Super-SkrullSuper-Skrull | Art by Zoltan Boros

What if Kenrith, the Returned KingKenrith, the Returned King drew four cards instead of one, and what if it was black instead of white? Well folks, Marvel is once again here to answer our "What if?s" about parallel commanders, this time with Super-SkrullSuper-Skrull, a classic five-color goodstuffs commander that does just about everything.

So, let's get to building this new commander for cEDH!

What Does Super-SkrullSuper-Skrull Do?

For , Super-Skrull is a 4/5 legendary Skrull Shapeshifter Villain creature with flying and a menu of four activated abilities. You can pay:

• to create a 0/4 Wall,
• to give Super-Skrull +4/+4 until end of turn,
• to deal four damage to target creature,
• or to have target player draw four cards.

Despite having a lot of text, Super-Skrull isn't a terribly complicated or convoluted card. It's a big value engine that gobbles up all the excess mana you have, churning that out in whatever form best suits the moment. In cEDH, that'll almost always be drawing cards, but there are plenty of cases where dealing four damage can be lifesaving, to say nothing else of the other myriad fringe cases that can pop up as the game goes on.

I mean, pairing Super-Skrull with an activated ability cost reducer (more on those in a moment) and a Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle becomes sort-of mana neutral, as you'll be paying to make a 0/4 and to increase your Gaea's Cradle mana by .

All sorts of stuff like that is possible when you've got this many activated abilities with no restrictions other than mana costs to pay.

Speaking of mana, where Super-Skrull really shines is as an infinite mana outlet. Find a way to make infinite , and you can draw your whole deck thanks to that last activated ability.

Key Cards for Super-SkrullSuper-Skrull

Ability Cost Reducers

Continuing Marvel's list of cards that do a great Thrasios impression, Super-Skrull is a deck that similarly loves activated ability cost reducers. Each of these three cards reduces the cost to activate Super-Skrull's abilities by , a sizable enough reduction so as to make some of the less powerful abilities become meaningful options, such as paying to deal four damage to a creature, and to make the most powerful ability into something accessible much earlier on: paying to draw four cards.

That's a one mana for one card rate, beating out even Bruce BannerBruce Banner.

Big Mana Producers

Even with a cost reducer in play, however, is still a lot to pay for an activated ability that neither wins the game nor stops someone else from winning. So, to help ramp up mana production and make that cost all the more affordable, the next chunk of specialty cards in this deck are the big mana producers.

Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse and Unstoppable PlanUnstoppable Plan don't make mana, per se, but they do untap a whole bunch of permanents - permanents that usually add mana. In Seedborn Muse's case, you'll be getting back mana from your lands at the very least, while Unstoppable Plan is more concerned with creatures and artifacts.

Speaking of artifacts, Chromatic OrreryChromatic Orrery is the biggest single mana producer (outside of sometimes Gaea's Cradle) in the deck. Seven is a huge mana value, but being entirely generic makes it surprisingly easy to cast off of the likes of Mana VaultMana Vault.

How Does Super-SkrullSuper-Skrull Win?

Infinite Mana

Having access to all five colors as part of Super-Skrull's color identity means that this deck can run any infinite mana combo it wants, but it's unfortunately limited by the fact that the relevant activated ability you'll want to sink mana into has as part of its cost. As such, this deck's infinite mana combos are broken into two categories: incidental and strategic.

Starting off with the incidental combos, these are Kinnan, Bonder ProdigyKinnan, Bonder Prodigy plus Basalt MonolithBasalt Monolith, as well as Zirda, the DawnwakerZirda, the Dawnwaker plus either Basalt MonolithBasalt Monolith or Grim MonolithGrim Monolith. Both of these combos provide infinite , which means that you can activate Super-Skrull as many times as you have available.

It may not be infinite activations, but it'll surely draw you a bunch of cards - of which hopefully one is a tutor that you can use to find Chromatic OrreryChromatic Orrery. Why? Because Chromatic OrreryChromatic Orrery isn't just a premier mana rock; it also provides color filtering. Adding Chromatic Orrery into the equation means that now can be spent as if it were any color of mana, allowing for infinite Super-Skrull activations.

These combos are incidental because Super-Skrull already wants to be running pretty much every card contained within their packages. Kinnan's a great accelerant, Zirda's a powerful activated ability cost reducer, and the rest of the cards are just big mana rocks that enable the already expensive game plan.

As for strategic infinite mana combos, this deck runs just one: Hullbreaker HorrorHullbreaker Horror, which combos with any two mana rocks which together are mana-positive. This deck runs all sorts of ways to leapfrog ahead in mana production, making Hullbreaker Horror's cost of all the less horrifying while also opening up more lines with mana-positive rocks.

Just cast the Horror, cast a noncreature spell, then start looping mana rocks with your Hullbreaker triggers.

The Usual Suspects: Tainted Fish and Underworld Breach Combo

As with just about any deck that can run them, Super-Skrull can win with either of cEDH's two defining combo packages: Tainted Fish (the package of Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle and Demonic ConsultationDemonic Consultation/Tainted PactTainted Pact), and Underworld Breach (specifically the combo package of Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach, Brain FreezeBrain Freeze, and Lion's Eye DiamondLion's Eye Diamond).

Using either line will end with an empty library and a Thassa's Oracle trigger on the stack, although Underworld Breach provides the backup option of also milling out your opponents' libraries thanks to an arbitrarily large storm count via a repeatedly escaped Brain Freeze.

Super-SkrullSuper-Skrull cEDH Deck List

Wrap Up

Super-SkrullSuper-Skrull plays a lot like a casual deck that got ramped up to cEDH. Run each color's best cards, make a ton of mana, turn that mana into a ton of cards, and then cobble together a win from any of a handful of packages.

Whether or not it unseats Kenrith as cEDH's go-to goodstuffs deck remains to be seen, but the Super-Skrull undoubtedly packs a punch.