Given the record-setting volume of legendary creatures in Marvel Super Heroes, it isn’t surprising that the set is having a big impact in Commander. Players are still discovering cool ways to maximize the new build-arounds, even in more competitive settings. Mole Man, Moloid Master, for example, just had its first Duel Commander League 5-0 as an infinite Landfall payoff.
Amassing a Minion Army
Thanks to the multitude of mana dorks present, casting Mole Man on turn two isn’t difficult. Once in play, you get access to both a Crucible of Worlds and a token-spewing machine all rolled up into one. The key to getting the most out of your army in a can is to be able to trigger Landfall multiple times a turn, which this deck is built to do.
Right off the bat, having access to any Fetch land variant, including Cabaretti Courtyard and Brokers Hideout, gives you an easy path to multiple triggers per turn. When combined with Exploration or Azusa, Lost but Seeking, you’ll quickly accrue a mana and board advantage.
When you’re able to start attacking with your 1/1 tokens, you have the benefit of Milling other utility lands you can play. Finding Glacial Chasm to stave off opposing pressure or Dust Bowl to slowly obliterate multicolor decks puts you in a great position. Plus, the more lands you get in the graveyard, the stronger Splendid Reclamation and Aftermath Analyst become as support pieces.
Notably, while a single activation of Aftermath Analyst is powerful, the Elf does enable infinite combos alongside Shifting Woodland. To start, you need to find a land sacrifice outlet like Zuran Orb or Sylvan Safekeeper and a card that nets you mana when lands enter, such as Lotus Cobra or Tireless Provisioner.
From there, assuming you have Delirium and Aftermath Analyst in your graveyard post-activation, you’ll want to copy the Elf with Shifting Woodland. Then, tap your other lands to float a bunch of mana, and sacrifice them individually. By following up with a Shifting Woodland activation, you’ll get to bring all of your lands back and net a bunch of mana to repeat the process. With infinite mana and Minion tokens at your disposal, winning should become trivial.
Buying Time and Turning the Corner
While Landfall strategies are nothing new to Duel Commander, what sets Mole Man apart is its ability to create early game blockers. Assembling all of your elite synergies takes time, and an easy way for slower Landfall variants to lose is to get run over by aggro decks. Additionally, with the help of other Landfall payoffs like Scythecat Cub and Earthbender Ascension, these tokens can turn the corner surprisingly fast.
Unfortunately, these strengths don’t come without a handful of weaknesses which could hold Mole Man back. This Commander’s puny stats make it vulnerable to all sorts of removal spells before you can get your engine rolling. Toxic Deluge is especially brutal since it threatens to clean up your whole board while potentially leaving your opponent’s intact.
Things get even harder if your opponent has graveyard hate, which the ever-popular Quintorius, History Chaser decks often pack. You also have minimal interaction of your own, which can leave you vulnerable to big fliers like Murktide Regent out of Spider-Man 2099 decks. As a result, this archetype’s success is very matchup dependent, and only time will tell if it has what it takes to keep putting up results.
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