Magic: The Gathering – Marvel Super Heroes Spotlight
If you’d like to check out video coverage of many of the products featured in this piece, head over to our Instagram page.
It was inevitable. There was no scenario in which Magic: The Gathering would bypass the chance to synergise with one of the biggest pop culture franchises of the past twenty years, although pedants will point out ‘this is a comic book franchise tie-in, not a movie franchise tie-in!’. Irrespective of the likeness and licensing hoopla around that, the ‘Marvel Super Heroes’ wave is the latest Universes Beyond set for Magic, following on from the TMNT set back in March. Given the extensive stable from which Marvel Super Heroes draws, there’s no shortage of iconic characters, locations and events for the designers and artists working under Wizards of the Coast to showcase in this set, leading to excellent results all around.
One of the biggest surprises I’ve found in my short time covering Magic: The Gathering is how well it’s mechanics can mould themselves to tightly fit the structure of an existing property. Like the Venom symbiote stretching itself to envelop Eddie Brock, so too does Magic envelop the modern mythology that is Marvel Comics, twisting it to suit its own purposes. Brand synergy in this case means streamlined onboarding to the end user, as the thematic links between Mana typology and heroes ingrained in the psyche of audiences worldwide combine on each card; of course ‘The Invincible Iron Man’ is a Flying Hero who can equip Artifact Equipment cards almost directly from the players hand, while ‘Captain America, Living Legend’ can untap Creatures, inspiring them to take the field once more after they show some Teamwork. Granted, there are always going to be some cards that are a bit of a stretch when analysed this way, but the Marvel Super Heroes set feels very targeted towards Magic and Marvel fans alike, a pair of groups for whom I’m sure there’s more than one Venn diagram showing them in the overlap.
Like other UB sets they expect to explode, Marvel Super Heroes launched with an incredibly wide product range. The sight of a Beginner Box is now something I recognise as a surefire sign Wizards expect this set to be ‘the one’, the wave that brings people into the room and gets them at the Learn to Play table wondering why the heck there aren’t more token cards and dice in the box. Being fairly ‘Civil War’ coded as a product ensures both players are a ‘Hero’ and simultaneously get to reenact one of the most famous philosophical and political debates between Avengers by slamming together JumpStart decks and going to town on one another. To be clear, this is not a negative statement – I am here for it. For new and casual players, Beginner Boxes remain a cost-effective way to explore Magic mechanics and have a lot of fun doing it. My Avatar Beginner Box still gets trotted out regularly and my games using the Marvel Super Heroes Beginner Box have been just as fun. The real secret sauce though is JumpStart. JumpStart as a format is incredible, my love for it only growing further the more I explore it with my 9 year old or at events like the recent ‘Marvel Super Heroes at Marvel Stadium’ event in Melbourne, which Player2 was fortunate enough to attend as a non-paying guest. Sure, it’s only ever going to result in single or dual colour matches, but there’s something so compelling about ripping two packs and seeing how well or poorly each one synergises with the other. It may brand me basic, but having a box crammed with JumpStart decks the way the Marvel Super Heroes Beginners Box is means a portable MtG party by my way of thinking.
Included in the generous Marvel Super Heroes press package we received was the very first Scene Box I’d interacted with a cool idea for a product slightly let down by the flimsy included frame. Thanks to a very cool acrylic frame received late last year, I was able to put the cards themselves into something a little sturdier, the effect being quite striking when complete. As a way to showcase not just the cards themselves but more importantly the hard work of talented artists who bring these scenes to life, it would be nice to have something a little more sturdy and permanent available alongside the Scene Boxes to make them feel like a more permanent display rather than something temporary before being confined to a binder or deckbox.
Moving across to the regular products, we received three Collector Boosters, a Bundle box, four JumpStart decks, an assortment of Play Boosters and the Wakanda Forever preconstructed Commander deck. Heading over to our Instagram page will reveal what we pulled across all the Collector and Play Boosters, with some very nice cards despite not even a whiff of a Mind Stone. The Bundle is the same piece of kit it has been for a while now – sturdy cardboard storage solution with a nice art wrap, a swirly spindown d20 with the Marvel ‘M’ stamped on, a pretty amazing looking Scarlet Witch promo whose power level acts as a discount to 4+ cost spells and of course, an assortment of lands with wave appropriate artwork in foil and standard finishes. While a good choice for the less indulgent buyer, those spending big on Marvel Super Heroes or premium sleeving might find the box size a little restrictive, despite some pretty killer visuals showing Sam Wilsons’ Captain America tangling with Thanos.
With four pre-con Commander Decks up for grabs, the ‘Wakanda Forever’ Selesnya GW deck is the only two-colour combo in the bunch, perfect for MtG simpletons like myself. The ‘Avengers Assemble’ and ‘Doom Prevails’ pre-cons are both wedge decks, while the ‘Fantastic Four’ is, a thematically appropriate ‘Ink’ four colour deck. Featuring both T’challa and Shuri in Black Panther form, the ‘Wakanda Forever’ deck does a good job honouring the history and future of the character given both the ongoing comic storyline and the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman. Using ‘T’challa, the Black Panther’ in the Commander spot is about creating and then leveraging Vibranium tokens. These generate colourless mana, to flood the field with artifacts and power up T’challa greatly as every 4+ cost artifact played gives him two +1/+1 counters. With a base of 2/2, it only takes 2-3 artifacts hitting the board to really ramp up his battle prowess, alongside fringe benefits like a larger mana pool, higher attack and Monarch juggling capabilities. Shuri meanwhile ups card draw once three artifacts are controlled and then boosts all controller creatures by +2/+2 if there are six controlled artifacts. High-cost colourless artifact creatures like Panther Robot (10), Metalwork Colossus (11) and Meteor Golem (7) ensure a huge stash of Vibranium becomes incredibly lucrative. While not the sort of deck I generally gravitate towards, Green being the colour I’ve probably tangled with least of all, it was enjoyable to get out of that comfort zone and see how far I could push the focus of this deck. Despite not messing about with it much since the Final Fantasy wave, the Monarch status is a fitting one for T’Challa and Shuri, although perhaps a tad undercooked across the entire deck. What isn’t undercooked is the art – hot damn, does Wakanda get some justice done on these cards. Not that I’d expect any less from these artists, especially not this wave.
There’s a legacy of presentation Wizards are beholden to uphold given the visual nature of comics and their development from the Golden Age through to the Silver and beyond. Many cards in this set pay tribute to that legacy and the original artists in ways large and small, using ‘period’ stylised pieces and layout, while others aim for a realistic airbrush aesthetic. Primary colours abound, but so too do the much darker aesthetics of indie comics publishers in the 90’s and Marvel comics fans of all generations should find at least a few pieces they like. For myself, getting a set of the gorgeous Borderless, and in some cases double-sided, Classic Comic art cards would be living the dream, but alas I’ve had to settle for Tony Stark/The Invincible Iron Man flying solo.
There’s very little to fault in Magic’s foray into the Marvel canon, outside of the relentless release schedule that sees Bilbo Baggins barging his way in in a mere six weeks time. Great art, super(b) characters and thematic synergies converge to deliver another great UB set that will likely see a few new players enter the fold.
Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes was covered using products kindly supplied by PR, as well as an in-person experience at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne at which Player2 was a guest.
