Gavin Verhey uses today’s episode of Good Morning Magic to detail how encore came to be and preview a new Giant Pirate from Commander Legends — Dargo, the Shipwrecker!
After Verhey handed off the the blueprint of Commander Legends with cascade, partner, and monarch, the design team pinpointed that the set needed another mechanic that would work as a mana sink and as a way to enable splashy, haymaker plays. The team came up with the initial version of encore, called last hurrah, that would take care of both of these concerns and do it on cheap and expensive spells alike.
Many encore spells are cheap and revolved around enters the battlefield, dies, or attack triggers so that the mechanic would get plenty of use. They also came up with a legendary creature that would play well with encore.
Dargo works perfectly with encore, getting a six-mana reduction when using an encore ability in a four-player game. The trampling 7/5 doesn’t require encore to be strong, as you can sacrifice creatures or artifacts to help play it on its own. Verhey wraps up the video giving the hilarious lore behind Dargo and his unfortunate shipwrecking curse.
So what do you think of Dargo, the Shipwrecker? Have a special spot in your Pirate tribal deck for him? Let us know in the comments below!
