At long last, the Doom Prevails! Marvel Super Heroes precon has been revealed to the world. With tons of Villain Typal goodies here, Marvel’s biggest bads might become a bona fide archetype in Commander. Even outside of Villain Typal, however, some new cards here, including an incredible Miracle enabler, may have some wider-reaching Commander applications.
MTG Molecule Man
Molecule Man isn’t just the most exciting card in Doom Prevails, but potentially the best Commander card in Marvel Super Heroes. Giving every nonland card in your library Miracle 0 is good in every deck, but becomes easily abusable with some setup.
Topdeck manipulation, like Scroll Rack and Sensei’s Divining Top, is the easiest way to maximize Molecule Man, ensuring the villain can make some massive haymakers free. Notably, since Miracle triggers on each player’s turn, cantrips like Consider can get extra spells out of Molecule Man. Throw in a card like Lorehold, the Historian, and Molecule Man can cast as many as four free spells per turn cycle.
Notably, because Miracle ignores timing, Molecule Man isn’t just restricted to decks with lots of instants. Even if you draw a creature card on an opponent’s turn, Miracle will allow you to cast it for free anyway. Since topdeck manipulation and cantrips being generically good in all kinds of archetypes, Molecule Man has a good chance of seeing widespread play.
MTG Living Laser
Alongside discard outlets like Artist’s Talent, Living Laser becomes an extremely efficient win condition. Even if you’ve just discarded a few cards, attacking for 16 for five mana is easily worth the investment. Add on Token Doublers like Doubling Season and entry effects like Warstorm Surge, and Living Laser can easily close a game out.
While setting up a massive turn with Living Laser is easy, making its tokens permanent can cause the card to go exponential. Ending turns early with Sundial of the Infinite, or using cards like The Master, Multiplied can set up a massive follow-up turn, allowing every single Living Laser token to make more tokens.
Thanks to this, the Living Laser fits into any Villain-themed Connive decks, as well as Mayhem lists like Green Goblin. Even graveyard decks like Magar of the Magic Strings, or turn-ending decks like Obeka, Brute Chronologist can find a powerful new threat here.
MTG Loki’s Scepter
Three-mana mana rocks need to have some major upside to see play in Commander nowadays, but Loki’s Scepter delivers. While the floor for this card isn’t great, it’s easy for this artifact to turn a game of Commander around.
When facing a Voltron deck, Loki’s Scepter can be a godsend. By stealing your opponent’s massively buffed Commander, you can deal an unexpected blow to the Voltron player itself. If you’re running any of Commander’s common sacrifice cards, like Phyrexian Altar, Loki’s Scepter can even double as removal while dodging common Indestructible protection.
If sacrificing isn’t your thing, Loki’s Scepter can also work in focused artifact strategies. Commanders like Daretti, Scrap Savant, for example, can use Loki’s Scepter before turning it into a bigger artifact. Similarly, Commanders who make copies of artifacts, like Mishra, Eminent One, can kidnap your opponent’s creatures every turn.
MTG Doom’s Time Platform
For aggressive decks that want to attack, Doom’s Time Platform can serve as a delayed card-advantage enabler. This can be surprisingly relevant in decks that don’t have black or blue in their identities, since they’ll struggle to draw cards. Thanks to this, Doom’s Time Platform is appealing for white Reanimator strategies, casting monsters like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite for free on a delay.
Of course, since Doom’s Time Platform uses the Suspend mechanic, a few specific archetypes can get better use out of this card. Time Travel decks like The Tenth Doctor excel here, using cards like Jhoira’s Timebug to get your exiled card back sooner. Since Suspend casts from exile, Commanders like Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald can also get a lot of value from Doom’s Time Platform.
All of that said, even if you’re doubling your attack triggers with Isshin, Two Heavens as One, Doom’s Time Platform might be a tad too slow for decks that have other options. That said, when sped up, the artifact can cast a lot of spells for free, churning out value.
With some incredible new cards and promising archetypal support, Doom Prevails looks like the best of the revealed Marvel Super Heroes precons revealed so far. With more Villains possible with future Marvel releases, this precon isn’t one to miss.
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