MTG Survey Causes Uproar: Wizards of the Coast Addresses Spider-Man Backlash, But Appears to Blame Influencers

The controversy surrounding the Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond | Marvel’s Spider-Man set has taken a stunning turn. Following widespread criticism of the set’s high price, inconsistent quality, and jarring aesthetic blend with the traditional fantasy of MTG, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) released a player survey to gather feedback. However, a specific question within that survey has sparked a furious backlash, with many players and content creators accusing WotC of attempting to deflect blame for the set’s poor reception.

The Catch: A Loaded Question Targeting Creators

The core of the new controversy lies in a question presented to players who indicated they received information about the Spider-Man set from content creators or influencers.

The question 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 scale ranged from “Greatly worsened my perception” to “Greatly improved my perception.”

This phrasing immediately drew fire across the MTG community for several reasons:

• The ‘Witch Hunt’ Allegation: Many influencers and players, including Hall of Fame inductee Luis Scott-Vargas (LSV), viewed the question as an attempt to find a scapegoat—suggesting WotC was trying to pin the failure of the set on the critical opinions of the gaming press and content creators rather than on the product’s design, power level, or price.
• One-Sided Focus: Critics pointed out the suspicious lack of a corresponding question asking about the impact of positive commentary. This framing made the question appear explicitly designed to quantify and neutralize negative sentiment originating from outside the company.
• The Threat of Retaliation: The survey also asked participants to name the streamers and content creators they watch, leading to genuine anxiety among influencers that WotC might retaliate by limiting their access to official previews, card spoilers, or partnership opportunities.

WotC Responds to the Uproar

Following the significant and immediate backlash, WotC’s Blake Rasmussen publicly addressed the controversy. He acknowledged that the question was “not a good question” and assured the community that it was a mistake—not a malicious attempt to attack creators or weaponize survey results. He maintained that WotC has a history of working with creators of varying opinions and that the question’s results would not be used to punish anyone.

Despite this official apology, the incident has further fueled community skepticism:

• The company’s reliance on a “data-driven” approach is being questioned when their data-gathering methods appear biased or poorly designed.
• It reinforces the perception that WotC prioritizes the Universes Beyond line for short-term profit—capitalizing on the massive Collectible Card Game (CCG) market (projected to reach over $16.26 billion in 2026)—without adequately addressing long-term concerns about brand identity and product quality.

Ultimately, while WotC attempted to address the negative reception of the Spider-Man set, the phrasing of their survey’s key question turned their gesture into a new controversy, shifting the conversation from the set’s shortcomings to the manufacturer’s perceived attempt to manipulate the narrative.