Card Spotlight

Bruce Banner

A 1-mana Temur legend from Marvel Super Heroes that draws cards for mana and life, then transforms into a reach-and-trample Hulk that untaps and swings again every time he's dealt damage.

Strategies it goes well with

  • X-spell and big-mana decks. The front face's {X}{X} draw ability scales with available mana, giving a ramp deck a genuine late-game card-draw sink.
  • Combat-damage-to-Hulk shells. Any effect that lets Hulk take a controlled amount of damage — a fight spell, a ping — triggers Enrage for a bigger body and an extra combat phase.
  • Temur midrange. A one-mana card that scales into a genuine late-game threat fits naturally into a deck with both early plays and a strong top end.

How it does in Commander

As the commander

It's a workable commander for a Temur ramp-and-combat deck, though its two-stage nature — a cheap draw engine, then an expensive transform, then a combat-dependent payoff — makes it as valuable in the 99 supporting a similar plan as leading one.

In the 99

A flexible one-mana include in any Temur deck, doing early card selection and holding the option to become a real combat threat later without demanding the rest of the deck be built around it.

Formats it's strong in

  • Big-mana and ramp decks. Both the front face's draw ability and the transform cost reward a deck with plenty of mana to spend.
  • Decks that can control combat damage. A way to deal a small, controlled amount of damage to Hulk turns Enrage into a repeatable, deck-controlled engine rather than a random one.

Formats it's weak in

  • Low-mana or fast decks. The transform cost is steep, and a deck without much spare mana may never flip Bruce Banner into his combat-relevant side at all.
  • Decks avoiding combat. The entire Hulk-side payoff is locked behind taking combat damage, which is a poor fit for a deck that isn't planning to fight.

Synergistic cards

  • Fireball — Another X spell that rewards the same big-mana shell Bruce Banner's front face wants to be part of.
  • Repercussion — Reflects combat damage back at attackers, which can be used to controllably trigger Enrage on Hulk's own turn.
  • Cultivate — Straightforward ramp that helps reach both the front-face draw ability and the transform cost sooner.
  • Any fight or ping effect — A controlled way to deal damage to Hulk turns his Enrage trigger into a repeatable tool rather than a matter of chance.

Is it worth the price?

As a recent-set chase card with real crossover appeal, Bruce Banner carries a moderate price for a set-fresh card. Worth it for a Temur ramp or combat-focused deck; a pass for a deck with little use for either half of what it does.