First printed in Marvel's Spider-Man (2025)
Legendary Creature — Human Scientist Villain
Other Villains you control get +2/+2.
Your maximum hand size is eight.
At the beginning of your end step, if you have fewer than eight cards in hand, draw cards equal to the difference.
"Soon all will cower before the superior intellect of Doctor Octopus!"
4/8
- Illustrated by
- Xabi Gaztelua
Legality
- Legal in
- Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Future Standard, Historic, Timeless, Alchemy, Gladiator, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker, Brawl, Standard Brawl, Competitive Brawl
- Not legal in
- Pauper, Penny Dreadful, Premodern, Old School 93/94, Pauper Commander, PreDH, Tiny Leaders
Rulings (3)
- If multiple effects modify your hand size, apply them in timestamp order. For example, if you put Spellbook (an artifact that says you have no maximum hand size) onto the battlefield and then put Doctor Octopus, Master Planner onto the battlefield, your maximum hand size will be eight. However, if those permanents entered in the opposite order, you would have no maximum hand size.
- The number of cards you ultimately draw may be affected by replacement effects. For example, if you have six cards in hand as Doctor Octopus's last ability resolves, and you also control Thought Reflection (an enchantment that says "If you would draw a card, draw two cards instead"), you'll end up drawing four cards.
- Your maximum hand size is checked only during the cleanup step of your turn. At any other time, you may have any number of cards in hand.
Prices
MTGO price: 0.02 TIX, the cheapest non-foil print (average sell price on GoatBots, 1 Nov 2026).
In Limited on MTG Arena
Win rates in Arena drafts and sealed, retrieved from 17Lands (CC BY 4.0).
| Set | GIH WR | vs set | IWD | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Through the Omenpaths (OM1), Sealed | 66.5% | +8.5 | +11.4 | 678 |
- GIH WR
- win rate of the games in which the card was in the opening hand or drawn
- vs set
- points above or below the average win rate of all decks in the set
- IWD
- improvement when drawn: GIH WR minus the win rate when the card stayed in the library
- Games
- games in which the card was seen
Combos
13 combos, the most popular first:
- Near-infinite turns, Lock: Doctor Octopus, Master Planner + Lyla, Holographic Assistant + Sage of Hours + Skirge Familiar
- Near-infinite turns, Lock: Doctor Octopus, Master Planner + Lyla, Holographic Assistant + Psychic Frog + Sage of Hours
- Near-infinite turns, Lock: Doctor Octopus, Master Planner + Ghostly Pilferer + Lyla, Holographic Assistant + Sage of Hours
- Near-infinite turns, Lock: Doctor Octopus, Master Planner + Lyla, Holographic Assistant + Sage of Hours + Witch-king of Angmar
- Near-infinite turns, Lock: Doctor Octopus, Master Planner + Lyla, Holographic Assistant + Putrid Imp + Sage of Hours
- Near-infinite turns, Lock: Doctor Octopus, Master Planner + Lyla, Holographic Assistant + Prognostic Sphinx + Sage of Hours
- Near-infinite turns, Lock: Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty + Doctor Octopus, Master Planner + Lyla, Holographic Assistant + Sage of Hours
- Lock, Near-infinite turns: Doctor Octopus, Master Planner + Hardened Academic + Lyla, Holographic Assistant + Sage of Hours
- Lock, Near-infinite turns: Doctor Octopus, Master Planner + Iron-Shield Elf + Lyla, Holographic Assistant + Sage of Hours
- Near-infinite turns, Lock: Doctor Octopus, Master Planner + Lyla, Holographic Assistant + Mind Over Matter + Sage of Hours
