Ironically, despite featuring four unique face Commanders, The Fantastic Four is actually the most focused of the Marvel Super Heroes precons. There’s an extremely strong noncreature spells theme here right out of the box, rewarding you in various ways for casting them. That said, while it’s certainly a good start, there’s always room for improvement. With some key upgrades, you can take The Fantastic Four from a solid MTG deck, to a brilliant Spellslinger brew with Mister Fantastic at the helm.
MTG The Fantastic Four Synergy Upgrades
While the majority of the cards in The Fantastic Four support a noncreature Spellslinger theme, there are still a few outliers that should be pruned immediately. Cards like Willie Lumpkin, Postman, Negative Zone Portal, and Mirage Mirror are easy cuts for this reason. Heck, even the new Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, flashy as it is, doesn’t really mesh with the core theme here, and can therefore go.
Once you’ve cleared some room, you can focus on bringing in more synergy pieces to support your core plan. A great place to start is with cards that make your noncreature spells cheaper, like Goblin Electromancer and Longshot, Rebel Bowman. These will let you fire off more noncreature spells a turn, thus triggering your Commander and other synergies more regularly.
In a similar vein, cards that expand your options when casting noncreature spells are fantastic additions here, too. Valley Floodcaller, for example, lets you play all of your sorceries at instant speed, and trigger your noncreature payoffs on opponents’ turns. Since noncreature spells are particularly vulnerable to countermagic, running Malevolent Hermit as a protection piece is a great call as well.
With your noncreature spells firing at full force, you’ll also want to add in some extra payoffs to make doing so more rewarding. Cards like Hurkyl, Master Wizard, Shark Typhoon, and the new Immortus, Master of Eternity are all great picks here. You’ll also definitely want to add Artist’s Talent, which is both a payoff and a discount piece in one. These cards will be your main drivers toward victory, slowly generating advantage turn over turn.
Ready To Power Up?
Once you’ve topped up your synergies, the next step in the upgrade journey is to cut weak synergy pieces for better ones. As this is a Spellslinger deck, the best place to start here is with the draw suite, which features mediocrities like Deep Analysis and Into the Time Vortex. Cut these for better draw like Stock Up and The One Ring, and you’ll massively improve the deck’s momentum.
There’s also clear room for improvement in The Fantastic Four’s ramp suite. While better than many precons, it still features underwhelming picks like Cultivate and H.E.R.B.I.E., Lovable Robot. Swap these out for more efficient options like Nature’s Lore and Bloom Tender to massively boost your speed. Given that this is a four-color deck, good ramp like this is doubly important for fixing, too.
With better ramp and draw in place, you can also afford to invest more in the deck’s top-end payoffs. Cards like Improvisation Capstone and Underworld Breach offer huge value in the late game, helping you close out grindy games. To make room for these heavy hitters, you can cut weaker finishers like Franklin Richards, Ascendant and Genesis Ultimatum.
Finally, you’ll also want to look at adding in a bit of protection for Mister Fantastic. The constant draw he offers in the command zone is massive, which makes him a prime target for removal. Cards like Mithril Coat and Veil of Summer will help keep him safe, and thus keep your deck’s engine chugging along nicely. Weaker protection pieces like Unstable Molecule Suit can easily be cut to make room for these bangers.
The Changelog
With these upgrades, The Fantastic Four becomes a truly scary MTG Commander deck, capable of holding its own at any bracket three table. Since noncreature spells are a consistent theme in Magic, it’s also a deck guaranteed to get more support going forward. This makes it perhaps the best long-term investment of the four Marvel Super Heroes precons.
Though we’ve mentioned many of our upgrades above, you’ll find the complete list below. With these in tow, The Fantastic Four will really live up to its name at your next Commander night.
Cards to Cut:
- Galactus, Devourer of Worlds
- Mister Fantastic, Reed Richards
- Silver Surfer, Galactus’s Herald
- Willie Lumpkin, Postman
- Negative Zone Portal
- Mind’s Dilation
- Path of Discovery
- Mirage Mirror
- The Fantasticar
- Franklin Richards, Ascendant
- H.E.R.B.I.E., Lovable Robot
- Cultivate
- Cut a Deal
- Deep Analysis
- Into the Time Vortex
- Recurring Insight
- Taunt from the Rampart
- Unstable Molecule Suit
- Genesis Ultimatum
- Canopy Vista
- Promise of Loyalty
Cards to Add:
- Artist’s Talent
- Hurkyl, Master Wizard
- Immortus, Master of Eternity
- Longshot, Rebel Bowman
- Malevolent Hermit
- Valley Floodcaller
- Jeskai Ascendancy
- Shark Typhoon
- Goblin Electromancer
- Veil of Summer
- Bloom Tender
- Nature’s Lore
- Stock Up
- Flow State
- Improvisation Capstone
- Mithril Coat
- Great Hall of the Biblioplex
- Vivi Ornitier
- The One Ring
- Jeska’s Will
- Underworld Breach
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew, and our brand new MTG Rocks Podcast!