Doctor Octopus, Master Planner – Marvel’s Spiderman
Date Reviewed: September 23, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.43
Casual: 4.25
Limited: 3.83
Multiplayer: 3.83
Commander [EDH]: 3.83
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
The title of Doctor Octopus’ mythic variant here isn’t just a nod to his abilities in the comics – they really leaned into gameplay mechanics that support it. The promise of always having eight cards in hand is enticing, and it has a better than even chance of keeping you on top of a game. Think about it in terms of constructing a deck that’s able to play as many cards as possible each turn, and thus the sheer number of extra cards he’ll get you after staying in play for a couple of turns. There are few single-card draw engines that can keep up with those numbers, and while he’s slow enough that he’s not likely to break Modern, it’s far more than enough to become one of the most dangerous decks in your group.
And fans of Unstable are going to be overjoyed to have a Villain kindred effect. Doc Ock would fit great in the Legion of Dastardly Doom, both mechanically and flavor-wise!
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
Yet another villain whose name is slightly misleading, though I can forgive this one because Doctor Octopus isn’t part cephalopod (allegedly). The scheming brains behind a lot of the schemes of the Spider-Man antagonists, Doctor Octopus, Master Planner certainly is here to scheme his way to victory.
That said, while there’s a lot interesting going on, Doctor Octopus feels a bit…weird in practice. The main attraction is that he’ll give you a full grip of eight cards at each end phase (and even let you keep the eighth), but the hitch here is that he’s seven mana. There’s always room for enabling things, but seven mana is creeping a bit high for an enabler sort of creature. In theory, he can be a seven-mana draw eight, but he’ll more realistically give you four or five cards…still not bad, but he’s definitely more an enabler, given his real lack of combat presence.
As far as the enabling goes, though, he is capable of pushing damage higher, giving all your Villains +2/+2. A lot of the villains are Grixis adjacent, so our tentacled friend can certainly enable things well there, but he himself would have to sit in the deck despite wanting to be a Commander (in EDH).
Really, the main issue I have is that Doctor Octopus is an expensive enabler, and while there will be games where this pays off, paying 7 mana for an enabling force is a bit of a tough sell when that force needs support to win the game. Still, he’s certainly intriguing, and being able to refresh your hand each turn is a decent draw.
Constructed: 3 (I think he’s a bit too pricey to land in Standard)
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4 (I think he can work well if you get a lot of Villains to pair him with)
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.75
Thijs
Another character from the villainous side of Spider-Man, this is the infamous Doc Ock. A scientist who created a sort of exoskeleton with long metal arms and decided to go rogue. He is one of Spidey’s three ‘archenemies’, the ones that have been around the longest and have dealt the biggest blows to Peter Parker.
The card itself reminds one of Doc Ock in a good way. Dimir seems the right color scheme for this schemer, and the statline of 4/8 does him justice. He’s big, he’s scary, but he has some weak spots. He does give other villains you control +2/+2, but not himself. You get an extra card in hand and at the end of turn, you can draw until you have eight again.
And that’s the fun of the good doctor. Always having a full hand, whether in Standard, Limited or Commander, is a superpower. Making sure you always have sufficient spells to increase your control over the opponent makes this card very good indeed.
Constructed: 3,8
Casual: 4,2
Limited: 3,5 (a bit high on curve)
Multiplayer: 3,8
Commander [EDH]: 3,8
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