u/CementSandwich

Look, I know what you're thinking.

"Marvel??? We're still talking about Marvel? Didn't that come out in June? Doesn't this guy know that was like 12 sets ago?"

Listen - you're not wrong. But you know, life happens. Had another kid. Work's gotten busy. I haven't even gotten my Strixhaven cards yet (pretty sure they got lost in the mail)! So please excuse me while I back the calendar up a few months to talk about the Marvel set.

I finally got around to going through this set, and the most interesting thing I found out was that a significant number of in-demand cards come just from jumpstart packs. Like [[Swordsman's Steel]] or [[Ultron the Annihilator]]. But for some reason, those cards are MSC - Marvel Super Heroes Commander? But they don't come in the commander precons? And other sets had specific jumpstart codes (like Avatar)?

I'm not a product designer, but that shit is just confusing.

Anyways! I write articles on sets and decks and earn some mild commission when people click card links to go to TCGPlayer and buy stuff. Someone recently bought an $8 Sol Ring and brought this year's commissions up to $2.49 so, in my quest to earn enough to buy a happy meal, I was motivated to finish this article specifically about the MSH set; as in, the cards you can open in play boosters, with a focus on cards that fit well in existing decks as opposed to new commander options.

https://easygoinggaming.com/set-review/avengers-sleeve-up-the-best-msh-cards-for-the-99/

Since this set's been out a while, what cards do you think deserved the hype and which ones have stayed under the radar?

Some of my picks:

I really like [[Hawkeye, Young Avenger]] as a [[Torbran]]-adjacent card that can significantly amplify your spell-pinger decks. Throw a one-mana red pump spell like [[Monstrous Rage]] on her, or play her in a [[Balmor]] deck and she can help you close out games in a single turn.

[[Worlds Within Worlds]] is also pretty unique as a [[Living Death]]-style card for the Simic bros out there, turning their mana dorks into Dinos or Eldrazi or something.

I also think [[World War Hulk]] deserves a spot in high-mana-value commander decks like [[The Ur-Dragon]] or [[Progenitus]] as it can basically get your commander out several turns early without even needing to have all the right colors.

Obviously [[King T'Challa]]'s incredible, and really nice that you can proc him yourself; I think that hype's well deserved.

What about you? What's not been as good as advertised and what's surprised you in its effectiveness?

Hey all - the Secrets of Strixhaven precons have been out for a little bit. Have you had a chance to play them? Any surprise hits? Made any key upgrades?

I suspect that the Witherbloom and Lorehold decks are struggling to close games, Prismari's killed people out of nowhere and been sent back to the stone age with a board wipe, Silverquill's doing above average but killing it if you're good at politics, and Quandrix doing generally well with consistent sources of big mana and draw.

Witherbloom just seems to be too unfocused, having you spend a lot of time trying to piece together an engine that ultimately yields value but no clear win condition. I also think that [[Dina, Essence Brewer]]'s passive and active kind of work against each other. Her passive asking you to generate fodder to sacrifice one per turn, but her active asks you to have fewer, fatter fodder for more specific lifegain or counter synergies.

I think reworking the deck with cheap fat creatures like [[Hunted Horror]] or [[Kalakscion, Hunger Tyrant]], paired with double-value effects like [[Madame Null, Power Broker]] and [[Varolz, the Scar-Striped]] combined with evasive creatures or creatures that really want counters can be the way to go. You could even have a soft Station theme to make use of the fat fatties before you sac 'em.

Lorehold I think has a lot of room to grow over time, and it's packed with evergreen reprint value. I just think that if you're not drawing [[Moonshaker Cavalry]], you're going to struggle to close games. Even a few additional evasion abilities for your go-wide will go a long way - cards like [[On Wings of Gold]] and [[Ferocity of the Wilds]] come to mind.

Prismari's [[Rootha, Mastering the Moment]] does exceedingly well with extra turn or extra combat tricks. She's slower to start but very explosive mid game. She'll probably have the hardest time recovering from a wipe though. It's no secret that cards like [[Full Throttle]] are a total powerhouse, but have you considered cards like [[Energy Tap]] to make sure you can get big spells earlier? Also really like [[Ghired's Belligerence]] for the deck, as it can turn your opponents' dorks and tokens into fat flying elementals on your board.

Silverquill - out of the box, this deck is full of suboptimal cards that are actually really fun politics plays. You're not hard staxxing anyone but doing some subtle rewards/deterrents for partnering with you or going against you. [[Killian, Decisive Mentor]]'s one turn goad plus card draw is surprisingly potent. I just hope everyone put a [[Duelist's Heritage]] in the deck!

The Quandrix deck's primary question to its pilot is sequencing. Which X spells are you going to effectively sacrifice early to start powering up [[Zimone, Infinite Analyst]]? Some of the cheap X or XX creatures you might even consider paying X=0 for, just get Zimone some counters as soon as she comes out in preparation for future turns. Quandrix has an easier time keeping their board safe than Prismari with upgrades, being able to use cards like [[Ripples of Potential]] and [[Heroic Intervention]]. Like Lorehold, you'll probably need a few more pieces of evasion, with cards like [[Garruk's Uprising]] and [[Open into Wonder]] being great includes.

I've got articles out for all 5 precons highlighting new cards, notable reprints, and upgrade guides - check them out if you're interested!

What's been your experience so far?

Marvel Main Set (MSH) - Bangers/Sleepers?