Attuma, Atlantean WarlordAttuma, Atlantean Warlord | Art by Nanna Marie Steffensen

What is a Typal Card?

I’ve recorded 70+ episodes of a creature-type-based podcast, Quote of Arms, so I’ve seen a huge array of creature type decks. When I look at spoilers for a new set, I tend to scan for cards that specifically reference a creature type, especially those that provide a new commander, direction, or signpost card for an existing type. This approach helps me sift through the deluge of new cards and avoid product fatigue.

From a Typal perspective, Marvel Super Heroes is a fairly simplistic set…at first glance. Superhero stories tend to have Heroes, Villains, and civilians that either take a side or get caught in the crossfire. As such, most of the Typal cards in the set support Heroes or Villains, although some classic creature types received incidental support, and some pretty exciting new pieces, at that!

Marvel Super Heroes is not explicitly a Typal set, but it does give a couple of relatively new types some much-needed support and a bit of an identity. The types may be polarizing, but they are approachable and make the set a solid entry point into Magic for newer players, especially on the back of the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Agent Phil CoulsonAgent Phil Coulson

As we saw last week, Heroes win through teamwork, and Phil is an excellent leader. He’s vigilant in the early game, and then adds layers and layers of counters in the mid-to-late game, doing a solid Steel OverseerSteel Overseer imitation. The wider the board of Heroes, the more power Phil adds to the board, making him a great addition to any Hero Typal deck.

Captain America, Wings of FreedomCaptain America, Wings of Freedom

Most forms of Captain America are excellent leaders and powerful commanders for White Weenie variants featuring Heroes. Sam Wilson, in particular, has been keeping up with leg day, supercharging teams of Heroes with his massive glutes. He also has flying, first strike, and ward 1, making him a solid beater on his own, with plenty of ways to protect himself, in and out of combat.

Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

While Heroes are concentrated hard in white, they can go all five colors, and Nick Fury is a commander that combines the Heroes of Marvel and Spider-Man with the Role Select HeroHero tokens from Final Fantasy. He can find and cheat out Heroes, Equipment, and Vehicles with his power-up. This makes Nick a great commander for those trying to play with their favorite Heroes, albeit not the best for a more focused build.

Attuma, Atlantean WarlordAttuma, Atlantean Warlord

Merfolk ate surprisingly well in this set, getting a (war)lord in the command zone attached to a Coastal PiracyCoastal Piracy, which is exactly what traditional Merfolk decks want in a leader. It doesn’t grant evasion, but there are enough lords now that the layers of boosts and some supplementary evasion-givers can win plenty of games.

Namor the Sub-MarinerNamor the Sub-Mariner

Merfolk decks certainly ate well, and, somewhat surprisingly, got TWO solid commanders. Namor is a giant flying beater, with power equal to the number of Merfolk. He also makes Merfolk when we cast noncreature spells with blue pips, doing a solid impression of Talrand, Sky SummonerTalrand, Sky Summoner. Unlike Talrand, however, Namor can easily take a player out with commander damage while the Merfolk Navy takes out the rest of the table.

Baron Strucker, HYDRA OverlordBaron Strucker, HYDRA Overlord

While Heroes ate pretty well, they’re nothing without good Villains to fight, and the Villains ate pretty well, too. Just how well they ate will be seen next week, but Strucker is a striking leader for the type. He reduces the cost of our Villains and lets our first Villain each turn connive, setting up future draws. These two abilities let us swarm the board, going just as wide as the Heroes.

Doctor DoomDoctor Doom

Doom takes Villains in a slightly different direction, making DoombotDoombot henchmen, becoming indestructible if we have Plans in motion, and giving us a reverse-timed Phyrexian ArenaPhyrexian Arena, all from the command zone. The Plan part is particularly interesting, as it’s a new enchantment type and gives Villains unique tools.

Doom Reigns SupremeDoom Reigns Supreme

Speaking of Plans, Doom Reigns SupremeDoom Reigns Supreme is one of the best. When Villains enter, we drain a life and put a plan counter on it. When the fifth counter is added, we sacrifice it to cast two free spells off the top of an opponent’s library. Planning a huge theft is a big part of being a Villain, and this is a particularly sneaky heist.

The Masters of EvilThe Masters of Evil

It’s a bit odd to see a legendary creature and not think of it as a commander, but The Masters of EvilThe Masters of Evil is a bit at odds with the command zone. It can be used as a lord for Villains, but its activated ability requires it to be in the hand to be discarded to tutor for a Plan. As much as I love bouncing, it is a lot of work to cast the commander, bounce it, and activate the ability. Eight mana to find a Plan is really cool, but not quite worth it…yet.

Thunderbolts ConspiracyThunderbolts Conspiracy

While the Conspiracy does reference Heroes, it’s 100% a Villain card. We can flash it in to save our board, as it reanimates any Villains that die as Heroes with finality counters. Removing those counters can enable some crazy turns, but, at its most basic, it’s an incredible board protection spell. Ordinarily, this type of effect would be a combat trick, or the enchantment would sacrifice itself, but this one sticks around to impact the remainder of the game.

The Unbeatable Squirrel GirlThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

Almost as unexpected as the support for Merfolk was a new signature commander for Squirrels. Squirrel Girl makes Squirrels when she enters or attacks, and then can double the number of Squirrels. She doesn’t even need a dedicated Squirrel shell to be nutty, but she helms a Squirrel deck incredibly well.

Black Panther, VanguardBlack Panther, Vanguard

While Captain America is an incredible leader, in each of his various forms, T’Challa is also incredible at rallying troops. In fact, whenever a Hero enters, he either makes a Soldier or gives a layer of temporary boosts to the team. He does specify “non-token”, however, so he does not, in fact, go infinite with cards that add creature types.

Madame HydraMadame Hydra

While not as thematic as the conniving or planning Villains, Madame HydraMadame Hydra makes menacing henchmen when we cast Villains. Villains have been described as a menace to society, so that makes a lot of sense, in theory. In practice, she seems like another go-wide tokens commander, which is a bit generic. That, and the menacing mooks are stronger than many Villains, which doesn’t say a lot about the Villains themselves.

Avengers TowerAvengers Tower

Each Heroic team has its own headquarters, and Marvel Super Heroes gave many of those headquarters land cards. Since The Avengers is a rotating team, it makes sense that their tower is a generic Hero support card. It makes mana of any color for Heroes and their abilities, and it can tap for four generic mana to find a Hero in the top three cards and add it to hand. Mana fixing early and mana sink late is a great combination of abilities.

Villainous HideoutVillainous Hideout

Villainous HideoutVillainous Hideout is an important piece for Villain Typal decks. That said, it does feel…a bit generic. While The Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., and The Fantastic Four get their own special lands…all of the Villains share the same hideout. Even its abilities are reminiscent of Avengers TowerAvengers Tower: taps for a generic, makes a mana of any color for Villains and Villain abilities, and taps with a mana investment for card advantage. In this case, it’s three mana for a connive, which works with a specific subset of Villains.

Conclusion

While it does create some interesting implications for Magic lore, the presence of Heroes and Villains provides easily identifiable throughlines for newer players, as do the iconic characters from recent franchises. Still, many of the legendary creatures feel like they stand alone, and there are individuals that support older creature types.

In particular, Squirrels and Merfolk got new commanders; the former got support in Bloomburrow but only while dipping into another color; the latter has been around since the beginning of Magic and competes with a litany of preexisting options.

But what cards are going into YOUR Typal decks? And what are the cards you’re looking to pick up?

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