Last Magic: Gathering the extension does not include any ready-made Commander decksbut there are still many of them Spider-Man the cards seemed designed for this format. Spider-Man himself(“Amazing” version) makes it possible to lure out expensive cards thanks to Magicnew web-slinging mechanic, while Norman Osborn/Green Goblin does some damn funny things to your graveyard. It's even very cool Spider Pig a card with obvious synergies based on creature types. However, my favorite new commander from about 80 or so options is a Spider-Man character I've never heard of before – and that's why I like him.
Jackal, the Genius Geneticist is a blue-green (or Simic) 1/1 minion with trample that costs two mana to play. This in itself isn't particularly interesting (although a cheap commander that comes out early is always a nice bonus), but it's his second ability that makes him truly interesting:
Whenever you cast a creature spell with mana value equal to Jackal's power, copy that spell, except that the copy is not legendary. Then put a +1/+1 counter on Jackal. (The copy becomes a token.)
This unique ability made my brain spin. I'm always a fan of any commander that can create copies of other cards (one of my favorite decks is this one). artifact doubler robot from Magic'it's notorious Strange races-inspired set Ethereal drift), and the challenge of building a deck around Jackal was also intriguing. As its power grows, the creatures you copy become more expensive and powerful, leading to explosive moments later in the game. So what's the best way to take advantage of this very specific ability?
My first instinct was to create a 100 card deck with a fairly simple curve. I took four creatures that cost one mana to play, four creatures that cost two mana, etc. At the top, I went with a slightly more economical option (I don't think I'll play 12-mana creatures like Ghalta, the Primal Hunger very often).
However, after doing a little research online, I found this article about EDHREC this points to an obvious loophole: creatures with “X” in their mana cost. It turns out that whatever you put into that X counts as its mana value, meaning that as long as I have one of these in my hand, I can always take advantage of Jackal's abilities. Fortunately, there are dozens of such creatures everywhere. Magic story, and most of them are green, so it's fairly easy to build a deck around this concept.
I filled the rest of my deck with a few defensive blue cards (Counterspells, etc.) as well as a few green cards to potentially buff Jackal if I need it to be a little bigger before playing my next creature (Forgotten Ancient mandatory here). I also added some cards with +1/+1 counter focus, e.g. Ozolite, Tempered ScaleAnd Loading Zone to really speed up the process. (I don't have a copy Doubling Seasonbut if you have such a card or are willing to spend $30, I would definitely include this card as well.)
Overall, my Jackal deck is pretty fun to play and I was able to pull off some wild tricks, including increasing my commander's power to 50 and one-shotting my opponent. However, I think what I really like about this card is that even though it's from Spider-Man set, it doesn't look like Spider-Man map. The Jackal is admittedly a very minor Marvel villain. He made brief appearances in a few animated shows and one PlayStation 2-era video game, but that's about it. So looking at it doesn't instantly transport me to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The design and features of the card also fit perfectly with the classic games in the universe. Magic – unlike some of the other popular commanders in the set, which rely on specially designed abilities such as web throwing.
As someone who isn't a big fan MagicWhen I lean toward branded crossovers with Universes Beyond, I'm less interested in making a deck where Spider-Man is my commander (though I don't judge those who do, and I did enjoy making a deck where Spider-Man was my commander). Spider-Man put quite a bit). That's why I like Jackal so much and why I've continued to enjoy playing and tinkering with this deck over the past few weeks.
