I've been struggling to find a good commander for embody the Man of Steel. I've considered a Sliver Tribal with Sliver Hivelord as the big boss; this strategy focuses on Superman's many different powers and abilities, something that slivers also have going for them. But Honestly, I throw a fit when I play against a Sliver deck, so I figured I'd best stay away from that mess.
Progenitus came as a second thought. And I think it works well to symbolize the Big Blue Boy Scout. Why??
- He's Beefy (10/10) for P/T, and Superman is, well, Super Strong and Tough.
- He's nearly invulnerable. Superman has only a couple weaknesses (A green rock and Magic--- wait a minute, this sounds weird now...) Things that can handle Progenitus are also small in numbers. Yay for Protection from (Almost) Everything
- This isn't a human- technically, neither is Supes. Yeah. Superman is NOT a human.. remember, he comes from Krypton and just has a very human body. To note, a Hydra in Greek Myths was quite a beast- the thing of legends; I think Superman falls into a similar category.
Now, the deck will have a Small MUTATE theme. Why? Well because I think the mutate mechanic is pretty cool, AND because Superman has evolved a LOT since his debut in.... checks notes 1938. Now, we can't actually Mutate on/with Progenitus, but that's okay with me... He doesn't really need any more abilities.
**Quick Note, a few of the Cameos may be stolen from Superman, Protector of Metropolis because they were SPOT on with some choices.. and because without their video I wouldn't know about this contest. So, Kudos to MagicArcanum!
Superman stands for "Truth, Justice, and the American Way!"- At least, that's what he said in a few different interviews with Lois Lane- so how about we use Sword of Truth and Justice to represent what he stands for.
Superman's first movie dealt with the Phantom Zone- a different Dimension that was used by the Kryptonians to imprison evil-doers. Winds of Abandon is a nice one-sided board wipe that doesn't just destroy creatures- but sends them far away... to a different Zone.
Earth's yellow Sun is what gives Superman his powers- so we might as well use Approach of the Second Sun to represent that and give us a Win Condition.
Dovin's Veto seems like the biggest "Nope" card we can get. It says I counter you and You can't counter me. I imagine some random villian punching Superman, and him just standing there- and not flinching... Not unlike the Bar scene in Man of Steel when the trucker shoves Clark but does not move him- at all. Just another nod to Superman's Invulnerability.
The Fall of Krypton is represented by the card card;Merciless Eviction. The art seems to depict the Sun dying, which seems, sadly, fitting for that situation.
Rewind is reasonable to represent Superman's time travel- though I'm not sure how often he actually does it in the comics. Plus, it is good to have some counter spells handy.
Something a little deeper here: Superman is the real character- and he pretends to be Clark Kent in order to fit in with us puny humans. Sudden Spoiling Makes all the opponents creatures small and insignificant- much like how we would compare to the Man of Steel if he were among us.
Being a hero who intervenes on our behalf- Heroic Intervention Seems appropriate.
A few other powers superman has: Frost Breath, Heat vision (Lightning Bolt & Lightning Strike)/
Here are some Cameos!
- General Zod will be played by... Hexdrinker for many of the same reasons as my choice for Superman (Protection from everything, big, non-human).. but another thing to note is how Hexdrinker/Zod takes time to master his skills (At least in his film appearances. In Man of Steel, it took him a little time to hone is senses, and back with Christopher Reeves' Superman, there was a scene dedicated to him and his cronies practicing their new power. I think the level-up mechanic models this nicely.
- Doomsday! The Immortal beast with the one goal of killing Superman will be... Brokkos, Apex of Forever Has crazy power and seemingly never dies.. Just like the real Doomsday! Also, having the Mutate ability is spot on because he does mutate with each rebirth. Perfect fit.
- Titano, the Super-Ape! (Yeah, a real Superman villian.) Will be represented by Kogla, the Titan Ape. Is there anyone better?
- Brainiac is now Memnarch because he likes to take things that doesn't belong to him. Also, that art looks a little Brainiac-like
- Lobo is a Lone Rider
himself, so that is a fitting flavor match, but he is also a bounty hunter. Therefore Lobo also gets two card, the second being Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt
- Lex Luthor is a tough one to place... Well, Sram, Senior Edificer is a clear winner. The card draw represents Lex's major intelligence, and he schemes. The Auras, equipments, and vehicles represent all the cool toys he has (Guess he'd work for Batman as well!).
That's enough villians.. what about friendly people.. characters in Superman's corner...
- Batman is the Kenrith, the Returned King because Batman is King.. and for more see Batman, the Returned King.
- Wonder Woman is Sisay, Weatherlight Captain. The deck built around here is here: Wonder Woman, Amazon General
- The Flash will be represented by the one and only Ragavan. But... that's not a card so I guess we'll use Kari Zev, Skyship Raider. Ragavan, like The Flash, is in-and-out of battle in a Flash.. quickly there, quickly gone.
- Martian Manhunter is Dack's Duplicate. This may seem odd- but our Martian friend is a shapeshifter and, according to some, potentially more powerful than Superman. With the Dethrone ability, Dack's Duplicate may get quite large, assuming he can get enough attacks in.
- Shazam will now become Otrimi, the Ever-Playful. Billy Batson is just a kid himself- and quite PLAYFUL- yet so powerful (A 6/6 it nothing to laugh at; add in the recursion this card gives you.. so cool!)
- Lois Lane is now Lavinia, Azorius Renegade. I 100% agree with MagicArcanum and their reasoning on this: The press keeping the people honest (about how much mana they can use).
- Krypto, the Super Dog will be Isamaru! Just Kidding.. It'll be Pako, Arcane Retriever. Pako is friendlier looking than Isamaru and has some helpful abilities that are probably unrelated to Krypto's abilities.
- Finally, let's use our Sad Robot friend Solemn Simulacrum for Cyborg... because he seemed pretty sad in the Justice League movie...
I think that's enough character references. Anything not listed above that is in the list is here to make the deck work.
