As preview season for MTG Marvel Super Heroes marches on, we’re getting a whistle-stop tour of one of the deepest character rosters in comics. The Captain Americas and Iron Men of the world are present, of course, but we’re also getting some real deep cuts here, too. Few MTG players likely had niche villain Absorbing Man on their bingo cards, for example, but he’s here nonetheless. Rather than give this lesser-known character a mediocre uncommon, however, Wizards has seen fit to make him one of the more intriguing Commanders in the set.
Absorbing Man MTG
Absorbing Man is the inverse of most MTG Clone effects, letting you copy pretty much anything except creatures each turn. Right out of the gate, this lets him copy some of the best advantage engines in Commander, like Rhystic Study and Mystic Remora. Remora is a particularly nice option, since Absorbing Man will revert back to a creature before your turn starts to dodge Cumulative Upkeep.
What’s particularly notable here is that Absorbing Man retains his name when he copies something, which lets you copy legendary permanents. If you thought having just one The Great Henge or The One Ring in play was good, wait until Absorbing Man gives you two. You can take this even further by bringing in non-legendary creature Clones, like Spark Double, to copy Absorbing Man and make even more copies.
Absorbing Man also plays very nicely with both Vehicles and Rooms, letting you get a lot more out of these lesser-seen card types. By copying Vehicles with high Crew costs, like Esika’s Chariot or Reaver Titan, Absorbing Man gets these bangers attacking much faster than usual. With Rooms, Absorbing Man will ‘remember’ the doors you unlock after it reverts, letting you get sneaky discounts on the likes of Fractured Realm.
The fact that Absorbing Man can copy lands is perhaps the most unique thing about him, and it opens up a range of interesting options. Simply becoming a land effectively lets him serve as a mana dork, and you can get extra uses out of utility lands like Mistrise Village to boot. If you want to get really funky, you can copy Dark Depths for an easy 20/20 token, or Earthbend Absorbing Man while it’s a land to save the delayed recursion trigger for later.
Can I Copy Your Combo?
As you’d expect from such a freeform copy card, Absorbing Man also unlocks a range of MTG combos. It can easily make infinite mana with Freed from the Real, for example, when paired with a land that taps for 1U like Simic Growth Chamber. Simply copy the land with Absorbing Man, tap him for two mana, then spend one blue to untap him and repeat the process. This lets you win on the spot with Walking Ballista, or you can add in Unctus, Grand Metatect to loot through your entire deck instead.
If you really want to commit to the self-mill plan, Absorbing Man can get rid of your whole deck in one go with Mirror-Mad Phantasm and Liquimetal Torque. Turn Phantasm into an artifact with Torque, and Absorbing Man will then be able to copy it. Next, activate Absorbing Man’s new ability, shuffling it into your deck and totally milling out. Follow this up with Thassa’s Oracle or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries for an easy instant win.
With so much flexibility and combo potential, Absorbing Man looks like a very scary new Simic Commander indeed. It’ll likely do even more work in the 99, too, especially in higher brackets where you can double down on value engines or snatch them from opponents instead. Given its power level, I expect this card to seriously bolster Absorbing Man’s reputation as a character when it lands later this month.
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