As a set with a record number of different legends, Marvel Superheroes is the ultimate Commander collection. There are build-arounds for whatever tickles your fancy, including competitive powerhouses that are quickly making their presence felt. The Fantasticar certainly fits the mold, having quickly won a Duel Commander tournament.
Fast and Furious
Unsurprisingly, the main objective behind this archetype is to abuse The Fantasticar’s final ability. Creating four 4/4s with Flying and Haste sets you up to win games easily, assuming you can do it quickly.
Fortunately, The Fantasticar’s efficiency usually makes this a non-issue. By abusing zero-drop artifacts like Claws of Gix and Delif’s Cone, this deck aims to get your payoff on the same turn you cast your Commander. By doing so, you give your opponent no window to use sorcery speed artifact removal to stop your shenanigans.
With 40 lands and a plethora of mana rocks like Everflowing Chalice and Basalt Monolith at your disposal, you’re also set up to recast your Commander in short order. While this usually isn’t necessary after hitting for 16 damage, it does make getting your Commander countered less concerning.
Plus, in the event your opponent boardwipes after getting hit down to four life, getting The Fantasticar back in play helps you cross the finish line. There’s even a chance you can retrigger its final ability with the help of card advantage engines like Mystic Forge.
Abnormally Resilient
Beyond just this deck’s speed and consistency, this archetype gets a big edge by having a super resilient Commander. Despite being a deck full of zero-drops, Chalice of the Void does next to nothing since it doesn’t stop The Fantasticar from triggering. Similarly, The Fantasticar gets around traditional artifact hate pieces like Null Rod and Clarion Conqueror by putting beefy attackers into play.
In order to truly have a chance of taking down this Vehicle menace, your best bet is to stop it from ever hitting the table. While this is easier said than done, tempo decks like Spider-Man 2099 are capable of combining pressure with free counterspells like Force of Negation.
Alternatively, White Weenie shells can use taxing effects like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben to successfully delay The Fantasticar’s trigger. Add in Drannith Magistrate or Meddling Mage to hold The Fantasticar at bay, and you’ve got a potential avenue to victory. Even in these favorable scenarios, however, The Fantasticar still has access to removal like Eldrazi Confluence to unlock its win condition.
It’s still early, but this archetype’s strengths seem to easily outweigh its weaknesses.
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