Loki, the DeceiverLoki, the Deceiver | Art by Alexander Mokhov

As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Marvel Super Heroes pits Heroes and Villains against each other. In that article, we looked at Heroes, creatures that represent law, order, truth, and justice, all of which are featured strongly in their base color of white. This week, we’re going to look at their antithesis, a deliciously complicated group of folks, representing a wide range of personalities.

Have you guessed it? It’s Villains!

Villains are deliciously complex, exploring flaws in humanity and society that Heroes don’t often get to. While Heroes are the characters the audience is meant to connect with, Life is rarely black and white…and neither is the conflict between Heroes and Villains in Magic.

While Heroes are fairly solidly in white, perhaps splashing other colors, Villains are based in the selfishness, ambition, and pragmatism of black but with plenty of blue’s creativity and manipulation and red’s impulsiveness and passion. Some Villains even dip into white, imposing a warped view of law and order for the purposes of subjugation. They may even see themselves as the Heroes!

Villain History

Villains are a complicated type to unpack in Magic, as the creature type has only been around since Spider-Man despite the fact that Magic has a history of classic Villains in-universe that don’t have the type. Nicol Bolas, the Phyrexian Praetors…even Dr. Eggman, if we’re going to Universes Beyond.

Marvel Super Heroes gave Villains a mechanical identity although their thematic one is still a bit controversial. Menacing and conniving are two adjectives used to describe powerful and insidious Villains, and those are the two mechanics most closely intertwined with Villains.

Their menacing henchmen are solid at strong-arming opponents but can be beaten by the teamwork of Heroes, while the leaders are conniving, sneakily stacking the deck in their favor and accruing power while not hesitating to throw away what they deem dispensable.

But how do we win a game with mooks and plans? And what kind of commander could unite these selfish and ambitious people?

What Does Loki, the DeceiverLoki, the Deceiver Do?

While Loki can be seen as more of an antihero in his own series, and has largely been seen as an agent of chaos in the Avengers movies, Loki, the DeceiverLoki, the Deceiver is a unifier for Villains in Magic. Even his art features this, as Loki, staff in hand, is joined by Ultron, Dr. Doom, and Kang (although I needed some help to verify that one…shout out to my newly-reformed Skull Symbol Discord server).

When our 4/4, 4-mana commander attacks, he makes a nonlegendary illusory copy of a Villain we control, also attacking, which dissipates at end of turn. These tokens trigger enters-the-battlefield (ETB) effects, so we want to load our deck up with those.

He also has a Villain-centered Coastal PiracyCoastal Piracy effect, which definitely leans into the thieving and looting that Villains tend to engage in.

But what would a Villain deck look like? And how do we get the selfish to work together?

Key Cards for Loki, the DeceiverLoki, the Deceiver

Villains occupy a strange set of divergent gameplans. Some care about attacking alone, like exalted in Bant and the base-black draft strategy in Avacyn Restored. Others go wide with an army of mooks and henchmen. Our Villains will specialize in conniving to set our plans in motion and menacing opposing battlefields.

Ultron and Kang both connive on attack, making them a nasty 1-2 (technically 3-4) combo. Ultron makes Robot Villains when we pay a mana anytime a creature connives, while Kang drains a life from each opponent when we draw our second card each turn. These are two of the main Villains depicted in Loki’s art, and they are two of the masterminds behind our card draw plan.

Chameleon and Moonstone both allow us to cast spells we’ve discarded, synergizing nicely with the conniving of our primary engine. Chameleon is a Clone that has mayhem, making him castable from the grave if discarded in the same turn, while Moonstone lets us exile discarded cards and cast them from exile until the end of the next turn, also working well with spells connived to the graveyard.

But what makes this a Villainous deck?

In Commander games, the Villain of the table is often not only a player with a commanding board, but one who holds the power of yes or no. We have Villainous WrathVillainous Wrath as a mass removal effect that can take out a player and Lethal SchemeLethal Scheme as a spot removal effect that can be cast while our lands are tapped out by convoking it, which also lets those creatures connive. Both of these are on-theme ways to say “no”.

Like Heroes, Villains need a place to set their plans in motion and to recover after doing battle with the forces of justice. Villainous HideoutVillainous Hideout is a cool land that fixes our mana and lets our Villains connive, although I do wish it were more specific to a particular Villain or locale, like the Hero ones. Spymaster's VaultSpymaster's Vault is another land that lets us connive, this time when creatures die (and Villains are more apt to kill than Heroes).

But how do we close the game out?

How Does This Loki, the DeceiverLoki, the Deceiver Commander Deck Win?

Just like Heroes, Villains primarily win through combat, but they don’t play fair. Vulture gives our Villains flying, so they can soar over most of the mundane heroes, like Captain America and the Incredible Hulk. Madame HydraMadame Hydra makes an army of menacing mooks, which swarm the board and are tough to block.

Putting them together creates a scenario where opponents are hard-pressed to find ways to defend themselves within the rules of the game.

The Deck List

Conclusion

Villains are intriguing creatures, with far-reaching implications on Magic lore and errata. If nothing else, they’re a fun way of looking at the paradoxical relationship between selfishness and power in numbers.

But how would you build Villains? And who would lead your sneaky scoundrels?