Stolen Stark TechStolen Stark Tech | Art by Lixin Yin

Friendly greetings and welcome to the sinister side of Equipment. Marvel Super Heroes delivered three mono-black legendary creatures with Equipment-centric abilities, and today they are vying for the command zone of the same deck.

Equipment is one of those deck themes in which different legends are often interchangeable. If you look at the deck pages for different Equipment commanders, you'll see a lot of the same recommendations. I'm embracing these commonalities to build the deck list first, then make a case for each potential commander. At the end, you get to vote in a poll for one of three Marvel legends to lead the deck, and the losers must fall in line in the 99.

The Contenders

Up front, let's meet the contenders, then we'll revisit them in detail after a deep dive into the deck list.

Whiplash, Vengeful EngineerWhiplash, Vengeful Engineer is an uncommon one-drop with something rarely seen on new legends: a downside. Entering tapped doesn't seem like much of a drawback for a commander we can play on turn one, until we consider it hinders Whiplash from using haste enablers.

The second line of text is the malevolent upside we're here for. Whiplash can swing life totals without dealing combat damage.

Surprisingly, Swordsman, Sharp ScoundrelSwordsman, Sharp Scoundrel is both a Villain and a team player, with a pair of beneficial but somewhat divergent abilities. Cheating equip costs is a go-to design space for Equipment commanders, but requiring investment in a niche creature type is parasitic.

The second ability is more open-ended: an attack trigger conniving all our attackers. Swordsman doesn't have to be one of them either, meaning he can sit back and relax in his pretty purple pajamas while your henchmen do the dirty work.

Ronin, Shadow StalkerRonin, Shadow Stalker uses life and Equipment as resources. Considering one Phyrexian mana costs two life, Ronin's mana production is a great exchange rate. It's also a mana ability that doesn't require Ronin to tap, so you can use it when he's got summoning sickness or already tapped.

The other activated ability has steep costs and limitations, but -4/-4 takes out most creatures while also bypassing indestructible.

Sheathed

With a mere 860 mono-black Equipment decks in the EDHREC database, building out this list felt novel in contrast to the 16,000 decks in Equipment's conventional identity, Boros (). Boros Equipment is a go-to design space for Limited archetypes, and the numbers prove it bleeds profusely over into Commander.

Even excluding Boros, there are some trends in Equipment deck design that get repeated across multiple color identities. I've encountered a variety of sentiments surrounding The Swords of X and Y, from enthusiasts who insist on running all of them, to optimizers who only play the best.

Individually, swords have a broad range in popularity from Sword of Once and Future at 31,000 decks, to Sword of Feast and Famine at 229,000 decks.

Although I'm not a Sword of X and Y enthusiast, I tend to be a completionist. The four swords granting protection from black would interfere with equipping other black-colored Equipment I wanted to include. Since it didn't make sense to run all of them, I chose to sheath all of them.

Unsheathed

So this deck is doing Equipment without the conventional "best" options. What are we playing instead? Equipment with a black color identity is rarely seen in Equipment decks. You might recognize some of these cards from other deck themes, but they're rarely assembled together.

Starting with the mono- Equipment from Marvel Super Heroes, we have Stolen Stark TechStolen Stark Tech. Thanks to flash, and attaching for free when it enters, Stolen Stark Tech is a versatile combat trick and protection piece for our combat-focused strategy.

Other black Equipment in the deck include storied blades from Forgotten Realms, Pact WeaponPact Weapon and Vorpal SwordVorpal Sword.

Between these two armaments, we get to avoid losing, and a chance to take other players out of the game. Pact Weapon also yields some card advantage. Plus, Vorpal Sword's gift of deathtouch is pseudo-evasion against the typical Commander player who rarely makes an unfavorable block.

Next, Wand of OrcusWand of Orcus helps the deck pivot from going tall to simultaneously go wide. It's quite literally a force multiplier. This turn's combat damage can become next turn's finishing move, if you can make enough Zombie tokens.

Cranial PlatingCranial Plating is a common closer in artifact decks, even if it's the only Equipment in the pile. This deck plays a few variants of Cranial Plating's first effect, pumping a creature by artifact count. While cards like NettlecystNettlecyst and Adaptive OmnitoolAdaptive Omnitool offer toughness in addition to power, they lack Cranial Plating's edge. I love the on-board combat trick made possible by Cranial Plating's extra activated ability for double black mana. The freedom to attach it in response to blockers amounts to a double-0 license to kill.

Shifting away from the black Equipment, there's one colorless card I want to highlight.

Nightmare LashNightmare Lash isn't black, but it might as well be. +1/+1 for each Swamp you control could turn any creature in this deck into an imminent threat.

Can't Call Them Minions

A small contingent of goons support the primary theme and they're just as eager as I am to find out who their boss will be. Goon is such a weird word, but we can't call them Minions because that creature type is only represented indirectly through Changeling Outcast.

Changeling OutcastChangeling Outcast and Tormented SoulTormented Soul provide cheap attackers that can reliably get in for damage. Other creatures in the list are exactly what you should expect, like Brass SquireBrass Squire.

Whereas Boros is loaded with abilities that cheat equip costs, black has to reach into the bulk bin for a classic Myr that still gets the job done on a budget.

I'm crossing crossovers with a few creatures from Warhammer 40,000's Necron Dynasties. The Necron precon went hard on artifacts, and remains one of the most unique and interesting preconstructed decks. It contained a few gems for this list, including unblockable ramp, graveyard recursion, and a non-combat win condition.

Is that a mechanical bug? Wraith is a really cool creature type, and an unblockable Wraith makes perfect sense to me. However, this thing doesn't look like anything I would call a Wraith in a fantasy game. Looks aren't everything though. In terms of rules text, Canoptek WraithCanoptek Wraith is the total package. It carries Equipment like a boss, and it finds our Swamps if we need more.

Of course, that last bit is just a contingency. At 38 lands, the deck should normally play on curve. As a soap-boxy side note, if this were my personal deck, I would make cuts to slot in a few more basics. Play more lands, play more Magic.

From the onset of this project, I recognized this deck desperately needed artifact recursion. Black excels at creature recursion, being a primary color in both ReanimateReanimate and Raise DeadRaise Dead effects. I respect the color pie, but there aren't many black spells that can pull Equipment out of the graveyard. Fortunately, Anrakyr the TravellerAnrakyr the Traveller bends the pie a little to give us the option to get artifacts from the yard back into play.

To help shore up the recursion in the deck, I also included Buried RuinBuried Ruin, Emergency WeldEmergency Weld, and Fortuitous FindFortuitous Find. A VandalblastVandalblast might knock this deck down, but like any good black deck, it's not going to stay down.

It blew my mind when I learned I could indiscriminately tap Equipment. Necron OverlordNecron Overlord can tap our Equipment without hindering their normal function to drain the table. In the late game this activated ability could win the game outright. In some games that might be a stretch, but I really want to live the dream with this guy and a Bloodforged Battle-AxeBloodforged Battle-Axe.

Mono-Black Equipment

As I was building this deck, I found myself leaning in a particular direction, but redirected a few choices in an effort to remain impartial. That said, building a popular archetype in an unconventional color is a lot of fun, and I highly recommend it as an exercise to shake things up. Having covered some key pieces in the deck, here's the whole list for you to consider as you assess the three options for the commander.

Who will lead us?

With the 99 firmly in mind, we know what this deck is capable of. Who, then, is the most capable black Equipment commander from Marvel Super Heroes?

Ronin, Shadow StalkerRonin, Shadow Stalker

Ronin costs the most mana among the three contenders, but that shouldn't hold him back. The format is flush with three-drop commanders putting in a lot of work. Ronin's ideal line is to drop Equipment on turns one and two, then play him and use his mana ability to pay equip costs ahead of curve. With a good starting hand, Ronin will deter other attackers in developing turns, then present a notable threat by turn four.

Removal on a stick is perpetually valuable, even if it's limited to sorcery speed. The hardest part will be making the choice between attacking with Ronin or dealing with other players' threats. At best, having two relevant abilities makes Ronin the most versatile of the three options. At worst, you'll have to pick the ability that makes the most sense to be relevant in a difficult matchup.

Swordsman, Sharp ScoundrelSwordsman, Sharp Scoundrel

There aren't enough mono-black Villains to really capitalize on this legend's first ability. Changelings and token makers can adjust that math, but not without taking slots from the Equipment we came to play with. The best option here is to ignore the first ability and focus on the ample benefits of the second. Seriously, Swordsman would be worth a look even if the second ability was the only ability.

Connive is one of the coolest keywords conceptualized in recent years. With a few comrades-in-arms, Swordsman can rapidly churn through the deck. The Sharp Scoundrel enables a deeper dig into our library, while pumping our attacking creatures with some +1/+1 counters to dig deeper into opponents' life totals.

Whiplash, Vengeful EngineerWhiplash, Vengeful Engineer

He's not an Avenger, but he is a-venging. Whiplash has a lot of potential as a glass cannon. The glass is in the requirement for Whiplash to attack. Of our three candidates, Whiplash is the only one that must attack to produce any benefit to the gameplan. Savvy opponents will quickly recognize this and aim their removal at him. At least it's only to cast. Pay your commander tax and get back to work.

If you don't mind a commander that lives on the edge, Whiplash is actually more nuanced than the typical Voltron commander. Whiplash isn't relying on commander damage to be relevant. He's free to be an opportunist depending on the opponents' defenses. From the early game, Whiplash can slowly open a gap between life totals with small attacks. Alternatively, you wait to deploy him until an opportune moment in the late game with several Equipment.

Will of the Council

If you like this kind of content, please show us by voting in the poll and campaigning in the comments. I can't wait to see what you all decide.