While preview season for the Marvel Super Heroes main set was just a week long, Wizards stuffed it to the brim with new cards. In fact, this is the biggest Standard-legal set of all time, with a whopping 386 cards in total. Though, as you’d expect, not everything’s a banger in a batch this big, there are still plenty of great cards packed in here. Thankfully, we’re here to help cut through all the chaff, with our picks for the best new cards in MTG Marvel Super Heroes.
Honorable Mention: New Dual Lands
Marvel Super Heroes’ new land cycle falls in an interesting place among recent dual land offerings. These lands always tap for both their colors the turn they enter, but they fall off hard unless you can get a basic land into play fast. With new cycles like the Verges and Surveil lands now in the mix, Commander mana bases are running fewer basics than ever, so this is a real issue.
That said, I definitely still see them being played, specifically in two-color Commander lists or budget decks with lots of basics. Though they won’t fit just anywhere, decks with a decent basic count like Selesnya Landfall could find room for them.
Honorable Mention: The Mind Stone
Like The Soul Stone before it, The Mind Stone is a fantastic mana rock with a ton of upside. Indestructible is huge here, and the Harness ability is arguably even better than The Soul Stone’s since you don’t need to give up a creature for it. On top of that, simply being a ramp option for white is big in itself, since the color isn’t exactly blessed in that department.
Despite all of this, The Mind Stone only makes the honorable mentions here because it’s very unlikely to see play outside of Commander. Unless it’s a really powerful piece like Badgermole Cub, two-mana ramp just isn’t really cutting the mustard in constructed these days.
The Soul Stone only saw scattered one-of play in a few lists, and I expect The Mind Stone to follow suit. Unfortunately for those looking to assemble all six Infinity Stones, I also expect this one to be similarly expensive, regardless of its narrow applications.
5 | Avengers Disassembled
Even in today’s hyper-efficient game, three mana for a three damage board wipe is a great deal. Anger of the Gods still sees regular play in Pioneer, after all, and even more in Commander. While it lacks that card’s potent exile clause, Avengers Disassembled more than makes up for it with its second option, which gives it a ton of versatility.
At its simplest, this is a great way to get problematic nonbasic lands off the board, be it Gaea’s Cradle in Commander, or Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in Pioneer. Alternatively, you can use it on your own Indestructible lands, like Darksteel Citadel, to turn it into a pseudo-ramp piece.
Land destruction decks built around similar effects have seen fluctuating success in both Pioneer and Modern, so Avengers Disassembled is a big win for those lists. Additionally, it could easily show up in Standard as a stabilization tool for decks like Jeskai Control. Throw in the inevitable deluge of Commander play it’ll see, and Avengers Disassembled is clearly one of the best new MTG cards in Marvel Super Heroes.
4 | World War Hulk
Sagas often suffer from spacing out their effects too slowly, but World War Hulk gets around that problem by bringing the heat up front. Getting to cheat out any red or green creature for five mana is a fantastic deal, letting you drop huge threats like Progenitus in Standard. In Commander, it’s even better, as it also lets you cheat costs and commander tax on chunky Commanders like Etali, Primal Conqueror.
World War Hulk would probably see plenty of play as a sorcery with this text alone, but the other two chapters are nice cherries on top. As a potent new mana cheat option, I expect World War Hulk to see a ton of play in Commander, and possibly enable new archetypes in constructed to boot.
3 | Mole Man, Moloid Master
Despite its humble appearance, Mole Man is one of the best multi-format legendaries from Marvel Super Heroes. In Commander, this new Landfall creature is great in both the command zone and the 99 alike. Simply being another Crucible of Worlds effect is solid in itself, but the fact that Mole Man comes bundled with its own payoff takes things to another level.
Unlike most Commander bangers, Mole Man actually looks to have a ton of play in Standard, too. With Selesnya Landfall still topping event results, this card is a shoo-in for serious competitive use. While its low stats are a real cause for concern, I still expect this new legend to be one of the most widely-played cards from the set when the dust settles.
2 | King T’Challa//Black Panther, Hope Enduring
King T’Challa feels almost custom-made for cEDH, providing a fantastic new draw engine for the format for a very reasonable cost. With how often players are drawing multiple times a turn thanks to Rhystic Study and friends, this can easily net you multiple cards per cycle. While it’s less effective at lower-power tables, the ability to draw off of your own extra draws makes it a reasonable build-around, stapled to a late-game threat.
Over in standard, King T’Challa could have a real shot at showing up in the various Azorius lists in the format right now. Both the tempo-driven Azorius Momo and the grindy Azorius High Noon could find slots for a Flash draw engine. Heck, it could even see play in Jeskai Control out of the sideboard, since the back side makes a pretty stellar finisher.
1 | Mjölnir, Hammer of Thor
While Mjölnir razzles and dazzles with all its fun, thematic text, the final line is sneakily the best part. A three mana, instant speed, uncounterable Pyroclasm is a big deal, and could easily slot into a ton of decks by itself. Whether you’re playing Standard or Commander, the rate is good enough here that a ton of red decks will run it, regardless of archetype.
Of course, there’s plenty more to Mjölnir than that, since it also serves as a removal spell and a funky Equipment. Four mana for four damage is underwhelming, but the flexibility is certainly welcome. While the Equip Worthy ability is fairly niche, it can do some pretty scary things, especially in Commander with the likes of Vivi Ornitier.
All of this is to say nothing of the card’s more obvious applications, either, as an auto-include in Equipment and Voltron decks. Once you weigh it all up, it’s hard to argue any MTG card is more worthy of the ‘best in Marvel Super Heroes’ title than Mjölnir, Hammer of Thor.
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