Doc Ock, Sinister Scientist

MSC · common · Released 2026-06-26

Power

brawl

tier-1Strong staple

commander

tier-1Strong staple

Tier shown as baseline → best-case (in its ideal shell).

Derived from the 7 atoms below.

over

above rate

standalone

meaningful alone

synergy

wants support

scales

scales up

rigid

one mode

broad

broadly useful

sticky

hard to remove

Commander Bracket

1Precon2Core3Upgraded4Optimized5cEDH

Archetypes

positive:

self-millgraveyard-mattersmill-yourself-payoff

negative:

aggrocontrolburn

Roles

midrange-threathexproof-threattop-end-finisher

Risks

requires-graveyard-densityrequires-tribe-densityslow-setupconditional-trigger

Mechanics

—

Typal

synergy:

villain

anti:

—

Structural

static-ability

Rationale

Doc Ock is a 4/5 for 5U that becomes an 8/8 with 8+ cards in your graveyard, and gains hexproof while you control another Villain — requiring two independent conditions to reach his full threat ceiling. He's a signature payoff in self-mill/graveyard-matters shells that can also fill the graveyard quickly, but the double condition (graveyard density + Villain tribal support) makes him niche outside those contexts. The Villain subtype is Spider-Man set-specific, limiting tribal synergy in broader Commander.

Learnings (3)

The 'Villain' creature subtype is tied to the Marvel Universes Beyond sets (Spider-Man), so Doc Ock's hexproof condition is highly set-specific and will have limited tribal support outside those sets.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6
Doc Ock needs BOTH 8+ cards in graveyard AND another Villain on board to be a true hexproof 8/8 threat — either condition alone leaves him exposed or undersized.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6
At common rarity in a Marvel set, Villain synergy cards may appear at lower rarities, making tribal density more achievable in limited than in Commander.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

Popularity

EDHREC rank: #13,414