How to Prep for the Marvel Super Heroes Prerelease

Ancient Tomb Cards and Comics is my main game store in Omaha. I have learned a lot there and every event has been a good time. If you are thinking about going to your first prerelease, it is a great place to do it.

Went 3-0 on the night, which landed me in second place. The first tiebreaker in MTG events is opponent win percentage, and I basically tied for first -- just edged out by a hair. I will take it.

White-red was the clear call. The pool had a lot of blue and a lot of black but neither color felt like it had enough to build around. White had the best creatures and red had solid removal and combat tricks. The two colors fit together well: lots of flying, a good curve, and a removal package that held up all night.

Web Up was the card of the night. It is a 2W enchantment that exiles any nonland permanent an opponent controls until it leaves the battlefield. Creatures, planeswalkers, whatever is hurting you most. That effect at that price is excellent, and I had enough other removal alongside it that I was rarely without an answer.

The quiet MVP was U.S. Agent, John Walker. He comes in as a 3/2 for four mana, but when he enters he creates an Equipment token called Sturdy Shield and automatically attaches it to himself. The shield gives +1/+2, so he lands as an effective 4/4 with no extra cost. In sealed where every mana matters, getting a creature that suits itself up on entry is a real advantage.

The Super Hero Civil War showed up twice and won both games. I only ever engaged the first chapter because the board was already tilted enough that I closed out the same turn it hit the table.

Round 2 was the grind of the night. All three games went long and my opponent had everything they needed to fight back. Went 2-1 in that match and it was not comfortable. That is the kind of round that tests whether your deck actually holds up or just got lucky in round one. It held up.

Avengers Assemble showed up once, in the final game of the night, and it was the finisher. I had more heroes than villains in the deck so when it fired it hit hard. A card only has to win you one game.

Went 2-1 on the day, 5-4 in games. Not as clean as Friday but I will take it.

I built blue-black with a red splash and honestly I think I went the wrong way. The removal pool was thin and a three color mana base in sealed is asking for trouble. Round 1 went 1-2 and the inconsistency showed up immediately. Rounds 2 and 3 were both 2-1 grinds that could have gone either way.

Looking back, white-black was probably the correct build. The remaining pool had two Helicarrier Strikes, Super Villain Lockup, Captain America, and Wakandan Drone Flock just sitting on the bench. That is a real removal and board presence package I left unused. I think subconsciously I was also trying to avoid running back the white deck I played Friday. Lesson learned -- if white is giving you the best cards two days in a row, run white two days in a row.

That said I am happy with how the deck played and I understand why I built it the way I did. Blue-black let me lean hard into villains. Crossbones, Kingpin's Enforcers, Madame Hydra, Kang, Doom Reigns Supreme -- there was a real synergy thread running through the deck, not just a pile of good cards. That is what pulled me to these colors and it was a legitimate reason. The mana was the weak point, not the plan.

Flying was huge again -- same story as Friday. Evasion wins sealed games and blue gave me plenty of it.

Ghost, Spectral Saboteur was the MVP. He has flash, cannot be blocked, and benefits from cheap artifacts. Shuri, Wakandan Inventor was making my artifacts cheaper all day, so Ghost was frequently hitting the table suited up with a Super Suit and swinging for damage nobody could stop. Unblockable plus equipment wins games quietly before your opponent realizes what is happening.

Ronin, Shadow Stalker was a sleeper hit. His ability lets you pay 2 life to add two mana of any one color, but only for Equipment spells or equip abilities. In a deck running Super Suit and Vibranium Energy Daggers that kind of acceleration is real. Life is a resource and Ronin let me spend it on speed.

The Wondrous Wasp punched above her weight. Removing keywords like flying from a creature is a bigger deal than it looks -- it completely changes combat math and can strand your opponent with a blocker that suddenly does nothing.

Doom Reigns Supreme showed up in a practice game before the event and crushed. In actual play it was more of a threat in hand than a game ender, but having it as a closer gave the deck a ceiling it would not have had otherwise.

Kang was great when he resolved. Got him out once with power counters and he was immediately countered, which tells you something about how scary he looked across the table. When he just played as a 4/5 flyer he was still doing real work.

Crossbones was a big body with deathtouch which is already solid. The villain synergy trigger kept not firing the way I wanted it to, but that is a sequencing thing I would figure out with more reps.

Going into Sunday I am leaning into what works -- removal and flyers. The pool will decide the colors but that is the game plan.

One more thing worth saying. Before one of my rounds I mentioned to another player that I was hunting for The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. He pulled one in his prize support, walked over, and handed it to me. He had already opened the full art version the day before so he said he did not need it, but he did not have to do that and I appreciated it more than he probably knows. That is the MTG community in a nutshell. I have been on both ends of it -- given cards away and received them -- and it never gets old. If you are on the fence about showing up to your first prerelease, the people in the room are a big part of why you should go. Ancient Tomb is a great place to experience that firsthand.

Went 0-3 on the day, 1-5 in games. Rough one.

Sunday was a smaller event and I figured that might make things easier. It did not. Smaller field meant everyone who showed up was a die hard. I knew it before the first game started just looking around the room. These were not casual prerelease players -- these were people who had been grinding the set all weekend and knew exactly what they were doing.

I built white-red again but this pool was thinner than Friday's. I tried splashing blue in round 1 and it hurt more than it helped, so I pulled it out after that. The deck just did not have the same cohesion. Fewer creatures, lighter on removal. I got outmatched and I knew it.

Looking back, black-green was probably the correct build. The unused pool had Crossbones, Madame Masque, Moonstone, Masters of Evil, three Cruel Alliance, Killmonger, Black Panther, Ghost, Hercules, Tigra, and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. That is a deep pool with real synergy potential that I left on the bench.

Red Guardian, Super-Soldier was the MVP of the day. He has flash, and when he enters the battlefield he destroys a creature that dealt damage this turn. That is a combat trick disguised as a creature -- let something hit you, flash him in, kill it. He did that job every time he came down.

Borough Backup was the other standout. Five mana for two 3/2 vigilance tokens is solid board presence, and the landcycling ability means it is never a dead card in hand. You can always pitch it for a land if you need one. That flexibility matters in a deck already struggling for consistency.

My son played alongside me and went 0-3 too, but he had a great time. He pulled a Mind Stone and a Cosmic Cube, so he came away happy. That is a good day regardless of the record.

I also pulled a full art foil Unbeatable Squirrel Girl -- $50 or better -- which felt like a perfect way to close out the weekend. Someone gifted me the regular version the day before, and I ended up opening the foil on Sunday. Came away with both versions of the card I was hunting all weekend.