot of spice to iconic goblin decks from MTG.

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By J. Scott Thurlow

Magic: The Gathering's Green Goblin Cards Explained

So far, there are four confirmed cards that use Spider-Man's Green Goblin name in some way, and then another goblin creature. These are:

Green Goblin, Nemesis: Spider-Man Eternal set, Black and Red color identity, goblin human villain creature
Green Goblin, Revenant: Spider-Man main set, Black and Red color identity, goblin human villain creature
Norman Osborn // Green Goblin: Spider-Man main set, Blue, Black, and Red color identity, goblin human villain creature (when transformed)
Raging Goblinoids: Spider-Man main set, Red color identity, goblin berserker villain creature
Ultimate Green Goblin: Spider-Man main set, Black and Red color identity, goblin villain creature

Of these, Green Goblin, Nemesis could be a fantastic candidate for a tribal Commander deck dedicated to goblin creatures, much like the current Krenko, Mob Boss deck that is also the most popular mono-Red deck for Commander. Green Goblin, Nemesis is currently the third most hyped commander in MTG for the SPE set, with 432 decks built around it on EDHREC, and it's a natural fit for the goblin archetype thanks to its ability to put +1/+1 counters on goblin creatures when discarding, which is fairly easy in Rakdos colors.

It's worth noting that Krenko, Mob Boss, singlehandedly made the goblin subtype one of the most popular in the game, with 31,111 decks on EDHREC.

Green Goblin, Revenant could also see a lot of play in Commander as a draw engine, and it already has perfect combos lined up with cards like Bone Miser, Glint-Horn Buccaneer, Underworld Breach, and even MTG's Wheel of Fortune. If not as a commander, it can work wonders in the 99 of any goblin deck that can support its Rakdos colors, including one with Green Goblin, Nemesis as commander.

Then, regardless of format, the new Norman Osborn // Green Goblin card pairs perfectly with the remaining two, Raging Goblinoids and Ultimate Green Goblin. This is because Norman Osborn's flip side, Green Goblin, makes spells cast from the graveyard cost 2 generic mana less to play, and both Raging Goblinoids and Ultimate Green Goblin have mayhem, which allows them to be played from their graveyard for their mayhem cost. This also makes Norman Osborn // Green Goblin a nice card to play in MTG's Standard format because it can give all cards in the graveyard mayhem, and then also reduce their mayhem cost.

Magic: The Gathering's Lorwyn Eclipsed will most likely give new support to goblin decks, meaning there could be a resurgence of this type of deck in all formats starting in January 2026.

Norman Osborn and Green Goblin Could Reshape MTG Commander's Goblin Decks

What follows is that Norman Osborn // Green Goblin has the potential to be one of the best goblin commanders in the game because it can give all goblins in the deck recursion, as well as every other nonland card, meaning that one could play cards like Goblin Surprise and Goblin Rally from the graveyard when mixed with discard mechanics. A commander staple like Faithless Looting is perfect for the job, and so are the new Green Goblin cards.

Expanding the color identity of a goblin deck from mono Red to Grixis (Blue, Black, and Red) has a lot of potential for other great cards to be played, including counterspells like Swan Song, Fierce Guardianship, and An Offer You Can't Refuse. Cards like Big Score, Burning Inquiry, Careful Study, and Gamble would be natural fits in this type of deck, thanks to their focus on discarding, which plays into the mayhem aspect of Green Goblin. This card may not reinvent the wheel for goblin decks, but it could add some spice to Commander games in MTG for what is otherwise a mainly mono-Red archetype.

Why Goblin Decks' Future is Bright in MTG

More Spider-Man cards in Magic: The Gathering will be revealed over time, and it's quite likely that support for goblin decks is still coming. There could be more Green Goblin cards and goblin creatures, for example, but even other seemingly unrelated cards could be great additions if they power up creatures, add mana to the pool, or help draw more. Between Spider-Man and Lorwyn, the future of goblin decks looks brighter by the minute.

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