Love it or hate it, Universes Beyond has fundamentally changed Magic: The Gathering. Every new crossover brings fresh debate over whether outside franchises belong in the game, but it also gives Commander players dozens of new legendary creatures to build around.
The recently released Marvel Super Heroes is no exception. Between the Avengers, Fantastic Four, a few X-Men, and iconic villains like Doctor Doom and Ultron, the set is packed with Commanders that appeal to wildly different playstyles. Some are obvious fan favorites. Others have emerged as surprise hits thanks to clever mechanics or powerful synergies. So which Marvel legendary creatures are actually worth building around? Using EDHREC data, these are the most popular Commanders from Marvel Super Heroes right now.
10
Crystal, Inhuman Princess
She might not be a household name for more casual Marvel fans, but Crystal, Inhuman Princess is a very worthy addition to the Fantastic Four precon.
For only three mana, she’s a 2/3 with flying that deals damage equal to the number of colors in a noncreature spell’s mana value when you play it. As a Commander, you want to build her with plenty of multicolored noncreature spells, but you’d also do well to incorporate cards that buff noncombat damage like Artist’s Talent, Chandra’s Incinerator, or even the brand-new Hawkeye, Young Avenger.
That, plus the fact she can tap for four colors of mana, makes her a versatile Commander indeed. That also makes her a four-color card to build around, and a relatively cheap mana dork you can bring out on turn three is very welcome indeed.
9
T’Challa, the Black Panther
A card that’s likely to be much more recognizable to just about any Marvel fan, T’Challa, the Black Panther is a Selesnya (white-green) card that helms the Wakanda Forever precon.
When T’Challa attacks, he creates a tapped Vibranium token. These indestructible artifact tokens tap to generate a single colorless mana that can only be used for artifact spells. When you cast an artifact spell worth four mana or higher, T’Challa gets +1/+1.
Given there are a bunch of these in the deck already across equipment like Panther Habit and Vibranium Strike Gauntlets, artifact creatures like Panther Robot, and traditional artifacts like Shuri’s Fabricator, it shouldn’t take long to make T’Challa a towering threat.
8
Ultron, Artificial Malevolence
Our first villain on this list is Ultron, Artificial Malevolence. It’s a three-cost, colorless artifact creature that lets you copy nontoken artifacts as they enter for two colorless mana.
Not only that, but if they’re not a creature, then Ultron transforms them into 2/2 creatures. If I wasn’t so against mixing universes in my decks, I’d be considering slipping this card into my Necron Dynasties Warhammer 40K precon (albeit as one of the 99).
It pairs nicely with in-universe cards like The Ten Rings or the Arc Reactor. These are powerful cards in their own right, but making them creatures is icing on the cake. And, if you’re happy to mix things up a little, Krang, Utrom Warlord can give all of your artifact creatures flying, trample, indestructible, and haste.
7
Captain America, Team Leader
Well, what do you know? It’s another Commander from a precon. This time it’s the face Commander of the Avengers Assemble deck, Captain America, Team Leader.
This colorful card gives hero types vigilance, haste, and a +1/+1 counter when they enter, while also powering up Cap with his own +1/+1 counter on each instance, too. He’s squarely a hero typal Commander that cares about +1/+1 counters, so there’s really only so much variation you can have with his core strategy.
That means you’ll want to get as many heroes onto the battlefield as possible, making cost-reducers like Herald’s Horn or backup commander Director Nick Fury ideal. Door of Destinies can also ensure they come in with counters, too. There are even a few shockingly potent Final Fantasy cards that generate hero tokens, namely Champions from Beyond and Aerith Rescue Mission. Also, any piece of Final Fantasy equipment with job select creatures a hero creature token by default!
6
The Astonishing Ant-Man
Just as he should, The Astonishing Ant-Man packs a bigger punch than you’d expect. A 1/1 that costs just two mana, this diminutive hero gets a +1/+1 counter when you draw.
Given that you’re drawing at least once a turn, you’re able to build him into a big force in his own right. Since we’re in Simic (green-blue), there are plenty of blue spells that can give you extra draw, and green is the best color for doubling down on +1/+1 counters. (Doubling Season is an absolute must-have here.) You can also turn Ant-Man’s counters into 1/1 green Insect creature tokens, too.
Two cards with synergy from the set here are Kid Loki and The Ten Rings. The former makes Ant-Man hexproof as long as you’ve added counters, while also netting you a +1/+1 on Kid Loki when you draw a second card each turn. On the other hand, The Ten Rings ensure you always draw cards up to ten in your hand, meaning you’re constantly getting either a bigger Ant-Man or more insect tokens.
5
Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The first appearance of the Power-up mechanic on this list, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a one-cost, 2/1 card to begin with.
Power-up can only be used once, but if you can find one of each color of mana, you can really get rolling. Doing so gives him two +1/+1 counters, and lets you grab a Hero, Equipment, or Vehicle card from your library and put it on the battlefield. Better yet, you can cheat out a double-sided card and instantly transform it. So you’ll want to include a card like Bruce Banner // The Incredible Hulk in your deck.
And, to reiterate, this version of Nick Fury is a five-color Commander that costs you a single white mana! That’s appealing for just about any deck brewer.
4
The Incredible Hulk/Bruce Banner
Speaking of two-faced cards, the combination of Bruce Banner // The Incredible Hulk is proving very popular.
The former nets you card draw, and the latter is an 8/8 with reach and trample. And, whenever Hulk takes damage while he’s attacking, he gets a +1/+1 counter and another combat phase. Ouch.
Caltrops is a well-explored combo here for triggering constant pain for our green pal, but you can also cheat him out of puny Banner with Moonmist at instant speed. Pyrohemia is also a neat inclusion because it deals 1 damage to each creature and each player for one red mana, meaning you can trigger Hulk’s extra combat step with ease.
3
The Invincible Iron Man/Tony Stark
Not to be outdone by his gamma-infused buddy, Tony Stark // The Invincible Iron Man takes the third spot on the list.
Tony Stark costs two mana and lets you put artifacts into your hand via his activated ability. Once you transform him (or suit up, I guess), he becomes a 5/5 with flying and haste. The Invincible Iron Man also lets you put an artifact onto the battlefield and instantly attach it if it’s an equipment card before combat every single turn
Naturally, that makes equipment the mechanic to build around, and there are some great choices here. Genji Glove for double strike and bonus combat phase is a nice option, while Adaptive Omnitool powers Iron Man up with +1/+1 for each artifact you control.
Pair the latter with some Artifact Lands like Great Furnace and Seat of the Synod, as well as Simulacrum Synthesizer, and Iron Man will become even more lethal.
2
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
Krenko, is that you? We’ve already covered how everyone’s favorite goblin has been painted a lovely shade of green with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, and this mono-green Commander takes second spot.
When she enters and attacks, you create a 1/1 green Squirrel token, and you can double the number of them with her activated ability. Squirrel supremacy!
To really get the acorn rolling, consider inclusions like Squirrel Sovereign to give +1/+1 counters to all squirrels, as well as Chitterspitter for acorn counters, and Scurry of Squirrels for double myriad.
1
Doctor Doom, King of Latveria
There are some awesome Doom cards in the set, but why does Doctor Doom, King of Latveria take top spot?
It could be that he’s the face Commander of the Doom Prevails precon, or just the fact that the full-art treatment is awesome. But it’s probably down to how he plays. Doctor Doom, King of Latveria makes opponents lose life as you discard, and that gets a lot easier with the connive mechanic being bestowed upon all villain cards you control.
An ideal companion here is Norman Osborn // Green Goblin from the Spider-Man set. The Norman Osborn part of the card connives, and then the Goblin side allows you to cast cheaper spells from your graveyard. Plus, there’s some nice villain flavor to tie them together.
The 10 best cards in Magic’s Marvel Super Heroes set
From infinite combos to new build-around Commanders, here’s what stands out
