Fate Reforged Commander Set Review

Prerelease time is on us again! That means it’s time for you to check out all the cool new toys you’ll soon be getting to add to your Commander decks. To
that end, let me offer you my opinion on the new cards and the new set.

Remember, this is a set review for Commander only. Some of the cards which I’m going to say won’t or might get played will definitely get played in other
formats, especially in Limited. As I’ve done for a while now, I’ll break things down by color into three categories: Probably Won’t Get Played, Might Get
Played, and Definitely Will Get Played. The first means that it’s highly unlikely these cards see any play because there are either better alternatives or
they just don’t make sense in the format. The second means that the cards have either a narrow use, such as in tribal or theme decks, or might be worth
trying out. The third is self-explanatory.

Probably Won’t Get Played

Might Get Played

White

Abzan Advantage: Making people sacrifice enchantments is pretty good in a world in which gods exist, and the bolster isn’t terrible, but letting the other
player have the choice knocks this down a notch.

Channel Harm: My primary concern about this is the mana cost. It’s extremely good when you can cast it, since it can wreck an opponent during combat-your
creatures deal damage, theirs don’t, but I worry that leaving up 5W for such a situation will be rare.

Citadel Siege: Probably the weakest of the “choose Khans or Dragons” cards, I imagine Khans is by far the most popular choice when casting it.

Dragonscale General: In Boros decks where you’re always turning them sideways anyway, buffing your least buff creature will start ramping up the damage
pretty quickly.

Elite Scaleguard: Experience has taught me that Seasoned Marshal variants don’t get played much. Maybe the addition of bolster will help. Maybe.

Jeskai Barricade: It’s a may, so you can run some tricks with it, like saving your better creatures, and hey, it can come back with Sun Titan.

Lightform: Flying and lifelink is fine, but the card will need some top of the library control to be good.

Sage’s Reverie: I can imagine there being some kind of enchantress deck that could make use of it.

Soul Summons: A format full of fat creatures and a way to get them on the battlefield cheaply seems okay. Sure, you have to pay the mana cost, but for 1W
you’ve effectively drawn a card and you can pay it as an instant.

Blue

Aven Surveyor: The casting cost is going to be an issue-not necessarily the five mana, but the two blue.

Cloudform: Blue already has enough creatures that fly, and I’m not sure there’s so much targeted removal that you need the hexproof.

Enhanced Awareness: A situational card. For effectively the same cost (okay, it’s one more blue), you get Jace’s Ingenuity and keep all three cards. This
might fit into a niche in any recursion decks. I highly doubt you ever see this played by someone not also playing black.

Jeskai Infiltrator: Can’t be blocked creatures are always interesting, but I’m not 100% happy with the Infiltrator’s condition.

Marang River Prowler: I don’t think it’s cheap enough to do the same kind of crazy you can do with Gravecralwer.

Mindscour Dragon: Mill decks have better weapons, but I can see this finding a home in a Mimeoplasm deck.

Neutralizing Blast: Conditional counterspells generally give way to non-conditional ones.

Rakshasa’s Disdain: Ditto.

Reality Shift: The thing that might tick this up in playability is that blue doesn’t have that many weapons for exiling things. I suppose you could play it
in a deck that makes token creatures and try to do a little polymorph trick with them.

Renowned Weaponsmith: No one will be confusing it for Grand Architect any time soon unless Vial of Dragonfire is ridiculous.

Sage-Eye Avengers: Given its cost and lack of evasion, this is a pretty serious maybe.

Shifting Loyalties: Situationally valuable, like if you have Illusions of Grandeur and they have Greater Good. I think it’s a real shoe-horn to make it
particularly useful.

Temporal Trespass: Lots of folks are really excited about this card, but I’m not one of them. I’m honestly not all that excited about delve in Commander
either, so those two things play into each other. In the best case, it’s a slightly-less expensive Time Warp that you can’t recast. In the worst, it’s a
horribly over-costed Time Warp that you still can’t recast.

Black

Fearsome Awakening: Only gets played in dragon decks, and then still only maybe.

Grave Strength: You have to look at this card kind of sideways in order to see value in it. The low cost might get it there.

Mardu Strike Leader: The only problem is going to be keeping it alive to dash again.

Noxious Dragon: Sure, it flies, and sure it will take out that good utility creature that the opponent won’t attack or block with, but that doesn’t seem
like getting a great deal of value out of your six-mana investment.

Orc Sureshot: It’s no Noxious Ghoul, but seems like a mini-combo with Mardu Strike Leader.

Qarsi High Priest: I love my sacrifice outlets; I like them more when they’re free. I’m still on the fence about whether or not manifest is going to be
good in the format. I’m leaning toward yes, but concede I could be wrong.

Sibsig Host: Zombie tribal decks are likely to make room for it. Sacrifice it to Corpse Harvester and regrow with Lord of the Undead for maximum mileage.

Soulflayer: Don’t actually think it’s going to get played. I just want to say that it’s the worst Cairn Wanderer ever.

Sultai Emissary: Again, contingent on manifest’s goodness.

Red

Arcbond: With this card running around, people might be a little less likely to block with Lord of Extinction. Wait, what am I saying? That thing is always
attacking.

Fierce Invocation: A tad on the pricey side to be great.

Flamewake Phoenix: There have to be other things involved for Flamewake Phoenix to see play, like Purphoros, God of the Forge or a sacrifice outlet.

Humble Defector: I suppose if you’re punishing people for drawing cards, it could be okay. Or if you’re playing Brooding Saurian.

Lightning Shrieker: It’ll get played because it’s a dragon, and no other reason.

Mob Rule: It’s obviously not Insurrection, but it also costs {2} less. Could be hilarious after someone else’s Austere Command.

Rageform: Previous caveats about manifest notwithstanding, double strike kills people.

Temur Battle Rage: Double strike and trample together is even more likely to kill people.

Wild Slash: I don’t see Flaring Pain played all that much, and it has Flashback for just R. Once people start listening to me and playing more Fog effects,
then this will be even better.

Green

Abzan Beastmaster: Right into your Doran, the Siege Tower decks?

Ainok Guide: A direct upgrade from your Sylvan Ranger, albeit a small one.

Arashin War Beast : It goes into beast tribal decks, and helps get more of them on the battlefield. The problem is that someone has to block it.

Battlefront Krushok: Crowned Ceratok, kill you?

Formless Nurturing: Seems like it should be an instant. No, this isn’t a “it’d be better if it were an instant” thought, the card just feels instant-ish.

Fruit of the First Tree : The trick here will be putting on a creature that no one will try to kill before it resolves. Then make that creature huge and
punish them for even thinking about killing.

Map the Wastes: I can’t see bolster 1 being better than getting the extra land with Cultivate, unless the creature you’re putting it on is an
already-persisted Woodfall Primus (or Puppeteer Clique).

Return to the Earth : There are many creatures with flying, artifacts, and enchantments that will hurt you in this format. Cleverly-named card, since return to the earth means both bringing it down to the ground from the sky and crumbling it to dust.

Ruthless Instincts: A cool combat trick and potentially-lethal boost to something. Nice flexibility.

Sandsteppe Mastodon: Bolster 5 is a huge number of counters.

Whisperer of the Wilds : Mana dorks have such a short life expectancy in the format, I expect that we won’t see too much of this one. Plus, it’s in green.
Spending the mana to ramp is likely better.

Wildcall: Perhaps in a counters-matter deck, or something commanded by Rosheen Meanderer.

Multicolor

Grim Contest: Seems made for Doran, the Siege Tower.

War Flare: As combat tricks go, the significant part is probably the untapping, not the buffing. It’s just what Boros-based decks want though. The
opportunity to keep battling while having a little defense.

Artifact and Land

Hero’s Blade: Everyone has a legendary creature. The low casting cost and free equip make it an easy Voltron deck choice.

Ugin’s Construct: I dunno. Maybe in some crazy mono-brown concoction.

Bloodfell Caves, Blossoming Sands, Dismal Backwater, Jungle Hollow, Rugged Highlands, Scoured Barrens, Swiftwater Cliffs, Thornwood Falls, Tranquil Cove,
Wind-Scarred Crag: nice to see them at common as opposed to identical cards at uncommon in Zendikar. The lifegain is nice, but I imagine scry to still be
more popular for the enters-the-battlefield tapped lands.

Definitely Will Get Played

White

Daghatar the Adamant: Daghatar is also known as Ghave, Guru of Spores’ new BFF. The counter-moving chicanery can begin with cards like Forgotten Ancient,
Spike Feeder, Spike Weaver, and of course, Doubling Season and Hardened Scales.

Mardu Woe-Reaper: I both love and loathe the idea of more and better graveyard hate available in the format. I love it because other people like to abuse
their graveyards. I loathe it because I like to enjoy my graveyard responsibly. Graveyard hate continuing to get better leads to a conversation about
Recurring Nightmare. Yeah, that conversation.

Mastery of the Unseen : You don’t need a bunch of face down things to make this worthwhile, since it gives you the opportunity to manifest. Inexpensive
lifegain that will end up registering lots better than at first glance.

Rally the Ancestors: About the only thing that keeps me from going “Whoa, Nelly!!!” about this card is that it exiles itself. It’s pretty easy to come up
with sacrifice outlets to make sure the creatures don’t get exiled (like having Nantuko Husk be one of the creatures you return), so no worries there. The
card would be a little broken if it didn’t get exiled and one of the ancestors you rallied was Eternal Witness, Mnemonic Wall, or Archaeomancer.

Soulfire Grandmaster: Whoa, Nelly! I’ll say the two words that everyone is already thinking: Blasphemous Act. How about two more: Reflect Damage.

Valorous Stance: Not super-flashy, but super-useful. One-for-one cards are less useful in multiplayer formats, but when you can choose from two very
desirable effects, things change.

Wardscale Dragon: I’m still not sure how I feel emotionally about mono-white dragons, but that aside, this means that the defending player can’t Fog or
change the combat math on you (without getting rid of Wardscale Dragon, which they can’t do with a spell once it attacks). This is one of those dragons
that will go into non-theme decks because its ability is pretty useful.

Blue

Fascination: Choose one: I can stroke you out or I can mill you out. Nice to have the option (especially for the mill decks if others are running Eldrazi).

Monastery Siege: Its low mana cost makes it seriously attractive. You can sculpt your deck to take advantage of either mode. Not particularly splashy, but
rock-solid.

Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest: I’m ambivalent about prowess in the format, but I do like Shu Yun’s triggered ability. Its most obvious use is offensive
(“Demoralize, give my creature double strike”), but don’t discount the defensive uses. Double strike can help you get rid of some pretty scary stuff.

Supplant Form: One of the cards in the set that I see leading to the biggest blowouts. You get the token creature regardless of what you bounce, so you can
choose to make someone recast something awesome (Avacyn, Angel of Hope) or put something you really want to recast back in your own hand (Draining Whelk
for the big double-play).

Torrent Elemental: I would play Torrent Elemental for its first ability alone. Add the second and we have one of the sauciest cards in the set.

Write Into Being: One of the problems of manifest is top of the library control. Write Into Being solves that.

Black

Archfiend of Depravity: Demons have gotten way better since Lord of the Pit. The possible downside is having people sacrifice creatures that they actually
want to sacrifice, but that’s dealt with by just reanimating them yourself. You obviously play this in your Thraximundar deck.

Brutal Hordechief: Another creature that I’d play for its first ability alone, tacking Master Warcraft onto it seems too good to be true. I’m happy to see
that Mardu, one of the worst wedges, is getting some excellent tools.

Crux of Fate: Depending on the deck in which you play this, your choice of dragons or non-dragons is pretty much made. Just watch out for other people’s
changelings.

Dark Deal: Yay, the Nekusar decks got another Windfall variant. Yay.

Ghastly Conscription: Maybe the chase card of the set. I love reanimating graveyards, especially if I get all the creatures. Sure, if I do it to an
opponent there might be creatures I can’t turn face up, but hey, I still have them and they don’t. It doesn’t replace Rise of the Dark Realms, but it’s a
nice complement.

Hooded Assassin: I don’t expect to see the first mode chosen all that much in the format, but the second mode is super-valuable, especially in decks that
have cards that you want to go to the graveyard for some reason. Suicide them into a spicy blocker, then Hooded Assassin finishes the job.

Merciless Executioner: Fleshbag Marauder now comes in orc warrior flavor.

Palace Siege: Khans is the likely choice here for most Commander decks. It’s a way more expensive Oversold Cemetery, but it doesn’t have the condition of
needing four creatures in your graveyard. I like it.

Tasigur, the Golden Fang: Here’s a delve card I can get behind (although I’m not sure I’d use the delve too often). You’ll be playing nothing but good
cards anyway, so whatever you get back is just fine. Hell, you’re also in green/blue. It could be Coiling Oracle. I’m not sure I’d have Tasigur as a
commander, but I think it makes a strong 1 of 99.

Red

Alesha, Who Smiles at Death : Perhaps the best creature name ever? It’s in the running. There are 64 creatures in Mardu color identity with power 0 that
enter the battlefield with counters on them. I imagine you can find something you want to play out of that pile. Let’s not even talk about Solemn
Simulacrum and a sacrifice outlet, like Goblin Bombardment or Altar of Dementia. Okay, let’s actually talk about it. It will be awesome.

Dragonrage: Cards that create mana for each of something you have are going to get played to fuel some of the insane things that can happen in this format.
Look out if the goblin deck casts this.

Flamerush Rider: The main advantage I see here is that if you dash Flamerush Rider, it’s not going to get blocked because the defending player is going to
have to worry about the two other giant things breathing down their neck-like Hamletback Goliath!

Outpost Siege: The Khans or Dragons card in which I think the mode is never going to be clear until you read the boardstate. Both are outstanding, and
they’re in a reasonably-priced package.

Shaman of the Great Hunt : Holy banana daiquiris! How fast do you think this is going into all those Riku of Two Reflections or Animar, Soul of Elements
decks? Temur is the best wedge. Just make sure you don’t deck yourself.

Shockmaw Dragon: Okay, for one more mana, you get Balefire Dragon, but why not have both? And Furnace of Rath.

Green

Destructor Dragon: This is the class of all the mono-colored dragons in the set. Whether it trades for something in combat or you sacrifice it to draw with
Greater Good, Destructor Dragon will get rid of exactly the noncreature you want it to get rid of. It’s a better Indrik Stomphowler that flies and smashes
face.

Frontier Siege: Both modes are useful depending on what deck you’re playing it in, and when you play it. For example, if you’re playing it in a Karrthus,
Tyrant of Jund deck, you probably choose the first mode if you draw it by Turn 4. Later, it’s clearly the second mode-to go along with Guild Feud.

Shamanic Revelation: This card is insane! You’re playing green. Of course you’re going to have a 4-power creature. How about “Overrun Garruk, cast Shamanic
Revelation?” I’d call it more of a sequence than a combo, but yowza!

Sudden Reclamation: It feels like the Mulch replacement for Karador, Ghost Chieftain decks, but it’s even better than at first blush. Since it’s an
instant, you can cast it in response to some graveyard removal or someone else’s Sepulchral Primordial trigger targeting your super-good creature. I’d call
it a hidden gem.

Temur Sabertooth: Indestructible is already pretty good. Getting to bounce one of your utility creatures to “pay” for it is even better.

Temur War Shaman: Even though I’m still lukewarm on manifest, I see the possibilities with this card.

Warden of the First Tree : Warden of Destiny! Probably becomes the hottest single for other Constructed formats from this set.

Whisperwood Elemental: This is a Commander card! It basically provides a replacement for all your creatures when someone casts Wrath of God. Note that the
first ability isn’t optional.

Winds of Qal Sisma: For only one more than Fog, you potentially get the back-breaking effect of having your creatures deal combat damage, but not the
opponent’s. For me, that might be a straight upgrade.

Yasova Dragonclaw: I’m telling you, Temur is the best wedge. You might need to bump up Yasova’s power a little in order to Threaten the best stuff on the
board, but there are plenty of things running around at power 3 and less which you’ll want to grab.

Multicolor

Atarka, World Render : Double strike kills players. Double striking dragons rend worlds. Hot, hot card.

Dromoka, the Eternal: Obviously Dromoka is battling, so you’re always bolstering.

Ethereal Ambush: It’s not like Seedborn Muse or Prophet of Kruphix need much more to make them scary, but here it is. It just occurs to me that the
manifest 2/2s look like the Magic Anomolies from Skyrim.

Harsh Sustenance: Black/white knows how to create large numbers of creatures. Especially as an instant, this could easily be a surprise kill.

Kolaghan, the Storm’s Fury: As I’ll discuss next week when I talk a little more about the mechanics of Fate Reforged, dash is an alternate cost, but you’re
still casting the spell. That means if you dash from the command zone, you still have to pay the commander tax. Of course, if Kolaghan lives until end of
turn and you put it into your hand, then you can dash it next turn for no additional cost. Kolaghan seems pretty scary when attacking with a fleet of other
dragons (as if that weren’t scary enough). Imagine it attacking alongside Atarka.

Ojutai, Soul of Winter: I don’t know how many other blue/white dragons I’d play this with, but adding another Frost Titan variant to control
decks-especially one that bashes pretty well-seems like a grand idea.

Silumgar, the Drifting Death: Fortunately, there aren’t so many dragons in blue/black to continually wipe everyone else’s board every turn. Unfortunately,
black can cast Conspiracy and blue can cast Xenograft.

Colorless, Artifact, and Land

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: Cleverly-worded middle ability that keeps lands around. The ultimate ability is awesome, but not the end of the world for the
other players. The card saddest to see Ugin printed: Painter’s Servant.

Scroll of the Masters : The cheap casting cost makes this a deceptively good card. You’ll cast spells, and it’s not like the counters go away when you
activate the ability.

Crucible of the Spirit Dragon: I like storage lands, but then again, I like longer games in which they can be valuable. If your local group likes tight,
early-ending (and by that I don’t mean Turn 3 combo out, I mean by Turn 10 or so) games, storage lands might not be for you.

The catchphrase of this set is “not splashy, but solid.” There are a few completely savage cards, like Atarka or Shamanic Revelation, but for the most
part, there are a bunch of useful cards that won’t automatically make you the target of the table. I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record when I
say (again) that I think the R&D folks have done a great job of lateral development, but they’ve once again done it. They’ve made interesting cards
that don’t give into an arms race of just making stuff better for cheaper. With 48 out of 185 cards (25.9%) on the “definitely” list, Fate Reforged is
pretty much in line with other recent sets. With ten new legendary creatures in various color identities, you also have a large number of new potential
commanders to play around with. There are any number of cool ideas to work on (like a Yasova Dragonclaw “Threaten Everything” deck). I expect to see
Commander players wielding lots of new weapons as soon as they can get their hands on them.

Our regular “Decks Without Comment” feature will return after the Prerelease.

If you’d like to follow the adventures of my Monday Night RPG group (in a campaign that’s been alive since 1987), ask for an invitation to the Facebook
group “Sheldon Menery’s Monday Night Gamers.”