With every new set, I go through the process of updating each of my
Commander decks with new cards, then spend some time telling you which ones
are going where and why, to include what’s coming out. We’re going to do a
variation on that this time, focusing on the cards I’m most excited
about-the ones that will continually strain my long-standing choice to put
only one copy of a new card into the suite of decks. Some of them make that
horribly difficult. The list will only include cards that I’m putting into
existing decks. If there’s a commander that I’ll reserve for leading a deck
of its own, or one of the cards that needs to go into that build, they
won’t be listed here.
As with other recent deck updates, I won’t go into too much detail on why a
card is leaving. Suffice it to say that few cards anymore underperform.
Removing them is less a commentary on the card and more on the fact that
there are just so many great new cards to play with and you have to find
room for them.
10. Eyes Everywhere
Into: Lavinia Blinks For: War Priest of Thune
Eyes Everywhere just seems like the card in the set that can create the
most shenanigans. The scry part is nice, especially in a deck that is more
reactive and might need to occasionally look for answers or give you a
better chance to find them. Of course, the exchange is the best part.
Conjuring some of the tomfoolery possible with Puca’s Mischief, it makes me
seriously consider putting Perplexing Chimera in the deck as well. While
that might be a path to some delightful chaos, it probably changes the
theme of the deck a little too much. I’ll be content with exchanging Eyes
Everywhere for something very spicy, especially with a player who can’t
generate blue to give it back. The more fun play, of course, is to give it
to someone who can make blue and see what happens. If someone wants to
steal one of my creatures, that’s fine. My dear friend Blinky the Eldrazi
Displacer will bring them back home.
9. The Haunt of Hightower
Into: Millmeoplasm For: Jace’s Mindseeker
The deck that mills is the deck that kills, and when you can also do it via
combat damage, that’s even better. Adding lifelink to this Vulturous Zombie
variant means that you’ll end up gaining life in kind of huge chunks. The
deck needs a backup plan for when opponents have certain Eldrazi like
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth or Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre in their decks,
making them somewhat mill-resistant. Don’t underestimate the value of
eating it from your graveyard and turning The Mimeoplasm in a bigger
version of the Haunt of Hightower, which will potentially earn a quick
commander damage kill. It’ll be a stretch goal for the deck to have a game
in which I can take out the whole table, each in a different way: one with
mill, one with normal combat damage, one via the commander route.
8. Electrodominance
Into: Dreaming of Intet For: Hellrider
What Electrodominance does is relatively straightforward. It gives you a
pile of damage to any target (most likely somebody’s face), and then cast
from your hand another spell with a converted mana cost less than the
amount of damage. Clearly X spells don’t work, but expensive permanents
sure do. The power of Electrodomince is effectively paying {R}{R} in order
to give something flash, whether that’s a big creature spell or the
Praetor’s Counsel that will fill your hand once again. Then it’s there in
the graveyard for Snapcaster Mage to do it all over again. I believe this
is what the kids call “value.”
7. Lumbering Battlement
Into: Lavinia Blinks For: Turnabout
Regular readers know that I love my creatures, and like many of you, like
them even more when they have cool enters-the-battlefield abilities.
Lumbering Battlement provides two-fold benefit. It protects some of your
creatures from the inevitable sweepers, like Wrath of God, which come along
frequently in Commander games. Then, when they come back, you get that cool
triggered ability again. Lumbering Battlement especially loves Reveillark,
which triggers on leaving the battlefield, not just dying. Then, with this
deck’s ability to put Lumbering Battlement back into hand via Crystal Shard
or Equilibrium, or simply blink it with Conjurer’s Closet or Venser, the
Sojourner, we can just do it all over again.
6. Verity Circle
Into: Ruhan Do Over For: Blustersquall
I’m even higher on this card than I was a few weeks ago. I’m convinced that
you could put it in pretty much any blue deck, not have to do anything
else, and still draw a fair numbers of cards off of it. A deck with Cryptic
Command in it seems like a winner. Sure, Verity Circle is not Rhystic Study
(what is?), but it also doesn’t annoy the other players so much (what
does?); that lack of irritation is worth something in my book. Put into a
deck with something like the Opposition that’s in this one, and you’re off
to the races. The deck wants to tap opponents’ creatures anyway, so adding
an additional benefit (and there are fewer benefits better than drawing
cards) charges up its power.
5. Zegana, Utopian Speaker
Into: Zegana and a Dice Bag For: Lorescale Coatl
There’s an easy argument for Zegana, Utopian Speaker to take over the deck
run by cousin Prime Speaker Zegana. After playing with Zegana, Utopian
Speaker in the deck for a bit, I’ll probably tinker around with swapping
the two between starting the command zone and as 1 of 99 to see which I
like better. The argument for Utopian Speaker is that it gives all the
other creatures in the deck trample, replicating Crowned Ceratok’s ability.
The flip side of the argument is that it simply isn’t going to draw as many
cards. It is also far less likely to get a commander damage kill. Either
way, they’re both going to do big things, which is exactly what we want
them to do.
4. Wilderness Reclamation
Into: Dreaming of Intet For: Swarm Intelligence
Certainly one of the most talked-about cards for upcoming Standard,
Wilderness Reclamation will get plenty of play in Commander as well. In the
Dreaming of Intet deck, it will allow me to cast stuff and still have mana
up for the reactive elements, like counterspells and big instants like the
above-mentioned Electrodominance. It offers up some partial Seedborn Muse
redundance, which also makes me keenly aware that it’s a card that might be
pretty abusive in a multiplayer format. It’s not a card that I’m
immediately concerned about (it’s no Griselbrand), but it’d be pretty naive
to be unaware of its degenerative potential.
3. Hydroid Krasis
Into: Animar’s Swarm For: Species Gorger
This card was built for an Animar, Soul of Elements deck. Buffing up the X
count for no additional cost means free life and free cards. Still, one of
the things I want for this deck is to be able to function well enough
without its commander. With even a modest amount of mana, Hydroid Krasis
will help the deck churn along with its plans of putting strong creatures
onto the battlefield. Here’s one in which I’ll mention the card that’s
coming out. Part of the deck’s engine is putting creatures back into hand
in order to cast them again, pumping up Animar and getting their triggered
abilities another time. To that end, we have cards like Species Gorger,
Roaring Primadox, Cloudstone Curio, and more. Playing the deck, I’ve found
enough times to notice that doing this with creatures can be a little
awkward-bouncing them on command is one thing, but having to bounce more
than one during each upkeep can get onerous. The extra cost of Species
Gorger made it the cut, despite its larger body. Colored mana is at a
premium in the deck, so reducing the requirement is what makes sense.
2. Prime Speaker Vannifar
Into: Muldrotha, the Grave Tide
Another card which has generated a great deal of online chatter, you’re no
doubt saying “But wait, you don’t have a Muldrotha deck!” That’s true, but
this card is simply too good to wait around for. Muldrotha is the kind of
deck I want to build anyway, and Prime Speaker Vannifar will only hasten
that. For me, it will get built before any of the Ravnica Allegiance commanders, as saucy as they might be.
Interestingly, I find the addition of blue to the card to be better for the
format than had it been green alone. Making Prime Speaker Vannifar a Simic
card prevents us from putting it into Karador, Ghost Chieftain decks, in
which Birthing Pod is already silly, or, like with Birthing Pod, just
slipping it into any deck with green. Simic loves its creatures, so the
flavors of builds we see will be legion. If I had to put it into an
existing deck, it would be the Threat of Yasova-not that I’m the type to
borrow stuff and never give it back.
1. Teysa Karlov
Into: Saskia For: Pawn of Ulamog
It’s clear that this version of Teysa is meant for the Vampire decks led by
Edgar Markov and the like, but it has great value in any black/white deck
that likes to make tokens or enjoys its creatures dying. I love this card
so much that I’ve resculpted a portion of the Saskia deck to take advantage
of her. I put in Blood Artist, Dictate of Erebos, Rage Thrower, Falkenrath
Noble and took out Thorn Elemental, Hunting Grounds, The Gitrog Monster,
Firemane Avenger, and Loxodon Gatekeeper. It’s also led me to add one of my
favorite hidden gems, Dross Harvester (taking out Dragon Arch), because
that card is already baller; doubling it up would be insane. Even with all
that work, I’m probably also going to build a deck that she commands
because I find myself descending into a childlike glee every time I think
of her being on the battlefield. My dream scenario with this deck is to
have Teysa and Blood Artist on the battlefield after I’ve resolved a Storm
Herd-and dare somebody to Wrath. Many things can get stupid after Storm
Herd resolves; this is just one of them.
The top 10 aren’t the only new cards going into decks. I’ve presented the
remainder here for those of you keeping score at home, without comment.
Into: Obzedat For: Undead Gladiator
Into: You Did this to Yourself For: Azorius Signet
Into: Zegana and a Dice Bag For: Sunbringer’s Touch
Into: Zegana For: Elvish Visionary
Into: Ruric Thar For: Gorgon’s Head
Into: Phelddagrif For: Profound Journey
Into: Yidris For: Razaketh, the Foul-Blooded
Into: Phelddagrif For: Far Wanderings
Into: Adun Oakenshield For: Lifecrafter’s Bestiary
Into: Merieke For: Grip of Desolation
Into: Ruric Thar For: Unnatural Aggression
Into: Obzedat For: Orzhov Signet
Into: Adun For: Flesh Carver
Into: Rakdos Reimagined For: Rakdos Cluestone
Into: Ikra and Kydele For: Rise from the Grave
Into: Rith Do Over For: Cream of the Crop
Into: Ikra and Kydele For: Hell’s Caretaker
Question of the Week
This time, we have two which play nicely into each other, from Shabbaman
and spacemonaut on the official forums:
Are you planning some sort of interview series with the new CAG
members? I would be interested in reading about how they feel about the
future of the format and how they look at controversial subjects like
still not having unbanned Recurring Nightmare.
What are you (personally or the RC as a body) planning on having the
CAG get up to as their first orders of business?
I’m going to get CAG members onto these pages as often as possible. I don’t
have a solid fix on how we’ll instantiate that; they’re for the most part
content creators already, so what form it takes will probably be somehow
individualized, not to mention their time is at a premium. I think the
first thing I’d like to do is Other Peoples’ Decks features with them. I
encourage you to follow them all on social media and take a look at the
stuff they’re doing.
The first order of business, which we’re already working on, is putting
finishing touches on the CAG Charter. After that, my hope is that we can
jointly update the language in the philosophy document. The philosophy
hasn’t changed, but the document was written in 2012, so it deserves some
attention. Of course, we’ll be starting early, since we’re not quite used
to working together, to look at the Banned List for April.
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.”