The Incredible Hulk Commander Deck Tech

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bruce Banner" href="#" target="_blank">Bruce Banner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.tommyarnoldart.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tommy Arnold</a></em></p>
<p>Have you ever wondered what <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thrasios, Triton Hero" href="#" target="_blank">Thrasios, Triton Hero</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> would be like if it cost one mana less? And, just to entertain the hypothetical, if it could also be a combo piece itself - not just an infinite mana outlet?</p>
<p>Well, folks, <em>Magic</em>'s next <em>Marvel </em>crossover has come to answer exactly that question. May I present to you <span class="edhrecp__link side-by-side"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bruce Banner" href="#" target="_blank">Bruce Banner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a one-mana legendary creature that packs all of Temur into its color identity.</p>
<p>So, let's get to building this commander for cEDH.</p>
<h2>What Does <span class="edhrecp__link side-by-side"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bruce Banner" href="#" target="_blank">Bruce Banner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Do?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards side-by-side"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bruce Banner"></div></div>
<p>On the front side, Bruce Banner is a legendary 1/1 Human Scientist Hero creature for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> with two activated abilities. First, "<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-x" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-x" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-tap" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>: Draw X cards. Activate only as a sorcery," and second, "<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>: Transform Bruce Banner. Activate only as a sorcery."</p>
<p>On the reverse side, Bruce Banner is The Incredible Hulk, a legendary 8/8 Gamma Berserker Hero with reach, trample, and the triggered ability "Whenever The Incredible Hulk is dealt damage, put a +1/+1 counter on him. If he's attacking, untap him and there is an additional combat phase after this phase."</p>
<p>Additionally, borrowing some card design technology from <em>Spider-Man</em>, you can cast The Incredible Hulk as the reverse side for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. That's right, this is a transforming MDFC.</p>
<p>So, what does this whole package do in a cEDH context? Well, starting with Bruce Banner, it's eerily similar to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thrasios, Triton Hero" href="#" target="_blank">Thrasios, Triton Hero</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Bruce is a cheap infinite mana outlet that enables commander-dependent spells really early - all good things in a Temur deck. It's super unfortunate that the ability to draw cards can only be activated as a sorcery, but considering that it costs half as much as a Thrasios activation, that seems like a fairly reasonable tradeoff.</p>
<p>Looking to The Incredible Hulk, things get a little murky. cEDH isn't exactly know for its stompy green decks, and that's the role The Incredible Hulk is trying to fill. Additionally, having The Incredible Hulk in play means that you don't have Bruce Banner in play - a tradeoff that cuts you out of one more possible value engine you would've had otherwise.</p>
<p>However, as we'll see later on, there's a combo to be found with The Incredible Hulk that makes this all worth it.</p>
<h2>Key Cards for <span class="edhrecp__link side-by-side"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bruce Banner" href="#" target="_blank">Bruce Banner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<h3>Ability Cost Reducers</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Training Grounds"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Biomancer&#039;s Familiar"></div></div>
<p>Starting out with some cards ripped straight out of Thrasios, we've got activated ability cost reducers. Each of these two cards reduces the cost to activate Bruce Banner's abilities by <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> (<em>unless it would reduce the cost to just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-0" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, in which case it only reduces it to <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span></em>). That means that, with one of these effects in play, you can draw one card for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, or two cards for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, or three cards for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-4" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>...you get the idea.</p>
<p>In long games, this amount of value can snowball insurmountably, turning Bruce Banner into one of the best engines in your deck.</p>
<h3>Artifact Tutors</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Trophy Mage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Whir of Invention"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Transmute Artifact"></div></div>
<p>While tutors are nothing unique to any particular commander, Bruce Banner does pay more attention to artifacts than most other Temur cEDH decks do. All three of its combos use an artifact in one way or another, and these three cards make sure that you can reliably find your combo pieces game after game.</p>
<h2>How Does <span class="edhrecp__link side-by-side"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bruce Banner" href="#" target="_blank">Bruce Banner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Win?</h2>
<h3>Infinite Mana</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Basalt Monolith"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Finale of Devastation"></div></div>
<p>Starting off with the deck's premier infinite mana combo, it's the classic pair of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy" href="#" target="_blank">Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Basalt Monolith" href="#" target="_blank">Basalt Monolith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Pairing these two together allows for infinite colorless mana production, as Basalt Monolith will add <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-c" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-c" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-c" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-c" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> and only require <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to untap itself. With that mana, you'll draw your deck thanks to Bruce Banner, and somewhere in there you'll see a whole bunch of creatures and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Finale of Devastation" href="#" target="_blank">Finale of Devastation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Cast all the creatures, then cast Finale of Devastation for some arbitrarily large X value. It doesn't matter what, if anything, you grab - all that matters is that X is large enough to boost your newly-hasty board's power to lethal.</p>
<h3>Hulk Combo</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Caltrops"></div></div>
<p>On to the star of the show: the one-card combo with The Incredible Hulk: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Caltrops" href="#" target="_blank">Caltrops</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Caltrops is an artifact that, whenever a creature attacks, deals one damage to that creature. Wouldn't you know it, whenever The Incredible Hulk is dealt damage, you'll put a +1/+1 counter on it. Additionally, The Incredible Hulk will see that this damage happened while it was attacking, untapping it and creating another combat step. Thanks to the +1/+1 counters, The Incredible Hulk won't die from the damage, and thus triggering Caltrops, for an infinite number of combats.</p>
<h3>Underworld Breach Combo</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Underworld Breach"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brain Freeze"></div></div>
<p>Last but not least, what would a red cEDH deck be without <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Underworld Breach" href="#" target="_blank">Underworld Breach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>? You know it, you love it (or maybe you hate it): cast Underworld Breach, cast and then sacrifice a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond" href="#" target="_blank">Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to add <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, then escape <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brain Freeze" href="#" target="_blank">Brain Freeze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from your graveyard, targeting yourself. You'll mill a bunch of cards, be up <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> from where you started, and be in the perfect situation to restart the cycle.</p>
<p>Keep going until you have as much mana as you need and see as many cards as you need, then either execute one of the other two combos or just mill out your opponents by casting Brain Freeze with an arbitrarily large storm count.</p>
<h2>Bruce Banner // The Incredible Hulk cEDH Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bruce Banner / The Incredible Hulk cEDH" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Bruce Banner // The Incredible Hulk
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Basalt Monolith
*1 Caltrops
*1 Chrome Mox
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond
*1 Lotus Petal
*1 Mana Vault
*1 Mox Amber
*1 Mox Diamond
*1 Mox Opal
*1 Sol Ring
*1 The One Ring
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Badgermole Cub
*1 Biomancer&#039;s Familiar
*1 Birds of Paradise
*1 Bloom Tender
*1 Cloud of Faeries
*1 Delighted Halfling
*1 Elvish Spirit Guide
*1 Endurance
*1 Eternal Witness
*1 Faerie Mastermind
*1 Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy
*1 Llanowar Elves
*1 Phyrexian Metamorph
*1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
*1 Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
*1 Simian Spirit Guide
*1 Spellseeker
*1 Spellskite
*1 The Cabbage Merchant
*1 Trophy Mage
*1 Wan Shi Tong, Librarian
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Brain Freeze
*1 Chain of Vapor
*1 Cyclonic Rift
*1 Deflecting Swat
*1 Fierce Guardianship
*1 Flusterstorm
*1 Force of Negation
*1 Force of Vigor
*1 Force of Will
*1 Gifts Ungiven
*1 Into the Flood Maw
*1 Legolas&#039;s Quick Reflexes
*1 Mental Misstep
*1 Mindbreak Trap
*1 Mystical Tutor
*1 Noxious Revival
*1 Pact of Negation
*1 Pyroblast
*1 Red Elemental Blast
*1 Redirect Lightning
*1 Snap
*1 Spell Pierce
*1 Swan Song
*1 Veil of Summer
*1 Whir of Invention
*1 Worldly Tutor
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 Carpet of Flowers
*1 Mystic Remora
*1 Rhystic Study
*1 Training Grounds
*1 Underworld Breach
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Eldritch Evolution
*1 Finale of Devastation
*1 Gamble
*1 Jeska&#039;s Will
*1 Nature&#039;s Rhythm
*1 Rite of Flame
*1 Transmute Artifact
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Arid Mesa
*1 Bloodstained Mire
*1 Boseiju, Who Endures
*1 Breeding Pool
*1 City of Brass
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Flooded Strand
*1 Gaea&#039;s Cradle
*1 Gemstone Caverns
*1 Mana Confluence
*1 Misty Rainforest
*1 Otawara, Soaring City
*1 Polluted Delta
*1 Rejuvenating Springs
*1 Scalding Tarn
*1 Shifting Woodland
*1 Starting Town
*1 Steam Vents
*1 Stomping Ground
*1 Taiga
*1 Talon Gates of Madara
*1 Training Center
*1 Tropical Island
*1 Verdant Catacombs
*1 Volcanic Island
*1 Windswept Heath
*1 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p>Bruce Banner may be a sorcery-speed only engine, but it's still a one-mana engine in a world where having access to your Commander early is often a huge advantage. To top it all of, in the late game The Incredible Hulk has real combo potential - artifacts aren't too hard to tutor for in blue, and Caltrops is pretty cheap to cast considering it can end the game the turn it resolves.</p>
<p>Only time will tell how much staying power the deck really has, but one thing's for sure: it certainly has potential.</p>


bruce banner

The Incredible Hulk Commander Deck Tech

Building Bruce Banner // The Incredible Hulk for cEDH