Despite reveals for the main Marvel Super Heroes’ set having come and gone, we’re now only starting to see the new Commander precon cards. With four new decks for players to try out of the box, there are tons of Commander goodies for players to enjoy.
Finally, after weeks of waiting, the first of these precons has finally come to light. Focused around Hero Typal, Avengers Assemble offers tons of new cards that have never been revealed before. Sadly, only a select few are particularly interesting.
MTG Avengers Assemble
Offering a total of 28 Heroes, Avengers Assemble has everything you need to experience Hero Typal at its best. That said, while there are tons of new cards to see, a few standout gems that could find themselves in a variety of different MTG decks.
As far as Heroes go, Thor, Asgard’s Avenger, is probably the highlight here. Adding one damage to any source you control that deals damage, Thor is an instant add in any decks that are dealing damage in multiple small increments. The Lord of Pain, Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph, and Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot are a few of the best examples, but Thor could end up in all kinds of aggressive red decks.
Speaking of aggressive decks, Jocasta, Automoton Avenger is an interesting new card for all kinds of attacking Commanders. Its individual impact is rather limited, but Jocasta can become a consistent threat alongside Commanders that synergize with her. Falcon and Redwing, another notable new card for go-wide decks, is an example of this, creating a board of fliers that scale with the damage it deals.
If you’re after new infinite combo enablers, Photon Mighty Marvel is a particularly interesting new card. If you can get this Commander to five power, you’ll be able to create infinite combats alongside Aggravated Assault. While not combo enablers themselves, Quicksilver, Speedster and Captain Mar-Vell, Space-Born can make it a lot easier to pull existing combos off by giving everything you cast Flash.
Stepping away from combo cards, Black Widow, Agile Avenger is an interesting draw punisher for the deck that can run her. Not having access to Flash is a bit awkward, but more often than not, you’ll end up drawing at least a few cards off this legend anyway. The color identity holds Black Widow back, however, preventing her from playing in the draw-centric Azorius decks that could take advantage of her best.
Despite not fitting too well in Avengers Assembled, Shang Chi and the Ten Rings is good because of his color identity. This is likely the most interesting individual Commander option in the deck, especially when used alongside counter manipulation.
While the new Heroes are the stars of the show in Avengers Assembled, the best new card in this deck is an instant. Methods of the Mighty will almost always be a two-for-one in any Commander game, but it can buff a wide board of creatures, too. This could easily become a White Commander staple, seeing play in all kinds of different decks.
The Rest
Sadly, despite an onslaught of new cards in Avengers Assemble, many of these don’t play well outside of Hero Typal decks. For cards like Jarvis, Earth’s Mightiest Butler, The Wasp, Winsome Avenger, and She-Hulk, Wallbreaker, this is pretty self-explanatory. Outside of Hero Typal, all of the applications of these cards are halved, if not outright wasted.
For other cards, the mana value of many of the new cards doesn’t justify their cost without support. This is the case with most of the new cards in Avengers Assemble, with Professor Hulk, Hercules, Olympian Hero, and Winter Soldier, Reborn Avenger all being great examples. While the effects these cards provide are interesting, they aren’t worth paying five or six mana for.
That said, for some specific niche decks, there are a few interesting upgrades in Avengers Assemble. Hawkeye, Avenging Archer, for example, is a great new Pinger for Ghryson Starn, Kelemorph decks. Similarly, Scarlet Witch, Chaotic Avenger could be interesting in decks set up to cast massive noncreature spells, while War Machine, Avenging Arsenal is a powerful addition to Voltron strategies.
There are a fair few new noncreature spells in Avengers Assemble too, but none look too powerful outside Methods of the Mighty. Avenge and Heroic Sacrifice are probably the most notable of these, each having its own applications in specific strategies. The rest of the cards, however, like Heroic Return, West Coast Expansion, Avengers Quinjet, and Hulkbuster Armor, offer Hero-related payoffs that are, frankly, not even impressive in Hero Typal decks.
Finally, there are a few cards that don’t seem strong enough to see much play anywhere. Love on the Battlefield, Ant-Man, Elusive Avenger, and Firebird, Blazing Ranger are some examples of this, offering payoffs that commonly aren’t worth their inclusions. While there are some hyper-specific commanders that might want these, none of them are overly exciting.
Best Reprints
While many of Wizards of the Coast’s new Hero Typal cards miss the mark, typal fans should be quite excited about the reprints on offer here. Kindred Discovery, Raise the Palisade, and Door of Destinies, three of the best typal payoffs in MTG, appear in Avengers Assemble. Worth $14, $10, and $8 respectively, these reprints should help make these cards more affordable for any Typal decks that can play them.
Typal cards aside, the best reprints in Avengers Assembled are, surprisingly, lands. Part of the Battlebond land cycle, Spectator Seating is the most impressive one here, boasting a $16 reprint value. Plaza of Heroes, a land that could frankly go in any Commander deck, appears here at $9, as well. This is a nice reprieve from the terrible mana bases seen in older Commander precons.
While there are a few other notable reprints here, like Folk Hero at $8.50, a majority of the potential value in this deck will likely be in new cards that take off across formats. Frankly, some very powerful Heroes will need to be printed in future sets for this to happen, but that might be surprisingly likely. With three more Infinity Stones to collect, there’s still plenty of potential for future Marvel sets in MTG. Thanks to this, Avengers Assemble may soon become a surprisingly valuable precon.
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