Commander Deck Tech: Red Hulk

We're back on everyone's favorite plane: New York! I was beginning to miss decks centered around buffing a single creature all at once and dealing damage to the board like you're throwing rocks. As it turns out, that's exactly the list we'll explore today!

Red Hulk is a red 6/7 commander that costs 6 mana and has Reach and Trample. As such, he blocks flying creatures really well and can go through small blockers in combat quite easily. He'll be a relevant wall of defense on more than one occasion. But what we're really interested in is his Enrage, which triggers whenever he takes damage.

When this happens, you may put a +1/+1 counter on him, and, if you do, deal damage to a target according to how many +1/+1 counters are on him. If you consider Enrage alone, it will deal 1 damage the first time you trigger it, 2 damage the second time you trigger it, 3 damage the third time you trigger it, and so on and so forth. But there are other ways to give counters to Red Hulk and scale his Enrage really well.

Please note that this only works if Red Hulk survives and gets a counter. A Blasphemous Act on an unprotected Red Hulk will usually kill him before you can get value out of this. So, the list we'll see plays several ways to protect him and make him indestructible.

The idea behind this list is to get mana early on so that you can put Red Hulk in play with some protection as backup. From then on, you'll use effects that deal damage to all creatures or that deal damage to Hulk himself so that you can trigger his ability.

Some MonoRed commanders rely on a certain sequence or a specific turn to win, but this strategy doesn't. You can just develop your board and trade cards with your opponents, and eventually you can win. Each bit of damage you deal to Red Hulk will make him bigger and make his Enrage better. Nonetheless, you can be more straightforward if you find one of your main pieces.

Here it is:

Protection and Keeping Your Cards in Play

Protection is probably the most important part of this list besides ways to deal damage. Swiftfoot Boots will give Haste to Red Hulk and protect him from being targeted, so he'll be able to enter play and put pressure straight away. Darksteel Plate, Mithril Coat, and Hammer of Nazahn are even more important because they make Hulk indestructible or allow you to do this more easily.

This will significantly change how you play. Once Red Hulk is indestructible, cards like Blasphemous Act, Chain Reaction, Starstorm, and Fiery Confluence become much better because they'll clear the board and also interact with your commander. Without this protection, you'll need to be a lot more careful with these spells because you don't want to spend six mana again and again just to lose your commander as soon as you do.

Tyrite Sanctum is a bit slow, but it is quite interesting. It lets you put a counter on your commander and, later on, make him indestructible. It's not the fastest card in this list, as we mentioned, but, in long matches, it is quite helpful, particularly as it also interacts with the counter game plan.

Dealing Damage

This is this deck's main engine. Pyrohemia is one of the best cards in it because each time you activate it, you'll deal damage to Red Hulk, bit by bit. It controls small creatures and also adds counters to your commander. This, in turn, will allow you to deal more damage later on.

Staff of Nin, Walking Ballista, Fire Ants, and Goblin Sharpshooter are also ways to deal damage occasionally or again and again.

Caltrops is weird, but it's actually quite functional in this case. Whenever a creature attacks, it takes 1 damage if this card is in play, so Red Hulk will grow before he deals combat damage and also deal damage to another target. Like so, each time you attack with him, he'll be more annoying. Furthermore, this card also punishes opponents for attacking with small creatures, which is really helpful against token decks.

This second group is a bit broader. Inferno Titan deals damage when it enters play and when it attacks. It also enables Red Hulk. Hammerfist Giant is slower, but its ability lets you deal damage to multiple targets repeatedly. It works better when your commander is protected.

Blasphemous Act and Chain Reaction are the most common boardwipes for red decks. You need to be careful with them, but Darksteel Plate or Mithril Coat will protect Red Hulk really well.

Fiery Confluence and Starstorm are the last cards in this list that deal damage to multiple things at once. They scale according to your needs, which is really helpful when you need to answer your opponents but still keep your board intact.

Dealing More Damage

Basilisk Collar and Shadowspear are some of the best cards for this deck because they're great with Red Hulk's ability. As he is the source of the damage, Lifelink will give you life each time you use his ability. Like so, you can use Pyrohemia, Earthquake, and other symmetrical cards a lot more comfortably. Basilisk Collar's Deathtouch is also excellent. When Red Hulk deals damage to a creature, even just 1 damage, that creature will be destroyed. As a result, you'll be able to remove big threats with very little.

Brash Taunter, Stuffy Doll, and Coalhauler Swine are similar. They all redirect damage or punish opponents for dealing damage to them, so anything that deals damage across the board will be more interesting to you than the opponents once they're in play. Brash Taunter, by the way, is quite interesting with Basilisk Collar.

More Counters

Because Red Hulk needs +1/+1 counters to deal more damage, cards that let you keep your counters or get more of them are excellent. The Ozolith is one of the most important ones. It lets you recover some progress if you end up losing your commander somehow. Considering this deck leans quite heavily on Hulk, this is critical. After all, keeping these counters in play could be the difference between staying relevant or restarting from scratch.

Karn's Bastion proliferates, so it'll put more counters on Red Hulk and other permanents. Forge of Heroes and Opal Palace also put your commander in play with extra counters, so the first time you use his ability will be a bit better and progress your game plan a bit more.

All Will Be One is a payoff card. Whenever you put counters on Red Hulk, it'll deal more damage to the opponents, their creatures, or planeswalkers. It doesn't work by itself, but it rewards you for doing what this deck already wants to do.

Finishers

These finishers rely on a very simple idea: after Red Hulk is big enough, any effect that uses his power or multiplies the damage he deals will become a problem for the board.

Chandra's Ignition is one of the best cards in that sense. It lets you deal damage equal to your commander's power to each creature and each opponent. If you add Lifelink into the mix, it will also give you a lot of life back. You must play Arcbond with another card, but it can also end games with an indestructible Red Hulk or a Lifelink Red Hulk.

Repercussion is probably the most dangerous card in this list to everyone involved. Once you put this card in play, each creature that takes damage will also deal damage to its own controller. Like so, one global removal can threaten many players. The point is that this card can also punish you and attack your board, so only play it if you have a plan.

Gratuitous Violence, Fiery Emancipation, and City on Fire are classic ways to deal more damage. They'll scale and make your entire strategy a lot more threatening, particularly Red Hulk, if he already has a few counters. You must think twice before you play them, particularly considering some of your spells deal damage to your own cards and yourself, but they work really well when you need to go "all-in".

A good opening hand usually includes two or three lands, a mana rock, and at least one protection card or a way to kickstart your game plan before your commander enters play. You might get many cards that deal damage across the board but miss out on ramp or protection, which might seem fine at first but are often too slow or dangerous for you.

Early on, you should set up your mana rocks and try not to stand out. In the mid-game, you must decide if it's time to put Red Hulk in play or if you need to find some way to protect him first. If your opponents play lots of spot removals, you should try to cast him with Mithril Coat or Deflecting Swat as backup. If your opponents are playing more creatures, a Red Hulk with Basilisk Collar or Pyrohemia can start controlling the game as soon as it enters play.

When it's time to end the game, your commander should already have a few counters, and you should have some protection and a card that can turn this into broad damage. Chandra's Ignition, Arcbond, Repercussion, and cards that double how much damage you deal are more straightforward, but sometimes you'll win by attacking with a huge Red Hulk with Trample while his triggers remove blockers and deal damage to the opponents.

I'll say the same thing in every Marvel article I write: "I really liked this card, I wanted a Universes Within version of it". I'll probably keep saying it even when Star Trek comes out. That being said, Universes Beyond sets often look weird next to classic MTG cards, and Marvel definitely sticks out like a sore thumb.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!