MTG's The Incredible Hulk | Enrage, Infinite Combos, and Making Him Angry

You shouldn't make him angry. The flavor text says so. The problem is that making him angry is the entire point of the card, and once you understand how Enrage works on the Incredible Hulk, you are going to spend the rest of the evening trying to make him as angry as physically possible.

Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk is a double-faced card in MTG Marvel Super Heroes, and it is already shaping up to be one of the most talked-about cards in the set. The combo was highlighted on Wizards' own reveal stream. Caltrops spiked with 94 copies sold the day of the reveal. The Commander Spellbook entry was created within hours. This is one of those cards that the community collectively looks at and immediately starts asking how hard they can push it.

Who Is Bruce Banner in MTG Marvel Super Heroes?

Bruce Banner is the front face of the card. He costs a single blue mana and comes into play as a 1/1 Legendary Creature, Human Scientist Hero. His ability is XX tap: draw X cards. Activate only as a sorcery. His second ability is 2RRGG: transform Bruce Banner. Activate only as a sorcery.

That first ability is genuinely useful. Bruce Banner on turn one in a Commander game is a mana sink that scales into the late game as a card draw engine. Tap four mana, draw two cards. Tap eight mana, draw four cards. He is fragile at 1/1, but he is cheap to cast, and he does something relevant while you are building toward the six mana transformation cost. His flavor text is "You shouldn't make me angry..." which sets up the back face perfectly.

The color identity is Temur, blue-red-green. This gives you access to some of the best ramp, interaction, and combo enablers in Commander.

What ABout The Incredible Hulk?

The Incredible Hulk is the back face. He is 2RRGG to cast. He comes in as an 8/8 Legendary Creature, Gamma Berserker Hero with Reach and Trample.

Eight power and eight toughness with Trample is already a legitimate threat. Reach means he can block flying creatures, which is surprisingly relevant as a defensive option. But the real fun is the Enrage ability.

Enrage: Whenever the Incredible Hulk is dealt damage, put a +1/+1 counter on him. If he is attacking, untap him and there is an additional combat phase after this phase.

If he is attacking when he takes damage, he untaps and gets another combat phase. Not just a trigger to do something. A whole additional combat phase. And another Enrage trigger fires in that new combat phase if he takes damage again. And another. And another.

He literally gets stronger every time he gets hit and keeps attacking. The Hulk card does exactly what the Hulk does in the comics. That is as good as flavor and mechanics get in Magic.

How Does Enrage Work on the Incredible Hulk?

Enrage is a returning mechanic from Ixalan originally used on dinosaurs. When a creature with Enrage is dealt damage, its Enrage ability triggers. On the Incredible Hulk, Enrage triggers whenever he is dealt any damage from any source, regardless of whether that damage was combat damage or not.

The two parts of the Enrage trigger function independently based on context. The +1/+1 counter happens every single time, regardless of whether he is attacking or not. The untap and additional combat phase only happens if he is attacking when the damage is dealt.

This means you can make him bigger outside of combat by dealing damage to him during your main phase or your opponent's turn. And you can generate additional combat phases by pinging him while he is attacking.

The damage can come from any source. Your own spells. Your opponents' spells. Static damage effects. Artifacts that deal damage to attacking creatures. As long as he is attacking when the damage resolves, he gets another combat phase.

What Is the Caltrops Combo?

This is the combo that made Caltrops spike. It was rated Ruthless, Bracket 4 plus, on Commander Spellbook. Here is exactly how it works.

Caltrops is a three-mana artifact. Whenever a creature attacks, Caltrops deals one damage to it. This is not combat damage. It is a triggered ability that fires when an attack is declared.

When the Incredible Hulk declares an attack targeting an opponent, Caltrops triggers and deals him one damage. That triggers Enrage. Enrage puts a +1/+1 counter on the Hulk, and because he is attacking, untaps him and creates an additional combat phase. In that new combat phase, he declares a new attack on an opponent. Caltrops triggers again. One more damage. Another counter. Another combat phase. Another attack on an opponent.

This is the key point. He is attacking an actual opponent every single combat phase. On a board with no blockers, the Hulk is dealing eight damage plus whatever he has accumulated per combat phase, repeatedly, until all opponents are dead. The loop does not get stuck. He is genuinely swinging at players every iteration.

The two real limitations are:

First, blockers can stop it. Because Caltrops deals exactly one damage and Enrage gives exactly one counter per trigger, the Hulk's toughness and his accumulated damage are always equal. Opponents with enough blockers assigning more than one damage per combat can kill him before the loop gets out of hand. This is why indestructible is the essential upgrade. Darksteel Plate, Hammer of Nazahn, or Shield of Kaldra all make the loop completely unstoppable.

There is also a Moonmist version of the combo that generates infinite counters, but cannot win the same turn because Moonmist prevents the Hulk from dealing combat damage that turn. You spend the Moonmist turn making him enormous and win through Trample on the following turn instead.

With indestructible and either no blockers or an evasion enabler like Trample alone or any form of unblockable, the Caltrops combo is a clean two-card infinite that ends the game immediately. It requires very little setup to be lethal.

What Other Ways Can You Trigger Enrage?

Caltrops is the headliner, but it's far from the only way to make the Hulk angry during combat. Here are the most useful Enrage triggers to build around:

Vigor is the cleanest upgrade to the Caltrops combo. Vigor replaces all damage dealt to your creatures with plus one plus one counters instead. If Vigor is in play the Hulk never actually takes damage from Caltrops. His toughness grows faster than the incoming damage. But wait. If Vigor replaces the damage with counters does Enrage still trigger? Yes. The Hulk was dealt damage. Vigor replaced it. But the damage event still occurred, and Enrage triggers on being dealt damage, not on damage resolving as damage. With Vigor the Hulk is functionally unkillable by Caltrops, and the infinite loop has no natural stopping point at all.

Pyrohemia is an enchantment that lets you pay one red mana to deal one damage to each creature and each player. With the Hulk attacking, you can pay one red, trigger Enrage, get another combat phase, attack again, pay one red again, and repeat. Unlike Caltrops, this requires active mana investment, but it also damages all opponents simultaneously which accelerates the game clock significantly.

Goblin Sharpshooter taps to deal one damage to any target. Tap it to point one damage at the attacking Hulk. Enrage fires. New combat phase. Goblin Sharpshooter untaps because a creature died if you had any death triggers set up, or you can untap it with other effects. Tap it again. Repeat.

Instant-speed direct damage like Shock, Lightning Bolt, or any damage spell with instant speed can be cast during combat after the Hulk declares an attack. This is the simplest manual Enrage trigger, and it is always available as long as you have red mana and a damage spell in hand.

How Do You Get Bruce Banner to Transform?

The transformation cost is 2RRGG as a sorcery-speed activated ability. In a Temur Commander deck, this is achievable around turn four or five with normal ramp. But there are more efficient ways to get there.

Moonmist is a two-mana instant that transforms all Humans. Bruce Banner is a Human. Moonmist costs two mana and transforms him immediately, potentially on turn two with the right hand. The catch is that Moonmist prevents all combat damage to and from non-Werewolves and non-Wolves this turn. The Hulk is neither. He cannot deal or take combat damage the turn he is transformed this way.

What Is the Incredible Hulk Commander Deck Strategy?

As a Commander, the Incredible Hulk wants to do one thing: get into combat and stay there. The deck wants to transform Bruce Banner as fast as possible, give the Hulk haste, set up a damage source that triggers Enrage repeatedly, and attack for infinite combat phases.

The core package is Bruce Banner as Commander, ramp to transform him fast, haste enablers, Caltrops, plus indestructible as the primary win condition, and backup Enrage triggers for redundancy.

You win through commander damage across multiple non-infinite combat phases. A Hulk with 30 plus one plus one counters and Trample does not need infinite combat phases to win games. He needs one attack into a player who cannot block enough of the trample damage.

The deck also has access to all of Temur's best ramp spells, card draw, and interaction. Bruce Banner's own draw ability means you are never short on cards in the early game while you are assembling the transformation.

MTG Incredible Hulk FAQ

What are Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk's stats in MTG Marvel Super Heroes? Bruce Banner is a 1/1 Legendary Creature Human Scientist Hero that costs one blue mana. He draws X cards for XX tap as a sorcery and transforms into the Incredible Hulk for 2RRGG as a sorcery. The Incredible Hulk is an 8/8 Legendary Creature Gamma Berserker Hero with Reach and Trample. Whenever the Hulk is dealt damage he gets a plus one plus one counter and if he is attacking he untaps and gets an additional combat phase.

How does Enrage work on the Incredible Hulk in MTG Marvel Super Heroes? Enrage triggers whenever the Incredible Hulk is dealt any damage from any source. The trigger puts a plus one plus one counter on him. If he is currently in the attacking zone when the damage is dealt, he also untaps and there is an additional combat phase after the current one. The damage can be from combat, spells, artifacts, or any other source.

What is the Caltrops infinite combo with the Incredible Hulk? Caltrops deals one damage to each attacking creature when they attack. When the Incredible Hulk attacks, Caltrops deals him one damage, triggering Enrage. Enrage untaps him and creates an additional combat phase. He attacks again. Caltrops triggers again. The loop generates infinite combat phases and infinite plus one plus one counters. Adding indestructible makes the loop truly unstoppable since the Hulk cannot die to the accumulating damage.

Does Moonmist work with the Incredible Hulk combo? Yes. Moonmist transforms Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk immediately for two mana. Moonmist prevents combat damage to and from non-Werewolves and non-Wolves that turn.

Does Vigor work with the Incredible Hulk Enrage? Yes. Vigor replaces damage dealt to your creatures with plus one plus one counters instead. Even with Vigor replacing the damage from Caltrops, Enrage still triggers because the damage event occurred. The Hulk was dealt damage even though Vigor replaced it with counters. With Vigor the Hulk never accumulates real damage and the Caltrops loop is genuinely unstoppable.

Can you trigger Enrage on the Incredible Hulk outside of combat? Yes. Enrage triggers whenever the Hulk is dealt damage regardless of when or where. Dealing him damage outside of combat still puts a plus one plus one counter on him. The additional combat phase part of the trigger only fires if he is attacking, so outside of combat, only the counter part resolves.

What colors is the Incredible Hulk in MTG? Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk is Temur, blue-red-green. Bruce Banner costs one blue mana. The transformation cost is 2RRGG. The full color identity is blue, red, and green.

Does the Incredible Hulk have haste? No. The Incredible Hulk does not have haste. If you transform Bruce Banner during your turn the Hulk cannot attack until your next turn without a haste enabler. Cards like Fires of Yavimaya, Swiftfoot Boots, or Lightning Greaves are important inclusions in a Bruce Banner Commander deck to make the combo active the turn he transforms.