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inventors-fair · 4 years

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Herald Commentary

I’m happy with the wide range of cards that people jumped into for this contest! There was a wide range, but a lot of modern ideas. I think because of Magic’s contemporary focus on legendary creatures, many people sought ideas that came from more recent sets. Looking at the entries, what do you think?

Let’s get to commentary!

@ace-hobo — Caller of Devastation

That’s a pretty cool name, and it’s an interesting flavor that you’re going for. I would have rather seen a card that focused on a singular card and follower, one that fits an isolated flavor. For the sake of this contest, it makes sense that you would name the cards. I could see this printed in a regular set as a card that tutored for a God creature card or something.

@aethernalstars — Caller of the Harvest

Alright, it took me a second to understand this card. I don’t think that almost-irremovable devotion is a pain in extended formats, but in a vacuum it’s a pain in the butt, and I’m not a huge fan. Still, a cool idea for mechanical execution. Still trying to figure out how a plant becomes a cleric. Additionally, those symbols: it should be “GW, T:” with the comma and space.

@cas-420 — Crackling Boltkin

Now this is fun. Honestly, I would have liked this card better as either a graveyard summon or a library summon, not both. I’m really proud of you for the wording on this, though. It’s a complex idea that you pulled off well. The double triggers plus the double search makes this card feel like it’s trying to do a little too much, but I like the name and I like the concept. It feels like a contemporary elemental.

@dabudder — Gerrard, Legacy Protector

It’s interesting to see white using the graveyard as a “keep this secret safe” kind of thing. I think. Man, that ability though... I can imagine this being pretty crazy broken in some capacity. Stacking a bunch of different legendary artifacts and big bombs or something... I don’t know, this card feels powerful and worrying but it probably isn’t broken. Small note: The card is just “Weatherlight” lol

@dimestoretajic — Yar-Kul, the Maggot

I actually remember reading about Yargle way back in the Dominaria days. Man, wish I could have afforded more Magic back then... Anyway. I personally find the “card within a card” concept pretty fun. There’s nothing really objectively wrong with this card. If I had to find a criticism, it feels minorly clunky that one legend is a search while one is just a sacrifice. Comparing that to that Reef Worm thing from the Commander set, it’s just a little iffy. But it fulfills the contest and I like it.

@ezurad — Mad Cultist

Looks like you forgot to change the name in that activated ability there? Always always proofread. Conceptually, I think I like this card. For a common, I would have added reminder text to the Madness instead of adding flavor text, as cool as the flavor is. Interesting take on an “any number of X” ability. This card also needs a shuffle clause after the search, FYI. Not a bad entry!

@fractured-infinity — Hunter’s Prey

I don’t know enough about the Ikoria storyline, and that’s on me. Regardless, I get it, and it’s a fine enough tutor even if it is pretty easy to abuse. It’s a unique take on the tutor, and it’s a cool flavor to set out prey to summon your Snapdax. Two wording criticisms: One, the name doesn’t need to be in quotes; and Two, the shuffle clause can be added to the previous sentence e.g. “When ~ dies, its owner may search their library for a card named Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle their library.” Minor things, no biggie.

Genex-P — Herald of the Night

We’re going WAY back. I had to search this card because I was actually totally unfamiliar by name alone. I really like that! And holy crap, I didn’t know that Nightstalker was a real creature type. I do wish that the tokens contributed to the search, though. It feels weird that the first ability still requires you to have a different Nightstalker to activate it. Still, neat idea, pretty fun, and a great old callback with modern updates. Amazing flavor text, too.

@gollumni — Incarnation of Aclazotz

And I’m also not super familiar with Ixalan story, either, but that doesn’t mean this card isn’t cool. It’s complex, and it’s a little confusing to take things and turn them about, but the card itself plays well. I would really have liked for that token to have indestructible, personally, but that would have been a little too powerful for five mana. Still, cool concept, and an interesting “land tutor” in black.

@greensunzenith — Meroe Revane

Flavorfully, I think this card is really cool, even if I’m not positive that it makes sense considering... Would Nissa’s mom be on Zendikar where all this takes place? IDK. Anyway, mechanically, the fact that you have to have to have both the cards to do anything is a big ask. Nissa Revane, the card, was pretty egregious for asking to have that card itself. But yeah, I’m not the biggest fan of this card’s mechanics. Still a fun card conceptually.

@gus-goose — Herald of the Hunt

Another Snapdax stan? Did Snapdax become the ultimate Ikoria stan when I wasn’t looking? Anyway. I think that the combination of cards is a flavorful way to express devotion to Snapdax and I like how you included the mutate clause. I’m not a fan of how the ability works mechanically. Building around this card is pretty moot, because the setup feel like too much when you could just get Snapdax itself. Were there enough of those in Ikoria? There were a lot of creatures there... I don’t know, this card just feels like too much work.

@haru-n-harkel — Moonrise Dragster

I like the concept of searching for a flavorful aura like Caught in the Brights. It’s a fun and interesting way of tutoring for control cards. There’s a lot about this card that I’m not sure I understand. Why such a high crew cost? The mana cost to P/T ratio feels all out of whack. I’m also not sure why there’s the “doesn’t untap” clause. Is it flavorful? Is it a mechanical addition? I just don’t “get” a lot of this card’s decisions. Power-level wise, getting the aura from your graveyard is too much. It’s not a weak enchantment.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Devotee’s Squire

It’s a cute idea, I think. A little bit underwhelming to search for a card to search for a card. I’m not sure why this card mechanically exists. Flavorfully, this also takes place on Theros, Greek mythology, which as far as I know doesn’t have knights or squires.

@ignorantturtlegaming — Whirling Waves

This card is...powerful. I think the first ability is crazy, but fine. Second ability is insanely overpowered in limited. Third ability is holy cow powerful, assuming you mean “X on each” and not “X distributed.” Conceptually, I like this card a lot and I think that it’s a cool summon. In practical terms, the power level needs significant tweaking.

@karkatvantasticvantas — The Second Scourge

Interesting! “Tapped and crewing” is a fantastic little tweak with a flavorful idea behind it that I fully support. Seven mana for that cost, though, is... It feels like a little much, but it probably isn’t? I would have made this card colorless, honestly. I don’t think the Grixis colors are really useful here. “Menace” should be lowercase. This is a unique card, and I think I like it. Probably should be a rare.

@koth-of-the-hammerpants — Krajling Incubator

“Egg Ooze.” Love it. Great flavor text and a pretty fun card that’s very Simic. Two small notes: “Remove” should be capitalized, and the card needs a shuffle clause. Aside from that, I think that this card is a pretty fun uncommon. I wish there was a way that it could put counters on creatures.

@misterstingyjack — End Times Proselytizer

Thirteen colorless nonland permanents is a LOT. Even if you get something crazy off that first trigger, getting up there is a lot. Thirteen creatures would be enough, honestly. If you would have an easier time casting Emrakul by herself than using this card, then things might be a little too crazy. Also, why doesn’t the first ability just say “for each non-Eldrazi creature that died this turn”? I think this is a cool card, but it’s just not as good as the creature you’re searching for. I do love how you cast it from outside the game.

@ozthearistocrat — Oketra’s Blade

It’s a concept that I appreciate for sure. Getting a creature at different points in the story feels like a Time Spiral-esque idea. Honestly, though, I’m not a fan of the mechanics here. There are two different sets for a reason, and the spirit of the contest is a little different than that. Still, not a bad idea. FYI, I would really look into getting your MSE set up with fonts, because this card is REALLY hard to read.

@real-aspen-hours — Oracle of Oracle of Mul Daya

10/10. In all seriousness, keep this in a file for something that can let you play land and Shaman cards from the top of your library or something. Not a bad concept. I am laughing at the name, though.

@reaperfromtheabyss — Terrible Flamespeaker

Once more, the name of the card doesn’t need to be in quotes. As for the card’s mechanics, this one is interesting. I like how it encourages mono-red shenanigans. It’s a powerful on-curve card by itself which is pretty cool. I like how it tells the story of a world more than it does of a legendary creature, even if it is a rare searching for a rare, which feels... IDK, a little off with the nature of this contest. There’s nothing objectively wrong with this card besides the quotes, though, so call it a success.

@shakeszx — Beast Blessed Sword

Was there something about the Eldraine story that I missed? When was there a sword involved? Why isn’t there a hyphen to make it “Beast-Blessed” - unless it’s a different meaning? I’m a little confused. Regardless, the card itself I like. It’s recursion for Kenrith, which is a pain in the ass, but it’s a fun card regardless, I think. Having played against Kenrith, I’m not the biggest fan, but I know he’s fun to play, so I can’t complain.

@shandylamb — Scrap // Salvage

Okay. Straight-up, this card is doing too much. If this was on an actual Aftermath card, it would be packed to the gills and be practically unreadable. Scrap is probably the best side, even though it should say “put it onto the battlefield” and just “sacrifice an artifact” since you can only sacrifice permanents you control anyway. Salvage is just... I don’t know, I don’t get it. It requires both a legendary permanent and a target for it, and it doesn’t feel like a legendary event. The thing about “legendary” instants and sorceries was that they had a creature or planeswalker attached to them that made them feel epic. This card just doesn’t have that. I feel like you put too many ideas into too small a space.

@sigiledpaladin — Alarm of the Tenth

Why does this card search your graveyard too? That’s one hair in an otherwise fine cupcake of a card. It’s just a bit of a shame that it doesn’t “do” anything when it first comes out. Also, the second sentence should be “This ability costs (4) less to activate if [etc].” It’s a fine tutor, just a little underwhelming.

@snugz — Sliver Hivecaller

Would you believe that I actually love this card? Would you also believe that, in my opinion, this card would have been a winner......... if it wasn’t a Sliver? With the exception of the old legendary Slivers, all Slivers should inform other Slivers. And, well, this card doesn’t feel like a sliver. I love it, I really do. But it’s just not Sliver-y. I know that’s useless and boring commentary, but man, trust me, this card is great. Just make it, like, a Human Shaman or something? Ooh, or a mutant.

@starch255 — Oracle of Ancestry

This card would break eternal formats. Tutoring for Ancestral Recall and Brainstorm is... Wow. I don’t know, I might just be paranoid, but “tutor for some of the most powerful draw and thinning in Magic’s history” is something to be paranoid about, right? I’m not going crazy? Considering the wide range of formats and places that these cards come from, it’s not out of the question to assume that that was the intention of the card. Not sure how I feel about that.

@yesimnotrealanymore — Rise of Emrakul

The good: It’s certainly flavorful. The criticism:

3BBBB is way too costly, and color-heavy.

You don’t necessarily need “a” in that first ability. Just “Create Cryptolith”

Second ability should be two sentences. “Its,” not “it’s”

“Destroy up to four target creatures. For each creature destroyed this way, its controller creates a colorless 3/2 Eldrazi creature token.”

The Roman numeral for four is “IV.”

In order for that last ability to work, Emrakul would need three time counters on it and then gain vanishing. Additionally, we need to suspend our disbelief that both sagas and vanishing exist in the same set as Eldritch Moon.

Thank you all for your entries! A new legendary contest starts tomorrow.

#mtg #magic the gathering #custom magic card #contest #entries #commentary #herald contest #inventor's fair

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commandertheory · 6 years

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Ravnica Allegiance Commander Set Review

For each new set, I write an article discussing the new legendary creatures and the nonlegendary cards that I think will be relevant in Commander.

In this set review, I’ll be using two five-point rating scales to evaluate the nonlegendary cards, one that measures how many decks a card is playable in (we’ll call that “spread”), and one that measures how powerful it is in those decks (”power”). Here’s a brief rundown of what each rank on the two scales means:

Spread

1: This card is effective in one or two decks, but no more (ex: The Gitrog Monster). 2: This card is effective in one deck archetype (ex: self-mill decks). 3: A lot of decks will be able to use this card effectively (ex: decks with graveyard interactions). 4: This card is effective in most decks in this color. 5: Every deck in this color is able to use this card effectively.

Power

1: This card is always going to be on the chopping block. 2: This card is unlikely to consistently perform well. 3: This card provides good utility but is not a powerhouse. 4: This card is good enough to push you ahead of your opponents. 5: This card has a huge impact on the game.

The Commanders of Ravnica Allegiance

In this section, I’ll be analyzing the new legendary creatures, offering some ideas for decks build around them, and discussing their potential for inclusion in the 99 of other decks.

There are some nice interactions between lifelinking commanders and Black’s effects that let you trade life for resources (Hatred, in particular, seems pretty good here), but overall, this is a pretty weak, overcosted voltron commander. Although there are some efficient ways to put a lot of counters on him, he’ll never be more than a 6-cost french vanilla creature.

I don’t like commanders that focus solely on what your opponents are doing; there are going to be plenty of games where nobody’s doing anything unfair and her text box ends up being blank. That being said, there are a few pieces of tech that can help Lavinia put your opponents in the slammer. Much like Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, her ability to shut down unfair stuff combines with Knowledge Pool to prevent your opponents from playing the game. She also combos with Eye of the Storm to keep your opponents from casting instants and sorceries.

Grave Pact, Dictate of Erebos, and Skullclamp are the MVPs here. Sac outlets are necessary or this deck to function, and you’ll also need a few of the better creatures with death triggers in these colors (Treasure Keeper, Archon of Justice, and Corpse Augur are standouts).

Sample list: Teysa Karlov

I think the build is going to end up looking a lot like Lyzolda, with a ton of sac fodder (e.g., Bloodghast) and deathtouch equipment to get the most out of her ping. The major differences are that Judith requires a critical mass of sac outlets (Attrition, Mind Slash, Sadistic Hypnotist, and Skullclamp are all good here) and she can’t use token generators as well as Lyzolda can. The +1/+0 buff doesn’t seem like it’s going to do much; I’m much more partial to boosts of +2/+0 or more in a format with 40 starting life.

The obvious direction to take this is hellspawn tribal, but I don’t think that’s actually the best way to build around Rakdos. There are only a handful of playable Imps and Devils, and the average CMC of the playable Demons is like 6. Unesh and The Ur-Dragon showed us that you need cost reduction to make expensive iconic creatures into a viable tribal deck, while Lyra Dawnbringer made the case for cost reduction from the opposite direction, because that deck doesn’t really start doing stuff until turn 6 or 7.

I think Rakdos needed to have a cost reduction component for the Demon tribal build to be viable; without it, I think your expensive Demons are just going to clog up your hand. That said, I think there is a more goodstuffy Rakdos deck where he comes down to generate massive value and potentially serves as a win condition.

No matter how you choose to build the deck, Krark’s Thumb, Panharmonicon, and Conjurer’s Closet are all useful for tilting the odds in your favor, and if you do choose to go the Demon tribal route, Liliana’s Contract, Blood Speaker, and Mark of the Oni are perfect for this deck.

Sample Demon tribal list: Rakdos, the Showstopper

There are a lot of great mana sinks that happen to be creatures. Apocalypse Hydra and Savageborn Hydra give you a great ratio of power and toughness per mana spent, Hydra Broodmaster gives you an army of dudes, Orcish Settlers annihilates your opponents’ mana bases, Polukranos eats all the small critters on the board, and Realm Seekers lets you get all the best lands out of your deck.

Nikya’s restriction forces you to build your deck creatively since you can’t rely on any of Green’s staple non-creature spells. This means you’re going to be more reliant on creature-based tutoring, like Fauna Shaman and Fierce Empath. Unfortunately, mana dorks aren’t as strong in this list as they usually are, since they miss out on Nikya’s mana doubling. That means you may want to prioritize creatures that ramp you, like Sakura-Tribe Elder, Wood Elves, Farhaven Elf, and Elvish Rejuvenator, and creatures that grant you additional land drops, like Skyshroud Ranger, Sakura-Tribe Scout, Azusa, Mina and Denn, and Oracle of Mul Daya.

Sample list: Nikya of the Old Ways

A Wistful Selkie ETB trigger doesn’t give you a ton of direction for a deck, as the reward isn’t good enough to incentivize repeatable running bounce/blink engines. Her Adapt ability is not very useful for Voltron purposes, as there’s little difference between 7 and 8 power for clock purposes, and you can get to the 7-power threshold a lot more easily using things like Hero’s Blade, O-Naginata, Empyrial Plate, Tenza, etc etc.

ETB triggers, death triggers, untap effects are all good here, as are haste granters that allow you to activate Vannifar the turn you drop her. Vannifar seems especially good at assembling creature-based combos like Deadeye Navigator and one of the Urza block creatures that untap lands.

I like how climbing from 1 to 4 is essentially free, as you can get Scryb Ranger and then Deceiver Exarch/Pestermite/Bounding Krasis to untap her and move up the ladder.

Maindeck Cards

Spread: 4 Power: 3

Only the most spiteful opponents are going to pay 2 mana to deny you one mana, so the majority of the time this is just going to amass a respectable hoard and/or do a decent impression of Thran Dynamo. I think this could be a new white staple, as this color has so few ramp options and it synergizes with the most powerful white cards (e.g. mass land destruction).

At the very least, I think it’ll earn a slot in Enchantress decks, nongreen white decks with high average CMCs or expensive commanders, and Breya/Akiri.

Spread: 1 Power: 3

Kumena wants to run as many Merfolk that generate value as possible, so Benthic Biomancer seems like a great fit. He fills out a spot on the curve that doesn’t have many good options and triggers every time Kumena activates his counter-granting ability, giving you low-cost card filtering. Also notable for Pir and Toothy lists.

Spread: 1 Power: 2

Aminatou can steal it back for you, making this a budget alternative to Gilded Drake.

Spread: 1 Power: 4

It compares unfavorably to Blatant Thievery unless you’ve got absurd amounts of mana. Fortunately, there are a few blue commanders that can make oodles of mana: Teferi, Temporal Archmage, Kruphix, God of Horizons, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix, and Tatyova, Benthic Druid may be interested in this card.

Spread: 1 Power: 5

I’m very excited to see this effect in colors other than Black. I think the best way to make use of it is to use Arcum Dagsson as your commander and tutor up Thrumming Stone every game. The Petitioners seem even stronger than Relentless Rats/Rat Colony because you can activate their mill ability immediately; there’s less of an opportunity for your opponents to cast a sweeper and get rid of all your win conditions.

Spread: 1 Power: 3

Strictly better than many of the Flying Men variants, so it deserves a place in Edric.

Spread: 1 Power: 3

Notable for costing two less and providing 80% of a Fact or Fiction when you’ve got Unesh on the table. It’s an easy inclusion over one of the more expensive Sphinxes that doesn’t have as good of a FoF-to-mana ratio.

Spread: 1 Power: 4

Aboshan, Derevi, Lorthos, and Ojutai 1.0 can all get sick value from this card.

Spread: 1 Power: 3

I like it in aggressive decks that have trouble against control (like Varina), decks that are good at playing out of their graveyard (like Varina), and decks that can break the card’s symmetry with Zombie lords (like Varina).

I like this in Nath, too. Nath’s discard trigger totally breaks the symmetry on this effect and you’re likely to have other cards that trigger when your opponents discard, as well (such as Waste Not or Geth’s Grimoire).

Spread: 2 Power: 3

Very strong in combination with commanders that can pay life for value, like Erebos, Chainer, Savra, Vona, and Tymna. There are probably also enough black staples (and lands) that allow you to pay life for this to be playable in Black decks even without a synergistic commander.

Spread: 2 Power: 2

Najeela is happy to see another cheap, self-recurring warrior in the vein of Bloodsoaked Champion, and Olivia 2.0 probably doesn’t mind easy discard fodder. That said, the primary use for this card will probably be in sacrifice decks looking for a 6th copy of Bloodghast.

Spread: 1 Power: 1

It’s got a very cool line of text but I don’t think there’s a deck for this card. In order to really work well with the Spirit, a card needs to have three characteristics:

Capable of dealing small amounts of damage (i.e., the Spirit isn’t going to add a lot of value to your Blasphemous Act)

Capable of damaging lots of creatures without killing the Spirit (i.e., saving you a bit of mana on an Earthquake variant, once, does not make this guy worth a card slot)

Playable even if you never draw the Spirit (I don’t think Fireball is worth running in most Commander decks, for example)

Fire Covenant and maaaybe Bonfire of the Damned are the only cards I can think of that meet all of those criteria, but you’ll need a critical mass of those kinds of cards for this to be worth running. This probably would have been more interesting as a commander.

Spread: 2 Power: 2

Sacrificing two creatures is a pretty steep cost, but there are a few commanders that are so dependent on sac outlets that they’ll be willing to pay it. Savra seems like the best fit; Mazirek is a possibility. I’d be wary of using it in other sac-oriented decks, however.

Spread: 4 Power: 3

This card seems really good. It’s probably gonna function as RR: Destroy target creature or planeswalker. The next card you cast this turn can be cast as though it had flash.

Spread: 3 Power: 2

In a deck with a low curve that can easily enable spectacle, this card looks quite efficient; almost like a Red Chart a Course. I love that you get a whole two turns to play your cards; that takes a lot of the pressure off.

Spread: 2 Power: 2

Flameshadow Conjuring is probably a good indicator of where this is likely to be good. Decks with lots of ETB creatures (such as Riku of Two Reflections) and commanders that trigger when your creatures enter the battlefield (like Purphoros or Reaper King) will definitely want this card. I’m not sure how good it’ll be in Zndrsplt and Okaun, since that deck tends to have a pretty low creature count and the ones it does run aren’t particularly good when copied. Other notable synergies include commanders with busted ETBs (Breya, Pia and Kiran, Godo, Bladewing, Rakdos 3.0)

Spread: 1 Power: 2

Maybe one day, Ooze tribal will be viable in Commander, but it’s going to take a lot more playable Oozes and either a critical mass of tribal effects as strong as this guy or a commander that explicitly rewards you for playing oozes. In a vacuum this card really underwhelms me, and I don’t know why.

Spread: 1 Power: 1

There are a few Green commanders that want to go wide with +1/+1 counters (Kumena, Mazirek, and Atraxa come to mind), but I just don’t think the rate on this card is good enough. Is the boost from this card going to help you win more easily than, say, a Triumph of the Hordes?

Spread: 4 Power: 3

This could be a budget replacement for Craterhoof, but it’s significantly weaker. Why do they bother to print something so similar to Hoof when what we really want is Hoof? Maybe newer players are afraid to put their shields down and the vigilance text will make them feel safe to alpha strike.

Spread: 3 Power: 3

This is a solid combo piece in Saffi and any other decks that like to put together ETB loops. It could also be good in Elf tribal lists (like Ezuri 1.0) as an Elfball enabler. Funny how we’re getting Beast Whisperer and this card back-to-back; once we get to a critical mass of these effects I could imagine a Samut deck running tons of mana dorks, Kobolds, 0-mana artifact creatures, and other mana-neutral creatures that cast most of its deck in one explosive turn.

Like this: Samut Creatureball Combo

Spread: 2 Power: 3

This seems especially good in Kraj, but it’ll also do good work for other Green decks that can easily put counters on their creatures, like Anafenza 1.0, Ghave, Ezuri 2.0, Marath, and Rishkar. Pir and Toothy like this a lot as well.

Spread: 4 Power: 1

Green has Bane of Progress and a million tutors to find it, so this card doesn’t really stack up against the competition.

Spread: 2 Power: 3

I like this in Omnath, Yeva, Kruphix, and any other Green commander that can act as a mana sink.

Spread: 2 Power: 1

Seems like a crazy amount of work for not much payoff. In contrast, Dig Through Time provides basically the same effect as his ultimate, immediately, for a comparable amount of mana.

Spread: 1 Power: 3

This seems like a very combo-centric card, but there aren’t a whole lot of UW decks that are combo-oriented. Maybe Rasputin Dreamweaver would be interested in this effect, since he runs a lot of expensive stuff to ramp into.

Spread: 1 Power: 3

Apparently, 84% of Arcades, the Strategist decks run Assault Formation. High Alert is another way to keep your deck functioning if Arcades gets removed, and it doesn’t force you to keep paying mana like Assault Formation does.

Spread: 5 Power: 1

If you’re trying to kill your opponents’ mana dorks, there are better ways to do it (like Massacre Wurm or Toxic Deluge), and if you’re trying to boost your team, there are also better options (such as Dictate of Heliod). This seems like another Immortal Sun-type card that does a lot of disparate things at a very poor rate. I really dislike these cards because very few decks are going to want all of the individual components, meaning you’re probably paying for things you don’t really need.

Spread: 4 Power: 2

There are relatively few 4-mana sweepers in Commander, so the arrival of a new one is notable. That said, the mana cost on this one is pretty onerous compared to Wrath of God, Damnation, and Day of Judgment. If you’ve got a very strong mana base then you might be able to consistently cast this card, but the low CMC is not an overwhelming advantage compared to the flexibility of Cleansing Nova or the value offered by a potentially asymmetrical 5-mana sweeper like Crux of Fate, Fell the Mighty, Hellfire, or Winds of Rath (not to mention the power and flexibility offered by some of the 6-mana sweepers in Commander, like Austere Command or Catastrophe). I think this is going to introduce a bunch of new players to the power of board wipes, as they see the “gain life” and probably aren’t as turned off by the card as they might be normally.

Spread: 1 Power: 1

The +1 is not worth a card in Commander and the -1 hits nothing but Sol Rings and mana dorks. The ultimate is basically irrelevant in Commander.

Spread: 5 Power: 3

Easily a new Rakdos staple. Kills almost everything you care about in Commander, and the mana cost isn’t much of a drawback if you’ve got a well-built manabase. Also, Seb McKinnon really kills it on this art and I hope he starts selling prints or playmats of it soon.

Spread: 1 Power: 2

I think the correct line for an opponent (assuming they have a hand they want to keep and a decent life total) is probably zombies, then hand, then life total. I think the knowledge that the captive player’s life total is about to drop will disincentivize attacking them beforehand; damage dealt to them is basically a waste, which means you get a lot of time without any pressure being applied in which to try to find an answer to the enchantment. That said, if you fail to escape from captivity before your life total gets set to 4, it’s probably game over for you.

Overall, I think the design of this card is interesting but I don’t think there’s a deck for it. Maybe if it had been templated as a Curse then there’d be a place for it when Wizards prints a Curse commander in the future. As it stands, there aren’t a lot of Black/Red decks that are willing to pay this much mana and wait this long to kill only a single player.

Spread: 3 Power: 1

I like discard outlets more than most, but the fact that this has black in its color identity means it’s competing with things like Ancient Craving, Ambition’s Cost, Promise of Power, etc. If you could get the full value by reanimating it or blinking it, I’d be a lot more interested, but if I have to use this fairly to get the Bedlam Reveler effect, then I’ll probably skip it.

Spread: 1 Power: 2

I love that you don’t have to damage your opponent every single turn. It’s nice knowing that each card you exile will still be waiting for you the next time you hit someone. This effect might be worth exploring in decks like Neheb the Worthy or Malfegor, as it can act as a second hand of cards that sticks around when your commander makes you discard your main hand.

I don’t think it’s good enough in most RB lists, however, as having access to Black means that you’ve got access to more efficient card advantage.

Spread: 3 Power: 1

I don’t think Domri is going to be very effective in Commander. Neither of his first two abilities protect himself or offer anything especially useful in this format, so I think it’s pretty safe to write him off.

Spread: 4 Power: 2

It’s versatile, but I don’t think there are a ton of commanders that want this effect. Maybe Ruric Thar or Nikya because it’s a creature that controls the board?

Spread: 1 Power: 3

Great in any blue/green deck running Training Grounds, most notably Sliver Overlord, Tasigur, Thrasios, and Kraj.

Spread: 4 Power: 2

They must have been sandbagging this type-line for years.

It’s useful in non-combo Momir Vig decks as a way to trigger both of his abilities while getting value.

It could also serve as redundancy for Mystic Snake in decks that are trying to assemble the soft lock with Deadeye Navigator. Note that you can break through this lock with instant-speed removal by killing either half in response to the soulbond trigger.

Spread: 1 Power: 2

Great in Simic decks looking for outlets for big/infinite mana, like Kruphix and Kydele.

Spread: 3 Power: 2

I’m a big fan of Pongify/Rapid Hybridization and while Inc/Inc isn’t nearly as efficient as those cards, the flexibility and exile effect might push it across the threshold for playability.

Spread: 1 Power: 1

This card has a lot of problems keeping me from endorsing it:

You can’t frontload the counters and drop Simic Ascendancy for the win because it has to see you adding all the counters.

If you’ve given your creatures a permanent +20/+20, why haven’t you won already?

The rate for the activated ability is pretty inefficient.

You’re probably better off leaving this one in the trade binder.

Overall Thoughts

I think this set was better for Commander than Guilds of Ravnica. A lot of Guilds of Ravnica’s power was concentrated in staple effects or variants on existing cards, like Plaguecrafter, Assassin’s Trophy, Beast Whisperer, Knight of Autumn, Goblin Cratermaker.

In contrast, RNA had less support for Goodstuff and more tools for niche archetypes, with cards like Verity Circle, Font of Agonies, and Awaken the Erstwhile adding to the format without stifling creativity. Moreover, the potential new staples that were introduced (Smothering Tithe, Electrodominance) seemed to favor the weaker colors that needed the help (White and Red). Overall, I’m much happier with RNA than the straight power creep of Guilds of Ravnica.

As for the legendary creatures in these two sets, I think RNA ended up with more viable, interesting commanders than GRN, despite having one less slot for them. Aside from Niv Mizzet, Izoni, and Lazav, the commanders of GRN fell flat and didn’t give you a whole lot of room to build around them. RNA’s commanders were much stronger: Judith provided an alternative to Lyzolda BR sacrifice, while Prime Speaker Vannifar and Teysa Karlov provided less broken alternatives to Momir Vig and Teysa, Orzhov Scion, respectively. Meanwhile, Nikya added a new archetype to the format and Rakdos provides a solid commander for BR control (or demon tribal, if you want to build it that way).

Thanks for reading!

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#set review #rna #mtg #magic the gathering #commander

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