Despite its clear Commander focus, Marvel Super Heroes has impacted the Constructed scene in several ways. From broken Vehicles to combo-centric equipment, this new set has no shortage of powerful tools worth crafting around.
While Eternal formats definitely received the biggest shakeups, a cool new archetype has also emerged in Modern thanks to Marvel Super Heroes. Built to maximize Namor, the Sub-Mariner, this mono-blue shell already has a Magic Online Modern Challenge top 8 and a handful of League 5-0s under its belt.
Control Gameplan and Tempo Finish
The main objective behind this mono-blue deck is to keep your opponent off-balance until you can jam Namor and ride it to victory. Early in the game, efficient counterspells like Spell Snare and Stern Scolding help prevent you from falling too far behind. Should a problematic creature sneak through, The Wondrous Wasp may be able to keep it under control for a little while.
Once you resolve Namor, your game plan shifts to simply protecting it and flooding the board with tokens. Luckily, even if you’re forced to tap out for the three-drop, both Force of Negation and Disrupting Shoal can ward off removal. Notably, even as free spells, these tools still trigger Namor’s ability and net you multiple tokens each.
After untapping with Namor, you unlock a wave of disruptive elements like Archmage’s Charm and Cryptic Command that are heavy on blue pips. By playing this “protect the queen” strategy, it won’t take long before you’re attacking for a ton of damage in the air. Vodalian Hexmage‘s token-buffing ability only speeds up your clock further, while simultaneously turning your tokens into Force Spikes when necessary.
All-In to Win
Ultimately, how well this archetype does depends a lot on how well you draw and the matchups you face. When you’re able to curve counterspells into turn three Namor with protection, games will feel unlosable. Outside of this, slower control decks, as well as combo decks, are naturally vulnerable to your array of spell-based disruption.
Unfortunately, because you need Namor to close out games, this deck can be very inconsistent. In games where you don’t find Namor or Thoughtseize strips it, you’ll have almost no pressure. If that weren’t enough, quick starts from Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, counterspell proofing from Voice of Victory, or instant removal like Solitude can spell even more trouble for Namor.
Given these weaknesses, it seems unlikely that Mono-Blue Namor will emerge as a top-tier archetype, at least in its current state, but the deck is rattling off league wins and top eight challenge finishes regardless. Some players are also beginning to innovate within the archetype, so it’s certainly not worth writing the deck off yet.
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