Hello and welcome back. As I promised we’ll be talking about Spider-Man today. I am going to be a bit loose with that promise though because we have seen the rise of a new unofficial mascot from the online Magic community. Fleem, Goben’s Creation has become an unexpectedly popular character, mostly to do with the art of the derpy little being.
I say that because while the card itself is good, it’s the Universes Within version of the Spider-Man card Green Goblin (both of these creatures are the backside of their transforming cards), so the art is the only real difference. Along with the release of Spider-Man the card set, I’m going to address the love for the Universes Within cards that I’ve seen online and examine maybe the perfect storm for the Rise of the Fleem.
A LACK OF DEPTH
While Spider-Man the Magic set may have specific characters and references to the IP it comes from, unless you’re already invested, there isn’t much story being told by the cards. As a person who has a cursory exposure to Spiderman, I would rely on the cards to tell me why they’re important and what might be happening. Each seems to exist as a piece of the world without building or connecting to other cards, like they’re all snapshots but the pictures are dumped haphazardly into a pile.
I would offer that a fair critique would also include Warhammer 40K and Final Fantasy. I never really got into those either, and while I don’t know most of the stories there, the intrigue the cards provide in relation to their own universes can carry the set enough that it could be entertaining even if all you have is a head canon for what’s happening.
I think a lack of Spiderman being exciting as it could have been was that it went for quantity over focusing on maybe a single or two stories of its own multiverse. It’s like if Smash Brothers had a story without tying all its original cast together for it (and this was done with varying success in my opinion in that series).
Spiderman doesn’t really have many cards that tell you what’s happening and why things are important, just a large assortment of characters. This association can also be given to the Assassin’s Creed set, Murders at Karlov Manner, and Aetherdrift. The latter two sets have a story with them, but the cards were so unfocused or telling a different story on their own. That’s fine. Sometimes a card is its own story within the world it is meant to exist in. However, much like Spiderman and Assassin’s Creed, some of the cards seemed random and referenced things that might be lost on players and don’t resonate as much as they could. So this isn’t a product of the IP itself so much as set design and card mechanics as much as lore.
The set is also rather redundant aesthetically. There are a lot of spider-beings. Many, many spider-beings. It comes off to the non-fan as a closet of costumes more than a menagerie of characters (this was also a problem with Assassin’s Creed).
Now, it has been mentioned that the set went through a shuffle up part of the way through development to be a larger set. Depending on when this happened probably affected how and when cards were made and used to fill out the new set requirements, which likely contributes to the quantity or quality feeling.
LACK OF MAGIC
Both literal and figurative, Spiderman lacks a way to be magical. Its set is largely taking place in a contemporary time, where City Pigeon and Bagel and Shmear are represented on cards in the set. These can be fun, but there is a reason some chafed at the cheer leader in Duskmourn and and sets like Unfinity don’t do as well and need some extra push to get going (for Spiderman, probably standard legality and Unfinity’s use of acorns and legal ‘fun’ cards).
This combined with the lack of cohesion of a story to give reason to the characters being there outside of ‘Roster of IP Good’ to sell some cards means for people who are more Vorthos (lore and story people) are adrift. Magic cards aren’t only mechanics. Flavor is important to the feel of a card, especially for most Commander players.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure there is magic in the set for people who are more familiar with the Spider-Man universe. I’ve seen people online thrilled about specific characters getting cards and the “normal” artifacts and creatures make others laugh and smile. While it's not the traditional magic that would normally make a Magic set, there is always something to be said for other kinds of magic involved, like nostalgia and joy.
FLEEM’S UNEXPECTED POPULARITY
Alright, I think we’ve covered the downsides to the set, and frankly the opinions like mine are posted all over. So, how does that contribute or not to the rise of the Fleem?
Well, to start this was a ‘happy’ mistake in licensing. Wizards of the Coast forgot to get digital rights to use the Spiderman IP for their online clients, Arena and MTGO (Magic the Gathering Online). Not having access to cards was and is already an issue to varying degrees on either client, but having something be unmonetized with Hasbro on the leash isn’t something that can be abided.
So, Universes Within version of every card in the set was created in the initiative called Through the Omenpaths. Honestly, this might be a happy accident for Wizards as it also, sort of, fulfills the need for players like myself to get a version of the cards they’re making within and with Magic’s general feel and worlds.
We knew these were coming for a while, but the cards weren’t really revealed with the early spoilers. When the spoilers did begin for Arena cards, players responded to them well, even though the memory load for the cards essentially doubled. Then, we got the transforming cards and Fleem was spoiled among them.
It was kind of a perfect storm for Fleem. Spiderman seems redundant artistically, too contemporary, and focused on heroes and villains of the franchise with a few well known characters tossed in like a check list. Then comes along a random weird looking little dork who’s inclusion of silly but more magical existence countered it all on the other side of the scales. Magic players who wanted it got a ‘magic’ card.
It was like a salve for me personally. I’ve never been a fan of Universes Beyond. I get the appeal, and I’ll never say that Wizards usually doesn’t do a good job with bringing those IPs into the Magic game system. It just doesn’t jive with me. It’s too disjointed from the rest of Magic to be magic to me. Fleem, like for others, helped smooth the introduction of yet another IP where half of the Magic sets this year haven’t been in the Magic multiverse and in this set in particular seemed even more removed from that feeling of Magic.
VIVI, THE SUPERVOID?
While I focus on Commander in my articles, we are touching on Universes Beyond as a theme and there is a card that seems to always be on the forefront of the mind when Magic is mentioned outside of the Commander context right now, and that’s Vivi Ornitier. Largely a problem in Standard to the point it had to be addressed by Wizards, this card has probably contributed to the fatigue even across formats.
Commander players don’t always only play a single format. Magic players play Magic, and it could be a conduit for the fatigue of cards with supposed power creep crossing over, this time attached to Spiderman. Combined with the ‘perfect storm’ described prior, it may just be that the players that need a break are reaching for something a little fun and derpy to help deal with it.
A SPECTRUM OF FUN
No matter the reasons for the rise of Fleem, finding enjoyment in the hobbies you enjoy is the whole point of doing them. If Fleem tickles your fancy then that’s great. If you prefer Green Goblin because they’re your favorite villain and are thrilled they got a card? Fantastic! If you enjoy Vivi in any format, have a good time.
Until next time, find joy in what you do.
