In a handful of my previous articles, I have gushed nonstop over my excitement about Modern Horizons 3. I want to emphasize to you all that this is another one of those articles.
Last week, I was sick and bedridden, and only had the card preview season to keep me company. Each day brought incredible previews, much-needed reprints, and fun references for those of us who are wholeheartedly enfranchised in the game. I thought I would get sick of it at some point, but no, I love this set. No criticisms, or harsh opinions. This set makes me feel giddy and nostalgic, and I want to share that excitement.
While Modern Horizons 3 is a set designed for Modern, I can’t help that my tiny Commander brain is already kicking into maximum overdrive when I glance at that legendary creature list. There are many exciting, new designs for legendary creatures in the set. None of them are strikeouts to me, but there are plenty of home runs!
Azlask, the Swelling Scourge
My jaw dropped the moment I laid eyes on Azlask, the Swelling Scourge. How on earth did this make it to print? It’s shocking. Most Eldrazi have had high mana values for a reason: Ulamog, Kozilek, Emrakul, you name it. They’re expensive but well worth it. Azlask has all the value of a high-mana Eldrazi, with quite literally half the cost. A three-mana, five-color Eldrazi commander is absolutely wild to me.
Now I know you’re probably saying that, despite this low mana value and color identity, its ability is bad…right? Wrong. This commander returns us to the world of experience counters. Specifically, you get experience counters when it or another colorless creature you control dies. You’d think that would be hard, but it’s quite easy.
Eldrazi have access to Eldrazi Spawn and Scion tokens, which are creature tokens that give you colorless mana whenever you sacrifice them. There is absolutely no cost required to sacrifice them, meaning you can get a pile of experience counters easily. Pieces like Awakening Zone, Skittering Invasion, Brood Monitor, and From Beyond are easy ways to put out tokens in a blink. Once you have enough counters under your belt, you can simply pay WUBRG to buff your creatures equal to the amount you have.
What makes me giggle is that it gives Spawns and Scions you control indestructible and annihilator 1 until end of turn. That just seems mean. Whether you’re swinging with a ton of these tiny tokens thanks to Anointed Procession, Parallel Lives, and Black Market Connections, or are simply swinging with beefier Eldrazi titans, I can’t help but feel nauseatingly gleeful when I see Azlask.
Coram, the Undertaker
I’ve never really been a graveyard player. I’ve always found the strategy to be interesting, but I’ve always been a bit of a greedy player. Simply put, I don’t like losing things. Sure, your graveyard can always act as a second library in the right deck. But the thought of possibly losing access to it always terrified me. I never paid attention to the archetype much… until I saw Coram.
Okay, full disclosure, the reason why I first fell in love with this card is because I thought Coram was hot. Insert Squidward ‘Oh no he’s hot’ meme. Once I stopped staring at the yard, I found his ability to be very interesting. It felt like a mixture between Muldrotha, the Gravetide and Raul, Trouble Shooter. I really enjoy the fact that he feeds the graveyard and possibly makes himself bigger upon his attack.
My favorite ability of his is his theft ability. I like how limited it is. When looking at Muldrotha, you have unlimited potential. Coram says, ‘Nah, I only like fresh meat.’ If something was put in the graveyard from the library this turn, he wants it. He likes stereotypical mill pieces like Mesmeric Orb and Mindcrank, but also loves cards that put big nasty things into your graveyard, like Entomb or Buried Alive.
Genku, Future Shaper
Genku feels incredibly at home to me. Out of all of the legendary creatures on this list, it is the most linear. In fact, if you as a Modern player were new to Commander, Genku would be the introductory commander from this set I would recommend. Maybe it’s because I find blink decks to be easier to grasp, or maybe it’s because I’ve built like 30 of them, but Genku is a great commander for a blink deck.
Genku cares about things leaving the battlefield, and blinking is the best way to do that. A Genku blink deck would benefit on multiple enters-the-battlefield creatures, token doublers, and blink outlets. When it comes to tokens, Anointed Procession and Mondrak, Glory Dominus are no-brainers. Good blink targets would be pieces like Spirited Companion, Charming Prince, Mulldrifter, Aether Channeler, and even Solemn Simulacrum.
When it comes to creating ways to consistently blink, Azorius has no shortage. Eerie Interlude; Brago, King Eternal; Ephemerate; Teleportation Circle; Soulherder; and even the new Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd are mere drops in the bucket known as blinking. The more blinking you do, the more tokens you make. Well, at most three tokens per turn, but that can add up.
If you also wanted to lean into the counter aspect of this deck, you could always throw a Cathars’ Crusade into the fray, although, I must warn you that the math will be atrocious in a blink deck. Not very Commander beginner-friendly, but wow does it pack a hefty punch!
Grist, Voracious Larva
When Modern Horizons 2 dropped, I immediately fell in love with Grist, the Hunger Tide as a planeswalker. The art screamed horror to me, and as a horror fan, I answered the call (the call coming from inside the house, that is). Grist was one of those rare exceptions to my graveyard rule that I gladly broke. The deck lived on for a while but ultimately fell apart. I would always look upon the planeswalker fondly, if not wistfully. So color me surprised to see that Grist is back in Modern Horizons 3, and as a flip planeswalker, no less!
Grist is a one-mana commander that flips whenever it or another creature enters the battlefield from your graveyard, cast or not. Once flipped, Grist becomes a three-loyalty planeswalker. Her abilities include milling cards to add deathtouch counters, removal, and token generation. Her -6 token ability, however, is the star of the show, as she copies each creature card in your graveyard but makes them teeny, tiny bugs instead. Personally, I love that. She adds to her own swarm! We love a community-focused queen.
A deck like this requires highly particular pieces. You want to pack this deck with powerful creatures and bits of recursion to get some of your milled pieces back (but that’s the doomsday pepper in me). I also find pieces like Old Rutstein and Old Stickfingers to be incredibly synergistic. Both have you mill, with Stickfingers going a bit farther (we love an eco-friendly king). A deck like this doesn’t shy away from a Syr Konrad, the Grim or classic dredge pieces like Golgari Grave-Troll or Life from the Loam. Even the cast-from-graveyard cards have a home here. I’m talking about you, Bloodghast and Conduit of Worlds.
This deck can go all over the place, and could even serve as another way to explore typal decks with Insects. While I am sure this deck wouldn’t last long in my possession, I find myself once again wanting to take a stab at playing around in the dirt. We shall see.
Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student
For our final commander, we have the newest iteration of Tamiyo. Yes, she gets a flip planeswalker treatment too, and I love it. As someone who has a Chandra deck led by Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh, I am excited for players to have access to their favorite planeswalkers as commanders now. She joins Grist, Ajani, Sorin, and Ral in this set, and joins an even rarer club as a one-mana commander (much like Grist). Tamiyo, however, is on another playing field altogether.
How? Well, her flip triggers off a Brainstorm. In a perfect Magical Christmas Land, you could flip Tamiyo on Turn 2. Once she flips, the name of the game is essentially card draw. Her +2 is a minimal attack deterrent, her -3 returns an instant or sorcery to your hand, and her -7 draws you half your library and gives you no maximum hand size. Talk about heavy duty.
When it comes to planeswalker commanders, especially in blue, the urge to run Flux Channeler is strong. Since this deck will be high in noncreature spells, proliferating Tamiyo is incredibly easy. She also likes the basic card draw spells like Frantic Search, Taezzeret’s Gambit, Contentious Plan, Growth Spiral, you name it. It also doesn’t shy away from power pieces like Rhystic Study, Mystic Remora, or Sylvan Library. While this deck definitely has access to win conditions like Jace, Wielder of Mysteries; Laboratory Maniac; and Triskaidekaphile, personally, I would prefer to win via Psychosis Crawler, because why not be the spawn of Satan in a game of Commander?!
Modern Horizons 3 Is for Me
When Modern Horizons 3 was initially announced, I took it as a sort of break announcement for myself. I thought it would be great to finally have a breather as a Commander player. I was excited for Modern players to get something, but I was even more excited to let myself marinate in the previous set, and take in everything 2024 has offered us so far.
Then previews began to trickle out, and I knew I wasn’t going to get that breather. And I am not mad about that. Never have I felt such a thrill of inspiration and excitement as a deckbuilder. There is something in the water of Modern Horizons 3, and I love it. As a Commander player, it’s exciting to think that Modern Horizons 3 is also for me. I hope you all experience the same level of inspiration I have found. Happy brewing, deckbuilders.
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