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Commander Nexus
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  3. Arachne, Psionic Weaver

Command zone

Arachne, Psionic Weaver

Arachne, Psionic Weaver

Legendary Creature — Spider Human Hero

Arachne wants a deck that plays small creatures that make life hard for opponents. It also suits a deck that slows the whole table down with rules everyone must follow.

  • Mana cost2 genericwhite
  • White ()
  • Power / toughness3 / 3
  • RarityRare

Web-slinging white (You may cast this spell for white if you also return a tapped creature you control to its owner's hand.)

As Arachne enters, look at an opponent's hand, then choose a card type other than creature.

Spells of the chosen type cost 1 generic more to cast.

Build a deck with Arachne Find it in the app

Themes

Cards That Fit Arachne, Psionic Weaver

Picked for what they do in Arachne's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Arachne's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Arachne, Psionic Weaver

explain how Arachne works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 19 Sep 2025

Card types other than creature include artifact, battle, enchantment, instant, kindred, planeswalker, and sorcery. Technically, you could also choose land, but lands are never cast, so doing so would have no effect. (The same is true for card types that don't appear in most games, like plane or scheme.)

Wizards of the Coast 19 Sep 2025

If any permanent has an ability that triggers when the permanent you return leaves the battlefield, that ability will be put on the stack after you finish casting the spell, and it will resolve before that spell.

Wizards of the Coast 19 Sep 2025

The creature you return must be tapped at the time you pay costs, but doesn't necessarily need to be tapped before you start casting the spell. For example, if you tap a creature with a mana ability to pay part of the spell's web-slinging cost, you could also return that creature to your hand to pay the cost.

Wizards of the Coast 19 Sep 2025

Web-slinging represents an alternative cost. If another effect allows you to play a card for a different alternative cost, including "without paying its mana cost," you can't also choose to pay its web-slinging cost. If any additional costs from other sources are applied, you must pay those.

Wizards of the Coast 19 Sep 2025

You can't choose a subtype, such as creature types like Spider or Hero, artifact types like Treasure or Food, or enchantment types like Aura.

Wizards of the Coast 19 Sep 2025

You must follow all normal timing rules when casting a spell with web-slinging. For creatures, that usually means you must cast it during a main phase of your turn while the stack is empty.

6 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Arachne, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWPlayers write colors as letters: W for white.HatebearsHatebears decks play cheap creatures that each carry a rule making life harder for opponents, such as spells costing more. Each one is small, but together they slow the whole table down while they attack.Open the Hatebears pageCost TaxMakes spells, abilities or attacks cost MORE for your opponents, and sometimes for everyone including you. It never stops anything outright: a player with mana to spare pays and carries on. What it does is slow the table down and punish decks built on lots of cheap spells. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Sphere of Resistance, Grand Arbiter Augustin IVOpen the Cost Tax pageSpell TaxCharges opponents extra to cast their spells: either they pay up, or you get something out of it. Rhystic Study, Esper SentinelOpen the Spell Tax pageStaxStax decks slow the whole game down with cards that make spells cost more, stop lands from untapping, or limit what players can do each turn. The deck is built so those limits hurt it least. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check with your table first.Open the Stax pageCost ModificationChanges what a spell costs to cast: cheaper for you, or more expensive for everyone. It is the broad family; Cost Reducer and Spell Tax say which direction a given card goes. Herald's Horn, Foundry InspectorOpen the Cost Modification pageStax/TaxMakes the game more expensive or more restrictive for everyone: taxing spells and attacks, or stopping permanents from untapping. Propaganda, Ghostly Prison. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check what your table expects first.Open the Stax/Tax pageTypal/KindredTypal decks are built around one creature type, like Elves, Dragons or Zombies, with cards that make that type stronger. The type is printed after the dash on the card's type line, and the strategy is also called kindred or tribal.Open the Typal/Kindred pageTypal PayoffRewards you for playing lots of one kind of creature. That includes "lords" that make every other Goblin or Merfolk you control bigger, and cards that ask you to choose a creature type and then pay you off for it. A creature type is the word on the middle line of the card, like Goblin, Elf or Zombie.Open the Typal Payoff page