Of the four new Commander precons coming with Marvel Super Heroes, Doom Prevails is the clear frontrunner at the moment in terms of popularity. That said, while the deck is playable right out of the box, it’s far from perfect. The big issue here is the dual Villain Typal and discard themes, diluting the effectiveness of both sides. Thankfully, with Doctor Doom, King of Latveria at the helm, you can easily upgrade this precon into a powerful discard-themed deck.
Cutting The Odd Ones Out
The easiest cuts here are the Villains that offer no real synergy for any of the deck’s themes. Cards like Kang Prime and Klaw, Master of Sound are all over the place effect-wise, so removing them for more focused options makes sense. A couple of the Villains in Doom Prevails, like Abomination, World Ravager and The Squadron Sinister, technically have discard synergy, but not enough for our needs.
In a similar vein, there are a good number of non-Villain cards in Doom Prevails that just feel out of place synergy-wise, and can therefore be cut. Cards like Propaganda and Archnemesis are very flavorful, but they don’t help the deck, or your discard plan, at all. Even the mighty Skullclamp, scourge of so many pods, just isn’t well-suited here in a deck with limited token generation.
Once you’ve tackled the non-synergistic cards, you’ll want to clear out the Villain Typal synergy in Doom Prevails next. Cards like Loki, the Deceiver, and Madame Hydra, for example, don’t do much with all of the Villain synergy removed. The Villain Typal package extends into the deck’s noncreature suite as well, with cards like Kindred Dominance and Unclaimed Territory.
Cards to Cut:
- Kang Prime
- Killmonger, Ruthless Usurper
- Klaw, Master of Sound
- The Frightful Four
- Titania, Proud Pummeler
- Superior Foes of Spider-Man
- Batroc the Leaper
- Tri-Sentinel, Act of Vengeance
- Helmut Zero, Mastermind
- Abomination, World Ravager
- The Squadron Sinister
- Puppet Master, String Puller
- Iron Monger, Sadistic Tycoon
- Loki, the Deceiver
- Madame Hydra
- Stilt-Man, Towering Terror
- Tombstone, Career Criminal
- Extract Power
- Kindred Dominance
- Patchwork Banner
- Progenitor’s Icon
- Titan of Littjara
- Unclaimed Territory
- Propaganda
- Age of Ultron
- Damocles Base, Sword of Kang
- Archnemesis
- Red Ghost, Intangible Genius
- Spark Double
- Skullclamp
- Syphon Mind
Building It Back Up
After making room, you can build Doom Prevails into a dedicated Discard deck with cheap ways to discard effects, like Faithless Looting and Ledger Shredder. Free discard outlets like Psychic Frog are must-plays here as well, to access your synergies on demand. Change of Plans is a particularly nice card in this category, letting you protect your board while also discarding a bunch.
Next, you can add some payoffs to reward you for discarding cards in the first place, like Cool but Rude and Magmakin Artillerist. You can add Cryptcaller Chariot and Archfiend of Ifnir as well, to ensure you don’t fall behind on board. For the best possible synergy, cards like Norman Osborn//Green Goblin and Kefka, Court Mage, which serve as both discard outlets and payoffs, are must-includes here.
If you have a bigger budget to work with, pricey discard payoffs like Monument to Endurance and Bone Miser will greatly improve your consistency. You can also add Phyrexian Altar, if you want to give Doom Prevails a nasty combo edge. This goes infinite with Ultron, Unlimited and Prowler, Clawed Thief, though you will need a payoff like Ultron the Annihilator to close things.
At bracket three and above, Doom Prevails can also benefit heavily from the addition of Game Changers. Rhystic Study and Gamble are slam-dunk additions in any brew, and Thassa’s Oracle is great if you’re adding in the Altar combo above. If you’re really flush with cash, Mox Diamond makes a good alternative to any of these, due to its strong discard synergy.
Cards to Add:
- Faithless Looting
- Ledger Shredder
- Kitsa, Otterball Elite
- Skirge Familiar
- Chainer, Nightmare Adept
- Norman Osborn//Green Goblin
- Cool but Rude
- Cryptcaller Chariot
- Archfiend of Ifnir
- Rielle, the Everwise
- Emet-Selch, Unsundered
- Leader, Super-Genius
- M.O.D.O.K.
- Psychic Frog
- Ghostly Pilferer
- Kefka, Court Mage
- Glint-Horn Buccaneer
- Magmakin Artillerist
- Windfall
- Big Score
- Dack Fayden
- Change of Plans
- Spymaster’s Vault
- Monument to Endurance
- Bone Miser
- Crucible of Worlds
- Phyrexian Altar
- Ultron the Annihilator
- Thassa’s Oracle
- Rhystic Study
- Gamble
Set Your Plans In Motion
Once you’ve made the above upgrades, Doom Prevails will go from a fun novelty to a genuinely threatening bracket three Discard deck. With so many of the best discard synergy pieces also being Villains naturally, you don’t need to sacrifice the great flavor of the deck’s other half, either.
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