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By: Kumagoro42, Gianluca Aicardi
Dec 22 2014 1:00pm
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I love this game. I love writing about it. Compiling lists about it. Evaluating it. Sometimes, I even play it. I'm an Accidental Player.

 

 Welcome back to the wonderful world of competitive Commander multiplayer, featuring decks and games from Sunday Commander, the PRE that takes place every Sunday at 16:00 GMT! Enjoy.

 Table of Contents

  1. Commanding News
  2. The SUNCOM Chronicles
  3. Commander Resources

COMMANDING NEWS

 So, Commander 2014 has been around since a while, although individual cards are still not too easy to find online. Last time we gave a deep look at the white, blue, and black ones. Let's take it from there, and see what red and green have to offer.

 RED: BUILT FROM SCRATCH

   

 Bitter Feud: This is a fun AND nasty one, especially in 3-man tables where you can cast it and watch the carnage happen among your opponents. It will eventually lose any meaning when one of the two feuding players dies, but it's useful enough to keep the attention away from you (well, unless the two sworn enemies decide to ally against the feud instigator!)

 Daretti, Scrap Savant: Daretti (from the Italian Renaissance-inspired plane of Fiora) is possibly the most powerful of the 5 commanders in C14. I mean, he's a Goblin Welder, and his ultimate is close to game over in the right list (and you know you'll have the right list for him, he's a build-around-me card if there's one). On top of that, he also provides a Faithless Looting-style of discard outlet as a plus ability. He's really the complete package.

 Dualcaster Mage: One of the hottest cards from the set, due to eternal formats' applications. Fork-on-a-stick is certainly always useful, a nice companion to Snapcaster Mage.

 Feldon of the Third Path: I see R&D is mining known effects for new possibilities, like in this case, a Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker for graveyards, or Mimic Vat on legs. Compared to Kiki, old Feldon (the guy with the Cane) can also copy legendary creatures, but he lacks haste and asks for a 3-mana activation that's a bit annoying. Compared to the Vat, he allows death triggers to happen, which is relevant. His effect is certainly welcome in many different decks (too bad Roon of the Hidden Realm is the wrong colors).

  

 Impact Resonance: This is just a cool way to remove stuff. Granted, you might have to wait for that stuff to damage you, but you can also exploit your own inflicted damage. That's right, you attack with your Inferno Titan, then possibly sweep your opponents' board for 2 mana. Told you it was cool. And not just for Commander.

 Incite Rebellion: A Chain Reaction variant. It also deals damage to players, but only counts each player's number of creatures, not the grand total. Red has better ways to sweep, but this can be good for redundancy.

 Scrap Mastery: Living Death for artifacts. Or Open the Vaults without enchantments. Again, new life for old tricks. Of course it's something that red-based artifact decks always wanted for Christmas.

  

 Tyrant's Familiar: You're not going to play a 5/5 Dragon for 7, even with haste (although that makes it almost worthy). A 7/7 hasty Dragon for 7 that also kills something when attacking, now, that's a good lieutenant for sure. Not a great one, but you may consider it at least.

 Volcanic Offering: I learned from experience with the C14 decks that you don't always get to cast this one, because it requires two nonbasic lands you don't control on the battlefield. It's a much likely case in competitive Commander, of course, and that makes it a good piece of removal for 5 mana. It's even more likely to be effective in Legacy 1v1, and especially Tribal Wars, although 5 mana might make it too slow there.

 Warmonger Hellkite: Not a particularly meaningful variant on your typical 6-mana Dragon. Can't hold a candle to Moonveil Dragon, for instance. The only added value might be forcing the attack of enemy creatures that didn't want to attack, but the utility ones can just tap themselves to avoid it, and your creatures will be probably tapped as well, so you won't kill much in response. And I guess you can help another player against a common enemy by boosting the former's creatures, but it's small potatoes.

 GREEN: GUIDED BY NATURE

   

 Creeperhulk: This guy's not essential, but it's not bad, either. A 5/5 trampler for 5 is honest, and it can turn all your little dudes into copies of itself, essentially. A particularly strong effect for creatures with counters (like Hydras), because of the new "base power and toughness" wording.

 Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury: I kinda dig one-eyed Freyalise. She looks unexciting at first sight, but she's actually a very solid commander for good stuff decks. Basically she swarms the board with Llanowar Elves, ramping you up in the process, drawing you cards every few turns, and killing dangerous artifacts and enchantments when needed – in Commander, that will be needed often enough, but if things are quiet, the minus ability remains just a potential (and a deterrent, which is just as important) and you'll cruise towards massive card-drawing without temptations. I'd say she's a good supporting planeswalker in Legacy, too, even if those 5 mana and her durdling nature makes her at home mostly on Tribal Wars.

 Grave Sifter: This is definitely NOT for Tribal Wars. And even elsewhere, you'll be giving your opponents back their best creature, which is rarely a good plan. I know it's designed to take advantage of the Elf tribal aspects of Freyalise's deck, but even there, you'll be hard pressed to find value in reviving 3 or 4 of your little dudes while your opponents take back Wurmcoil Engine, Frost Titan, or Pestilence Demon.

 Lifeblood Hydra: Stealthily one of the best X-costed Hydras ever printed. It costs one green mana more than, say, Primordial Hydra, but if you manage to avoid for Lifeblood to get exiled, you'll get that mana back with interests in the form of mad life-gaining and card-drawing. Of course, it becomes a prime target for Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile, unfortunately.

   

 Siege Behemoth: The toughness is low, but it's to balance the universal "super-trample" effect (on a hexproof creature, to boot!), which might well spell the end of the game. Not as much as Craterhoof Behemoth does, maybe, but we're in that same league, even if the lack of haste means they'll see it coming.

 Song of the Dryads: Green's own Oblivion Ring (remember when green couldn't deal with creatures effectively?), with the downside of accelerating the opponent for one mana, and the upside of negating ETB triggers once the aura is dealt with. A new green staple, nonetheless.

 Sylvan Offering: Possibly the most solid entry in the Offering cycle. Both you and your enemy's enemy get a big dude and a bunch of small dude, which may ensure your survival against the Big Bad for a bit longer.

 Thunderfoot Baloth: Once lieutenant kicks in, this otherwise unremarkable Beast gives a serious boost to your team. Considering there are universal trample providers that already cost 6 (like Roughshod Mentor), the double Crusade is a strong bonus, albeit we should always remember that this whole cycle hinges on the continuous presence of your Commander on the battlefield, something that it's far from guaranteed.

  

 Titania, Protector of Argoth: Probably my favorite card in the entire set, due to a mixture of flavor, looks, and a good design born out of creative thinking. I already had a good time with an Elemental deck based on her, where Titania could easily create multiple tokens per turn. If you want to know all the applications of her ability in Commander, you just have to read Adam_the_Mentat's great article.

 Wave of Vitriol: The effect – and the visuals! – look great, as does the flavor. But I'm not sure that erasing all nonbasic lands on top of the artifact/enchantment hate (that you can achieve in cheaper ways) justifies such a huge casting cost. Then again, it does make for a very impactful result, even if you'll need a list where you don't hurt yourself too much in the process.

 Wolfcaller's Howl: I don't know about this. In 3-man tables, you'll only get between 0 and 2 Wolves per upkeep, and most likely one. Granted, there might be cases where you cast it, then untap with three brand new Wolves on your battlefield. But the possibility that your 4-mana enchantment will do nothing at all, or next to nothing, doesn't make this thing very appealing.


THE SUNCOM CHRONICLES

 SUNCOM 93 winner: the_arend with Ruhan of the Fomori.

Ruhan Smash!
by the_arend - 1st place in SUNCOM 93
Creatures
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Deceiver Exarch
1 Imperial Recruiter
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Pestermite
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Zealous Conscripts
12 cards

Other Spells
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Armageddon
1 Azorius Signet
1 Boros Charm
1 Boros Signet
1 Brainstorm
1 Bribery
1 Chaos Warp
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Dack Fayden
1 Day of Judgment
1 Devastation
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Gideon Jura
1 Impulse
1 Izzet Signet
1 Jace Beleren
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
1 Jace, the Living Guildpact
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Jokulhaups
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Diamond
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Ral Zarek
1 Ravages of War
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Scroll Rack
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Splinter Twin
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Talisman of Progress
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1 Terminus
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Time Reversal
1 Timetwister
1 Tithe
1 Torpor Orb
1 Wildfire
1 Winter Orb
1 Wrath of God
50 cards
Lands
4 Island
3 Mountain
3 Plains
1 Ancient Den
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Arid Mesa
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 City of Brass
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Command Tower
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Great Furnace
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Mana Confluence
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Plateau
1 Polluted Delta
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Steam Vents
1 Strip Mine
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
37 cards
 
Ruhan of the Fomori

 

 SUNCOM is struggling firing these days (c'mon, guys, join the Sunday fun!), and the_arend's Ruhan took advantage of a smaller event to grab the main prize with an unforgiving list filled with land destruction.

 SUNCOM 94 and SUNCOM 95 winner: DrewDog50 with Krenko, Mob Boss

 

 Krenko has been most notably turned into a powerhouse by mihahitlor, but newcomer DrewDog50 seems to also have put the Mob Boss to good use lately. Never underestimate mono-red.


COMMANDER RESOURCES

THE COMMANDER ESSENTIALS
85 cards with colorless identity for every Commander deck (review here, propose additions)

 LANDS: Command Tower, Opal Palace, Vesuva, Thespian's Stage, Strip Mine, Wasteland, Ghost Quarter, Tectonic Edge, Dust Bowl, Homeward Path, Reliquary Tower, Winding Canyons, Miren, the Moaning Well, Boseiju, Who Shelters All, Maze of Ith, Mystifying Maze, Thawing Glaciers, Reflecting Pool, Deserted Temple. NEW ENTRIES: Arcane Lighthouse, Myriad Landscape.

 MANA ACCELERATORS/MANA FIXERS: Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, Everflowing Chalice, Grim Monolith, Mind Stone, Worn Powerstone, Thran Dynamo, Dreamstone Hedron, Coalition Relic, Chromatic Lantern, Gilded Lotus, Expedition Map, Armillary Sphere, Journeyer's Kite, Solemn Simulacrum, Doubling Cube, Extraplanar Lens, Gauntlet of Power, Caged Sun.

 EQUIPMENTS: Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Whispersilk Cloak, Darksteel Plate, General's Kabuto, Champion's Helm, Skullclamp, Umezawa's Jitte, Sword of Fire and Ice, Sword of Light and Shadow, Sword of Feast and Famine, Basilisk Collar, Loxodon Warhammer, Nim Deathmantle, Argentum Armor.

 DRAWING/TUTORING: Sensei's Divining Top, Scroll Rack, Seer's Sundial, Mind's Eye, Illuminated Folio, Staff of Nin, Citanul Flute, Planar Portal. NEW ENTRY: Memory Jar.

 ANSWERS: Ratchet Bomb, Powder Keg, Oblivion Stone, Nevinyrral's Disk, Contagion Engine, Duplicant, Steel Hellkite, Triskelion, Karn Liberated, All Is Dust, Spine of Ish Sah, Predator, Flagship. NEW ENTRIES: Perilous Vault, Unstable Obelisk.

 MISCELLANEA: Crucible of Worlds, That Which Was Taken, Quicksilver Amulet, Trading Post, Wurmcoil Engine, Sculpting Steel.


And that's it. See you in the SUNCOM room next Sunday at 16:00 GMT, and with the Commander Chronicles here next month! Commander ho!