Magic: The Gathering's Marvel set has a Common that goes infinite on turn two

Magic: The Gathering's Marvel Super Heroes set isn't out yet, but one card is already raising eyebrows. Hawkeye's Bow, a one-mana equipment from the upcoming set, pairs with an old Common to create an infinite combo that could land it on a ban list before most players even crack a pack.

Hawkeye's Bow gives the equipped creature +1/+0 and reach — nothing alarming on its face. The problem is Seeker of Skybreak, a cheap elf with an activated ability that untaps a target creature. Equip Hawkeye's Bow to the Seeker, and it can untap itself indefinitely, creating an infinite loop with just two Commons. Both cards are legal in Pauper and Commander, and the combo can come together as early as turn two. Magic's designers stopped printing creatures that untap themselves for free years ago precisely because of how easily it breaks things, but Seeker of Skybreak has been quietly sitting in the card pool this whole time. Other routes to the same loop exist but require more pieces: Tidewater Minion has the same untap ability but costs five mana and is blue. Lurking Roper works as a three-card version if you add a lifegain source like Basilisk Collar. Devoted Druid is a classic infinite-untap enabler, though you'll need a way to strip its -1/-1 counters — Vizier of Remedies being the go-to.

Designer Gavin Verhey says he thinks players will have enough removal to handle the combo for now, but that's a familiar kind of optimism that has preceded more than a few ban announcements. Pauper in particular is a format where two-card Common combos tend to get scrutinized fast.

Marvel Super Heroes releases this month, so the community won't have to wait long to find out whether Verhey's confidence holds up — or whether Hawkeye's Bow becomes the set's first casualty on the banned list.