In last week’s set review, I mentioned that I’m a little cool on Eldritch Moon for Commander. The raw number of cards in the set which I think will be impactful in the format is simply lower than it’s been compared to the last half dozen sets or more. Of course, there are still plenty of cards to be excited about, and a number of them will make it into my ever-expanding suite of decks.
Because the number of cards which I’ll be working into decks is slightly smaller than in previous updates, I’ll list them by card, rather than by deck. I found a spot for most of the cards I called Top 3 in each color, with only a few left by the wayside—but that’s more a function of space (even in nearly 40 decks) being at a premium.
White
Into: Karador Do-Over
For: Dauntless Escort
As far as I’m concerned, this is a straight upgrade. Selfless Spirit is far easier to keep casting from the graveyard should I need to. I also looked at attempting to put Long Road Home into this deck, since +1/1 counters matter, but simply couldn’t find anything I was willing to remove.
Into: Heliod, God Of Enchantments
For: Justice
Heliod is an enchantment deck with enough good equipment to make Sigarda’s Aid matter. Justice is fine, but the mana on the upkeep was more of a drain than I wanted it to be.
Into: Rotisserie Draft Deck
For: It depends
This one is a maybe, because I can’t be sure that I’m actually going to get it. We’re doing the Eldritch Moon Update Draft (five rounds, ten picks) this week or next, so I’ll know more. It’s on my radar, but I imagine it’s also in the sights of Keith (Abzan) and Shea (Mardu).
Into: Trostani and Her Angels
For: Sublime Archangel
My dream play here is Lurking Predators into Subjugator Angel and then Sunblast Angel. Makes me think about coming off my “limited tutors” stance and playing Congregation at Dawn. Sublime Archangel is a great card which I think I might be able to use in a deck which has more creatures on the battlefield at once than Trostani tends to.
Blue
Into: Rotisserie Draft Deck
For: It depends
Once again, this is a hope, although it’ll probably be my ninth or tenth pick. If I don’t manage to draft it, I’ll likely put it into Lazav, Shapeshifting Mastermind for Clone Shell.
Into: Dreaming of Intet
For: Diluvian Primordial
Mind’s Dilation is just an Intet deck kind of card. I considered it as well for Lavinia Blinks, since I can then do tomfoolery with Conjurer’s Closet or Blinky the Eldrazi (Eldrazi Displacer).
Obviously, Diluvian Primordial is a difficult card to remove because it causes insane game states. I’m getting sufficient mileage out of it in the Rotisserie Draft deck that I see enough of it, plus Intet doesn’t really have a way to make repeated use of it like a blink deck would. Diluvian Primordial, however, can’t let you get creatures. In full disclosure, I’ll probably also make a run at this for the Rotisserie Draft deck for the same reasons it’ll go into Lavinia, but I fully expect that if I don’t pick it in the first round, it won’t be around.
Into: Rotisserie Draft deck
For: Mercurial Pretender
This will be my first pick, so the only way I’m not likely to get it is if Todd picks before I do, which can only happen if Keith (who gets to decide which seat he sits in—and the order is him, Michael, Shea, me, Todd) puts me in Seat 5. I seriously doubt that Michael picks it, so I should be good (but he can also be pretty random, so you never know).
Mercurial Pretender has been a card which has routinely simply stayed in my hand. It’s a better Clone variant when you’re not playing a bunch of other Clones and instead have super-saucy creatures of your own.
Black
Into: Zombies of Tresserhorn
For: False Cure
One of the few cards not in the Top 3 lists, Cemetery Recruitment simply fits into the Zombie deck. It’s going to do the double duty I had always hoped for from Cruel Revival but never came to be. False Cure has some redundancy in the deck with Tainted Remedy, so it’s a reasonable removal.
Into: Zombies of Tresserhorn
For: Read the Runes
Friend of the show Brian David-Marshall has already called Cryptbreaker perhaps “the sweetest one-drop I have ever played with in Commander,” and I can see why. Getting Zombies and drawing cards seems like loads of fun. Read the Runes does effectively the same thing as Cryptbreaker in getting the cards I want into the graveyard; problematically, the deck struggles to generate the kind of mana I’d like to have to read lots of runes.
Into: Zombies of Tresserhorn Do Over
For: Original Build
I promised a while back that since there are enough great Zombies around, I could split them into two decks. Dark Salvation is a card I’m saving for when that happens.
Into: Adun’s Toolbox
For: Civic Wayfinder
Adun loves putting creature cards back into my hand, especially when they have bloodrush. The deck can live without Civic Wayfinder.
Into: Nath of The Value Leaf
For: Oblivion Stone
As I attempt to make Nath more and more of a budget deck, the expensive cards have to come out. That Oblivion Stone will certainly find a good home somewhere soon.
Red
I really wanted to put Mirrorwing Dragon into a deck, but it turns out that I have nothing which leverages its ability. It turns out that most of my red decks have instants and sorceries that either do bad things to creatures or target more than one thing. Maybe a spell will come along at some point that will entice me to play Mirrorwing Dragon, but until then, it’ll sit on the sidelines.
Same with Nahiri’s Wrath; there’s a deck that wants it—the deck probably has black in it to reanimate things—but there’s nothing in the stable at the moment.
Into: Rith’s Tokens
For: Hunting Wilds
Rith sometimes needs to trample over things in order to get the trigger. Because Savage Alliance is an instant, I can use it as that combat trick or to wipe out all of someone’s Plant tokens before Avenger of Zendikar’s trigger can resolve. Hunting Wilds is an acceptable cut because there is more than enough ramp in the deck.
Green
Into: Kresh into the Red Zone
For: Chandra’s Ignition
Sacrifice outlet plus tutor equals the kind of card that I’m willing to let slip under the “fewer tutors” radar, especially since it exiles itself. There are uncountable combinations of cards in this deck to want to sacrifice and search for. It occurs to me that Chandra’s Ignition belongs in a deck with Mirrorwing Dragon, so that’s a combo you might see coming soon to a deck near you.
Into: The Mill-Meoplasm
For: Krosan Tusker (plus)
Putting Ishkanah into the deck means making a few other changes. I’m also going to put into the deck the two things which make the most Spiders: Arachnogenesis and Spider Spawning. Because of the mill element, my graveyard will be full enough of creatures to matter for Spider Spawning. Arachnogenesis is just an outstanding Fog anyway. Prepare to be creeped out by all my crawly things. If it goes well enough, I might add Swarmyard. Going out of the deck to make room will be Fate Unraveler and Fascination.
Into: Purple Hippos and Maro Sorcerers
For: Mulldrifter
Most of the creatures in the deck have a toughness of four or greater, so it’s either kill them and let me draw cards or have them smash you in the face. Either choice is fine with me. I know you probably think I’m crazy dropping Mulldrifter, but I’ll offer two arguments. One, Ulvenwald Observer will likely draw more than two cards for me. Two, there’s always home elsewhere for a card like Mulldrifter, especially in a deck which will reuse it several times.
Multicolored
Into: Karador Version 3
For: Bloodchief Ascension
Campaign of Vengeance wants to be in a deck which makes loads of creatures and battles with them. Karador Version 3 does that. I’m especially looking forward to pairing it with Infernal Genesis. Bloodchief Ascension is the kind of card which gets you targeted a great deal (at least among my friends), so it’s worth giving the pink slip to.
Into: Zombies of Tresserhorn Do Over
For: Original Build
I’m extremely excited about Gisa and Geralf in the new Zombie deck. It’ll likely be the one which also ends up with Havengul Lich and any other methods of casting creatures from graveyards.
Into: Rotisserie Draft Deck
For: Unknown
Since I’m the only Bant player in the League, I have Tamiyo all to myself. I’ll either draft her with an upcoming weekly pick or make her a late pick in the Eldritch Moon Supplemental Draft. The deck is the type which can protect Tamiyo well enough to occasionally be able to earn her absurd Emblem.
Colorless
Into: Animar’s Swarm
For: Desolation Twin
Had I known cards like Decimator of the Provinces were getting printed, I probably would have held the slot in Animar which Desolation Twin went into. Getting two 10/10s is great; making 2/3 of an Overrun is better.
Too many Eldrazi are too good to ignore. I’m going to want half a dozen Animar decks before it’s all over. Of course, with Cloudstone Curio, at some point Eldrazi are just as good as creatures with morph for getting an infinite number of Animar triggers.
Into: Animar’s Swarm
For: Inferno Titan
One issue Animar sometimes has is getting around blockers. One little chump is often enough to hold off an otherwise-lethal Animar. While Inferno Titan might be able to kill that chump, Elder Deep-Fiend is certain to get it out of the way. One of Animar’s other concerns is with colored mana, so dropping a creature which demands two of the deck’s tertiary color is a good way to tighten it up.
Into: Animar’s Swarm
For: Burnished Hart (to Obzedat)
I might need to change the name of the deck to “Animar’s Enormous Monsters.” Obzedat needs Burnished Hart more than Animar does.
Double-Face
Into: Obviously saving it to build a Wizard deck.
Into: Rakdos, Lord of Vampires
For: Vein Drinker
My first instinct was to try to squeeze Voldaren Pariah into a Karador, Ghost Chieftain deck. Then I realized that my first instinct is always to try to squeeze new cards into Karador decks. Voldaren Pariah is a Vampire, so it’s on theme. Vein Drinker continues to be one of those cards always searching for a home.
Meld
Into: Trostani and Her Angels
For: Serra Avatar, Wall of Reverence
You have to play the melded pair, and you have to play them in the Angel tribal deck. I’ve pulled off the Serra Avatar / Wall of Reverence combo enough, and I want the deck to get to being pure to the theme, so the two of them were easy removals.
Into: Aurelia Goes to War
For: Plains, Goblin Welder
Hanweir Garrison is good enough on its own, especially in a deck which likes to create bunches of small creatures. Adding the land on top of and the possibility of creating bigger creatures is just gravy. Goblin Welder originally went into the deck to play some trickery with other peoples’ artifacts, but that hasn’t been enough to actually justify its slot in the deck. Putting in something more active is the right call.
Last Week’s Comments
These are actually comments from the last two weeks, since last week’s set review ran a little long.
Kristopher Sicari writes that:
“I think you missed Shreds of Sanity. Will definitely see play a lot more than Savage Alliance in my opinion. Self millers and spellslingers are licking their lips!”
I simply see the opportunity cost of Shreds of Sanity being a little too high, especially exiling it and not being able to reuse it. The good news is that you don’t have to have both an instant and a sorcery (since it’s “up to one” of each), so in a tight spot you can just bring back the one you need. It seems like there are better options—although perhaps in mono red, Shreds of Sanity might be one of your few good options. I agree that the self-millers might like it, especially if they’re also playing black and can dump a creature into the graveyard for later reanimation.
Nick Wallace comments:
“As the next Rules Committee announcement is right around the corner, once again I am tempted to pick up a copy of Recurring Nightmare… Just in case. You seem to mention it quite often as a card you lean towards coming off the list? Any chance you could spotlight Recurring Nightmare in an article similar to the one you wrote about Protean Hulk?”
Sorry to disappoint, Nick, but as you know the quarterly update came out this past Monday, and Recurring Nightmare is still firmly entrenched on the Banned List. It’s a card that I would love to play with, just like many other folks would, but it’s an inherently problematic card. The fact that it if played correctly, it can only be interacted with via counterspells is one issue. Its relatively low mana cost is another, as well as the fact that it feeds its own further uses for free. As to spotlighting it, perhaps I can convince the local group to once again give a Banned List card a try. I think that anyone running black will be excited about the possibilities. I’ll let you know what happens.
A ruling came up courtesy of certified judge and fan of the format André Tepedino. It involves Guile, any counterspell, and someone else’s commander. The question is if you have Guile on the battlefield and counter another player’s commander, can they put it in the command zone instead of exile, and if they do, can you still cast it?
The answer to both is yes. Since Guile doesn’t specify which zone you cast it from, the ability doesn’t care where it is. Compare this to an ability like Oblivion Ring, which tells you to return the “exiled card.” Because the commander ability has replaced going to exile with going to the command zone, there never was an exiled card, so there’s nothing to return.
As a follow-up, André asked, if you cast someone else’s commander via Guile or some other method, do you have to pay the commander tax? The answer is no because of rule 903.8: “A commander cast from the command zone costs an additional {2} for each previous time the player casting it has cast it from the command zone that game.”
Unless this is the second or subsequent time you’re using the Guile trick, this is the first time you’re casting it, so regardless of what the current tax is on the owner, you don’t have to pay it. As a side note, the Guile ruling is the same if you somehow gain control of another player’s commander and soulbond it with Deadeye Navigator. The ability doesn’t tell you which zone to return it from, so it will return even if it’s made a detour to the command zone.
Directly from Facebook, Aaron Kloppel asked about emerge and color identity. From rule 903.4 we know that “The color identity of a card is the color or colors of any mana symbols in that card’s mana cost or rules text, plus any colors defined by its characteristic-defining abilities or color indicator.” So while Decimator of the Provinces is colorless (which means something on the battlefield), its color identity (which is important in deck construction) is green due to the green mana symbols in the emerge cost.
Our normal Deck Without Comment feature will return next week.
Check out our awesome Deck List Database for the last versions of all my decks:
ADUN’S TOOLBOX;
ANIMAR’S SWARM;
AURELIA GOES TO WAR;
CHILDREN of a LESSER GOD;
DEMONS OF KAALIA;
EREBOS and the HALLS OF THE DEAD;
GLISSA, GLISSA;
HELIOD, GOD OF ENCHANTMENTS;
DREAMING OF INTET;
FORGE OF PURPHOROS;
KARN, BEATDOWN GOLEM;
HALLOWEEN WITH KARADOR;
KARRTHUS, WHO RAINS FIRE FROM THE SKY;
KRESH INTO THE RED ZONE;
LAVINIA BLINKS;
LAZAV, SHAPESHIFTING MASTERMIND;
ZOMBIES OF TRESSERHORN;
MELEK’S MOLTEN MIND GRIND;
MERIEKE’S ESPER CONTROL;
THE MILL-MEOPLASM;
MIMEOPLASM DO-OVER;
NATH of the VALUE LEAF;
NYLEA OF THE WOODLAND REALM;
OBZEDAT, GHOST KILLER;
PURPLE HIPPOS and MARO SORCERERS;
ZEGANA and a DICE BAG;
RAKDOS, LORD of VAMPIRES;
RITH’S TOKENS;
YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELF;
RURIC THAR AND HIS BEASTLY FIGHT CLUB;
THASSA, GOD OF MERFOLK;
THE ALTAR of THRAXIMUNDAR;
TROSTANI and HER ANGELS;
THE THREAT OF YASOVA;
RUHAN DO-OVER;
KARADOR DO-OVER;
KARRTHUS 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 and is just now getting started with a new mini-series called Who Mourns for Adonis? which will set up the saga called (The Lost Cities of Nevinor), ask for an invitation to the Facebook group “Sheldon Menery’s Monday Night Gamers.”