Electro, Assaulting BatteryElectro, Assaulting Battery | Art by Piotr Dura

A simple question with a complex answer: Is Electro, Assaulting BatteryElectro, Assaulting Battery strong enough to be played in cEDH? The best way I can answer the question is with researched speculation and comparison to cards that see play in the format.

I'm a fan of cEDH and the gameplay of high-power, no-holds-barred 100-card winner-takes-all. I'm by no means an expert on that style of gameplay, or any, for that matter. I enjoy theory and questioning the status quo, especially in areas like EDH, so when I first saw this card during spoiler season, I drew an immediate comparison to another card of well-known power, Birgi, God of StorytellingBirgi, God of Storytelling.

Let the comparisons begin and the hype build as I take a look and try my best to answer the question of whether one of Spider-Man's rogue gallery members is strong enough for Competitive Elder Dragon Highlander. My name is Nick, and this is Tech The Deck. We're looking at Electro to see if they're strong enough for cEDH.

Corporate Needs You to Find the Difference

They're the same picture. Obviously, there are some in-your-face differences when looking at these two cards. Electro can fly, and Birgi has a backside, but the core of what makes them essential is just close enough. Both cards add when you cast an instant or sorcery spell. To be fair to the God of Storytelling, they add the no matter what type of spell you cast. This is the key to what allows both decks to work in theory in the strongest version of Commander. This ability drew these two cards together in my mind, which is why I started down this deck-building path.

Birgi Is Better

To address this point sooner rather than later, Birgi is better suited for this strategy. You get mana off of any card being cast, the mana cost of is better with cards like Ancient TombAncient Tomb and City of TraitorsCity of Traitors running around, and the backside of Birgi is helpful in a pinch. However, the one thing that Birgi does not offer that could make or break it for Electro is a way to finish off a table with a direct damage ability.

What's the Plan

This deck plans to utilize fast mana to power out our commander, Electro, Assaulting BatteryElectro, Assaulting Battery early. Once out, we try to chain instant and sorceries to gain mana, and we have some cards to help with this.

We have the fastest of mana to speed up any part of the strategy as well.

Once enough mana has been gathered, we employ classic Red Storm win conditions to close out the game by zapping our opponents with Aetherflux ReservoirAetherflux Reservoir, assembling an infinite mana combo thanks to a copy spell, such as ReiterateReiterate + Mana GeyserMana Geyser, or, the cleanest and most straightforward way, using the many combos offered up thanks to Dualcaster MageDualcaster Mage and a card like TwinflameTwinflame.

The deck loves large numbers. Because of Electro, we have a not-so-simple plan to burn everyone out with the leave the battlefield trigger, assuming we can pull it off enough times. Hopefully, once the loop is shown a few times, everyone will agree that you win the game and pack it up. If not, make sure you have practiced and can execute at a brisk but efficient pace.

If all goes according to plan, a win can be achieved quickly. It's not all glass cannon, however. Even in mono-red, we have some tricks up our super villain sleeves.

No Force No Fret

No blue in the deck means no CounterspellCounterspell or Force of WillForce of Will, and that's okay. Red has its own ways of protecting its own combos and disrupting others. From the brand new Marvel's Spider-Man set comes Spider-PunkSpider-Punk, a red version of Grand AbolisherGrand Abolisher. OvermasterOvermaster can make the most essential spell get through when we need it. A suite of instant spells allows us to fizzle counters, disrupt plays, and more.

We have one more small piece of "protection" for our spells: Krark, the ThumblessKrark, the Thumbless. Krark is a high risk but high reward style of card. Technically this card works for us no matter what the result of the coin flip is if an opponent gets counter happy and does not wait for the trigger to resolve. In reality, this card is a win-more card, and we hope that every time it bounces a spell back to our hand we have enough cost reduction cards, Helm of AwakeningHelm of Awakening, and Ruby MedallionRuby Medallion, to cast it again and net mana off our commander.

Is it cEDH?

We have a plan to win the game, and we know how to get from start to finish, so what's the verdict? Is Electro, Assaulting BatteryElectro, Assaulting Battery cEDH? Maybe. There's just as much of a chance that this card ends up on a channel that does cEDH gameplay or in a deck dump from a tournament as there is that this card never sees the inside of a sleeve. It compares nicely to Birgi, God of StorytellingBirgi, God of Storytelling, so it has a precedent for being a playable card, but what will be the deciding factor is what the meta looks like when this card comes out? There could be more cards from Marvel's Spider-Man that see play, and there are already rumblings of cards from the Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

I believe that if there is an efficient way to utilize the last part of Electro and leverage the X damage ability, then it will see play. This means it might not lead a deck, but it will find a spot inside the 99 and be paired with blue cards. Sadly, I don't see this as a likelihood because, when thinking of what makes a card playable when you are at the top of the competitive mountain, is it better than all the other options for what you are trying to do?

Wrap Up

Marvel's Spider-Man is a very polarizing set. Based on what I have seen so far, the set features powerful cards with interesting abilities, alongside some that I'll likely forget about the day after they're released. What I don't see much of is the middle ground. Electro, Assaulting BatteryElectro, Assaulting Battery hits higher up on the scale, so I imagine it will stick around one way or another. Will we ever see it in the hands of someone like ComedianMTG winning yet another Timetwister? Or maybe it will show up on the Spikefeeders channel.

At a minimum, it is the newest card to the all Universes Beyond storm deck led by Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier.

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