MTG's Worthy Mechanic | How Does it Work & Who Can Wield Mjolnir?

Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.

That is how it works in the comics. In Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes, Wizards of the Coast took that rule, turned it into a card mechanic, and in doing so accidentally declared that a corgi, a haunted doll, a frog, a horse from another fantasy universe entirely, and Deadpool are all worthy of wielding the mightiest weapon in the nine realms.

This is going to be a great set.

What Is the Worthy Mechanic in MTG Marvel Super Heroes?

Worthy is a new keyword in MTG Marvel Super Heroes that determines who can equip Mjolnir, Hammer of Thor. A creature is Worthy if it meets all three of the following conditions simultaneously:

It must be a legendary creature. It must be red and/or white. It must not be a Villain.

That is the complete and entire definition. Legendary. Red or white. Not a Villain. No other requirements. No minimum power level. No heroism stat. No character arc prerequisite. If you are a legendary non-villain creature who touches red or white you can pick up Thor's hammer and do whatever you want with it.

The official Wizards mechanics article confirmed an important additional rule: only Mjolnir's own equip ability checks for Worthy. If the hammer gets attached to a creature through some other effect like Magnetic Theft or Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist, the Worthy requirement does not apply. The hammer can fall into non-worthy hands through means other than its equip ability. And crucially, if a creature is already wielding Mjolnir and somehow stops meeting the Worthy criteria, Mjolnir stays attached. Once you have the hammer you keep the hammer.

Why Did Wizards Design Worthy This Way?

The design process for Worthy was one of the most fun stories from the Marvel Super Heroes press briefing. The team needed a mechanic that would let Thor wield his hammer, let Captain America wield it because that is one of the most iconic moments in Marvel history, and let Jane Foster wield it because she is Thor in a significant stretch of the comics.

But they also needed to make absolutely certain that someone like Kingpin could never pick it up.

The legendary non-villain red or white criteria threads this needle no-so-perfectly. Thor is legendary, red, not a Villain. Captain America is legendary, white, not a Villain. Jane Foster is legendary, white, not a Villain. Kingpin is legendary but he is a Villain so he cannot naturally equip it, no matter how many crime empires he controls. The criteria works for every character the team wanted to include and excludes every character they wanted to exclude.

The team specifically encouraged players to go find the strangest possible commanders in Magic's history who now qualify. They knew what they were doing. They knew about the corgi.

Who Is Worthy in MTG Marvel Super Heroes?

The usual cast of comic cannon wielders can pick up the hammer. Those are the expected answers, and they are correct. But the criteria Wizards landed on casts a much wider, and potentially very funny net. Once you start running legendary non-villain red or white creatures through the checklist across Magic's thirty-year card pool, things get weird very quickly. Here are five commanders who passed the test and absolutely should not be allowed anywhere near a divine weapon.

5 Hilarious Commanders Who Are Apparently Worthy

Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd | The Corgi

Phelia is a 2/1 legendary Dog from Modern Horizons 3 that costs a single white mana. She is, to be perfectly clear about this, a corgi. A small, enthusiastic herding dog with enormous ears and what appears to be the energy level of three espresso shots. She blinks other creatures when she attacks and draws you a card if the blinked creature has a different mana value. She is one of the most beloved Commanders in recent memory, and she is featured in over 18,000 Commander decks on EDHREC.

She is also now worthy of Thor's hammer.

Phelia is legendary. Phelia is white. Phelia is not a Villain. There is nothing in the Worthy criteria that specifies a minimum level of gravitas, cosmic significance, or personal connection to Norse mythology. Phelia meets all three requirements. Mjolnir is hers.

The mental image of a corgi trotting onto the battlefield with Mjolnir in her mouth is something Wizards of the Coast did intentionally, and we respect that enormously.

Arabella, Abandoned Doll | The Haunted Toy

Arabella is a 1/3 legendary Artifact Creature Toy from Duskmourn: House of Horror that costs one red and one white mana. She is, to be equally clear about this, a haunted doll. A small possessed ceramic doll from a horror set that deals damage to each opponent and gains you life whenever she attacks, scaled to the number of small creatures you control. She is in over 20,000 Commander decks. She is terrifying in the way only haunted toys can be.

She is legendary. She is red and white. She is not a Villain. She is Worthy.

Arabella is technically the most flavor-accurate Mjolnir wielder on this list because you could argue that a haunted doll with an inexplicable supernatural connection to violence is just that, you have no idea what is going on there. Alternatively, the hammer has completely lost the plot. Either way, she can pick it up, and pick it up she will.

Bill the Pony | The Horse From a Different Fantasy Universe

Bill the Pony is a 1/4 legendary Horse from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth that costs three white mana. Bill the Pony is Sam Gamgee's pony. He appears in The Fellowship of the Ring, gets sent home at the Mines of Moria, and is waiting patiently in Bree when Sam returns. He creates two Food tokens when he enters. He can sacrifice a Food to make a creature assign combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power. He is a very good pony who has never done anything wrong.

He is legendary. He is white. He is not a Villain. He is Worthy.

This one requires a moment of appreciation for what Wizards has created here. Bill is not just from a different set. He is from a different intellectual property. He is from a completely different fantasy universe that has nothing to do with Marvel. He is a fictional horse from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth who is now, technically, worthy of a weapon from Norse mythology as adapted by a competing publisher. This is very funny.

Bill the Pony can wield Mjolnir. Sam Gamgee would be so proud.

Flubs, the Fool | The Frog

Flubs is a 0/5 legendary Frog Scout from Bloomburrow Commander that costs one green, one blue, and one red mana. He has no attack power. His toughness is five. He plays an additional land each turn and draws you cards when your hand is empty. He is described in his flavor text as a fool in the court jester sense, a figure who entertains through apparent incompetence while quietly being more perceptive than anyone gives him credit for.

He is legendary. He has red in his color identity. He is not a Villain. He is Worthy.

This one is particularly poetic because Flubs has zero power. Mjolnir is described in the comics as one of the most powerful weapons in the universe, capable of leveling mountains and calling lightning from the sky. The creature that can equip it has the attack power of a wet napkin. In Flubs' defense, he does have five toughness, so he would survive the hammer landing on him, which is more than can be said for some creatures. But a 0/5 frog with Mjolnir attached is a visual that will haunt a certain subset of Commander players for years.

Flubs contains multitudes.

Deadpool, Trading Card | The One Who Probably Should Not Have This

Deadpool, Trading Card is a 5/3 legendary Mutant Mercenary Hero from a Secret Lair drop that costs two of whatever, one black, and one red mana. As he enters you may exchange his text box with another creature's, which is exactly the kind of chaos that Deadpool would cause if he entered a card game. At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose three life. For three mana and sacrificing him, each other player draws a card, which is either an act of trolling or genuine generosity, depending on how well you know Deadpool as a character.

He is legendary. He has red. He is a Hero, not a Villain, confirmed by his creature type. He is Worthy.

Here is the thing about Deadpool and Mjolnir. In the actual Marvel comics, Deadpool grabbed the hammer during a scheme set up by Loki, who had taken Death hostage and forced Deadpool to trap Thor. Deadpool swung it around, felt great about himself, and was later informed that Loki had made the real Mjolnir invisible and left a completely fake, powerless replica in its place. Deadpool was not worthy. He was holding a prop. The hammer did not move for him. It has never moved for him. Deadpool, in the comics, reading the MTG Marvel Super Heroes rules txt and immediately running to find Mjolnir is a scene that writes itself.

Loki is somewhere out there, deeply annoyed about this ruling.

So, Who Are You Running?

The conversation around Worthy is only just getting started. Spoiler season is still ongoing, the full card list is not out yet, and there are almost certainly Marvel characters coming in future sets who will expand the pool of officially Worthy creatures further. Every new legendary red or white non-villain card Wizards prints from this point forward is a potential Mjolnir wielder.

But the beautiful thing is that the most interesting Worthy commanders are probably not going to be the Marvel ones. They are going to be the ones nobody expected. The ones that make your table do a double-take when you tap four mana, and suddenly, a corgi is holding one of the most powerful weapons in comic book history.

Drop your weirdest Worthy commander in the comments. We want to see what you found.

MTG Mjolnir Worthy Mechanic FAQ

What is the Worthy mechanic in MTG Marvel Super Heroes? Worthy is a new keyword in MTG Marvel Super Heroes that restricts who can equip Mjolnir, Hammer of Thor. A creature is Worthy if it is a legendary creature that is red and/or white and not a Villain. All three conditions must be met.

Who is Worthy in MTG Marvel Super Heroes Any legendary non-villain creature that is red or white or both can equip Mjolnir. This includes cards from throughout Magic's history, not just Marvel cards. Thor, Captain America, Jane Foster, and the Invisible Woman are all confirmed Worthy in the Marvel set. Phelia the corgi, Arabella the haunted doll, Bill the Pony, Flubs the frog, and Deadpool also all qualify.

Can non-Marvel cards equip Mjolnir? Yes. The Worthy criteria applies to any legendary non-villain red or white creature from anywhere in Magic's card pool. If your Commander is legendary, red or white, and not a Villain, they can equip Mjolnir.

Does Worthy only check when you equip Mjolnir? Yes. Only Mjolnir's own equip ability checks for Worthy. If another card effect attaches Mjolnir to a creature that is not Worthy, the attachment happens anyway. The Worthy check only applies to Mjolnir's equip ability specifically.

What happens if a Worthy creature becomes unworthy while holding Mjolnir? Mjolnir stays attached. Once a creature is wielding Mjolnir through the equip ability, losing the Worthy status does not cause the hammer to fall off. You would just not be able to move it to another creature using the equip ability until you find a Worthy target.

Can Villains ever equip Mjolnir? Not through Mjolnir's own equip ability. A Villain cannot equip Mjolnir because the Worthy criteria specifically requires the creature to not be a Villain. However, if another card effect attaches Mjolnir to a Villain creature without using Mjolnir's equip ability, the attachment is valid. Kingpin cannot pick up the hammer. He can have it handed to him.

Is Deadpool Worthy in MTG Marvel Super Heroes? Yes. Deadpool, Trading Card is a legendary Mutant Mercenary Hero with red in his color identity and the Hero creature subtype which means he is not a Villain. He meets all three Worthy criteria. In the actual Marvel comics Deadpool is famously not worthy of Mjolnir. In Magic he qualifies. This discrepancy is extremely funny.

Is Phelia the corgi Worthy in MTG Marvel Super Heroes? Yes. Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd from Modern Horizons 3 is a legendary white Dog. She is not a Villain. She meets all three Worthy criteria and can equip Mjolnir. The corgi is worthy. This was intentional.