We took a break last week to talk about the Hall of Fame, cheaters, and the
issues facing Magic’s future. This week, we’re back to the 100-card format
and the exciting new cards which have come from Commander 2018.
Not only do the decks look great, but the individual cards are worthy of
finding homes in your other Commander decks.
Before we get there, I’ll tell you that I’ll be at Mox Boarding House this
weekend to help celebrate Commander as part of PAX West. I’ll be there from
7-11pm on Sunday night, ready to sling the 100-card decks with as many
folks as we can fit in in that time. Hope to see you there.
As I do with every new set, I’m going to give you the report on what’s
making it into my suite of decks. It’s heady work and difficult because
it’s not like we’ve put awful cards into our decks in the first place.
Okay, in some cases we have, but you get the point. It’s tough to say
good-bye to some old friends. If you’d like to compare his updates to mine,
Bennie Smith did his updates last week
. He’s still a little over-zealous about Grothama, All-Devouring, but I’m
hardly going to count that as a sin.
This will be the first time in a while that I’ve done a deck update with a
new Commander set because it’s the first time in a while in which we’re not
running a league of some time with the new Commander release. I’ve just
started back to school for my last graduate semester, as well as having
some personal things to take care of (see below). I’d normally wait to see
how any league play would shake out before putting in cards, but this time,
we’re free and clear to get going right away.
White
Into:
Lavinia Blinks
For: Cryptic Command
The best thing about Boreas Charger is that it actually puts one of the
lands onto the battlefield. Non-green ramp is welcome in my world any time
at all.
Into:
Ruhan Do-Over
For: Field of Souls
The Ruhan Do-Over is a battle deck, mostly white/red with that delicious
splash of blue. Loyal Unicorn makes your battles better by protecting your
attackers from damage. Unfortunately, it’s only combat damage (to no
Blasphemous Act shenanigans), but that’s enough.
Into:
You Did This to Yourself
For: Flameblade Angel
Turning the deck more into some measure of “You Did This to Everybody,”
Magus of the Balance is a fair version of the card that it’s named after,
one of the easiest cards in the history of the format to ban. I’ve said
that if it were on Commander Survivor, Balance would have a good
shot of being the last one on the island. Ruhan is always on the short end
of the land count, so that’s not going to hurt. The creature count is
similarly low; there’s a pretty decent chance that me sacrificing creatures
rarely happens.
Blue
Into:
Borrowing Stuff at Cutlass Point
For: Gild
The challenge was to find a deck that casts the commander several times and
also has enough quality artifacts that are worth copying, so that I don’t
have to worry about finding something from other players. Enter Admiral
Beckett Brass. Those things I copy might be Treasures. I might end up the
one who would Revel in Riches.
Into:
Purple Hippos and Maro Sorcerers
For: Icy Blast
Let’s look at what silly enchantments Estrid’s Invocation might copy in
this deck:
Aura of Silence: I won’t be sacrificing Estrid’s Invocation save for an
emergency, but making everyone else’s artifacts and enchantments cost four
extra seems decent.
Ground Seal: Copying it every turn draws a card.
Kumena’s Awakening: No need for the blink tricks, just drawing two cards
for me, thankyouverymuch.
Martyr’s Bond: I’ll point out that Estrid’s Invocation was designed by
fellow Commander Rules Committee member Scott Larabee-who also designed
Martyr’s Bond. Brother likes his enchantments. Doubling up on Martyr’s Bond
means people will leave your stuff alone twice as much.
Mirari’s Wake: I’ll need to bring an abacus or something to games.
Privileged Position: The rap on PP is that it doesn’t protect itself. Well,
lighten up, Francis.
Into:
Purple Hippos and Maro Sorcerers
For: Maro
While we’re getting dumb with enchantments, we might as well continue,
right? This kind of protection makes it worth Luminarch Ascension worth
thinking about for the deck. Sure, you can attack to keep LA from getting
the quest counter, but I’ll draw a card (or cards). You’ll have to decide
which is worse for you.
Into:
Animar’s Swarm
For: Equilibrium
Turn X Animar, Turn X+1 Loyal Drake. Head for battle, profit. Magic is an
easy game. If you think me crazy for taking out Equilibrium, I might just
have other plans for it.
Into:
Mimeoplasm Do-Over
For: Cloudform
The Mimeoplasm Do-Over is all about face down stuff, so Primordial Mist is
a natural fit. It’ll not only put extra cards onto the battlefield, but let
me cast things that don’t belong face down.
Black
Into: Rakdos Reimagined
Since the Aristocrat has no Humans to eat, it feels like Bloodtracker is
just a straight upgrade. There are a number of ways in the deck to get
other counters on Bloodtracker, like Bloodlord of Vaasgoth and Necropolis
Regent.
Into:
Halloween with Karador
For: Wake the Dead
See, when you Wake the Dead, they might be grumpy. That’s why you have to
sacrifice them after the combat. They haven’t even rubbed the sleep from
their eyes (assume they have any). If you ask very nicely, they’ll stay
around for good. See the power of good manners?
Into:
Demons of Kaalia
For: Sun Titan
It’s hard to not put Sower of Discord in every black deck. It would
certainly find a home in all of them. It’s a Demon, so it seems like
putting it into my Demon deck is the right call. The other possibility was
Kresh Into the Red Zone
, because Flings happen.
Red
Into:
Kresh Do-Over
For: Blood Moon
The tough part for me with Reality Scramble was finding a deck that had
small utility things that I wanted to turn into larger ones. It occurred to
me that I’d want to turn tokens in to real creatures, so I looked for a
deck that made a sufficient number of tokens. Enter the Kresh Do-Over,
which has low casting cost things that have done their work already, like
Wall of Blossoms and Bloodbraid Elf, but also token generators like
Sek’Kuar, Deathkeeper, Necrogenesis, and Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder.
Into:
Adun’s Toolbox
For: Sol Ring
You never know what kind of artifacts you’re going to get from people
(other than that they tap for mana), so the toolbox deck is likely to give
me the most options. And what do I need a Sol Ring for? I’ll just use
somebody else’s.
Into:
Animar’s Swarm
For: Elder Deep-Fiend
The deck keeps opponents so busy with other creatures, they might not have
the resources to deal with Varchild as well. Additionally, you really want
Varchild to connect, and this deck has the best of all creature connection
devices: Sun Quan, Lord of Wu. When there are enough Surivors running
around, we can use Jalira, Master Polymorphist to turn Varchild into
something else, bringing all the Survivors home.
Green
Into:
Zegana and a Dice Bag
For: Masked Admirers
You’re going to see lots of Loyal Guardian, in decks that feature Ghave,
Guru of Spores, Rhys, the Redeemed, and decks like my Zegana, in which
+1/+1 counters matter for all the creatures. With Doubling Season, it is
(like many things), totally nuts.
Into:
Purple Hippos and Maro Sorcerers
For: Sea Gate Oracle
What do you mean Estrid’s Invocation has me going all-in on enchantments?
There’s nothing to see here except the joy of casting Phelddagrif for one
less every time.
Into:
The Mill-Meoplasm
For: Scrabbling Claws
You’re probably asking “wouldn’t you rather have those creatures in the
graveyard so that you can something something The Mimeoplasm?” It’s a
reasonable question, but there are so many other ways in the deck of
milling stuff from people, I’d rather just start exiling stuff in batches
when someone Wraths. It’s a little bit of a non-bo with Rise of the Dark
Realms, but I don’t mind having options.
Into:
Animar’s Swarm
For: Man-o’-War
You’ll note the absence of flying creatures in the deck, so something that
wrecks creatures that I can’t block seems wonderful. The thought of doing
it for just {G} (if there are enough counters on Animar) gets my blood
pumping.
Multi-colored
Into:
Ikra and Kydele
For: Spitting Image
It’s weird that I passed by loads of cards alphabetically, but all those
legendary creatures belong leading their own decks. Whether I’ll build them
or not is another question, but I’ll keep options open. Lord Wingrace is a
possible exception, since I’m not much of a Dredge player and it might be
useful as 1 of 99. Windgrace’s Judgment is just a solid card that fits into
any deck that matches the color identity.
Into:
Adun’s Toolbox
For: Gruul Ragebeast
She could certainly lead her own deck, but for how, I’m just itching to
play her. The reason she’s going into the toolbox deck is that she’s going
to get killed a few times by being forced to run her into bigger creatures.
With Adun, I can just get her back and cast her again. Good times for all.
Artifact
Into:
You Did This to Yourself
For: Mimic Vat
Oh, the fun we will have. People will want to attack me, for they covet
that jewel so, so much. They’ll have to contend with Powerstone Minefield
and Lightmine Field. They’ll maybe think that it’s worth the risk. Then
they’ll do it to themselves and I’ll be able to tell you the story about
it-again and again. I’m reasonably sure Coveted Jewel will be like the One
Ring; people will know that it will lead to their ruin, but will take it
anyway.
The Commander 2018 decks are strong right out of the box and
provide a nice launching ground for both new and experienced players alike.
As you can see, while you’re working on the upgrade path for each of them,
there are bits that are worth cannibalizing for your existing decks (not to
mention some excellent build-around commanders). Go out and nab some
treasure or make people covet that jewel.
Personal Note (in lieu of Question of the Week)
For those of you who might not be Facebook friends or Twitter followers,
cancer has once again reared its ugly head for me. It might mean a slight
interruption in our time together. The last time I was in treatment, I
think I missed only two weeks over the three or four months that I that I
could do very little other than get to my desk. Let’s see if we can best
that line. It’s going to be a rough ride, since this time it may involve
surgery, but I’m at one of the world’s finest treatment facilities at Moffitt Cancer Center and my doctor is
one of the world’s experts in what I have. I’ll do my best to keep you
updated on how I’m doing and what the prognosis looks like. It may be an
even bumpier ride than last time, but I am committed to living life to its
fullest extent-which isn’t really a change from yesterday, last month, or
last year. For those who are also following my grad school adventures, my
professors are working out how I can finish the courses remotely. Thanks in
advance for all the love and support; what I’ve already seen from the
community has truly touched me and will be a light in the darkest hours.
It’s my intention to continue to embrace the chaos with you for a long,
long time.
Check out our comprehensive Deck List Database for lists of all my decks:
SIGNATURE DECKS
Purple Hippos and Maro Sorcerers
;
Kresh Into the Red Zone
;
Halloween with Karador
;
Dreaming of Intet
;
You Did This to Yourself
.
THE CHROMATIC PROJECT
Mono-Color
Heliod, God of Enchantments
;
Thassa, God of Merfolk
;
Erebos and the Halls Of The Dead
;
Forge of Purphoros
;
Nylea of the Woodland Realm
;
Karn
Evil No. 9.
Guilds
Lavinia Blinks
;
Obzedat, Ghost Killer
;
Aurelia Goes to War
;
Trostani and Her Angels
;
Lazav, Shapeshifting Mastermind
;
Zegana and a Dice Bag
;
Rakdos Reimagined
;
Glissa, Glissa
;
Ruric Thar and His Beastly Fight Club
;
Gisa and Geralf Together Forever
.
Shards and Wedges
Adun’s Toolbox
;
Angry, Angry Dinos
;
Animar’s Swarm
;
Borrowing Stuff at Cutlass Point
;
Ikra and Kydele
;
Karrthus, Who Rains Fire From The Sky
;
Demons of Kaalia
;
Merieke’s Esper Dragons
;
Nath of the Value Leaf
;
Queen Marchesa, Long May She Reign
;
Queen Marchesa’s Knights
;
Rith’s Tokens
;
The Mill-Meoplasm
;
The Altar of Thraximundar
;
The Threat of Yasova
;
Zombies of Tresserhorn
.
Four Color
Yidris: Money for Nothing, Cards for Free
;
Saskia Unyielding
;
Breya Reshaped
;
Yidris Rotisserie Draft Deck
.
Five-Color
Partners
Tana and Kydele
;
Kynaios and Tiro
;
Ikra and Kydele
.
THE DO-OVER PROJECT
Adun Oakenshield Do-Over
;
Animar Do-Over
;
Glissa Do-Over
;
Karador Do-Over
;
Karador Version 3
;
Karrthus Do-Over
;
Kresh Do-Over
;
Steam-Powered Merieke
Do-Over;
Lord of Tresserhorn Do-Over
;
Mimeoplasm Do-Over
;
Phelddagrif Do-Over
;
Rith Do-Over
;
Ruhan Do-Over
.
If you’d like to follow the adventures of my Monday Night RPG group (in a
campaign that’s been alive since 1987) which is just beginning the saga The Lost Cities of Nevinor, ask for an invitation to the Facebook
group “Sheldon Menery’s
Monday Night Gamers.”