Promises to Keep - Oath of the Gatewatch Review

Hi, everyone! Welcome back!

We've got a new set on the horizon, and I've got you covered with my Commander picks from Oath of the Gatewatch!

Let's get to it. Avengers Gatewatch, ASSEMBLE!

White

Linvala, the Preserver

... At least the art is nice?

I have my doubts that Linvala will make an impact. A six mana 5/5 with flying is average. If you're behind, she can help, but compare her to Thragtusk. Being a 5/5 for 6 (and that's it) while you're ahead might not be enough to keep you there. And you only get the ETB triggers when you're behind, so blinking it (and you can't do that with Restoration Angel, even) only nets you value until you're caught up!

Linvala's more fair than Thragtusk, and offers flying, but why would you jump through all these hoops when Thragtusk saw print at a lower rarity, smaller colour commitment, and lower CMC? Old Linvala's where it's at.


Oath of Gideon

Stop right there, criminal scum!

Three mana gets you two 1/1s in a potentially relevant tribe. The real draw here is the utility in a Superfriends deck. Entering with an extra loyalty can be a big deal. It allows Garruk Wildspeaker to be a cheaper Overrun, Elspeth Tirel to be a cheaper (and arguably better) Hour of Reckoning, and Liliana of the Dark Realms to survive after pumping (or killing) a creature. It helps to add some resilience to your planeswalkers, and combos nicely with Doubling Season (everything does). Venser can blink it for additional value, to boot. The tokens are no hell, but they can chump for planeswalkers that tend to do a bad job at protecting themselves, or need to use another ability to forward your gameplan.

Not bad for three mana, but needs to be in a dedicated deck.


General Tazri

Needs more Eisenhower.

I debated filing this under "multicoloured," but I didn't. At long last, and after some handwaving by the Rules Committee regarding colour identity, we have a 5-Colour Ally Commander. A 3/4 for 5 is not awesome, but an ETB tutor effect is strong. Combined with Conspiracy, you can even tutor for your non-Ally utility creatures (Eternal Witness, Imperial Recruiter, etc.). Given that Allies offer a diverse pool of effects and abilities, Tazri is an always available tutor that enables a toolbox deck by herself. Her activated ability is okay, and should be easy enough to get online for maximum value. I'll be picking one up for sure; with enough Allies and a viable commander, I don't have to run Reaper King and Changelings anymore!


Call the Gatewatch

We ain't 'fraid of no ghost...

I love tutors, and I love planeswalkers. Naturally, I think this card is awesome. I wish it were an instant, like Eladamri's Call, but I'm still very pleased that we finally have a dedicated tutor for planeswalkers. I don't know about widespread play, given that Demonic Tutor exists, but like with the Oath cycle, in a dedicated deck, this will shine.


Blue


Sphinx of the Final Word

Last word: "Can't touch this."

Well, that's tough to answer. Sort of.

Seven mana is a lot, but I guess you could more-or-less comfortably tap out and reasonably expect this thing to survive until your next turn. Enables your instants and sorceries, too. Maybe it'll be good in a Melek or Mizzix deck? Offers more coverage than Boseiju, but it's hard to say whether or not this will be worth the cost.


Crush of Tentacles

Rollin' in the deeeeee-eeeeee-eeeeep!

A fairer Upheaval with an upside? This will almost always be cast for its surge cost. Having an 8/8 on an otherwise open field is a good position to be in. Helps combat token decks, and late enough in the game might force your opponents to discard at least a couple things. Likely worth the effort.


Oath of Jace

High five!

Meh. Just... meh.

Offering some way to filter cards and fill your graveyard is alright, but for three mana? It does offer scrying at your upkeep, but only if you control at least one planeswalker. Unlike Oath of Gideon, which is proactive in that it offers defense and added utility to your planeswalkers, Oath of Jace offers you limited utility if you can jump through his hoops and keep your friends alive. This is why no one likes you, Jace. Well, that and your haircut.

Black

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

Shortsighted leadership, indeed.

Unlike Anafenza, Kalitas doesn't exile creature cards sent to the graveyard from an opponent's hand or library. But a 3/4 for 4 with lifelink is good, and he grows easily enough. I don't know if he's quite good enough for hardcore competitive play, given that his ability cost three mana to activate, but he's another fun alternative for something like vampire tribal.


Red

Kozilek's Return

A more expensive Pyroclasm that's colourless? And that deals extra damage when you cast a big Eldrazi, simply by being in your graveyard? This seems alright, for three mana. Two damage isn't a lot, but it does deal with creatures like Geist of Saint Traft and utility creatures with protection from red. Could be worthwhile.


Chandra, Flamecaller

Fire, at will.

This is the card I'm most excited for from Oath of the Gatewatch. Chandra cards traditionally haven't been good Commander picks, but I think Flamecaller might be the Chandra to play over Chandra Nalaar and Chandra, Pyromaster. Her +1 puts two 3/1s onto the battlefield, which, apart from being six power, has the added benefit of being able to push damage through if they only have one blocker. This can help deal with planeswalkers that defend themselves, like Elspeth, Knight-Errant. Her 0 ability helps you fill your graveyard (useful in certain Grixis builds), nets you +1 card, and has a little added utility in Niv-Mizzet decks and Nekusar builds that use Psychosis Crawler. Her -X is symmetrical, as a blend of Chandra Nalaar's -X and -10, but you'll only use it when you're behind, anyway. This Chandra, like Pyromaster, helps you catch up when you're behind, and unlike Chandra Ablaze, seems well worth the six mana.


Oath of Chandra

Stop right now, thank you very much....

This is a flavourful card, at least. Half-assed oath, half-assed card. I'm reviewing every planeswalker support card they've printed out of principle, but I really don't think I want this. If it triggered for each planeswalker that entered under your control, then it might see play in a Narset Superfriends build, where you get free planeswalkers from the top of your library, but the payoff's too small to justify it as-is. At least, unlike Jace's oath, the planeswalkers don't even have to survive to your end step to get the token payoff. Yay.

Edit: A reader has pointed out that when combined with Venser, the Sojourner, Oath of Chandra offers incidental damage should you choose to 'reset' your planeswalkers by targeting them with Venser's +2. While not a gamebreaking interaction, it's still very cool, and was worth mentioning.


Green

Nissa, Voice of Zendikar

Land, ho!

Nissa doesn't do anything new. She makes small tokens, like Elspeth. Puts counters on your team, like Ajani. Draws you cards, like Freyalise. Three mana is intriguing, with Sun Titan in the format, and token builds should seriously consider Nissa for the same reason they run Ajani Goldmane. She's nothing new, but a welcome addition to decks that want what she's got. Redundancy has value.


World Breaker

It's not easy, being green.

A seven mana 5/7 is pretty bad. A seven mana 5/7 that exiles an artifact, enchantment, or land when you cast it is pretty good. Has built in recursion, too, for when he dies. This kind of ability is a rattlesnake in its own right, since your opponents aren't going to want you to exile something else, even if it's going to cost you ten more mana. Protection from green isn't that common, especially for noncreature permanents, so World Breaker being colourless won't be that relevant, but worth remembering. Can block a creature with Sword of Feast and Famine, if your opponent doesn't RTFC.

Oath of Nissa

Getting really hard to shake this Vulcan vibe, Nissa...

One mana, you say?

This is the oath we need. Cheap, offers a good chance at a land or a threat, and then fixes your mana if your aim is to cast planeswalkers. This will make it easier to cast planeswalkers with awkward mana costs (looking at you, Bolas) in five colour decks. Bouncing this will net you value, as with all of them, and limits your selection (unlike Jace's oath, which also fills your graveyard). Limitations aside, I expect this one to see play.


Multicoloured

Jori En, Ruin Diver

Now in Predator-vision!

A three mana 2/3 that maxes out at drawing you one extra card per turn. She sort of reminds me of Sygg, River Cutthroat. Both are merfolk, both only draw you one extra card per player turn, and only after you jump through a hoop. I guess it'd come down to whether or not you prefer red or black as your support colour. The full art promo for gameday, as an aside, looks amazing.

Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim

Aayyyylimao (I tried).

Well, that's aggressively costed. I expect Ayli to become a very popular BW Commander. Life gain, wins fights against much larger creatures, and can eventually exile things for the price of a Vindicate. She needs a little work to reach that last part, but gaining ten life shouldn't be too difficult. A few token producers, a pile of removal, and Ayli, here, and you'll get the pseudo-Legacy Weapon online in no time.

Mina and Denn, Wildborn

Denn can dance if he wants to, apparently. Look at that kick!

I don't know if I'd run Mina and Denn in their own deck, but in an Omnath, Locus of Rage deck... So. Many. Elementals. You can also bounce utility lands for extra mileage, offering trample to your guys in a Stonebrow deck. Mina and Denn will find a home, no problem.


Colourless

Kozilek, the Great Distortion

For the sake of my appetite, I will keep watch.

I expect Kozilek to become a fairly popular commander. Colourless card draw and countermagic on top of being difficult to block make him a well-rounded package, offering things not often found in colourless decks for a fair price.

Reality Smasher

Reality: fragile.

An efficient beater that punishes your opponent for trying to remove it. If you're ahead, this will help you run away with the game. I don't usually like "win-more" cards, but this is enough of an anomaly that I'd say it could be worth including in a number of decks. Rafiq of the Many could make good use of this, for example.

Captain's Claws

To be fair, I'd be more wary of some claw-wielding lunatic than another guy with a sword.

Cheap, offers an extra attacker that sticks around (if he makes it back alive), and doesn't require mana every time it triggers, like Militia's Pride does. I wish the token were also soldiers, but an extra Ally ETB trigger could be worth the inclusion, especially during combat.

Stoneforge Masterwork

Armour: Now a necessity!

Elves, saprolings, soldiers, allies... lots of places for this thing to go. Added bonus if your Commander shares a type with the tokens you're making (Rhys, Nath, Darien, etc.). On top of the added benefit, the Masterwork's cheap. Worth consideration, if a token deck of some kind is your thing.

Lands

Mirrorpool

Riku, the land. Entering tapped is a downer, and the restriction of only being able to target spells or creatures you control limits the usefulness of Mirrorpool, but the mana costs aren't oppressive, and it's a colourless source if you're looking to cast one of the new Eldrazi.

Sea Gate Wreckage

What am I even looking at?

Enters untapped, and offers asymmetrical card draw? I totally expect this to see play. I know there are comparisons to Library of Alexandria, but I was reminded more of Mikokoro, Center of the Sea, which I really like in Commander. It might be too narrow, but if you need a colourless source, you could do much worse.

Fin

Those are my picks from Oath of the Gatewatch! Did I miss anything awesome? Let me know!

Thanks for reading!

January 18th Banlist Update

Hey, everyone! Welcome back!

This morning, the quarterly banlist update came out, and it's heralded a few positive changes.

 

"Summary:

- Commander-specific mulligan rules are removed

- Rule 4 (mana generation restriction) is removed

- Prophet of Kruphix is banned

Mulligans:

We promised in the last update that, with the advent of the Vancouver Mulligan, we'd be evaluating the mulligan process in Commander. This announcement is the culmination of that research. After examining several popular options, and coming up with a few of our own, we've concluded that the Vancouver Mulligan (with the standard first-one-free in multiplayer and a scry once you go to 6 or fewer) is the best option. The RC continues to use and recommend the Gis ("Mulligan 7s to a playable hand. Don't abuse this") for trusted playgroups, but that's not something that can go in the rules.

Ultimately, the goal of mulligans in Commander is to ensure that you start the game with enough lands to be a participant. With Commander games running an hour plus, it's unfortunate if you can't play anything because you miss land drops and get run over quickly.

We didn't want to solve the problems of Magic itself - mana screw and mana flood are part of the game - and players need to make a reasonable effort with their land counts, but we wanted a mulligan rule that tried to minimize unplayable opening hands. So, we brainstormed, and ran computer simulations. And what ultimately came out was... it didn't much matter. Nothing provided a clear enough upgrade to justify having additional rules for mulligans. For example, with 37 lands, Partial Paris was "successful" (which we defined as playing a 4th land on turn 4) 89% of the time versus Multiplayer Vancouver at 86%, but it came at a cost of about a fifth of a card on average. On the whole, 86% success is a rate that seems reasonable.

If you find yourself playing 1v1 (perhaps while waiting for a friend to show up), you should still use the free multiplayer mulligan. With a deck this size, variance is high enough to make not having the free mulligan potentially punishing - without the free mulligan you drop down to about 80% success rate, which, combined with being the only opponent to focus on, leads to too many unfortunate games.

Finally, it’s not an official rule, but we recommend setting aside the hands you're mulliganning away until you get a keeper. That saves shuffling time, and we're all for minimizing shuffling 100-card decks.

Rule 4:

We still love Rule 4. It's a nice piece of flavor and reinforces the idea that this format goes beyond simple mechanical restrictions into a deeper philosophical approach around color and mana symbols. Its effect on the game was pretty small, but that flavor message made it worthwhile to preserve.

However, the mana system of Magic is very complicated, and trying to insert an extra rule there has consequences in the corners. Harvest Mage. Celestial Dawn. Gauntlet of Power. And now, colorless-only mana costs.

Being able to generate colorless mana more easily in Commander wasn't going to break anything. But, it represented another "gotcha" moment for players, who were now likely to learn about Rule 4 when someone exploited the colorless loophole. We could paper over it (both "mana generated from off-color sources can only pay generic costs" and "you can't pay a cost outside your color identity" were considered), but a lot of the flavor would be lost in the transition, defeating the purpose. Without the resonant flavor, Rule 4 was increasingly looking like mana burn - a rule that didn't come up enough to justify it's existence.

We don't expect removing the rule to have a big impact. Some Sunburst and Converge cards might get a bit more of a look. Sen Triplets works more like you'd expect, as does Praetor's Grasp. The clone-and-steal deck, already one of the most popular archetypes, gets better, but less than you might think. It turns out there really aren't that many impactful non-blue activated abilities on cards that commonly get stolen in Commander. It's OK if you can regenerate that creature you just stole, and you'll need to work for it a bit anyway.

One side benefit to the removal of both the color production and mulligan rules is that, in terms of game play, Commander becomes a normal game of multiplayer Magic with a higher life total and a set of additive rules to bring a new piece (your Commander) into the game. That's good streamlining in terms of teaching people the format and reducing gotcha moments while still preserving the essential flavor of Commander.

 

Prophet of Kruphix:

This was challenging. Prophet is not a traditionally obvious problem card for Commander, so we chose to take a conservative approach and see if casual groups could adapt. In the past, we've seen unpopular cards generate a lot of outcry, but be handled reasonably well. Powerful cards existing is OK and exploring them responsibly is an essential part of Commander.

This didn't happen with Prophet. Casual groups haven't been able to work around it and problematic play has not dropped off in hoped-for ways. Instead, the primary approach has been to steal it, clone it, run it yourself, or get run over. Ultimately, it seems the card is too perfect - it does everything U/G Commander players want to be doing and it does it in a way that makes counterplay difficult. With traditional boogeymen such as Consecrated Sphinx, you're forced to expend a lot of your mana to cast it and will have a challenge protecting it as the turn goes around the table. With Prophet, it has virtual protection built in, negating that disadvantage almost immediately.

Prophet becomes only the second multicolored card on the banlist (after the structurally-problematic Coalition Victory). It's telling just how pervasive Prophet is despite such a restriction. Yes, U/G is the most popular color combination in Commander, but we've reached the point where Prophet is driving U/G deck choice, rather than vice-versa. That's centralizing in ways we can't ignore, so it's time for Prophet to take a break.

Whenever we decide to ban a card, we take a long look at the current list to see if any cards can come off, as we believe a casual format is better served by a minimalist banlist. After extensive discussion, however, we concluded that everything on the list served a purpose, so we won't be unbanning anything. It's been two years since the last (non-consolidation) card got banned, which is an acceptable growth rate!"

 

There it is, copied and pasted for your convenience. Let's have a look!

 

Analysis:

 

I'm of the opinion that the Partial Paris, while easily abused, wasn't broken. I've even tried a blend of the two rules- Partial Paris, with the first one being free, and then scry 1 if you mulligan down to fewer than seven cards. This is probably too much. The Vancouver Mulligan will take some getting used to, but I'm sure it'll be fine. Only having one rule to remember should help make the format more accessible to all of the Modern guys that got burned by their banlist announcment (I jest, but consider the guys that went from Pod to Twin. Thise guys have to be hurting). Playgroups that have been together for years and know/trust one another will likely just continue to Partial Paris, so anyone looking to join such a group should consider clarifying which rules the playgroup follows, as ever.

 

The change to the mana production rules is interesting. Like the RC said, it makes Sen Triplets decks a little more viable, and steamlines things nicely. It also puts to rest a rumour that the RC was examining the elimination of "off-colour" fetchlands for flavour reasons, so that's a nice added benefit. More people will likely run lands that tap for any colour (Mana Confluence, etc.) to take advantage of any incidental shenanigans (regenerating things you gain control of, playing around Naked Singularity in a 2+ coloured deck). It would appear that lands like this are no longer free sources of colourless that also tap for your colours at no opportunity cost, but that's a fair price to pay for removing a layer of complexity.

 

The Prophet ban is something I'd have expected to be more controversial, but the reaction, while mixed, has been either, "Any card can be played around, c'mon," or "Haha, yeah... fair enough." It's altogether pretty subdued. Another green creature bites the dust. My Momir Vig deck will miss it, but its loss can be overcome by Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and Seedborn Muse. Let's be real- due to the simple fact that one creature could do the work of two for the same CMC as either creature is a bit of a problem. I'm interested in seeing how this shakes things up.

 

That's all for today! Join me next time, as we dig into Oath of the Gatewatch. As always, thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proxy Roller

Alright, things are getting ridiculous.

For those not in the know, Wizards appears to be cracking down on the use of "counterfeit" cards; that is, cards colloquially referred to as "proxies." This has created an uproar on r/magictcg, where it's viewed as another controversy. Wizards of the Coast is, apparently, killing Legacy and Vintage.

Much drama.

I haven't seen anyone ask the most obvious question yet:

Why is this an issue, exactly?

If I wanted to race cars, and couldn't afford a Ferrari, I wouldn't obtain a fake Ferrari, show up, and expect to compete. No, if I didn't have the money, I'd race my little Nissan, or I'd spectate.

It really is that simple.

Now, I get that my perspective might be different from that of most people. But I just can't imagine being so entitled that I would expect to show up with a stack of proxies or fakes and expect to play.

A Reddit user called me entitled once, as a result of me going on record as being anti-proxy. I was called elitist and entitled for expecting my opponents to play real cards, and therefore, to play within their means. But his vitriolic attack couldn't be further from the truth.

Having been in a position during my undergrad where I couldn't afford to keep up with the (then less-frequent) Standard rotations, I get that money is a barrier to entry to play the game. In order to play, then, I had to make do. Some of my choices had to be suboptimal. As my fortunes improved, and I switched to Commander, I was able to very gradually "buy in." I picked up a Savannah for $35 in 2009, and I didn't get my last dual land until 2011, a Taiga. For eternal staples, I settled on MP, HP, and borderline destroyed (my Underground Sea had a dog-eared corner that was hanging by a thread, and looked like it did two tours in Afghanistan).

I've sat down to play a game of Commander with a guy that reeked of drugs. Reeked. Unfortunately, the city I live in doesn't really treat marijuana use as a crime, so this guy's "smoke breaks" took a while. So he comes in, and tells the table, "So, yeah, I'm running a few proxies." Not, "hey, do you guys mind that...." He assumed he'd be good to go. The reason? He'd spent too much on drugs, and couldn't afford the last few cards for his deck.

There are people out there that would be fine with this, and this pisses me off. Why on Earth would you expect someone that's bought the cards and wants to play the game to allow this? You chose to spend your money on something else; that is very firmly in the realm of "Your Fucking Problem." Period. Zero sympathy.

However, as I said above, I've been a broke student. If someone is proxying bulk rares and uncommons because they have no money, I tend to be more reasonable. Hell, I've bought cards for kids so they're playing with real cards. Money shouldn't be a barrier to playing the game, but it is a barrier to competing. That's just the way it is.

The game is playable on a modest budget; it simply takes time. If you want to play Vintage, trade into it gradually. You don't get to just decide that you want to play, and so deserve to. It's not the Reserve List's fault. It's not WotC's fault. Honestly, it's probably your parents' fault. If you want out, go. It's offensive and wrong to compare a company's defense of their IP to an "abusive relationship."

Added benefit? Everyone cashing out of the game will be selling off their cards. Might be a chance for those of us that play the game as intended to pick up a few staples.

Commander 2015: the Thrilling Conclusion?

Hey, everyone! Welcome back!

Today, we wrap up our review of Commander 2015. Now, it's important to remember that on top of the 55 (out of 56, because Kalemne was spoiled much earlier) cards we've looked at, there are a number of high quality reprints to consider if you're looking at picking up one or more of the decks. Decklists can be found here; an informed shopper is a smart one.

And now, the last of the brand new cards!

White

Oreskos Explorer

So, kind of a Tithe attached to a reasonably-priced creature. This isn't bad at all. It's not likely to make a splash in the late game, but I'm a fan of cards like this this. Land Tax, Tithe, Weathered Wayfarer; all are good. White counts on effects like this to hit land drops, and I'm of the opinion that hitting every land drop is the surest form of mana ramp. People tend to be less willing to destroy lands en masse, at least in casual play. As such, you could argue that cards like our feline friend here are a little safer than artifact ramp. Count on seeing this in mono-white decks, and not just Raksha or Kemba.


Herald of the Host

Serra Angel doesn't even see widespread play in Kaalia lists. A Serra Angel that hits everyone is an improvement, sure, but I don't know if the Herald here makes enough of an impact in your average Commander game.


Blue

Synthetic Destiny



The biggest advantage of Synthetic Destiny is that it's an instant. Exiling your team seems bad, of course, but if you're controlling someone else's creatures, or a bunch of tokens you want to tag out for some value creatures or a beater, then it's certainly an option. I like Polymorph-esque effects, but I prefer the chance to reuse whatever I target, and that's easier with a 'destroy' than it is trying to get your creature back from exile.



Mirror Match

Worst part of Mortal Kombat.

This is a cool combat trick that could also score you some ETB triggers, if your opponent is swinging in with, say, a Titan of some non-Primeval kind. Worth some consideration, though it'll probably only work once.



Broodbirth Viper

Five mana is a lot. Unlike the other creatures with Myriad in this expansion, however, Broodbirth Viper offers a benefit in addition to the damage it would deal to each opponent. It might be cool with Venser, the Sojourner, whose -2 does apply to creatures that enter the battlefield after it resolves (Gatherer ruling). In that case, in a 4 player game, drawing three and dealing three to each opponent isn't bad. But a 5 mana do-nothing probably isn't worth it.


Illusory Ambusher

I like this quite a bit, actually. Big enough to kill a large number of threats, and nets you some number of cards. I wish it had one more point of toughness, but that's just my Blightsteel Colossus paranoia shining through. I expect this cat to see some play. It's not everyday a combat trick offers the potential to draw more than one card.


Black

Daxos's Torment

A four mana conditional 5/5 with flying and haste? Hard to say just how useful this will be, but there are decks that run enough enchantments to make this worthwhile. Kind of a nonbo with Zur, given that you get your enchantment after Zur attacks, and so this guy cannot. Even so, it's still seems good in a (new) Daxos deck, maybe alondside Heliod?



Thief of Blood

A flying threat that kills planeswalkers and hurts decks like Mimeoplasm and every Simic deck, ever. It's expensive, maybe, but unlike Aether Snap, this leaves a threat behind (at the cost of not hitting tokens). There are decks that'd want this, but I'd say it's more of a meta call.


Corpse Auger

With two toughness, it's a matter of when this guy will die, not if. He might not even kill/mill you outright, since you can choose anyone's graveyard. That said, I don't like cards without an immediate impact of some kind. With one toughness, you could clmap this guy for a huge amount of value. As he is, I'd pass. I prefer Disciple of Bolas in the same role, to be honest. The setup takes more effort, but at least then you can capitalize on the card draw immediately.


Red

Awaken the Sky Tyrant

It's a shame that this costs four. If it cost any less, it'd be a pretty good deterrent in a colour that doesn't get deterrents. In Commander, though? A 5/5 flier often isn't enough to make a splash. You want your rattlesnakes to really intimidate your opponents, like Defense of the Heart. Two mystery creatures is a lot scarier than one dragon for the same CMC. Could you consider this a budget version, as they fill similar roles? Maybe, but I'd still consider running something else.


Rite of the Raging Storm

This is a cool political card! You've got opponents Lava Axing each other while you get to sit tight. Add in a few helpful reminders ("I'm giving you creatures! What's he done for you lately?"), and watch things escalate. Play your cards right (ha!) and you'll be calling the shots soon enough.


Warchief Giant

I mean, I guess it's sorta similar to the outcome of casting Rite of the Raging Storm. And at least Red's Myriad card has haste, for a little immeidate benefit, but I think I'd probably just build my own Myriad with Blade of Selves (which might explain the demand for it).


Dream Pillager

One phrase short. "Without paying their mana costs." That's all he needed to be awesome. As he is, if you've got seven mana available, you could probably follow it up with any number of things, having dug ~4 cards deeper. He's not bad, but he costs a lot and doesn't let you have your spells for free. Most people will pass this guy by. It's a shame, too; the art is striking, very cool!


 Meteor Blast

Meteor Blast is the latest riff on the variable burn spell. Triple R is harsh, and hinders your ability to splash it, but 4 damage is a respectable amount. Comet Storm is more expensive, but offers a lot more flexibility. And it's been reprinted in a Commander product before.


Green

Skullwinder

It's a political Eternal Witness that can trade with much larger creatures. Run. It. In any deck you can.


Bloodspore Thrinax

Neat with Modular, Graft, and Persist. He'd be pretty good in any deck that employs those strategies. Also makes your big guys bigger, and your utility creatures able to hold their own in the mid/late game.



Ezuri's Predation

A conditional green wrath? That could leave you with a few Beasts? Might be worth considering, given that green doesn't get this kind of ability very often. The mana cost isn't that relevant, in this case, because, you know, green. The GGG in the mana cost does make this hard to splash, though.


Caller of the Pack

Eight power and trample make Caller of the Pack a force to be reckoned with, especially since it can hit everyone, but at seven mana with no ETB ability, I don't know if he's better than something like Regal Force for the same cost. Cards that "just" do damage, even lots of damage, need to be spectacular to see to play. And Caller... isn't.


Pathbreaker Ibex

Our backup for Craterhoof Behemoth is... a goat. You laugh, but I've seen people run Goatnapper, "just in case." It's worthwhile, yes. Token decks will want this. But be careful against Krenko decks. A stolen goat in a Krenko deck will kill you. And no one wants to die that way.


Great Oak Guardian

Here, we've got a six mana 4/5 with reach and flash. Seems alright, if unimpressive. The main draw of our wooden friend here is the ETB ability. Pumps your team and untaps them, which could be a cool followup to a botched alpha strike. With Kiki-Jiki, you'll notice that you can create an arbitrarily large team. Triple R into a green spell can be rough, but "infinite" combos in two colours without blue are almost worth it for the surprise factor on their own. I could see this guy being run in a Xenagos deck alongside Kiki-Jiki, for sure.



Colourless

Sandstone Oracle

Colourless card draw, you say? On a decently sized flying body? For a reasonable price? More options for Kozilek decks are always good. Most of the colours have better options, of course, but for white and red decks, this sphinx could be worth the inclusion.


Thought Vessel

A Reliquary Tower that costs mana, huh? It is one of the cheaper mana rocks that could see play; its static ability is pretty useful. In a deck like Nekusar, maybe, something like this could be good. I wanted to avoid Reliquary Tower in my Nekusar deck, because of things like Forced Fruition (UUU) and other spells with a heavy colour requirement. Having the same effect on a cheap mana rock is a potentially worthwhile alternative. I'll do some testing.


Fin
And that's all for today! Has your experience differed? Have tips or suggestions? Let me know! And, as always, thank you for reading!

The Commander 2015 Review Continues!

Hi, everyone; welcome back!

So... how about those new Commander cards?

It looks like they've done a hell of a job with the cards in this set. Many aren't overtly powerful, but I feel that there's more wheat than chaff here. Let's have a look in Part 2 of the Commander 2015 breakdown.

White

Righteous Confluence

"Yuna! Send him!"

Not the most thrilling offering, but 6 power for five mana (spread over three bodies) isn't too bad. Lifegain can be relevant in the format; I've won games with the lonegevity granted by Ajani, Mentor of Heroes. While this isn't on the same scale, 15 life for 5 mana isn't awful. Exiling enchantments might come up; following a turn 4 Enchanted Evening with this on turn five could be a lot of fun. Overall, I wish this could hit artifacts as well, but this offers a few niche effects bundled together nicely for a reasonable cost. Hard to argue with that.


Bastion Protector

Alright, so we've got a efficient creature that keeps your Commander around. Kind of a redundant effect in something like a Rafiq deck (if they run Knight Exemplar). Plus, I could see this being called Arya Stark, given the resemblance to Maisie Williams. If your Commander is the engine that drives your deck, is white (no Tumblr hate, pls), and is not Avacyn (the good one), Arya here is probably worth running.


Dawnbreak Reclaimer

Get it? Because the ability scales!

I don't usually like giving my opponents a choice, with two exceptions. One, if I can politically strongarm them into doing what I want, and the other exception is if they don't have much of a choice at all. Dawnbreak Reclaimer is the second kind of card. It's kind of reminiscent of Guided Passage, a favourite of mine, in that they can't "fail to find," unless a card that meets the criteria doesn't exist. On top of netting some benefit (even something as innocuous as Burnished Hart), you can use this politically, choosing an opponent with no graveyard, or one with the power to repay you in some way. I like this, and it's a fairly efficient creature to boot.


Grasp of Fate

Man, do I ever wish they still used the templating for Oblivion Ring. As is, Grasp of Fate is potentially high reward for substantial risk. Many high-value targets in the format have some kind of ETB ability, meaning you're offering them extra mileage for the low, low price of taking revenge on you anyway. See the problem? That's not to say that this is terrible, but if you're the kind of person that watched John Wick and thought, "Man they shouldn't have killed that dog," then this card might not be for you.


Shielded by Faith

Shielded by Faith is somewhat evocative of Gift of Immortality, with a dash of Prison Term thrown in. I think this card is great; there are a lot of Commanders that will want Indestructible for cheap, and you can cast it anytime you have a creature in the early game, and attach it to the boss when he shows up. Probably going to straight into Zur, Uril, and Bruna decks 'round the world now.


Blue

Mystic Confluence

This is probably the breakout card for the set. Magic "financiers" have already indicated an interest in speculating on this, given its ability to roughly mimic Cryptic Command. I don't forsee the demand on this card pushing demand of Seize Control to the level of Mind Seize in 2013, which was sought after because of the inclusion of True-Name Nemesis. Mystic Confluence offers nothing but value. It's a soft counter that can be hard, plus a bounce or a draw. I can't think of too many blue decks that won't want this. Hopefully, demand doesn't make the deck this comes in impossible to obtain for MSRP.


Aethersnatch

This is kind of an upgrade to Commandeer. No alternate cost, but this can target creature spells and clocks in at one mana cheaper to hardcast. Any deck that plays Commandeer or the like will probably want to run this as well.


Gigantoplasm

It's rare that I throw the term "strictly better" around, but this appears to be a strictly better Clone. In the time before the most recent update to the "legend rule," I fought for a long time to get Clone onto various lists of "staples." I'm older and wiser now, and Clone's ability to act as Commander removal that got around hexproof is a thing of the past. Even so, I've seen Sakashima the Imposter decks that basically operate as Clone-tribal, so this might be a fun inclusion there. The modified Mirror Entity ability the copy gets is useful, too, allowing you to copy a utility creature, get an ETB trigger, and then be able to beat an opponent with your copy. Pretty cool!


Black

Wretched Confluence

Here, we have a pricier Ambition's Cost/ Ancient Craving that can trade the card draw amd life loss for a Recover or the removal of a small utility creature. As with the other Confluence cards in the expansion, I expect this will see play due to its flexibility.


Deadly Tempest

It's not Damnation, so it's unplayable jank, right? In reality, this is useful against a variety of decks. Yeah, six mana can be a lot, and this doesn't offer the flexibility that Austere Command does for the same price, but this also pisses all over token decks in a way that relatively few other cards can pull off. This will be good.


Scourge of Nel Toth

Normally, French Vanilla (or creatures that are essentially French Vanilla) aren't that interesting. Scourge offers some flexibility in its casting, and based on the Uncharted Realms article he's in, his abilities are a flavour win, but I'd probably pass on this one. At seven mana, he's not what you'd be happy hardcasting in the mid-to-late game, and even if you get him out early, he's going to either make you a target or die. Setting yourself back two potential blockers to cheat out a flying 6/6 just isn't worth it.


Dread Summons

Contrary to popular belief, mill is a viable Plan A in Commander. Normally, it'd be Phenax or Oona, but something like The Mimeoplasm is something of a mill strategy, too. I think Dread Summons has a place in a Mimeoplasm deck, or some Sidisi, Brood Tyrant builds. The access to green ramp could help make the value of X in Dread Summons's casting cost more significant that it's be in UB Phenax or Oona, while either doubling down of creatures in Sidisi, or filling the graveyard for Mimeoplasm.


Red

Magus of the Wheel

Man, I wish this had been part of a Sorcery-based cycle. Ah, well. As it stands, the obvious application is Nekusar. Mono-red isn't usually a winning game plan, but I expect we'll see our new Magus fairly often in red decks, given the increase in the cost of Wheel of Fortune.




Mizzix's Mastery

This feels like Past in Flames to me. The RRR in the Overload cost is harsh, but if played appropriately, could easily close out the game. This card could be dangerous; one to keep an eye on, for sure.


Green

Verdant Confluence

The last of the Confluences! Verdant Confluence has a couple flaws, in my opinion, likely caused by an attempt for some balance. As it is, it's a triple Rampant Growth, or a triple almost-Regrowth, or a pile of counters, for a fair price. The ability to put counters does require you to have a creature, for maximum benefit, but you can help out an ally, or two, or three. If it seems underpowered, then I'd argue that the restrictions on the first two abilities are balanced by the third. Ramp is seldom a bad thing in a game of Commander, and getting three lands from your library for one card is pretty solid.


Arachnogenesis

So, a Fog, token producer, and combat trick all in one? This seems pretty cool. It can be used offensively, and though you won't get any bonus spiders for attacking, at least yours will come home. Spider support is growing, hopefully when we head back to Innistrad we'll get a legendary spider.


Centaur Vinecrasher

Okay, so this looks like a Knight of the Reliquary/ Vengevine mashup. I don't know if I'd play it. I play Knight of the Reliquary and ten fetchlands. Realistically, I might have 2-5 lands in the mid game. So, I'd be paying 4 mana for around a 5/5 with trample. That I can recur (slowly) if I bin another land. Meh.


Multicoloured

Karlov of the Ghost Council

Repeatable removal on a small, cheap potential Commander, that incrementally grows when you gain life? Yes, you have to jump through a couple hoops. But lifegain isn't necessarily bad in a meta where Commander damage isn't a concern (for whatever reason). Hell, Oloro could run this for significant profit. And the Orzhov are all about profit.


Meren of Clan Nel Toth

Wow. Meren is... abusable (stand down, Tumblr). There are at least a few creatures that can sacrifice for cheap (if not for free) that would then net you an experience counter. Sakura-Tribe Elder, Fleshbag Marauder, Awakening Zone, From Beyond, and Birthing Pod are all powerful ways to sacrifice creatures, and that's just scratching the surface. And Meren offers utility even if you don't have "enough" experience counters, letting you recycle your creatures. An extremely powerful Commander.


Ezuri, Claw of Progress

Ezuri seems good alongside token producers. From Beyond, Awakening Zone, Avenger of Zendikar, Elvish Promenade, all of these are solid. And then you go to combat, dump a pile of counters on a creature, and go to town. Doubling Season, Parallel Lives, and ways to make your creatures unblockable are all great with Ezuri.


Anya, Merciless Angel

First of all, gorgeous art. I'm not 100% sure yet on where Anya fits in, lore-wise, but I guess we could safely assume that she's another of Razia's clones, like Aurelia? Anyway, Anya, Late to the Party, is an acceptable body for a reasonable cost that just... attacks. She's at lease evasive, I suppose, but I'd run Gisela over her, if I had to play RW.


Arjun, the Shifting Flame

A six mana 5/5 Mindmoil. It's... different, I guess? It doesn't really read that well. Tough to plan ahead when you get a different hand every time you attempt to do something. In a "chaos" themed deck,


Colourless

Seal of the Guildpact

Shoutout time! This card was spoiled by Tolarian Community College's Professor; if you're unfamiliar with his Youtube Channel, I recommend you check it out.

Not much to say about this card. It's a fine card, I guess; a big Medallion. Five mana feels like a lot to me, given that Gilded Lotus is the same price and provides more flexibility, in that you can use the mana on activated abilities and the like. I'm not interested in this card so much.


Command Beacon

Most people are excited that this helps enable Haakon and Phage as Commanders, though the former will still require some effort. It's a shame it's only in one of the new decks, because it helps overcome the Commander tax for Commanders that are big targets, and I'd hate to see demand for this drive up the cost for the deck it's in. Time will tell, but I like this card, and expect it to see play in any deck that can afford to play a land that doesn't tap for coloured mana.



That's all for today! Join me next time for the thrilling conclusion!

As always, let me know if you've got feedback or criticism. Thanks for reading!