Plans in MTG: Rules, History, and Best Cards

Doom Reigns Supreme | Illustration by Alexander Gering

After learning that WotC has plans to get rid of Through the Omenpaths on MTG Arena and implement Marvel cards on the client, I’m suddenly more excited to talk about future Marvel sets in MTG, and there’s quite a few in the plans.

Apparently, these aren’t the only plans I’m covering today, as Marvel Super Heroes has a new enchantment type planned. We don’t know a lot about the plans WotC has for the new plan cards (okay, enough plan jokes), but it looks like a big part of MTG’s incoming set Marvel Super Heroes.

What are the pl…. intentions with this new card subtype in MTG? Is it going to be good? Let’s find out!

How Do Plans Work?

Doctor Doom | Illustration by David Palumbo

Plan is an enchantment subtype in MTG. Plans are very similar to the old quest cards, like Quest for the Gravelord. There’s a specific condition, and when this condition is met, you put a plan counter on the plan card. Once it has enough plan counters, you sacrifice the plan to get a big benefit.

The only plan card we know so far is Doom Reigns Supreme. You’ll place plan counters on it when you play villain cards, and you sacrifice it once it gains its fifth plan counter to steal spells from an opponent’s library. The way this card is designed fits the flavor because you execute a plan: You complete tasks that put plan counters on the card and build toward the plan’s completion, when you sacrifice it to get a big effect.

There are also cards that benefit from having plans on the battlefield, like Doctor Doom. We’ll look at others as more plans are spoiled, and we’ll know for sure if all plans work in the same way or if each plan has its own ruling – I'd bet on the first option. I don’t believe that all plans are tied to villains entering; it’s just the trigger for the only card we know so far.

The History of Plans in MTG

The first set to have plan cards in MTG is Marvel Super Heroes, released in 2026 as a Universes Beyond set. Except for something big like sagas, WotC doesn’t often repeat enchantment subtypes across sets, so it looks like something that only this Marvel set will have, or that future Marvel sets could use. We’ll probably see plans in the Marvel Super Heroes Commander set as well.

Is Plan a Card Type?

No, enchantment is a card type, and plan is an enchantment subtype, as seen on Doom Reigns Supreme. Its type line reads “Enchantment – Plan”, so it’s an enchantment (the text before the dash) with the plan subtype (the text after the dash).

Note that plan does not count as a creature type, despite being templated like one.

Plans vs. Quests

Plans and quests are very similar in that they’re enchantments that get plan counters or quest counters over the course of the game once a certain game action happens, and you want to reach a certain threshold of counters to get a given benefit.

Quests aren’t an enchantment subtype. They’re simply an enchantment that gets quest counters. Some quests, like Quest for the Gravelord and Khalni Heart Expedition, are also sacrificed like plans, while cards like Bloodchief Ascension and Beastmaster Ascension stay on the battlefield to generate extra value over the course of the game.

There aren’t cards in MTG that care about quests, considering that it’s not an enchantment subtype. In the case of plans, there’s Doctor Doom, a card that specifically mentions plans.

Can You Proliferate Plan Counters?

Yes! Almost every counter in MTG can be proliferated, and plan counters are no exception. Like quest cards, proliferating on plans really speeds up your objectives.

That said, in the case of Doom Reigns Supreme, the drain life trigger won’t trigger again until the next time a villain enters under your control. If you proliferate the fifth plan counter onto Doom Reigns Supreme, its second ability still triggers since it doesn’t care how the counter is placed.

Can You Stifle the Trigger on a Plan?

Yes, you can Stifle the trigger that would put a plan counter on the plan card, but that’s a bit inefficient.

With Doom Reigns Supreme, there are three opportunities to stifle its triggers. You can trigger any individual instance of the first ability when a villain enters, which will also prevent a plan counter from being placed on it. You can also stifle the second ability when the fifth counter is placed, which will prevent that ability from happening again, since it only triggers on counter number five. Alternatively, you can let the enchantment sacrifice itself after five counters and stifle the “When you do” trigger, cancelling out the final effect.

Gallery and List of Plan Cards

• Doom Reigns Supreme
• Doctor Doom

Best Plan Cards

#2. Doom Reigns Supreme

Doom Reigns Supreme is a nice payoff for playing villain cards, and it looks like black will be heavy with villains in Marvel Super Heroes. You’ll drain your opponents for 1 when that happens and put a plan counter in plan to build slowly towards that five counter trigger. When that happens, it’s like you’re pointing Stock Up at your opponent’s face, only you get to cast the chosen cards for free instead.

#1. Doctor Doom

Doctor Doom is a 3/3 that makes two other 3/3 artifacts, and it’s indestructible as long as you control an artifact or a plan. While it’s on the battlefield, you get a nice (and indestructible) Phyrexian Arena effect. I like that you can mix that with other artifacts or artifact lands just to make sure Doom stays on the battlefield a little longer, although Nowhere to Run exists in Standard. 

Plan Speculation

So far, we have a black plan that interacts with villains, and we have a black creature card, also a villain, that interacts with plans. Logic dictates that only villains make plans, but we have a very small sample size. I bet that heroes also have plans and plan-related cards. It’s harder, but possible, that some enchantment artifacts are plans, or that lands interact with plans if that’s a bigger part of the set.

Either plans aren’t that important to the set, and there’s a small cycle of plan cards, like the cartouches in Amonkhet, or the runes in Kaldheim, or they’re an important part of the set, like quests were in Zendikar. I’m leaning more towards the second one, and we should see at least three full cycles of plans across common, uncommon, and rare. Moreover, I bet blue and black plans will lean towards villains – that’s classic Dimir right there. And we can have white and green plans that lean towards heroes. We could also see a red plan that triggers when you attack with creatures, and so on.

To interact with plans, at least in Limited, I expect some cards that destroy plans, or that remove or add plan counters, probably on a modal card, or a “bear with the set mechanic”.

Considering what we have in the Marvel universe for plans, I expect the big brains of the universe to be related to plan cards somehow. A Nick Fury card with an “Assemble the Avengers” plan could work very well for a hero-related plan card. Doctor Strange is a master planner with his future-predicting possibilities. Tony Stark could have a plan related to artifacts where he’s building some AI-related stuff like Ultron or a new Armor Suit. Reed Richards is quite a planner himself – perhaps he has a plan that puts creatures inside the Negative Zone? That phases out your permanents?

The possibilities are huge, and that's without confirmation that characters like Magneto or Professor X will be represented in cards.

Wrap Up

Secret Plans | Illustration by Daarken

So far I’m excited for Marvel Super Heroes. It looks like many of the blunders from recent Universes Beyond sets won’t be repeated here, and Through the Omenpaths is gone for good. It’s good for a Limited environment when there are build-around cards like plans that make you go for certain strategies, like to play some villains, and these often make the jump to Constructed formats like Standard and Commander as well – Runeforge Champion was a Constructed archetype for a long time. I’m hoping that plans are an important part of this set and not only five rare build-around cards.

What do you think about plans, guys? Are we only getting a few plans in this set, or do you think it will play a greater role? Let me know what you think in the comments section below, and check back once the set is fully spoiled. And for more on MTG and Marvel Super Heroes, please check our YouTube channel, The Daily Upkeep.

Thanks for reading, and until the next time.