Last updated on September 11, 2025

Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer – art by Nestor Ossandon Leal

I have a confession to make. Up until two days ago, I had no idea there was a Spider-Man character called “Anti-Venom.” I mean, I have a fairly good idea of who Venom is, but Anti-Venom? Never heard of him. Even after seeing Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer, I just imagined it must be just good-ol' Venom in a white suit.

Yet, as it turns out, Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer is currently the most popular commander from Spider-Man. By a huge margin.

And, as it's very often the case in the Magic card market, popularity leads to increased prices. Because while the Spider-Man set isn't out yet, early Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer decks seem surprisingly consistent in what they want.

Sooo… Who’s This Anti-Venom?

Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer – Illustration by Nestor Ossandon Leal

In case you were wondering, Anti-Venom is “Venom, but with super healing powers.” Looks like Anti-Venom can pull most of Venom's tricks (super-strength, tendrils, and such) but has a thing for healing, like purging toxins and curing diseases.

So, sort of a super ER doctor gone vigilante. With fangs and tendrils, as Spidey's symbiotes tend do.

In Magic, Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer gets this ER flavor in two ways. First, with a “what doesn't kill me makes me stronger vibe”: Damage dealt to Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer is prevented and then turned into +1/+1 counters.

And then you have the full ER defibrillation kit: When Anti-Venom enters the battlefield after being cast, you can return the target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield.

The reanimation ETB is kinda huge: It's a no-questions-asked reanimation effect that can bring any creature. But early brewers seem to be focusing on the other aspect, and pushing up the price of cards that reward you for damaging your own creatures.

Phyrexian Vindicator

Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer‘s “C'mon, punch me!” ability reminds of another white creature, in this case from March of the Machine: Phyrexian Vindicator. More than four out five Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer decks are going vindictive with a Phyrexian Vindicator in their build.

As a result, Phyrexian Vindicator has gained nearly 30% in the last couple of weeks, and in particular this week it has been trading 10-20 copies per day (when the average was just about 7):

Source: TCGplayer – Phyrexian Vindicator (ONE)

Pariah

Judging by early brews, this white enchantment is an auto-include in Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer builds: The inclusion rate is over 90%!

Pariah deals damange to the enchanted creature all damage that would be dealt to you, so it's obviously a great aura to slap onto Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer or Phyrexian Vindicator.

This card has TONS of different printings. The latest, and cheapest by far, is from the Breaking News bonus sheet from Outlaws of Thunder Junction. It's still very much in the bulk-bin range as prices are concerned but has been consistently going up. And the increase in demand in the last week has been huge, sometimes trading x5 times the daily average:

Source: TCGplayer – Pariah (OTP)

Something else to keep in mind: Most other printings of Pariah cost over $1. Supply from OTJ seems nearly infinite, though, so it's hard to guess where the price will stabilize.

Pariah's Shield

Pariah is the enchantment version of Pariah's Shield: They both have the exact same effect, and all damage that would be dealt to you is dealt to equipped creature instead.

Like Pariah, Pariah's Shield seems an auto-include in Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer builds, with nearly 9 out of 10 Anti-Venom decks packing a copy.

Source: TCGplayer – Pariah's Shield (RVR)

Pariah's Shield has gained about 66% since a month ago. The price has been stable in the last week, and even dropped a bit in the last few days.

Also note With Great Power… from SPM, which is literally a Pariah variant stapled to a Voltron buff, and will be Standard-legal – so the “redirect all damage to one big thing” is a clear play pattern with this set.

What Will Happen With These Cards' Prices?

Spider-Man, Web-Slinger – Illustration by Ryan Pancoast

With our usual caveat that this is not investment advice (doing your own research is priceless!), Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer‘s hype seems very real. I would've never guessed it was going to be the #1 most popular Commander this set, but early brewers have clearly picked it as their favorite.

Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer‘s early brews are surprisingly consistent, above all for “Pariah” cards that look like the first card you add after Sol Ring.

I had no clue Anti-Venom was an actual character, and I suspect most MTG players outside of die-hard Spidey fans were in the same boat… but it looks like Spider-Man is just about to change that!