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Marvel Super Heroes has only been out for a month, but it's been an interesting Limited set to play. Unlike the last small super set, Marvel's Spiderman, Marvel Super Heroes is a full-fledged large set, giving players the opportunity to draft a multitude of decks and archetypes.
This set is an interesting Limited format in that it revolves around, well, superheroes. The format has a lot of back and forth to it, with lots of value received Creatures both at the Common and Uncommon level, and big haymakers that can swing games at the Rare and Mythic levels.
This leads to games that swing back and forth, requiring players to draft tight to successfully out-maneuver their opponents.
Top 5 Underrated MSH Cards
While some games can end to bomb Rares, such as The Super Hero Civil War or Doctor Doom, a lot of games can be won with just regular Commons and Uncommons.
However, in this format, decks require you to play a lot of Creatures and lean into a theme. There are a lot of cards in this format that on the surface look pretty lackluster, but when played with others, they take on a whole new power level.
While I won't be talking about some of the more obvious, powerful cards in the set today, I
wanted to look at five cards that are Limited standouts to me and that weren't on my radar
when I first looked at the set:
- Stolen Stark Tech
- A.I.M. Synthoids
- Echo, Perceptive Prodigy
- Project Deathlok Soldier
- Hawkeye, Young Avenger
Let's get into what makes each of these cards better than they might first appear.
5. Stolen Stark Tech
Funny enough, this card is literally just Bladed Battle-Fan from March of the Machine, just with a Marvel-esque name instead. Stolen Stark Tech is good for a variety of reasons, but the most important one is that it's just a solid combat trick.
This format just feels very combat-focused, with lots of big superheroes and smaller random Creatures battling it out. Stolen Stark Tech is, at its most basic, just a faux removal spell, allowing your Creature to defeat another in combat.
Stolen Stark Tech has a multitude of other applications, which is why it's on this list to begin with. First off, it works incredibly well with any Deathtouch Creature, specifically Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary, Ninja of the Hand, and Serpent Specialist.
This will allow your smaller Deathtouch Creatures to stick around after destroying a much larger threat in combat. In Golgari 
you can also play cards like Kingpin's Enforcers and Call Damage Control, to get even more value out of this Artifact.
Stolen Stark Tech is also just an important card to Orzhov 
in this format, since White-Black is all about attacking with Creatures and suiting them up with Equipment. You can get extra use out of Stolen Stark Tech, even after it's been in play for a turn, with cards such as Ronin, Shadow Stalker, which can also cast this card for free.
Overall, this card just has so many applications and fits right into the macro themes of the set that it makes it one of the best underrated cards in Marvel Super Heroes Limited.
4. A.I.M. Synthoids
A.I.M Synthoids acts as an important piece of glue that pulls the rest of your deck together. It's worth noting first that this card is very average if the rest of your deck is average. A two-mana 1/3 can't win games on its own; rather, it helps build a bridge between your early and late game.
A.I.M Synthoids is particularly powerful in Golgari and any multi-color deck in this format. Because this card Surveils 2 instead of 1, you get more looks to dig for your Lands or big threats. If you're on the play with only two Lands this card can help smooth your draw. It's great fodder for cards like Kinpin's Enforcers or especially Killmonger, Scourge of Wakanda.
This card randomly having the Villain Creature Type means it already does wonders with cards like Yellowjacket, Heartless Marauder and Visions of Villainy.
Another great aspect of this card in Black decks is that it's a great attacker or blocker with Widow's Bite, potentially letting it trade up for one of your opponent's big threats while also destroying another Creature with toughness two or less.
Overall, this card is incredibly important for smoothing out your draws. You can be a little riskier with your mana base and splash more colors with cards like this in your deck. A.I.M. Synthoids' utility also scales with the game, meaning that once you hit the mid- to late-game this card can dig you out of a Land pocket towards your more impactful spells.
3. Echo, Perceptive Prodigy
Another unassuming Creature with pretty low stats, but that can create some big swings in your favor, is Echo, Perceptive Prodigy.
Usually, a card like this for its mana value is pretty underwhelming, but when you realize how many good Creatures with Triggered and Activated Abilities there are in this format, Echo becomes an auto-include in any Blue deck, regardless of your deck's inherent theme.
In a recent team draft match, I was up against the wall with my Dimir Villains deck against a Naya Superheroes opponent. My opponent had made a risky attack the previous turn, letting me get in damage with my Black Widow, Super Spy.
My Black Widow hit a She-Hulk, Jade Defender, and with her Power-Up ability I was able to destroy not one, but two Enchantments that were about to win my opponent the game -- Training Regimen and a Web Up, that was on my Madame Masque.
With Echo, I was able to come back into a game I didn't think was possible for me to win, as my opponent was pressuring me with huge Trampling Creatures with Training Regimen. Getting back my Madame Masque also let me set up lethal, by getting an extra trigger for my Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary.
This is all to say there are so many ways to utilize Echo, Perceptive Prodigy in this Limited format. Regardless of whatever Blue-based deck you are using, this Creature can make for some incredible value plays. It's worth noting, however, that this card's power level really depends on how many sources you have available to copy.
2. Project Deathlok Soldier
Another unassuming card to add to this list is the Marvel Super Heroes version of Sanitarium Skeleton: Project Deathlok Soldier. Again, this is a card that isn't powerful at all on its own, but its utility lies in the fact that it's such an important card for a few strategies.
The biggest reason you want to play Project Deathlok Soldier is when you have multiple cards in your deck with Connive. Specifically in Golgari or Dimir Villain decks, Project Deathlok Soldier plays an important role of always having a nonland card to discard, to ensure your Creatures get their +1/+1 Counters from their Connive abilities.
I feel like in this format, all your cards matter. There are so many haymakers and so many various Creatures that have powerful abilities. You can win games with Uncommons in this format, if they're left unchecked.
When you're playing so many Connive Creatures, you really want to maximize their value, meaning that you'll always want to put +1/+1 Counters on them. However, if you're discarding actual nonland cards to do this, you're going to be left with a lot of Lands in your deck, and you'll regret throwing away an actual spell for just a slight increase in power and toughness.
Project Deathlok Soldier not only is a nonland card to discard to Connive, but it's a repeatable way to ensure you never have to discard an actual good card to your Creatures. This matters in decks where you can Connive multiple times a turn, with cards like Swordsman, Sharp Scoundrel and Baron Strucker, HYDRA Overlord.
Furthermore, this card is just good in Golgari, since you can Connive it away with Red Room Recruit on turn two to inevitably fill your graveyard for cards like HYDRA Troopers.
Plus, it's arguably the best fodder for Kingpin's Enforcers. Overall, Project Deathlok Soldier is a necessity in any Golgari or Dimir 
deck, especially if you have multiple ways to Connive.
1. Hawkeye, Young Avenger
Red as an overall color in Marvel Super Heroes is a bit lackluster. Red paired with Blue and Black make for two of the weakest archetypes in the format, Izzet Artifacts and Rakdos Villains.
This means that Red only has two real archetypes, Boros Aggro and Gruul Power-Up. With Red being the worst color, it's important to understand what underrated cards the color has, and if there's one underrated card in Red, it's Hawkeye, Young Avenger.
Hawkeye, Young Avenger is a pretty unassuming card at first glance, and it might take you one or two reads to understand how powerful the card actually is. A 2/4 for 
, Hawkeye is one of the cards in this set that has Reach printed on it.
Hawkeye's real power, however, comes in her Static Ability.
Whenever you deal noncombat damage to an opponent or a permanent that player controls, it deals that damage plus X, where X is Hawkeye's power. This means if you cast Lightning Strike on an opponent's Creature, or go upstairs, a normal Hawkeye will let you deal 5 damage instead of 3.
If you Equip Hawkeye with Hawkeye's Bow, every time she becomes tapped you can deal your opponent 4 damage, as opposed to one. This is exceptionally powerful in Boros decks that have both Teamwork cards and your own Raft Security Officer cards.
While Hawkeye is not the most aggressive card on her own, she can do some serious damage with cards like Iron First, Living Weapon, and Truck Toss. This card is so underrated because it feels necessary as a way to get in incremental points of damage if your first plan of attacking your opponent falls through.
Hawkeye, Young Avenger is by no means the most powerful card in the set, or arguably on this list, but it's the most underrated and one of the sneakiest build-arounds in the Limited format.
Honorable Mentions
Photon Blast Barrage
While I do think this card would actually be my #1 on this list, it is by no means underrated. Players have already discovered how backbreaking this Uncommon spell is, and it's undoubtedly one of Red's best cards.
Photon Blast Barrage is so useful in this format because it helps clear out a board stall. There aren't many Wrath effects, or cards that destroy all Creatures in this format. Photon Blast Barrage can effectively clean up your opponent's board, remove small Creatures with Deathtouch, and ultimately provide you with a way to break through to win a game.
Bold Biochemist
Bold Biochemist is another honorable mention here, due to its versatility. When games end up in board stalls, I like having ways to draw ahead. Bold Biochemist isn't just a draw engine, but it's another Creature with high toughness you can use to muck up the board.
Factor in that you can trigger your "whenever you draw your second card each turn" Creatures, like Madame Masque, this Creature is an exceptional inclusion to any Blue-based Villain deck. This card is actually pretty splashable too, so I think Bold Biochemist's versatility makes it one of my other favorite underrated cards in Marvel Super Heroes.
Conclusion
Overall, these are the five cards I'd be on the lookout for in your next Draft. In this format, you'll prioritize good removal and any of the various haymaker Superhero or Villain Rare or Mythic Rares. Even Uncommons like Hulk, Gamma Goliath can win games on their own.
However, when you get to the nitty-gritty of the various Commons and Uncommons that fill your decks, these are some of the most unassuming cards with high synergy to look out for. If your deck lacks the raw power of Rares your opponents might have, you can still win games by amassing an advantage or finding a way to break through in combat.
If you're able to remove an opposing threat, and your deck has better baked-in synergy than your opponent's, you'll often find yourself winning games, even if your individual card quality is weaker. While this format can definitely come down to bombs winning games, it's important to understand the finer details so you can inevitably go over the top.
