The 28 Best Spider Commanders in Magic Ranked

Last updated on October 17, 2025

Shelob, Child of Ungoliant | Illustration by Lorenzo Mastroianni

Did you know the average person swallows eight spiders in their sleep every year? Okay, that’s not true; really it's just legendary spiders that crawl into your Commander decks once in a while.

Skittering and creeping across the battlefield, spider creatures have been the backbone of green’s answers to flying creatures since Urza’s Destiny. Until recently, it's been difficult to build a spider-based Commander deck, but the past few years have multiplied the total number of legendary spiders! With the release of Marvel’s Spider-Man, the number of viable spider commanders has quintupled. That’s not quite eight times as much, but it’s a significant amount more variation for the creature type than we had before.

Which legendary spider makes the best commander for your entirely creepy crawlies deck? Which ones aren’t worth it? Let’s get caught up in this web of the best spider commanders in Magic: The Gathering.

What Are Spider Commanders?

Thantis, the Warweaver | Illustration by Jehan Choo

Spider commanders are any of the legendary creatures with the spider creature type (I won't include the Alchemy-only Ishkanah, Broodmother here since it's only available on MTG Arena). They’re typically aligned with green and black, though Marvel's Spider-Man greatly expanded the color identities of viable spider commanders. Most spider creatures have reach, and they tend to have more toughness than they do power. Entries on this list may have spider typal abilities or just be powerful legends on their own.

#28. Spinnerette, Arachnobat

If your play group approves of Un-Set commanders, Spinnerette, Arachnobat is undeniably an option for your spider deck. That said, Spinnerette wants to be built around the attraction cards from Unfinity, not necessarily other spiders.

Of the 50 attractions, none reference spiders at all. Spinnerette isn’t even in the correct colors to include some die-rolling synergies like Barbarian Class and Wyll, Blade of Frontiers. To make things worse, Spinnerette, Arachnobat’s payoff for opening three attractions is just a measly +2/+0 and menace, easily outclassed by almost any other 5-mana legendary creature. It's here as a novelty, not as a power entry.

#27. Spider-Ham, Peter Porker

Spider-Ham, Peter Porker just barely squeezes onto this list. Maybe it promotes some sort of multi-creature wildlife strategy, but there’s a ceiling to how good this could ever be. Whether you’re playing it as a food commander or a multi-purpose typal lord, it’s all a bit ham-fisted.

#26. Arachne, Psionic Weaver

As cool as this card is, and as useful as web-slinging might be, Arachne, Psionic Weaver just isn’t the type of card you get people with in Commander, and it’s extremely telegraphed from the command zone. Maybe you hose an artifact or enchantment deck, but there isn’t much of a buildaround element here, considering it taxes you too.

#25. Sun-Spider, Nimble Webber

Sun-Spider, Nimble Webber is too bland to really want as your commander, but tutors straight out of the command zone always have utility. I’m going to be immediately suspicious if I see this across the table from me, because my assumption is you’d only make this your commander if you want to consistently pull off some combo involving an equipment or aura.

#24. Scarlet Spider, Ben Reilly

I mean, it can be really, really big. That’s all that’s going for Scarlet Spider, Ben Reilly, though never discount a creature than can take people out with commander damage in just a couple swings, especially when it only cost 2 mana. The goal here is to turn web-slinging into an upside; returning a mana dork just to get Ben Reilly out earlier isn’t all that impressive.

#23. Spinneret and Spiderling

I don’t think we’re making a real spider deck work with Spinneret and Spiderling in command, but I am interested in the prospects of building a heroic/valiant-like deck around this 1-mana commander and a pile of combat tricks. It’s probably best as part of the 99 somewhere, but it might work. Tiny Leaders, anyone?

#22. Spider-Man India

Spider-Man India’s power is 100% linked to your ability to web-slinger it out and follow up with a flurry of creatures. It’s more Limited material than anything, but it can also pay off certain infinites with Whitemane Lion, Cloudstone Curio, and more.

#21. Arasta of the Endless Web

Arasta of the Endless Web‘s situational ability makes it one of the worst choices for the commander of your spider EDH deck. While a 4-mana 3/5 with reach can make for fine value in a Limited environment, it won’t make a splash in a Commander pod. Arasta could be a fun deck to build to specifically sink your friend’s Melek, Izzet Paragon storm deck, but otherwise there are just better options. It's a fine inclusion in the 99 of other spider decks, though.

#20. Iron Spider, Stark Upgrade

A legendary Steel Overseer with way more text. Or a nerfed Mindless Automaton, if you will. However you look at it, Iron Spider, Stark Upgrade is a pretty prescriptive artifact creature commander, with some vehicle text thrown in. Not too bad for aggressive artifact decks, but also not all that inspiring.

#19. Spider-Punk

The cEDH community seems divided on this one. Same as Spinneret and Spiderling, you’re probably not doing “the spider thing” here, and similar to Sun-Spider, Nimble Webber, I’m assuming you’re on some sort of combo deck and playing this for counterspell protection. Be warned: Spider-Punk extends its stax abilities to all players.

#18. Superior Spider-Man

Part Body Double, part reanimation spell, Superior Spider-Man is basically a one-shot activation of The Scarab God in commander form. Makes me want to just run The Scarab God, honestly, but there’s something to this card. It’s also my pick for the Spider-Man variant whose name I hear and can never remember which card it’s supposed to be.

#17. Spider-Woman, Stunning Savior

I really like how clean the design on Spider-Woman, Stunning Savior is, and it’s highly disruptive. Messing with mana rocks, Treasure, and all manner of creatures is great, though I’m wondering how much this backfires in a Limited format with web-slinging as a main mechanic. Whatever, not here to evaluate SPM Limited, just know that this is a royal pain in Commander, even if there’s nothing flashy about the design.

#16. Spider-Man 2099, Miguel O’Hara

I dismissed almost everything from Marvel’s Spider-Man Eternal, but Spider-Man 2099, Miguel O'Hara deserves a mention. People love Coastal Piracy variants, and they seem to get printed every other set now. Miguel’s a version that even clears a blocker out of the way, so if you want to give that rusty old Bident of Thassa a rest, I could see this making its mark in a casual deck. And if you really need this effect for your deck to function, you could run Miguel as your commander.

#15. Symbiote Spider-Man

I feel like I’m saying “this commander is this other card, but in the command zone” a lot, but that’s really how these designs feel. Here we have a Thief of Sanity lookalike, though Symbiote Spider-Man pulls cards from your own library when it connects. The exile ability is the intriguing part, and works like a renew effect that turns something else into an evasive saboteur. Good news, too: Exiling this Spidey from the graveyard allows you to put it back in the command zone, so you get the full range of abilities here.

#14. Araña, Heart of the Spider

Araña, Heart of the Spider is a little bit more than just a pure aggro commander, adding some card draw into the mix if you hit with modified creatures. There’s no once per turn limit, and the +1/+1 counter Araña spits out every turn auto-modifies something, so there’s a formula for success here, even if this reads like the average Boros commander.

#13. Sensational Spider-Man

The Sensational Spider-Man doesn't really encourage playing other spiders, though I do see spiders and stun counters working together. You're running this as more of a stun counter commander, which makes it somewhat unique for now, though this all culminates in an Azorius commander that just draws a bunch of cards.

#12. Spectacular Spider-Man

Sure, everyone can see Spectacular Spider-Man in your command zone, but what are they going to do, not cast their board wipe into your open mana? This feels like a commander you play as a reassurance plan for something else you’re doing instead of one you’re eager to rush out, basically giving yourself extra protection in the command zone.

#11. Gwen Stacy / Ghost-Spider

Gwen Stacy alone wouldn’t be worth talking about, but Ghost-Spider’s a pretty good cast-from-exile commander that puts the exiled card from the front half to good use. It juggles counters and impulse draws, has solid, aggressive keywords, and you can always run out the front half and transform this later if you’re in need of extra cards.

#10. Shelob, Dread Weaver

Shelob, Dread Weaver is a tough choice for your spider-typal deck. Its built-in almost-Leyline of the Void that lets you steal the exiled creatures is a great effect–graveyard hate and denying opponent’s best spells will always be effective strategies in Commander–but being a mono-black commander dampers its effectiveness as a true “spider commander”. While this lesser Shelob makes a great commander for a deck based around removal and the graveyard, you're probably going to have to lean on some artifact creatures if you want to fill your deck with other spiders.

#9. Thantis, the Warweaver

Thantis, the Warweaver was designed for the Commander 2018 precons and was the alternate commander for the Lord Windgrace deck. Thantis’s ability forces everyone to attack whenever possible and gets stronger whenever someone attacks you.

Thantis, the Warweaver’s incentivized attacks play well into a deck full of big-butted spiders with high toughness and reach. Even the humble Giant Spider becomes a threat when a measly little Zulaport Cutthroat has to attack into it.

Also, check out this silly ruling from Thantis’s Scryfall notes:

Thantis, the Warweaver card rulings

#8. Silk, Web Weaver

I’d be much more interested if Silk, Web Weaver made spiders, but Human Citizens will do. We’ve seen this sort of design before on Torens, Fist of the Angels and Selvala, Eager Trailblazer, and it feels like Silk finally gets everything right. Good stats, potential cost reduction, and a useful payoff for making all those tokens in the form of an overrun-style activated ability.

#7. Ishkanah, Grafwidow

Ishkanah, Grafwidow’s delirium ability and Golgari color identity make a great delirium commander for a self-milling EDH deck. This 3/5 arachnid should always hit the field alongside three 1/2 Spider tokens. Where Ishkanah really shines is its activated ability – it's easy enough to fill your board with a lethal amount of spiders with cards like Arachnogenesis and Spider Spawning, so you can expect to pay that 7 mana and pump out 10+ damage with each activation.

#6. Spider-Man 2099

Not sure how I missed the other 2,098 Spider-Men, but I’m intrigued by this one. No big deal that you can’t cast Spider-Man 2099 in the first few turns, since you want to build up towards some sort of engine here anyway. Find ways to pump its power plus stock up on some paradox effects, and Spidey ’99 should be taking down threats nearly every turn. Double strike’s not too shabby, either. Oh, and it triggers the turn you cast it from the command zone, too!

#5. Miles Morales / Ultimate Spider-Man

Miles Morales is the premium part of this card for Constructed, but you put this in the command zone for Ultimate Spider-Man. Don’t get me wrong, Miles will still be quite strong, but the back half is a beater, especially if you transform it after you already put a +1/+1 counter on it with Miles. It looks like a measly 4/3, but even one counter on it makes it a 6/5 in combat the turn you flip it, and it doesn’t even have to be the one attacking. Doubling other stuff is great too, even if it only applies to a narrow set of creatures.

The Camouflage ability breaks the card in half, providing a source of +1/+1 counters to make Spider-Man massive while keeping you insulated from targeted removal thanks to hexproof.

#4. Cosmic Spider-Man

Sorry folks, but I’m just not putting a humanoid in the #1 slot over an actual, factual arachnoid spider. Cosmic Spider-Man’s also not all that interesting. Its sole purpose is to let you play all the Spider-Man spiders in one place, and it’s a damn-good typal lord, but it’s also dreadfully boring, and feels very out of place as a commander for traditional spider creatures.

#3. Peter Parker / Amazing Spider-Man

I originally had Amazing Spider-Man much further down this list, but the more I think about it, and the more I read fellow Draftsim writer Andy W’s Spider-Man content, the more I’m convinced the back half of this card is broken. And sorry Peter Parker, it has nothing to do with you.

Web-slinging in any legendary creature is ludicrous, even if you need to get something tapped first. Avacyn, Angel of Hope or Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger for ? Sure! Shave 2 mana off Chulane, Teller of Tales? You got it! In fact, here’s a Scryfall search of expensive legends in Bant colors that you could be cheating in for half the price, or less. Let your imagination run wild.

#2. Gwenom, Remorseless

Bolas's Citadel in the command zone seems like it’ll make Gwenom, Remorseless a kill-on-sight commander. If I see this at the table, I’m attacking that player early and often to minimize their life total. One swing is all Gwenom might need to pull off a win. Surround it with lifegain and haste enablers to take full advantage of this busted ability.

#1. Shelob, Child of Ungoliant

Shelob received not one, but two awesome legendary creature cards within The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. Black-green Shelob, Child of Ungoliant is one of the best spider-typal commanders out there. It’s an 8/8 spider demon with ward and deathtouch, which it shares with all spiders you control. But that’s not all! Whenever one of Shelob’s skittering offspring destroys an opponent’s creature, you create a copy of that creature, except it's a food (with the appropriate Food ability) that loses its other types.

Shelob can’t turn your opponents’ creatures around and beat them with them, but it secures whatever activated and passive abilities those creatures had. Force a block from your opponent’s Blood Artist with a Hunt Down and now you’re the aristocrats player.

Best Spider Commander Payoffs

Spiders aren’t the most popular creature type, so they lack a lot of the synergies that elves or goblins get. There's always been a few great includes in any spider deck, though, and Spider-Man definitely bolstered the numbers.

First is Swarmyard. Nothing keeps your spider commander alive like Swarmyard. Save it from Murder, save it from Blasphemous Act; this is a no-brainer include in any spider deck.

Second, I really recommend Blex, Vexing Pest / Search for Blex. Few spiders have a very impressive power-to-toughness ratio, so every little bit counts. At the very least, Blex brings those 1/2 spiders up to 3 toughness so they can survive combat with bears.

As we search for cobwebs in the corners you may need to lean on colorless cards for creature-type buffs, which includes Coat of Arms, Patchwork Banner, and Banner of Kinship.

Marvel’s Spider-Man added a host of new spider lords to the mix, including Spider-Ham, Peter Porker, Spider-Punk, and Ultimate Spider-Man. Cosmic Spider-Man was obviously intended to be the be-all end-all reward for building around spiders.

Spider-Verse is an immensely powerful card in any deck that uses the second paragraph of text, but breaking the legend rule for spiders matters a lot more in a deck full of Spider-Men.

Swarmyard Massacre was designed foremost to work with squirrels, but spiders pick up this great one-sided sweeper as well. Mary Jane Watson provides some excellent card draw for a dedicated deck, and Madame Web, Clairvoyant, though blue, gives you a Future Sight effect for spiders.

Wrap Up (in Webs)

Shelob, Dread Weaver | Illustration by Warren Mahy

Spiders in MTG are now split between the traditional eight-legged creepy-crawlies and about a million legends all named Spider-Man. Spidey and friends gave the creature type an immense amount of depth, even if it feels weird to have some dude in a superhero costume leading your web-weaving spider legion.

Have you made any changes to your spider decks post Spider-Man, or did any of those new legends inspire you to build one for the first time? Do you have any qualms mixing the typical spiders in MTG with those from the Spider-Verse? Let me know in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord.

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