Summary
The first cards in Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man sethave been revealed and even though we’ve only seen six of them, some of the design decisions behind them have already sparked lively debates among players. Most notably Green Goblin’s card carrying the goblin creature type even though, as many have pointed out, the supervillain isn’t actually a goblin.
YouTuber PleasantKenobifeels so passionately about the potential mistyping of Green Goblin inMTGthat they’ve aired their grievances in a video that lasts more than 20 minutes. That, and others who agree with them, has prompted MTG’s head designer Mark Rosewater to step in and explain why he and the rest of the team decided to make Green Goblin a goblin in Magic: The Gathering.
Rosewater explained that it comes down to the DNAin a lengthy Tumblr post, which has since been deleted butyou can read at MTG Rocks. “Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man because a spider bite infuses him with some spider DNA,” Rosewater writes, “He has spider powers because he is, from a genetic level, part spider.”
This Is Why Green Goblin Is A Goblin In MTG
But Doctor Octopus Isn’t An Octopus
Even though Green Goblin does not technically have goblin DNA, Rosewater goes on to point out that what makes him the Green Goblin is a potion that alters his DNA. Even though those alterations don’t make him a goblin in the traditional sense, what a goblin is in theMarveluniverse is partially shaped by Green Goblin. “In some ways, the concept of what a Goblin is, in the Marvel universe, is shaped by the existence of Green Goblin,” the designer explains.
That explanation extends to why the Doctor Octopus card revealed last week hasn’t been given the octopus creature type. “Dr. Octopus, in contrast, is not part Octopus. He has eight appendages, like an Octopus, but he is not, in any way, part Octopus,” says Rosewater. He’s correct, of course. There’s no argument to be made over whether Doc Ock is an octopus or not. Their name comes from having four extra limbs that they built themselves.
Clearly, a line has been drawn when it comes to creature types and designers will likely make judgement calls on a card by card basis. Vulture might be a bird, a decision will need to be made to determine whether Rhino is a beast, and since I’m sure there will be a lot more Marvel sets to come after this, a decision will eventually need to be made on whether Ant-Man is an insect.
