Marvel’s Spider-Man vs. Through the Omenpaths – What’s the Difference?

Last updated on October 17, 2025

Impostor Syndrome | Illustration by Javier Charro

Marvel’s Spider-Man has swung into the world to a less than stellar reception. From the card designs to the Pick-Two Draft format, nobody seems to have loved this Universes Beyond set as they did The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth or Final Fantasy.

Part of this mixed reception can be attributed to Wizard’s choice to release Marvel’s Spider-Man on their digital platforms as a set called Through the Omenpaths, which has cards with the same text but with names and art that aligns with Magic’s original, in-universe IP. But why would Wizards print all these cards under two names? What are the consequences?

Let’s explore.

What Is Through the Omenpaths?

Multiversal Passage | Illustration by Pablo Mendoza

Through the Omenpaths is the name of digital-only sets released on Magic Arena and Magic Online that take the card text and mechanics from a Universes Beyond set, but use in-universe names and art. Currently, the only Through the Omenpaths set correlates to Marvel’s Spider-Man; however, given that the set code is OM1, we can expect to see more in the future. The next Universes Beyond set is Avatar: The Last Airbender, for which Wizards hasn’t announced a Through the Omenpaths counterpart; it seems likely that OM2 will correspond with the Marvel Super Heroes set in June 2026.

Why Is Through the Omenpaths Different from Marvel’s Spider-Man?

Though WotC has made no official announcement regarding why Through the Omenpaths (OM1) and Marvel’s Spider-Man (SPM) exist instead of just one single Spider-Man set, the community hasn’t stopped speculating. It likely comes down to a licensing issue: The most common theory is that Marvel SNAP has digital-exclusive rights to Spider-Man and potentially other Marvel characters.

That said, it simply isn’t an option not to add SPM to Magic Arena and Magic Online. Not only would that prevent a significant chunk of the player base from enjoying the set on Arena (not to mention MTGO players), it could have massive consequences on the state of potentially every format as players that use digital platforms would play different Standard, Legacy, and Pioneer formats than their paper counterparts. You couldn’t practice these formats digitally before a paper event or play the shiny new deck taking over the PTQ scene. The formats would be split aggressively; something that has occurred before, to much community displeasure.

Minor Differences: SPM vs. OM1

Card Name Changes

Take a look at these paper Marvel's Spider-Man card:

Now check out what they look like in Through the Omenpaths:

Most of cards had their names changed. This includes every legendary creature (for example, Spider-Punk became Kraza, the Swarm as One) and many random cards, including those that referenced sounds (Thwip! to Lively Leap) or features specific to New York (Hot Dog Cart to Treat Trolley). Anything that even mildly alludes to Spider-Man, the villains, or New York was changed. Cards with neutral names like Cheering Crowd and Scout the City aren’t renamed, but all art is changed.

Art Changes

Virtually all the art changed. If anything, this shows the faith WotC had in SPM’s success: They paid for two sets’ worth of art. Like the name change, changing the art scrubs any trace of Spider-Man and New York from the set.

Mechanic Name and Subtype Changes

The web-slinging mechanic was changed to enweb, which doesn’t help the awkward mechanic name; it obscures what it does further, even.

Perhaps more interesting are the changes to The Soul Stone, which had its name changed to The Terminus of Return. The mechanic name was subtly changed; you still harness the terminus, but the ∞ ability is replaced by an “origin” ability. More interestingly, the card’s type was changed from infinity stone to terminus stone, which makes this the only card with a different printed type on digital platforms.

Format Legality

There are very slight format legality differences between SPM and OM1, specifically because OM1 is legal in Arena’s digital-only formats, including Brawl and Timeless. SPM cards currently can’t be played in these formats and likely never will be, though their OM1 versions are present.

Similarities

While OM1 and SPM have immense differences, they’re quite similar. The art and name changes have no impact on the functionality of any individual card. Spider-Ham, Peter Porker plays exactly the same as Tarantusk, Unwisely Awoken, despite the name and art differences. Standard and Pioneer players can exploit the uncounterable text on Spider-Punk, even if some must call it Kraza, the Swarm as One. Additionally, the Pick-Two Draft format the set was designed for is just as playable on Arena and MTGO as in your local game store.

SPM and OM1 Identical Card Names

These are all the cards in both sets with identical “brand-safe” names. The images shown are the Omenpaths versions, and the bulleted list below contains links to the paper versions.

• City Pigeon
• Costume Closet
• Spectacular Tactics
• Sudden Strike
• Impostor Syndrome
• Robotics Mastery
• Secret Identity
• Unstable Experiment
• Common Crook
• Merciless Enforcers
• Prison Break
• Scorpion's Sting
• Villainous Wrath
• Romantic Rendezvous
• Shock
• Wisecrack
• Grow Extra Arms
• Lurking Lizards
• Scout the City
• Strength of Will
• Supportive Parents
• Terrific Team-Up
• Cheering Crowd
• Gallant Citizen
• Mob Lookout
• Rhino's Rampage
• Eerie Gravestone
• Multiversal Passage
• Ominous Asylum
• Savage Mansion
• Sinister Hideout
• Suburban Sanctuary
• University Campus
• Urban Retreat
• Vibrant Cityscape

Through the Omenpaths Flavor and Settings

Through the Omenpaths took an approach similar to Core Sets in its art, as it has no one concrete setting but instead draws flavor and art from across the Multiverse. That said, a few planes recur often, specifically New Capenna, Ikoria, Duskmourn, Thunder Junction, and Bloomburrow.

New Capenna makes a lot of sense; it retains some New York flavor in cards like Zora, Spider Fancier and Scout the City. Additionally, the crime families allow some mob flavor for Mob Lookout, Obscura Alleylurkers, and so on.

Ikoria primarily solves the issue of creatures with three or more card types, using the plane’s native, multi-type mutant creatures like Skittering Kitten and bonder pairs like Yera and Oski, Weaver and Guide to justify the strange spider human hero type line—though some human spiders, like Kroble, Envoy of the Bog are presented as something resembling a centaur with a spider bottom. There are also partners from non-Ikoria planes, like Cam and Farrik, Havoc Duo.

Duskmourn, and to a lesser degree Thunder Junction, are used for the villains. These are natural planes to draw on for cards like Remorseless Coup and Nill, Vessel of Valgavoth.

Bloomburrow’s art doesn’t seem to serve a significant thematic purpose; it may have been chosen simply because players liked the plane. Cards like Treat Trolley and A Trail of Teacups have great art, but I fail to see how they connect to any of the set’s main themes. It's also possible these are backlogged images that WotC already had access to, and this gave them a place to use the art for the first time.

Many familiar planes make appearances in one or two cards, including:

• Avishkar (Cheering Crowd)
• Strixhaven (Wisecrack)
• The Edge (Remarkable Readings, Neach, Pinnacle Pariah)
• Ravnica (Knife Trick, Margot, On the Case)
• Amonkhet (Cruel Caracals)
• Ixalan  (Ancestral Carvings, Luis, Pompous Pillager)
• Zendikar (Cam and Farrik, Havoc Duo)
• Innistrad (Unstable Experiment)
• Kamigawa (Sudden Strike)

The set is rounded out with art that’s either ambiguous or that references planes we haven’t seen before—I’m not sure where the Silken Throne of Sarn of the Silken Throne is, nor where the spider-humans hybrids hail from. Many cards that depict spiders could be from any plane; the same can be said for Hex of Undeath or Deathflame Burst or more cards than I can reasonably name here.

Marvel Universe Bonus Sheet

The SPM bonus sheet was transferred to Arena as the Through the Omenpaths bonus sheet, with the set code OMB. They were printed onto Arena under their original names rather than the Spider-Man names, and many of them have their original art. Several received art exclusive to this bonus sheet, like Reprieve and Tangle.

Overall, the treatment of the bonus sheet is quite similar to the base set, with all Spider-Man references scrubbed away. The primary difference is that most of these cards, all of which already existed in Magic before, didn’t get new art.

Are the Marvel’s Spider-Man Eternal Cards on Arena?

No. Cards from Marvel’s Spider-Man Eternal weren’t imported to Arena under any name.

Are Through the Omenpaths Cards Available in Paper?

Officially, no. Wizards has announced no plans to print OM1 in paper and likely won’t. In my opinion, OM1 is a bandage Wizards had to apply to get Spider-Man rights, so they have no incentive to print them. If you really want to play Fleem, Goben's Creation in paper, look into proxying it for your Commander deck or Cube.

Does Through the Omenpaths Affect Magic Online?

Yes, Magic Online also got Through the Omenpaths rather than Marvel’s Spider-Man. The most likely reason for Wizards to make OM1 has to do with digital licensing rights.

Wrap Up (in Webs)

Web of Life and Destiny (Through the Omenpath) | Illustration by Allen Panakal

Through the Omenpaths is an awkward solution to a complicated problem. That said, I think it’s a reasonable solution; if Wizards really couldn’t obtain the digital rights, there was no other way to get them on digital platforms (they could have said no to the Universes Beyond set, but any hope of artistic integrity died with The Office and Furby crossovers). The awkward double-set works better than completely split formats, though I’d have preferred a completely in-IP set.

What do you think of Through the Omenpaths? Do you prefer it to the Universes Beyond set? What upcoming sets do you think might get the TTO treatment? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord!

Stay safe, and thanks for reading!