Offsite activations are often some of the coolest experiences atSan Diego Comic-Con, and this year’sMagic: The Gatheringevent was no exception. While Wizards of the Coast revealed new cards coming in September’s Spider-Man expansion inside the convention itself, outside of it, fans could take a trip to the Marvel Universe and actually play with the new cards.
Hosted at San Diego’s Hardrock Hotel across the street from the convention center, the immersive Marvel X Magic experience included photo ops, a learn-to-play room, giveaways, and first looks at some of the cards that will be available in the upcoming set. The Spider-Man expansion is expected to set new records for the 30 year old card game, and WotC pulled out all the stops to make this a pretty unforgettable experience.
Into The Magic Spider-Verse
While the experience was free, participants needed to preregister for the event ahead of Comic-Con weekend in order to secure a time slot. This approach is always a double-edged sword, because it means those who weren’t in the know won’t have an opportunity to experience the event.
On the other hand, scheduling time slots cuts back on wait time in line, and ensures that the event space never becomes overly crowded. My favorite thing about this event was that you could experience all of it without feeling rushed or getting overrun by crowds of people - a rarity at SDCC.
The indoor event was laid out like a New York City block, with each activity and photo op located behind the facade of a different storefront. The buildout was impressive and instantly immersive, despite it being inside the Hardrock’s event space and not an actual city street. Just hanging out in Spider-Man’s neighborhood, in the air conditioning, was a great way to spend a weekend afternoon.
Upon arriving, attendees had the option to jump into a learn to play session or explore the event on their own. The learn to play area consisted of a few dozen tables inside of the Friendly Neighborhood Game Store, where various pieces of Spider-Man merch - much of which debuted at Comic-Con over the weekend - were on display.
Those who participated in the learn-to-play had the option to choose from five different 30-card mono-color decks: a White Spider-Man deck, black Venom, red Ghost Spider, Green Miles Morales, or Blue Spider-Man. Upon completing the tutorial, each player got to choose a fresh deck to bring home with them.
Exploring Marvel’s New York
The next stop was the Daily Bugle newsstand, where copies of the Daily Bugle were stacked inside traditional newspaper vending machines. The newspaper featured a crossword puzzle and beginner rules on the outside, and on the inside, a fold-out MTG playmat. You could also pick up another deck of your choice here.
Next to the newsstand was a row of novelty-sized Magic cards, showing off a variety of new Spider-Man cards that debuted for the first time at SDCC. Spider-Verse heroes like Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir, and Peni Parker were featured here.
There were some cool details and little easter eggs for those who took the time to explore the event space, like this Venom graffiti on the side of the comic book store.
Inside a bagel shop, Divine Doughworks, those who completed the learn-to-play could pick up a Spider-Man comic book with a SDCC-exclusive cover. It smelled like delicious bagels inside and I was told the baskets full of bagels behind the counter were all real, which seems like a totally unnecessary detail, but you have to appreciate the effort.
Before leaving, attendees could head inside the Daily Bugle itself to explore a replica of the news office and take pictures sitting at J. Jonah Jameson’s desk. There were also a couple of cool photo ops near the exit: one that put you in a graffiti-filled alleyway, and another that put you in the artwork of a giant Spider-Man Magic card.
Spider-Man is MTG’s most exciting Universes Beyond set yet, and with an event like this, it’s clear that WotC is pursuing the widest audience possible for it. There’s every indication that it was a huge success, with sold-out bookings all weekend long and lots of families and kids discovering Magic through Spider-Man for the first time. This was the perfect Comic-Con offsite and the kind of thing Magic could only pull off with a big IP like Spider-Man.
