Heroes of the Realm cards are some of the strangest in Magic: The Gathering. Awarded to Hasbro employees who have a profound impact on MTG, these cards are uniquely flavorful and rare. Despite being illegal in all formats, outside of the named employee getting to use them in Commander, MTG players can go rabid for these cards. Previously, Heroes of the Realm cards have sold for upwards of $10,000, on the rare occasions when they do change hands.
Now, there’s a new Heroes of the Realm card for MTG players to look out for: Mr. Monopoly, On the Go. Sadly, unlike the vast majority of past Heroes of the Realm cards, this new Planeswalker is pretty bad. Technically, you can’t even use this card as your Commander; however, it’s not all doom and gloom. With an insanely powerful ultimate, Mr. Monopoly could easily win you the game if you actually get there…
MTG Mr. Monopoly, On the Go
Announced on LinkedIn by Dave Moccia, Mr. Monopoly, On the Go offers a strange, but flavorful, collection of abilities. If luck is on your side, Mr. Monopoly’s 0 ability can create six Loyalty counters a turn, making him very difficult to kill with creatures. If you want to bet on a little more than luck, Wyll, Blade of Frontiers and Barbarian Class can skew your results by giving you extra dice to roll.
While this zero ability feels underwhelming, it’s not too difficult to make it a force to reckon with. Alongside Vondriss, Rage of Ancients, for example, Mr. Monopoly can start pumping out 5/4 Dragon Spirits. Similarly, while you have to roll high, Mr. Monopoly also fits right into Mr. House, President and CEO Commander decks.
Sadly, outside of Mr. Monopoly’s first ability, this Heroes of the Realm card is pretty disappointing. The -2, while usable, is easily outshone by cards like Siphon Insight. On top of this, Mr. Monopoly’s inability to kill creatures with his -4 ability also means that he might struggle to protect himself.
While Mr. Monopoly’s Ultimate can immediately end games alongside Reckless Fireweaver or Murkwood Bats, it’s almost impossible to achieve. Even if you have a Doubling Season in play, it will take Mr. Monopoly four turns to actually Ultimate on average. Considering most Planeswalkers can just Ultimate right away with Doubling Season, Mr. Monopoly remains poor in this context.
All of this means that, even if players have an opportunity to Rule Zero Mr. Monopoly, On the Go into a game of Commander, they may not even bother doing so. Between its exclusivity, legality, and poor performance, Mr. Monopoly will likely become another forgotten footnote in MTG’s history.
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