Table of Contents
“Mum, can we have The Mind Stone?”
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/21/the-mind-stone
“No, we have [The Mind Stone at home.”
The Mind Stone at home:
https://scryfall.com/card/wth/153/mind-stone
We are back for another Marvel set. This one is Marvel Super Heroes, so we get to see the rest of the cast rather than just focusing on Spider-Man.
I am going to be talking about my top 10 picks for the best cards from the main set. So, no ancillary products, Commander decks, scene boxes, or Jumpstart-exclusive cards. You can find my Commander upgrade guides here.
Although, speaking about Jumpstart, we do have [[Doctor Doom, Unrivaled]], which would have made my list otherwise. This is going to see play.
Honourable Mention: Rare Dual Land Cycle
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/264/dark-fortress
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/266/gathering-place
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/269/hidden-lair
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/267/gleaming-bastion
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/275/training-compound
I would like to start off with an honourable mention. Well, five really, as they are the rare dual land cycle of the set.
These are going to be solid lands for Commander, and I can see them being used in other formats too. The closest lands I can compare them to are the pain lands, like [[Shivan Reef]]. But instead of taking damage for coloured mana, you get it for free.
Well, at least on the turn you play them, or if you control a basic. This cost is so minor. You always have the colour when you play it, and then a very low cost to keep making coloured mana.
I also like this land cycle because it punishes greedy mana bases. The fewer basics you run, the less likely these are to consistently make coloured mana. I would like to see more designs like this.
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1: Nick Fury
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/25/nick-fury-agent-of-shield
I normally don’t include cEDH cards, as it is such a small subset of players. But I have been playing more cEDH, and I want to highlight some choices in my first few picks.
[[Nick Fury]] is only going to see play in cEDH, outside of the few players wanting to do five-colour hero decks. This is because [[Nick Fury]] is now the cheapest five-colour commander we have.
There is a reason [[Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh]] is one of the top commanders. We are disregarding the ability for [[Nick Fury]]. We only care about it giving him the five-colour colour identity.
The reason you want a cheap commander is to play certain cards. You get to play cards like [[Fierce Guardianship]] and [[Deflecting Swat]], as these are always active with a one-mana commander. You also get access to [[Culling the Weak]] as a big ritual to cast [[Necropotence]] or [[Ad Nauseam]].
Previously, the cheapest five-colour commanders were [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]], [[Jenson Carthalion, Druid Exile]], or [[The Wandering Minstrel]]. [[The Wandering Minstrel]] is likely still being played, as it makes other combos work. But [[Nick Fury]] is going to replace the other two, as they have about as much relevant text but cost more.
2: Jennifer Walters
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/18/jennifer-walters-the-sensational-she-hulk
[[Jennifer Walters]] is another sort of cEDH card, but this can also be played in regular EDH.
This is a legendary version of [[Voice of Victory]], although it is more limiting as it is green-white and not just white. Because [[The Sensational She-Hulk]] is green-white, that adds to the colour identity.
Just having more copies of this silence-type effect is very powerful in Commander. This becomes more relevant the higher power you go. Being able to combo off without your opponents being able to interact means you know you are safe to do what you want.
3: Super-Soldier Serum
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/38/super-soldier-serum
[[Super-Soldier Serum]] is going to be a staple card for Voltron. Giving +2/+2, first strike, and vigilance is not bad for two mana.
It does make the creature legendary, but that doesn’t matter if you are putting this on your Commander anyway. But there is more to [[Super-Soldier Serum]], and that is the reason it made my list.
“Whenever enchanted creature attacks or blocks, attach any number of target Equipment you control to it.”
So this gets around all those annoying high equip costs, allowing you to suit up your commander and swing some haymakers. This is going to be a menace in casual Voltron decks.
4: Mjolnir, Hammer of Thor
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/146/mj%C3%B6lnir-hammer-of-thor
Speaking of Equipment, how about [[Mjolnir, Hammer of Thor]]?
This one is great to equip if you’re in a Boros Voltron deck, as it doubles all damage dealt. I want to equip this to [[Wolverine, Best There Is]], as he also has double damage, so you get exponential 4x damage.
I can also see [[Mjolnir, Hammer of Thor]] being played in Standard, mostly for the last ability:
“{2}{R}, Discard this card: It deals 2 damage to each creature.”
So, an uncounterable [[Pyroclasm]], killing all the [[Llanowar Elves]] and [[Badgermole Cub]]s. It even has targeted removal for a bigger target, dealing four when it enters.
It is a shame you can’t flash this in to kill an [[Ouroboroid]]. Although I think the funniest part of this card is what can be considered worthy. I’m pretty sure that [[Heartless Hidetsugu]] isn’t worthy, but according to Magic, it is.
It also forms a fun combo to nuke the table. Just make sure you are at an odd life total before activating.
5: King T’Challa
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/219/king-tchalla-black-panther-hope-enduring
[[King T’Challa]] is my next pick. This is a legendary version of [[Faerie Mastermind]], but there is a key difference.
[[King T’Challa]] can trigger off any player drawing their second card. So, if you draw two, you get a free third card.
I can see this being played in the Azorius control decks of Standard, as well as being your Commander. Although it is far more telegraphed when he is sat there as your commander.
But if that is preventing your opponents from wanting to draw more, then it is helping give a different kind of card advantage.
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6: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/193/the-unbeatable-squirrel-girl
Squirrels.
[[The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl]] has caused some big spikes in cards, with [[Scurry of Squirrels]] being one of the more recent ones.
[[Krenko, Mob Boss]] is a top-five commander on EDHREC and has been for years. For good reason, too. You can just dump out an army of Goblins from nowhere.
Both [[Krenko, Mob Boss]] and [[The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl]] are exponential commanders. The more creatures of the type you have, the more you make.
The biggest difference, other than colour and creature type, is the cost. With [[The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl]], you have to pay mana into it, which sucks. But it is not as bad as you think, mainly because it is not a once-per-turn effect.
That is the downside to [[Krenko, Mob Boss]]: there aren’t as many ways to untap him. But you can have a lot of mana for [[The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl]].
While [[Gaea’s Cradle]] is stupid money, it gets nuts with [[The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl]]. Another Reserved List card is [[Earthcraft]]. This goes infinite if you can make at least four Squirrels, as you can tap them to untap your basics, making more mana to do it again.
They don’t need haste, as [[Earthcraft]] is doing the tapping. If you don’t have the money, or you are willing to proxy them, you can just play slower with cards like [[Enduring Vitality]], although you will need a haste enabler to go infinite.
There are also a couple of imitation [[Gaea’s Cradle]] cards now, like [[Growing Rites of Itlimoc]] or [[Three Tree City]].
7: Avengers Disassembled
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/124/avengers-disassembled
[[Anger of the Gods]] saw decent play when it was Standard legal, so I think [[Avengers Disassembled]] can too.
I get that Standard has changed a lot over the years, but a three-mana deal-three board wipe is a reasonable rate. It does a lot of the same work as I discussed with [[Mjolnir, Hammer of Thor]].
For Commander, it can pull double duty by removing a problem land. Say, a [[Gaea’s Cradle]] or [[Three Tree City]] from your [[The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl]] opponent.
Just having that option on a board wipe is nice.
8: Mole Man, Moloid Master
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/177/mole-man-moloid-master
Somehow, all my picks are changing into each other, as [[Mole Man, Moloid Master]] can bring you back that land.
I definitely see this being in the 99 of decks more than being a Commander. There are so many Landfall decks now, and [[Mole Man, Moloid Master]] will help enable them.
This adds to the growing number of [[Crucible of Worlds]] effects we now have. [[Mole Man, Moloid Master]] is also likely to see play in the Landfall deck, going right alongside [[Icetill Explorer]].
9: Bruce Banner // The Incredible Hulk
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/49/bruce-banner-the-incredible-hulk
[[Bruce Banner]] was one of the first cards shown for Marvel Super Heroes, and it caused a massive price spike in [[Caltrops]], going from around $4 to $40. It has settled down, but it is still double the old price at around $8.
This is all because of the flip side, [[The Incredible Hulk]], gaining infinite combats due to the enrage mechanic.
This is also a huge flavour win, tying in an existing Magic mechanic to match the lore with [[The Incredible Hulk]]. [[The Incredible Hulk]] is one of the more iconic Marvel characters, so expect to see it in your Commander games.
There is some talk about it making its way into cEDH, due to the combo as well as [[Bruce Banner]] being a cheap Commander. Although it is fighting with [[Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh]] and [[Thrasios, Triton Hero]] as the Temur deck, so it has a big fight.
10: Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu
https://scryfall.com/card/msh/187/shang-chi-master-of-kung-fu
My final card is [[Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu]]. This is a big one I am looking forward to, mainly for my [[Sisay, Weatherlight Captain]] cEDH deck.
But I also think it has plenty of viability outside of cEDH. [[Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu]] is one of the few ways to give haste in mono-green. That is mostly a red mechanic.
While it isn’t true haste, only allowing activated abilities, it does still give a lot of flexibility. Any mana dork becomes free, as they can then pay for themselves.
[[Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy]] decks are going to love it, turning all the mana dorks into rituals instead, as now they make more mana than they cost.
I can also see it in the [[Ouroboroid]] deck in Standard, being a ritual for the [[Llanowar Elves]] when you have [[Badgermole Cub]] out.
It is also one of the ways to go infinite with [[Enduring Vitality]] in the [[The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl]] deck.
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Final Thoughts
Say what you will about the Universes Beyond sets, Wizards has nailed Marvel Super Heroes. There are so many top cards in the set. This is one set where I wanted more than 10 slots, just so I could highlight more cards.
If you’re feeling lucky, Jumpstart is worth a buy, as there are some absolute bangers in there. I already talked about [[Doctor Doom, Unrivaled]], but [[Nico Minoru, Runaway]] is another card to look out for, among others.
I say you need to be lucky because, if you’re hunting for a specific card, there are 51 different theme packs. It also has 180 mechanically unique cards and over 60 exclusive reprints.
I love that they have brought back the Final Fantasy-style showcase cards. So you have a really clean way to show off your favourite card for a Commander. Or, if you want to go a bit more stylised, there is the Classic Comic Book style instead.
While not covering as many cards, and being harder to read, I will make an exception for these. Normally, I don’t like cards that are difficult to read, but these are sweet.
I think my dislike usually comes when the card is made harder to read just for the sake of it. But here, it is to make them look like comic book covers, and they have done that brilliantly.
Thanks for staying with me. If you want to get any booster booxes, commander decks or Magic: The Gathering product, you can get it right here at Gathering Games.
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