MTG Survey on Spider-Man Backlash: The Catch is Who Wizards of the Coast Seems to Be Blaming

Following the notably mixed-to-negative reception of the recent Magic: The Gathering | Marvel’s Spider-Man Universes Beyond set, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) released a player survey to gather feedback. While this seems like a standard and positive move to address community concerns—such as the set’s weak competitive impact, repetitive card design, and unusual limited format—the survey itself has become the new focus of backlash due to a controversial question.

The “catch” is that a specific question in the survey has been widely interpreted by the community, including professional players and content creators, as an attempt by WotC to shift blame for the set’s poor reception onto Magic: The Gathering influencers.

The Influencer Question and the Backlash

The highly scrutinized question, which was only presented to a segment of the respondents, reportedly asked: “To what degree did negative influencer commentary impact your perceptions of Magic: The Gathering | Marvel’s Spider-Man before the set released?” The response options ranged on a scale that implied either negative or positive influence, with no clear “no influence” or neutral option.

This phrasing immediately drew fire, with many commentators and content creators calling it a “witch hunt” and accusing WotC of attempting to deflect criticism from their internal design and product strategy.

Key Concerns from the Community:

1. Blame Deflection: Players and content creators feel WotC is looking for a convenient external factor (influencer hate) to explain the set’s failures rather than addressing core issues like product pricing, mechanical originality, or the flavor execution of the New York City setting.
2. The Lack of Neutrality: By forcing respondents to rate the degree of “negative” or “positive” influence, the question essentially assumes the player was influenced, leaving no room for those who formed their opinion independently.
3. Intimidation: Concerns were raised that this data could be used to blacklist or reduce future partnership opportunities for creators who offered honest, negative criticism of the product.

Wizards of the Coast’s Response

A WotC representative, Blake Rasmussen, publicly acknowledged the controversy surrounding the question, confirming that it was “not a good question” and assured the community that it was a mistake and not an attempt to “attack creators.” He clarified that the survey was intended to gather a holistic view of the set’s reception and that WotC values the independent feedback of its content creators.

Why This Matters for Universes Beyond

The reaction to the survey question highlights the deep-seated tension surrounding WotC’s highly profitable Universes Beyond line, which features crossovers with properties like Final Fantasy, Warhammer, and the upcoming Marvel Super Heroes (June 2026), Star Trek, and The Hobbit. While sets like The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth broke sales records, the Spider-Man set struggled with both its reception and financial performance.

The core lesson for WotC, as many fans see it, is that success in this line depends on more than just the brand name; it requires a compelling, well-designed, and mechanically unique set that fully integrates the IP into the world of Magic. By focusing on influencer commentary, the company appeared to overlook the fundamental design flaws that fans were criticizing—specifically, a set that felt rushed and lacked the depth expected from a full Magic release.