Illustration by Andrey Kuzinskiy
Wizards has announced the first Universes Beyond set for 2027, and surprise, surprise, it’s a Marvel collab. Marvel: Darkhold Destiny (MDD) focuses on the more mystical and magical elements of the Marvel Universe, with characters like Doctor Strange, Blade, and Moon Knight.
MDD is accompanied by a four-deck Commander lineup, including Gods of Asgard, a Naya precon () that’s a mix of power-matters and equipment. This isn’t new ground for Universes Beyond precons, since Final Fantasy Commander had Limit Break and Fallout had Scrappy Survivors, but let’s see what kind of spin Darkhold Desinty could put on the theme.
What Is Marvel: Darkhold Destiny Commander?
Marvel: Darkhold Destiny Commander is a line up of four preconstructed Commander decks that releases alongside the Marvel: Darkhold Destiny set in 2027. They’re all 100-card singleton decks with 30 cards that are new to Magic. Each deck comes in a regular and Collector’s Edition printing, the latter of which contains only surge foils.
- SUMMON THE MIGHTY, THE MYSTIC, AND THE MONSTROUS—Bring the might of the Marvel Universe to the battlefield as you combat your friends with a ready-to-play deck featuring your favorite Marvel characters
- WIELD THE POWER OF THOR—Bring the hammer down with Thor leading your Asgardian armies and build up forces of power 4 or more; hold the greatest power at the table to become truly godlike
- 30 NEW COMMANDER CARDS—Each ready-to-play deck includes 30 Commander cards entirely new to Magic: The Gathering
- 2 FOIL COMMANDERS—Command your deck in style with 2 Legendary Creature cards featuring a shiny Traditional Foil treatment, including 1 with special Borderless art
- EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Magic’s most popular multiplayer play format, Commander is an action-packed, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue (best with 3–5 players)
When Does Gods of Asgard Release?
The Gods of Asgard precon officially releases April 9, 2027 alongside the other MDC precons and the Marvel: Darkhold Destiny set. Some local game stores may sell sealed product as early as the MDD Prerelease that begins on April 2, and they may let you pick up preorders at that time.
How Much Will Gods of Asgard Cost?
The standard printings of the MDC decks, including Gods of Asgard, have an MSRP of $74.99, while the surge foil Collector’s Editions carry an MSRP of $159.99. The preorder prices I found at Amazon, TCGplayer, and a smattering of LGSs with online storefronts were higher, and they could climb if preorders for the set are popular.
Who Is this Darkhold Destiny Commander Deck For?
From a lore perspective, Gods of Asgard is for fans of Thor and all the other Asgardians, likely more the comic fans out there than the MCU fans.
From a gameplay perspective, Gods of Asgard is likely for players who like to assemble board of threatening creatures then kit them out with equipment that make them even more imposing. It’s an aggressive, combat-focused gameplay style.
Gods of Asgard Commander and Theme
The packaging lets us know that some version of Thor should be the face commander, and that this is a Naya precon (). The Star Trek precons had one face commander, and other options, just not foil or borderless ones like we’ve come to expect. Still, there should be a few other commanders you can play out of the box.
Heimdall didn’t get a card in MSH/MSC, and he’d be a perfect fit for this deck. I could see a backup commander that lets you play lands or creatures (maybe worthy creatures) from the top of your deck, or exile them to play later.
Cards that represent multiple characters are always fun backup commanders, so if the Warriors Three don’t get their own cards, the trio of Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg may get one card with multiple activated abilities, or an aggressive modal trigger that lets you choose one among a set of keywords.
The themes listed on the box are “power matters” and “godlike gear”, so we can expect something similar to the Limit Break precon, which had a bunch of equipment and a power-7 gimmick since it was a Final Fantasy VII precon.
I expect the equip worthy mechanic from Marvel Super Heroes will return on new equipment cards. I just wish that the worthy condition was more variable than Mjölnir, Hammer of Thor suggests. Are all equip worthy cards really just going to need you to equip them to legendary red and/or white non-villains? (*checks the Comprehensive Rules*) Huh, guess so.
Speculation
It’s called Gods of Asgard, so there shouldn’t be any Olympian gods here. They can feature in the main set, if anything. There’s plenty of potential Asgardians to reference, like Valkyrie, Lady Sif, Enchantress, etc.
I’m not sure about the members of Thor’s family, namely Loki, Odin, and Frigga. I didn’t think the colors were right, but we’ve technically seen a Naya Odin, Havi, the All-Father, and it would fit in this deck if there isn’t a contractual reason not to reprint it. We now have two different Mjölnir cards, after all. But the equipment theme of this deck makes me suspect that we should be looking for warrior types rather than the trickster god. Balder makes more sense, especially as a creature that allows you to exile cards from opposing graveyards to reanimate it (finality counter or not, depending on the desired power level).
Let’s not forget the weapons. I’m 50/50 on whether the MSH Mjölnir sees a reprint here, or if we get yet another version of it (if so, please let it be a legendary token that Thor makes, just for the sake of novelty). There’s other Asgardian weapons that could find a slot, whether as new cards or as reskinned reprints, like Thunderstrike, Jarnbjorn, and Gungnir. And whether as equipment, an artifact creature, or an equipment that can animate itself, the Destroyer Armor has some nasty battlecruiser potential.
Unless we’re only getting one Thor, a Donald Blake, Guise of Thor reprint from the Marvel Super Heroes Jumpstart product would make sense. We’d need a new Jane Foster card if she appears in the deck, since the MSH one is Azorius and the MSC one isn’t a god and can’t become one. Beta Ray Bill might make an appearance, though I wonder if they’ll save a bigger role for him in a space-faring Marvel set later in 2027 or in 2028.
The reprints should include some of our favorite artifact and equipment payoffs, cards like Puresteel Paladin, Dispatch, perhaps even a Battlefield Improvisation. We saw a Star Trek precon reprint Loran of the Third Path under a new name, so I’m hoping for a reskinned Sram, Senior Edificer here, or even a Bureau Headmaster (given how its name is very Assassin’s Creed coded). We can also expect a bond land reprint in this deck, based on comments Gavin Verhey made on Good Morning Magic.
Altar of the Pantheon seems like an easy pick for a godly reprint. This would also be a good precon to tie back to Kaldheim and print new boast cards. Asgardian snow lands and a Search for Glory would be neat, too. Tyrite Sanctum hasn’t been reprinted since Commander Masters and could be a fit, especially if Heroic Intervention stays in the bonus sheet.
This is the only green MDC precon, so any green Commander staples that Wizards wants to reprint without putting them into Standard will go here. Think of your favorite ramp spells, Beast Within, and some power-matters cards too, perhaps a reskinned Garruk's Uprising. Fight and bite spells also make sense as removal options given the power-matters theme, but Lightning Bolt would also be a flavor win.
One shot I’m calling right now: There better be a reprint of The Prismatic Bridge in the Marvel Universe bonus sheet, since you can’t have it be the Bifrost in this deck. But there should be a land, artifact, and/or enchantment to represent the Bifrost, and Yggdrasil, for that matter. Just as long as neither is the mandatory Command Tower. Odin as my witness, I will bring about Ragnarök if that’s the case.
Commanding Conclusion
Thor, God of Thunder | Illustration by Jesper Ejsing
MDC is still a few months away, which gives us ample time to speculate and come up with reprint wish lists. Let me know which reprints you’d like to see in Gods of Asgard, and stay tuned to the Draftsim spoiler page to keep up with anything new that gets revealed.
Which characters or Asgardian magic and artifacts do you hope to see in this deck? Are you going to pick up this or any of the others from MDC? Bring your speculation over to the Draftsim Discord, or drop it in the comments below. For more about MDD/MDC and all other upcoming Magic sets, subscribe to our newsletter, The Daily Upkeep.
And watch this space! If you’re planning to buy and upgrade the Gods of Asgard precon, we’ll have a guide on how to do just that in the weeks after the deck is fully spoiled.
Until next time!
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