Last updated on January 9, 2026
Gwenom, Remorseless | Illustration by Lordigan
Hello planeswalkers! Are your MTG-senses tingling? That’s right, Marvel’s Spider-Man has arrived, and it should be great! Whether you’re a fan of comics or not, this set has a ton of fun new creature types, strategies, and mechanics. In the process of learning about these releases, it’s imperative to learn about how each color of the color wheel works.
Today, we check out the best cards that are in black’s slice of the color wheel. Black in Magic pairs well with the villainous and dark side of the Spider-Man franchise. I personally love this, and I say: “We are Venom.”
So, let’s take a good look at the best of the best black cards in the Spider-Man Magic releases.
What Are Black Cards in Marvel’s Spider-Man?
Behold the Sinister Six! | Illustration by Nathaniel Himawan
These black cards have only black mana symbols in their casting cost and their rules text, and they’re only from the Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man Eternal sets. You can play any of these cards in a mono-black commander deck. Great multicolored cards that include black like Venom, Deadly Devourer, the great Grixis land Oscorp Industries, and the dual-sided Eddie Brock / Venom, Lethal Protector will just have to wait for another day.
As a bonus, here’s a list of the mono-black cards from the Marvel Universe bonus sheet being released with the set:
#16. Prison Break
Reanimator is a great strategy for cheating overpowered cards like Valgavoth, Terror Eater onto the battlefield effectively. Prison Break is that kind of sorcery from the Spider-Man set. At a reasonable mana value of 5, this sorcery can cheat those expensive, huge creatures you ditched earlier for some sort of other interaction. This card won’t break any formats, but I think it’s worth a mention as another reanimator card.
#15. Alien Symbiosis
Alien Symbiosis is an interesting aura that fits well with the mechanics of Marvel’s Spider-Man. With the upside of the mayhem mechanic, this aura becomes easier to cast from the graveyard. This is a great way to consistently make evasive creatures in the Limited format.
#14. Morlun, Devourer of Spiders
Morlun, Devourer of Spiders is a nice vampire villain that has the potential for a lot of great interactions. This card could be a large creature, depending on how much mana you spend to cast it. Also, it deals damage equal to how much you paid when it enters. Add the lifelink on top, and you have several great possibilities all across the curve.
#13. Scorpion’s Sting
A great combat trick and solid removal, Scorpion's Sting is just a good card. It’s not flashy, and it isn't overpowered. This card can make a difference as a cheap instant. Scorpion's Sting will have a ton of play in Limited and maybe a bit in Constructed. But it’s no Nowhere to Run.
#12. Villainous Wrath
Villainous Wrath is a good board wipe with a bonus effect. This 5-mana board wipe destroys all creatures and also does some direct damage. The more creatures an opponent has, the more damage you can do to them. This can be a huge swing to remove all creatures, deal a large amount of direct damage, and follow up with a haste creature or a creature land.
#11. Black Cat, Cunning Thief
Black Cat, Cunning Thief provides a great chance to use some of your opponent’s best cards against them. Fitting into the cat flavor, this card looks at the top nine cards of an opponent’s deck and lets you exile two to play later. With some luck on your side, you can snag good cards that fit into your curve. I like the possibilities and upside of this card very much.
#10. Lethal Protection
Lethal Protection is going to be a good removal spell in Constructed and a killer one in the Spider-Man Welcome Decks. You destroy a creature and return one to your hand, so this is a great shift in creature advantage. The sorcery speed and only returning the creature to your hand are what will keep this card from becoming a new removal staple.
#9. Venom, Evil Unleashed
Venom, Evil Unleashed is my least favorite version of the Venom character, but it can be an alright creature in Limited. This card provides a big body with deathtouch as well as a pretty good way to recycle it from the graveyard. I like the counters you can give from the graveyard, but this card would be really good if it weren’t at sorcery speed.
#8. Agent Venom
Agent Venom is a Midnight Reaper with relevant keywords. This card is a wonderful flash play that can come in and draw you cards after an opponent puts removal on the stack. It’s alright as a creature, but I’m here for the instant speed card draw trick.
#7. Scorpion, Seething Striker
If you were a fan of some of the +1/+1 counter effects from Edge of Eternities, you’ll enjoy the end-of-turn effect of Scorpion, Seething Striker. The great part of this end step trigger is that it goes off if any creature dies, so you can go crazy with your removal and benefit afterward. This card is a bit clunky for your curve, but the connive effect can be useful.
#6. Tombstone, Career Criminal
Tombstone, Career Criminal is going to be a great addition to the villain typal deck. This card recurs a villain card and reduces its casting cost. At 3-mana, Tombstone is a nice curve piece, and it can fit well with villain staples like Prowler, Clawed Thief and Doc Ock, Sinister Scientist.
#5. Venom, Eddie Brock
Venom, Deadly Devourer is the best version of Venom, but the other Venom cards have their own value, especially Venom, Eddie Brock. This card has the possibility of card draw and massive self-pump whenever another creature dies. Read that as any creature, not just yours. This card lends itself well to decks with a ton of removal.
#4. Spider-Man Noir
Spider-Man Noir won’t be as powerful as many of the rare and mythic cards in these Spider-Man sets, but it provides wonderful upside at an uncommon rarity. This card incentivizes you to attack with a single creature each turn to pump that creature and surveil. Five mana isn’t perfect, but the lone-attacking trigger provides a lot to love, especially in Limited.
#3. Behold the Sinister Six!
Return up to six creatures to the battlefield. Are you joking? Behold the Sinister Six! deserves the exclamation point in its name. This card is going to be solid in midrange and graveyard decks alike. In longer and more controlled games, it isn’t so difficult to get to 7 mana. By that point, your graveyard could have a good number of creatures sent there by combat, sacrifices, self-mill, discard, what have you. This is the kind of sorcery that can swing games.
#2. Gwenom, Remorseless
Black does a great job of using your life points as a valuable resource. Gwenom, Remorseless is that kind of card for the Spider-Man sets. This great midrange creature can work like a Bolas's Citadel whenever it attacks. If you have the life, you can run through a lot of your deck with just one swing, and Gwenom doesn't even have to survive combat.
#1. The Soul Stone
The Soul Stone is going to be a wonderful black utility artifact. The main benefit is the cheap mana value and mana production. This ramp will do wonders for some black decks. Once you pay the costly activated ability to harness The Soul Stone, its upkeep trigger will keep bringing back potent creatures like Gray Merchant of Asphodel. I’m excited to see what this infinity stone will do in many events and tournaments.
Wrap Up (in Webs)
Venom, Eddie Brock | Illustration by Simon Dominic
Overall, I think the black cards of the Spider-Man sets are going to fare quite well. It may have one of the best cards of both SPM and SPE in The Soul Stone, and a lot of the villains look strong. After release, we’ll see what kind of impact the black cards will have in Limited and Constructed, but I’m confident that a few of these will be wonderful.
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