Winter Soldier, Icy AssassinWinter Soldier, Icy Assassin | Art by Riccardo Federici

It's no secret that I love two-mana commanders. Every time a new set is spoiled, I'm on the lookout for new additions to my collection. The first week of Marvel Superheroes spoilers brought with it the first nonblue offering to my long list of two-mana legends I've covered: Winter Soldier, Icy AssassinWinter Soldier, Icy Assassin. This is the first legendary creature I've seen early waves of Marvel Superheroes spoilers that feels very true to the character it depicts, and that excites me a fair bit. Let's take a look at this card and get into the deck tech!

What Does Winter Soldier, Icy Assassin Do?

Winter Soldier, Icy AssassinWinter Soldier, Icy Assassin is a 2/2 with vigilance and menace for , and he gets +2/+0 for each Equipment attached to him. For , he can return himself from the graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter and attach an Equipment to himself. All the makings of a good Voltron commander!

Notably, Winter Soldier's activated ability is not restricted to sorcery speed, and he can basically be "flashed" in on an opponent's turn to get almost-haste. There's been a pretty big trend over the last few years of Magic design towards restricting abilities on creatures that would be fairly inoffensive at instant speed to "activate only as a sorcery." I'm overjoyed to see that trend broken here.

As an aside, I'd like to take a moment to appreciate this card's design. Winter Soldier gets +2/+0 for each Equipment attached to him, which is presumably why he starts off as a 2/2, because his metal arm counts! Then, his self reanimation ability speaks to him coming back after being presumed dead in World War II, with said metal arm. Of all the Marvel Superheroes designs I've seen during spoiler season so far, Winter Soldier is one of the easiest cards to parse the connection between the character and the card's mechanics. I'm hoping to see more of that as more of the set is revealed.

Now that I've waxed poetic about flavor wins, I'm ready to throw all of that away and slap some continuity shattering Equipment onto Winter Soldier. He's going to wield the Buster SwordBuster Sword and wear both a Pip-Boy 3000Pip-Boy 3000 and Bilbo's RingBilbo's Ring in this honest to goodness Voltron build.

Key Cards for The Winter Soldier, Icy Assassin

Any time I see a commander that lends themselves to a Voltron strategy, the first card I want to work in is Colossus HammerColossus Hammer. These days, it's easier than ever to cheat on that hefty equip cost, and adding 12 power to Winter Soldier, Icy AssassinWinter Soldier, Icy Assassin for one mana is the best rate available by far.

The other power boosters are Equipment that care about the number of artifacts or other Equipment in play. Adaptive OmnitoolAdaptive Omnitool, NettlecystNettlecyst, Cranial PlatingCranial Plating, and Thran Power SuitThran Power Suit are each easily capable of boosting Winter Soldier's power to the 21 threshold that commander-damage-based decks are looking for, and none of them break four mana!

Some of the Equipment in the deck are more for utility than added power. Sword of Feast and FamineSword of Feast and Famine is a great way to disrupt one opponent while doubling up on mana for the turn. Buster SwordBuster Sword and Fishing GearFishing Gear are great advantage engines that can dramatically hasten the pace with which this deck can put material on the board. Conqueror's FlailConqueror's Flail is a personal favorite that has recently become a staple of my commander-centered decks, as it grants a little power boost and SilenceSilences the rest of the table during my turn.

One important hallmark of Equipment-based aggressive decks is the ability to skip paying the mana cost to activate equip abilities. These alleviate the biggest challenge of killing people with a creature that has a pile of Equipment attached is that many of the best Equipment have outrageous equip costs. Never in my life have I payed the full to equip Colossus Hammer, and I refuse to start here.

Puresteel PaladinPuresteel Paladin, Hammer of NazahnHammer of Nazahn, Sigarda's AidSigarda's Aid, and the new Super-Soldier SerumSuper-Soldier Serum are the avenues this deck has to get around those pesky equip costs. Puresteel Paladin is the best of them, since it also acts as a draw engine, and the metalcraft ability is laughably easy to turn on in a deck that's mostly artifacts. Between these options and the suite of tutors I've included, I wouldn't expect to be attaching Equipment the honest way very often.

One of Voltron's biggest weaknesses is the opponents simply pointing all their removal at Winter Soldier as soon as he attacks in their direction or pointing removal at his Equipment. My picks for protection spells are skewed in favor of ways to phase the commander out, as phasing a creature out phases attached permanents out as well. Clever ConcealmentClever Concealment and Galadriel's DismissalGaladriel's Dismissal are good one-off ways to protect Winter Soldier. The best of the bunch is Robe of StarsRobe of Stars, which is a repeatable way to phase a creature out that virtually makes removal a non issue.

How Does The Winter Soldier, Icy Assassin Win the Game?

My favorite aspect of Voltron as a strategy is how straightforward it is. There are no combo kills and no real tricks of any kind. Winter Soldier, Icy AssassinWinter Soldier, Icy Assassin is going to hit each opponent for at least 21 commander damage, and that's all there is to it. Genji GloveGenji Glove can accelerate the clock by a turn, providing an extra combat step that can wipe two players out of the game in one go, but that's as complicated as it gets.

I've built in something of a backup plan that involves using lands that can animate themselves into creatures, namely Inkmoth NexusInkmoth Nexus, taking advantage of the many ways I have to cheat on equip costs, and cobbling together a potentially lethal attack in a scenario where Winter Solider is nowhere to be found. Inkmoth Nexus has infect, which makes achieving a kill with it much, much easier. However, Shambling VentShambling Vent and Mishra's FactoryMishra's Factory are here as far less powerful alternatives.

The Winter Soldier, Icy Assassin Commander Deck List

Conclusion

It's been a while since I've put together a more traditional Voltron deck, and it was a ton of fun! There's a beauty in this deck's simplicity in contrast to the Voltron decks that I tend to build and play, like Temmet, Naktamun's WillTemmet, Naktamun's Will or Malcolm, the EyesMalcolm, the Eyes. The one thing I do need help with is how to classify this deck.

At face value, I'd put this build of Winter Soldier, Icy AssassinWinter Soldier, Icy Assassin in Bracket 2 (Core). There are no game changers, two-card combos, or additional turns that would ordinarily send one of my decks straight into Bracket 3 (Upgraded) or even 4 (Optimized). However, many would argue that a Voltron deck that's looking to go around the table, eliminating each player as quickly as possible (and often before the eight turns that everyone can expect to be able to play outlined in Bracket 2's guidelines have expired), can strain even the lowest power level Voltron deck's relationship with Bracket 2. So, more than anything else I'd love to read in the comments where the lovely readers would place this Winter Soldier deck.