This spider's numbers mean it can stand up to...
well, two out of five Titans (Grave Titan has
deathtouch, Inferno Titan can hit it for an
extra three, and Frost Titan can tap it) as well
as most Dragons and Sphinxes. And let's be
honest-- when Green gets creatures with reach,
that's what it really wants to be able to block.
Ah, but the real story here is its ability to go
get the Aura names Arachnus Web and put it
directly onto your opponent's creatures. They
say that this is the beginning of Spider tribal,
but really, Arachnus here needs no help from
other Spiders unless you'd rather tap a smaller
creature to fetch the Aura-- a reasonable
desire, since a 5/7 is a force on offense or
defense.
So really, Arachnus Spinner's rating is entirely
a matter of how good Arachnus Web is, and how
many you have in your deck. Or graveyard--
remember, the Spinner can fetch the Web from
there too, which is an extra point in its favor
since the Web has a built-in escape clause. But
there's no denying the fact that the Web is a
green removal spell, a rare beast that tends to
be either overcosted, next to useless, or
include a means of compensation for the
opponent.
So we now have card versions of the Sirens and
the Aegis, but no Ariadne? For shame, R&D!
Seriously, though, the Spinner is decent in
itself, as a somewhat less devastating version
of Cloudthresher. There are few things, flying
or non, that will be able to fight their way
past it in a reasonable manner. The ability to
search for and, if necessary, recur Arachnus
Web, an actual factual green Arrest, makes it a
real wild card in any format. Like Aegis Angel
from Monday, it probably won't be the first
thing you go to when making a new deck concept,
but the effect could well end up being relevant
at some point down the line. And, arguably more
interestingly, there's now an actual
Spider-related tribal effect that isn't named
Coat of Arms. Will there be more to follow?
Today's card of the day is Arachnus Spinner
which is a seven mana 5/7 with Reach that allows
you to tap an untapped spider you control to
search your library or graveyard for an Arachnus
Web and attach it to a target creature. As
Arachnus Web prevents a creature from attacking
or blocking this is a very useful tool in a
Green deck which makes the Spinner useful as
control and deck thinning, when it is in play.
Green can accelerate to get this out early and
it actually counts other spiders as support if
any are used to keep it from tapping itself for
the effect. As a fairly large creature
lacking evasion or Trample it does work as a
defensive and control theme for Green which is
often lacking them. Overall an interesting
design that may see a bit of play though the
cost, number of cards involved, and slight
weakness of both the spider and the Web will
likely keep this out of serious tournament
decks.
In Limited this is a strong creature with only
one Green in the casting cost which lets it work
as an anti-Flying measure in any deck willing to
splash Green support. Any copies of
Arachnus Web are a huge benefit and it is a very
effective combination in the format.
Easily a first pick in Booster and worth playing
whenever possible in Sealed, followed by the Web
and other spiders as support cards to make the
theme as effective as possible.
Magic The Gathering Card of The Day: Arachnus
Spinner
Welcome back readers today’s card of the day is
that not so itsy bitsy spider Arachnus Spinner.
This creature is capable of fetching its own
special brand of Ice Cage its own web by tapping
an untapped spider. Spider tribal has never
really taken off and in the entire history of
Magic there hasent been more than a handful to
see serious play this guy won’t change that for
competitive. For the price of six mana if
you’re in green you either want to cast a titan
or a Wurmcoil Engine making this card inferior
it can block Consecrated Sphinx all day
but there are better finishers available for the
mana and in colors. In extended and eternal I
don’t foresee this card seeing much play either.
In casual and multiplayer players can build
decks around this new spider lord and I
anticipate it making an impact there it can also
block most dragons and angels which is a
positive. In limited it’s a solid if unexciting
body and if you can draft some webs and other
spiders it can be solid. Overall a fun if
uncompetitive card that will see a fair amount
of casual and limited play.
