A deep dive into how the Marvel Super Heroes set upgrades Zada, Hedron Grinder — the red cantrip commander that turns every one-mana spell into a board-wide threat.
4
New Marvel cards
3
Proposed cuts
1.75
Avg. mana value of adds
Zada rewards three things: cheap spells, creatures to target, and ways to turn velocity into damage. The Marvel cards hit all three.
Zada turns every single-target cantrip into a mass pump or evasion spell. Pym Particles is the newest, cleanest way to make the entire army unblockable while drawing a card.
More creatures mean more Zada copies. Spider-Man and Iron Man generate bodies at scale, turning every noncreature spell into additional threats.
Red rituals let Zada chain spells into a single explosive turn. The Marvel adds reward that velocity with free bodies and scalable payoffs.
Toggle between incoming Marvel tech and the cards it replaces.
Legendary Creature - Mutant Hero
1/1
Haste. If Quicksilver is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it on the battlefield. Power-up {4}{R}: Put a +1/+1 counter and a double strike counter on it. This cost is reduced by {2} if it entered this turn.
A free body for Zada from Turn 1. Haste means it attacks immediately, and the power-up gives it real late-game relevance.
Sorcery
Target creature gains vigilance and can't be blocked this turn. Draw a card.
A 1-mana cantrip that makes the whole board unblockable when copied by Zada. It replaces itself and closes games.
Creature
2/2
When Spider-Man enters, create X 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens, where X is the number of noncreature spells cast this turn.
Massive token generator for Storm turns. Zada copies cantrips, and Spider-Man turns that velocity into a board-wide threat.
Artifact Creature
The first noncreature spell you cast each turn has 'Create a 1/1 colorless Thopter artifact creature token with flying.'
Consistent token generation every turn. Thopters provide evasive bodies for Zada's copies and chip damage.
Zada does not need a single Marvel card to be powerful. But the new Universes Beyond set gives the deck exactly what it wants: cheap, spell-velocity payoffs that scale with the board. A free 1/1 on Turn 0, a one-mana unblockable cantrip, and two token engines that reward noncreature spells make Zada faster, more consistent, and more explosive.
The cuts are straightforward: replace narrow or high-variance cards with versions that do the same job better. Pym Particles replaces Expedite. Spider-Man replaces Dragon Fodder. Iron Man and Quicksilver replace cards that do not advance the game plan.
"Zada does not cast big spells. She casts small spells, and makes them feel legendary."
Tyler
@thewifipirate