MTG Survey on Spider-Man Set Sparks New Firestorm by Suggesting Influencers Are to Blame

Wizards of the Coast (WotC) recently released a survey to gauge player sentiment on the highly controversial Magic: The Gathering | Marvel’s Spider-Man set, a product in its Universes Beyond crossover line. While collecting feedback on a set that faced significant community backlash is a normal step, the survey contained a pointed question that has ignited a new wave of anger and accusations of WotC shifting blame.

The “catch” in the survey is a question that specifically addresses the role of content creators and influencers in the set’s poor reception, leading many to believe WotC is attempting a “witch hunt” to find a scapegoat for the product’s perceived failures.

The Controversial Question and the Backlash

The question, which was reportedly displayed to participants who indicated they followed Magic: The Gathering content creators, was phrased along these lines:

“To what degree did negative influencer commentary impact your perceptions of Magic: The Gathering | Marvel’s Spider-Man before the set released?”The options presented a scale, with one end indicating the commentary “Greatly worsened my perception” and the other suggesting it “Greatly improved my perception.”

• The Accusation: The question is seen by many in the community and by prominent influencers, including Hall of Fame players, as loaded and incendiary. Critics argue it attempts to establish a narrative that the set’s lackluster sales or negative discourse were primarily a result of “bad press” from creators, rather than addressing internal issues with the set’s themes, art style, or the controversial “Pick-Two Draft” format it introduced.
• “Witch Hunt” Fears: The controversy intensified with other parts of the survey asking participants to name the streamers and content creators they engage with. Influencers expressed genuine concern that WotC might use the data to blacklist or punish creators who offered negative but honest critiques of the set, a claim a WotC representative later denied, calling the question “not a good question” that “sucks” but wasn’t designed to “attack the creator community.”

Why the Spider-Man Set Was Already Controversial

The reaction to the survey has only added fuel to an existing fire. The Spider-Man set has been a lightning rod for community criticism since its announcement, primarily over:

1. Aesthetic Disconnect: Many players felt the grounded, modern New York City setting and characters clashed jarringly with Magic: The Gathering’s established high-fantasy aesthetic, unlike the generally well-received fantasy crossovers like The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth.
2. Product Design: The set’s limited scope and the introduction of the unusual Pick-Two Draft format—created to work with the smaller card pool—were not popular with many long-time fans.
3. Universes Beyond Fatigue: The set’s release came amid growing concern over the rapid proliferation of non-MTG intellectual property (IP) into the game, leading to fears that the game’s core identity was being diluted in favour of chasing new markets.

WotC’s Response: An Admitted “Mistake”

Following the widespread backlash on social media, a prominent WotC official, Blake Rasmussen, publicly acknowledged the controversy, assuring players and creators that the question was a mistake and would not be used to target or penalize content creators. He emphasized that the company values critical feedback and that the survey’s results are analyzed holistically.

However, for a significant portion of the Magic community, the damage was already done. The question was viewed as a defensive maneuver that distracted from the core issues of the set itself and only reinforced a growing mistrust between players and the publisher over the direction of the game’s increasingly ambitious and commercially-focused Universes Beyond line.