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By: Leviathan, Mike Morales
Feb 14 2013 9:46am
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All right, so Gatecrash is now out online.  Bringing us back to Ravnica, this time we get to mess around with the Boros, Simic, Dimir, Orzhov, and Gruul clans.  Good times.  There's lots of multi-colored goodness in this set, but before we get to the individual cards I just wanted to talk about the mechanics introduced.  Remember, this is my review for Commander only!

The Boros brings the Battalion mechanic, which makes sense for what Boros decks do:  Attack!  Unfortunately in order to get the benefit of this mechanic you have to be attacking with at least 3 creatures, which means that you are usually over reaching and making yourself susceptible to Wrath effects.  So obviously these cards work better in token decks.  Even still, the affects you get generally aren't the greatest.  This keyword isn't as bad as Radiance was, but it's still not all that great in my eyes.

Dimir brings the Cipher mechanic, which is essentially a variation of Auras.  However, they cannot be Disenchanted, which is nice.  The other positive is that you don't necessarily need a creature in order to get some use out of these cards, although you'll typically be overpaying for a one time effect otherwise.  In addition, in order to get the most out of this mechanic you need to hit an opponent with combat damage.  This isn't really one of Dimir's strengths, but a lot of their creatures do have evasion.  Unfortunately most of these cards aren't that great.

Gruul has Bloodrush, which is a pretty darn good Gruul mechanic.  This one is basically a variation of an uncounterable Giant Growth, but much larger.  Most of them are pretty straight forward power and toughness boosters, but some give trample and other abilities.  Pretty good when going for Commander damage kills.  I think that this mechanic really shines in Jund decks, specifically because aside from Genesis, Black also gives you access to multiple ways to get creatures from your graveyard back to your hand to use their abilities again, usually through Oversold Cemetery, Phyrexian Reclamation and the like.  Plus, Black gives you Living Death so you can get back the stuff you dumped.  Remember that this ability can only be used on attacking creatures!

The Church of Orzhov brings Extort to the table, a nice little bleeder mechanic.  But first things first:  Yes, you can play Basilica Screecher in a mono-Black deck, and Basilica Guards in a mono-White deck.  Hopefully they work that out on MTGO.  Anyways, the big deal is that it hits each opponent, which is nice.  This means that control decks will like the slow, grinding nature of this mechanic.  I would think that non-creatures with this ability would work out better because they aren't as fragile.

The Simic Combine has Evolve, and that one's a doozy.  Basically the focus is on little dudes that grow over time.  And of course, Doubling Season is one of the favorite cards for this key word.  Of course, there are a bunch of enablers for these guys.  On top of that there are tons of different ways to mess around with counters, and this set has printed a lot of different enablers.  Since the Simic guild already had Graft in the past, and that mechanic plays extremely well with the new one, my guess is that we will end up seeing a ton of Simic decks running around.  Lots of triggers too, which can be a little annoying but worth it.

With that out of the way let's look at the cards!

LEGENDARY CREATURES

Aurelia, the Warleader - Aurelia costs a lot.  But for that high mana cost you get a really solid beat down Commander.  There are several routes you can go with her as the leader of your deck.  You can base your deck around creating combat damage triggers, through the use of equipment like Sword of Fire and Ice and Argentum Armor as well as Soltari Visionary, Sun Titan and Inferno Titan.  Another way you can go about using her is through token strategies.  With enough little dudes out there and multiple attack steps, you can really put the hurt on people.  You just have to know that she isn't going to come out in a hurry, so some mana rocks will be helpful.   I'm not sure that she's better than Gisela, but I am sure she will be popular.

As a regular creature I'm sure she'd be useful in Naya beatdown decks.  Or any combat centric deck that is in her colors.  Her mana cost is brutal so that may be a problem, especially with all the other cards that cost 6 mana.  But she can be worth it.

Borborygmos Enraged - Ok, so this is an 8 mana Commander, so you have to expect a lot.  He is pretty burly and it's a pretty good chance that once you get him out, he'll be able to get through and trigger his ability.  I would think that you need 40 lands in your deck at a minimum, and likely at least 50, in order to really get good use out of his Lightning Bolt ability.  Life from the Loam and Crucible of Worlds seem like auto-includes as well.  Other than that it's just a ramp based strategy that he'll lead, meaning Oracle of Mul Daya, Yavimaya Elder, etc., plus Exploration, Burgeoning and other similar stuff.  I dunno, I'm not that excited about him.  Of course, I wasn't really that excited about the original Borborygmos either.

I just can't think of too many decks that would want this card as a regular creature in their army.  Really, for this much mana you really want a Praetor or something else that really effects the board.

Lazav, Dimir Mastermind - Ok, first off, this guy has hexproof, which means that he's going to be difficult to deal with for the most part.  This means that you'll definitely be seeing a lot of him.  I'm sure that a lot of people are going to want to add bunches of shapeshifters to a deck with him at the help, but I honestly think that assassins and other people that can take out creatures, such as Visara or Avatar of Woe, would be a better way to go.  Of course, any sort of Dimir control deck could make good use of him.  And yes, how big or cool he is has a direct correspondence to what kind of creatures your opponents play (and get killed off).  But typically there are some cool creatures with various useful abilities out there.  Don't forget that his ability says "may."

As a regular creature in your deck, again, shapeshifter tribal seems to be his thing.  Or else an assassin deck, as previously mentioned.  He would actually do really well in my Tariel deck if he wasn't Blue.  But a control deck that has a lot of ways to pick off creatures would be great with him.

Obzedat, Ghost Council - So they're basically an updated version of the original Ghost Council.  They are more resistant to sorcery speed removal, the draining ability is slightly larger, they don't need another creature out to blink and they have an extra point of power.  On the other hand, they cost a mana more, you can blink the old Ghost Council multiple times a round, and the old Ghost Council can block.  The old Ghost Council requires a little bit more of a focus around them, while the new guys can go into just about any Black/White control deck.  They have their pros and cons, but I like the old guys better.

I have no idea what kind of deck would want these guys as a regular creature.  I guess some sort of Black/White control deck might like them, but you can't really guarantee that they'll get through when they come back without using cards like Filth and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.  And the inability to block is really tough.

Prime Speaker Zegana - I've never really considered myself to be a huge Simic guy, but this is the new Commander that I'm the most excited about.  I really like the idea of playing her with a bunch of Maro variants, including Sturmgeist and Overbeing of Myth, and just going nuts with the card draw.  Don't forget Psychosis Crawler either.  It seems like she's ripe for abuse with Doubling Season, so adding a few planeswalkers wouldn't be bad.  Then, flavor with as much of your usual Simic control as you want.  It's just sweet that a Simic legend really provides benefits for playing huge dudes.

I think she can go well in a deck that support her based around counters and/or proliferate.  There are also a ton of Bant decks with big dudes, and often times she'll be drawing 5 or 6 cards.  Leaving behind a pretty decent sized body isn't a bad thing either.  I really like her.

CREATURES AND PLANESWALKERS

    
Diluvian Primordial, Luminate Primordial, Molten Primordial, Sepulchral Primordial, Sylvan Primordial

All right, the big guys on the block are here.  They were obviously made for multiplayer, and all of them cost 7 mana.  Remember, for 7 mana you can get Avenger of Zendikar, Sheoldred, Angel of Serenity, Balefire Dragon, Elesh Norn and Novablast Wurm, so competition is stiff.  The best is Sylvan, because he's the only one guaranteed to be able to hit a target from each opponent.  It may be a land, but at least it's something.  Plus he provides some ramp.  The remaining ones are all about the same in my eyes, with the Red one probably at the bottom just because I'm not a huge fan of Threaten effects.  Still, they are all huge values for the mana.  And if you can manage to blink them a couple of times they get even better.  Definitely worth consideration in any deck that can support them.

    
Duskmantle Guildmage, Skarrg Guildmage, Sunhome Guildmage, Vizkopa Guildmage, Zameck Guildmage

The Guildmages all come with useful, if slightly expensive, abilities.  It's really just a matter of whether you have the extra mana lying around to use them.  Although I like the Sunhome version, it just costs a lot to use him.  The Skarrg version is cheap to use but good if you're playing with large critters.  The Duskmantle version is pretty good when playing some sort of sweeper, but it can't be that great because no one plays with Patron of the Nezumi, which has a similar ability.  Vizkopa is great for when you're playing with large dudes, and Zameck is fun when making a mess of tokens.  Each of these guys is very situational.

 Angelic Skirmisher - The important thing to remember is that she can grant your team abilities at the beginning of each combat.  Meaning that you can give your creatures vigilance during your turn to have everyone back on defense later, then give your guys lifelink or first strike later.  This can be pretty good, especially in multiplayer games.

 Biovisionary - Rite of Replication.  Worth it?  No.

 Boros Reckoner - A Spitemare variant, there is a class of deck out there using Boros colors that hurts everyone with Earthquake effects, but uses stuff like Personal Sanctuary to protect itself.  The Reckoner seems like a perfect fit.

 Consuming Aberration - Another Lord of Extinction or Lhurgoyf variant, this one does a good job of making itself bigger quickly.  Of course, there are quite a few graveyard based decks in this format that wouldn't mind the help.  But hopefully you'll be beating down quickly with the Aberration enough that it won't matter.  Lack of evasion is something you need to deal with, but equipment and stuff like Brawn should be able to help you out.

 Crypt Ghast - Another mana doubler for mono-Black decks.  Jeez, there are a ton of them now.

 Deathpact Angel - I'm just not a fan of this angel.  At first I was excited to have another Orzhov angel, but the mana cost to use this thing and the little dude that comes with it when it dies is just too much.  On top of that, the little guy has summoning sickness, unlike the bat in the very similar Sengir Nosferatu.  I know that some people will play with it because it's an angel and looks cool, but I won't be one of them.

 Duskmantle Seer - This is one that is sort of a double edged sword, but I'm sure it'll see play anyways.  In the properly constructed deck it probably won't hurt you that much, acting as a Dark Confidant.  Ideally you run up against a couple of decks that play a lot of things that cost a ton of mana, where the deck have an average CMC of over 4.5 or something.  But you are helping them draw into answers and threats.

 Domri Rade - It's pretty easy to stack the top of your deck now, with Sensei's Divining Top (ugh), Mirri's Guile, Sylvan Library, etc.  If you want to use this guy and hit with him I would definitely recommend playing with at least 35 creatures.  Of course, you really want to get to his ultimate.  I have noticed that with recently printed planeswalkers their ultimates are more than double their starting loyalty, which means that they can't ultimate with Doubling Season in play.  I wonder if that was done on purpose?

 Fathom Mage - Aside from just playing decent sized creatures, there are plenty of other ways to get counters onto her, from stuff like Fungal Behemoth to Forgotten Ancient.  She should be pretty popular in Simic decks.

 Foundry Champion - Obviously wants to be in token decks.  I do like that he can hit both creatures and players.  What he really wants are blink effects, like Conjurer's Closet and Cloudshift, but you don't usually see those in token decks.

 Giant Adephage - Large trampler is large.  Better than Spawnwrithe?  Well, sort of, just because he's bigger, but Spawnwrithe comes out quicker.

 Gideon, Champion of Justice - Ok, so this is the big new scary card of the set.  Obviously he works best against token strategies, but those aren't always played at every table.  Therefore, it will usually take at least a couple of turns to be able to get to his ultimate.  You will see this card played by the same people that like to use Jhoira to suspend Obliterate.  Just remember that you need targeted removal to deal with him, unless you're running huge monsters.

 Gruul Ragebeast - The fight ability is cool, but it is mandatory.  Just keep that in mind when you're running this guy out there.

 Hellkite Tyrant - Mycosynth Lattice?  Mycosynth Lattice.  Aside from that he's really good against Esper decks, and since he tramples you can usually assume he'll get through.  Most of the time he's just a beater, but sometimes you can get some good stuff.

 High Priest of Penance - Lots of work is necessary for you to get some value out of this guy.  But if you pull it off you should have the game well in hand.  Darksteel Plate seems made for this guy.

 Ivy Lane Denizen - This guy is useful, I just wish he cost one less mana.  Even still, it's pretty good with a lot of the evolve creatures, as well as other Green decks with tokens.  Skullbriar would like him as well.

 Lord of the Void - He seems cool, but his ability is so random.  You could just get a Sakura-Tribe Elder or something that won't help in the late game.  Still, he's a large flying demon, so that's not horrible.

 Master Biomancer - Obviously goes well into Experiment Kraj decks, but it is nice in general just to make your dudes bigger.  Even better if you can make him bigger, whether through the use of something like Forgotten Ancient or Beastmaster Ascension.

 Nightveil Specter - Not a bad body for the cost.  The ability to hit play other people's stuff if reminiscent of Thada Adel, but not nearly as good since you can't choose what you get.  So it's a goofy card that will sometimes get played.

 Nimbus Swimmer - Sad times for leviathan fans.  I wanted something better.  It's been a while since we've seen a leviathan, but this guy is not nearly as good as Simic Sky Swallower.  

 Ogre Slumlord - Not a bad guy for rat decks.  That's about it.

 Rubblehulk - I'm pointing out this bloodrush guy just because his ability can get really huge late game.  Not bad for a minor cost.

 Treasury Thrull - Not as good as Sun Titan, but still a nice bit of recursion.  Well worth it.

 Wrecking Ogre - Double strike is nothing to sneeze at, especially when it comes out of nowhere.

ARTIFACTS, ENCHANTMENTS AND LANDS 

 

 Assemble the Legion - This reminds me a lot of Mind Unbound.  At first you don't get much, but pretty soon things can get out of control.  I like this in aggressive Boros decks.

 Blind Obedience - A weaker Kismet with extort, it's good at shutting down creatures with haste.  Add Loxodon Gatekeeper for additional fun.

 Dying Wish - I like this for decks that play huge dudes, like my Kresh deck.  Fun times.

 Forced Adaptation - In my Skullbriar deck I played with Predatory Hunger.  This is a similar card, but probably not as good.  Also worse than Ring of Kalonia, even if it's cheaper.

 Glaring Spotlight - This is one of those cards that seems cool at first, but that you won't see played much.  Sort of like Stranglehold.  It's mainly because it doesn't do a whole lot for your team, even with the sacrifice ability.  It's one of those cards that could just do nothing.  And that's just not good enough.  Keep in mind that this doesn't deal with Shroud at all.  I know Hexproof has become a lot more popular, but even still, I'll go several games without seeing anything with Hexproof. 

 Illusionist's Bracers - An amazing card and Commander staple, especially for all those Commanders with tap abilities.  You should definitely get your copy soon.

 One Thousand Lashes - Sort of a reverse Faith's Fetters.  I can't really see this card getting much play though.

 Soul Ransom - An interesting form of removal.  Basically, it reads: Destroy target creature and draw two cards.  That's not a bad deal.  And if you're lucky, you can actually keep the creature.  Probably works better in discard decks, but those are super annoying.  So I wouldn't recommend going that route.

 Thespian's Stage - A better version of Vesuva, since it can change during the game.  There are tons of utility lands getting played, why not copy the best one out there?

INSTANTS AND SORCERIES

    
Boros Charm, Dimir Charm, Gruul Charm, Orzhov Charm, Simic Charm

Out of this group I think the Boros version is likely the best.  2 out of the 3 modes are pretty much always useful, and the third, dealing 4 damage to a player, isn't anything to sneeze at.  Simic comes up next, as giving your team hexproof is pretty nice, and being able to bounce a creature has a lot of advantages.  Dimir comes out with a hard counter against sorceries, so the other two modes are just gravy.  Gruul and Orzhov share the bottom rung.  There's just not a lot to say about either.

 Aurelia's Fury - Very good, mainly due to the ability to cast at instant speed.  You can tap down blockers, or tap down creatures that may attack.  The versatility is what sets it apart.  Very nice.

 Biomass Mutation - I'm not a huge fan of this card, but I know others are.  I would rather just run Mirror Entity and be able to repeat this ability.  Also, it's better with a bunch of creatures, which most Simic decks don't really run.  It can be cast at instant speed so it has surprise on its side.  But still, not my favorite.

 Clan Defiance - The multiple modes means that this is going to be a good card.

 Enter the Infinite - Oh boy.  So yes, Omniscience with this is brutal.  Or this with Psychosis Crawler.  Or the old version of Niv-Mizzet.  Still, you need to be able to be able to win now(!) when you play this.  Obviously, you will draw into Omniscience if you don't have it already.  So with a properly constructed deck this is sort of an "I win" card.  I won't say it's a staple, but it is certainly something you need to worry about.

 Immortal Servitude - I think that most of the time you're only going to get one creature back, sometimes two.  Worth it?  I don't really think so, but that's just me.

 Massive Raid - Great for token decks.  Similar to Burn at the Stake.

 Merciless Eviction - Nice bit of removal with various choices.  Commander staple.

 Mind Grind - The key portion of this card is "each opponent."   You can force a good amount of milling with this card.  The Mimeoplasm would love this.

 Mystic Genesis - The non-creature form of Draining Whelk.  Are you really that worried about Torpor Orb?  I like the Whelk better.

 Rapid Hybridization - Another Pongify, gives Blue decks more creature removal.

 Serene Remembrance - Nice little bit of graveyard hate, similar to Gaea's Blessing.  If you like Blessing, you'll like this.  Even though you don't get to draw a card.

 Shattering Blow - Similar to Revoke Existence, but the trade off for instant speed is the inability to hit enchantments.  Dunno if it's worth playing, but it is certainly worth knowing about.

 Signal the Clans - Variation of Intuition but random instead of giving you a choice.  It would actually be much better if the unchosen card was put in your graveyard, but this is still a pretty decent card.

 Skullcrack - Flames of the Blood Hand was the original version of this deck, but the 'crack is just way better.  Not only does it prevent life gain, but it also makes it so that damage can't be prevented.  Instant speed is just icing on the cake.  And if nothing else, it's 3 damage to a player.  I don't think  it will get the play it deserves, but it is very good.

 Stolen Identity - Probably the best of the cipher cards, making copies of dudes is always fun, and an especially good way of dealing with opposing Commanders.  The mana cost is high, but if you are able to put it on a double striker it will be worth it.

 Unexpected Results - At worst, this ramps you a little bit.  At best, you can get a free Spearbreaker Behemoth or Tooth and Nail!  Not a bad card at all.

 Urban Evolution - Harmonize with part of Explore.  Honestly, it seems like a lot of mana for the effect, but I'll probably play it anyways.

 Whispering Madness - So Windfall is a pretty good card, and this is essentially the same.  So there's that.  And if you have a deck that likes these effects, like my old Nicol Bolas deck that used a bunch of Underworld Dreams type cards, you can get it to repeat a couple times by putting it on a creature.  Or if you just like to mill a lot.

CONCLUSION

Ok, so here are the cards that I would definitely pick up and would consider Commander staples, meaning that if you are running the colors to support them you should consider these cards:

I'm tempted to put Prime Speaker up there, but I think that it's just my own infatuation talking.  In addition, aside from all the legends I will probably pick up the Guildmages, Angelic Skrimisher, Consuming Aberration, Crypt Ghast, Lord of the Void, Treasury Thrull, Master Biomancer, Assemble the Legion, Soul Ransom (I think it'll be pretty good), the Charms, Rapid Hybridization, Signal the Clans, Skullcrack, Stolen Identity, Unexpected Results and Urban Evolution.  Those last two Simic cards could actually be better than I think, but only play testing will really determine their value.

So there's a bunch of interesting stuff in this new set.  Multi-colored cards are always fun to play with.  Eventually I'm going to put together a deck featuring all Gold and multi-colored cards.  There are more than enough out there.  Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the overview!

BONUS GAME

 

Leviathan, aka Tarasco on MTGO
mrmorale32 at yahoo dot com

CONQUEROR & COMMANDER ARCHIVE

12 Comments

I share your love for Zegana by Kumagoro42 at Thu, 02/14/2013 - 11:37
Kumagoro42's picture
5

I share your love for Zegana and the rekindled passion for Simic decks!

A few things.

1) Strange that you put Gideon 2.0 among the staples, saying that it's "the big new scary card of the set", since it's probably the worst-received planeswalker in recent times, right after Tibalt. (It's sold for 5 tix during release, that's code for saying that nobody really wants him. You can almost have a full playset in exchange for a single Domri Rade.)
You sure you didn't misread his ability like it's saying "every opponent"? Because on many tables you might need 10 turns to go ultimate with him (and they're not gonna let that happen anyway), and in the meantime Gideon did absolutely nothing. Then what? You scorched the board, and are left with a tiny Gideon, if not a dead one. You'd need a complex deck strategy to take advantage of that situation. In the average deck, it seems way easier to draw 6 cards with Zegana than to do something useful with this Gideon. I'd say strictly worse than Gideon 1.0, hands down.

2) Obzedat can block. It says that you "may" exile it. It's your call, you can either block with it, or protect it from removal and drain the opponent. It's also a great combo with YOUR instant sweepers.

3) Re: Enter the Infinite. I'm pretty sure it'll be banned in Commander, just like Worldfire was.

4) Re: "you can play Basilica Screecher in a mono-Black deck, and Basilica Guards in a mono-White deck."
Can you? I thought those had multicolored color identities. Just like you can't play Thelon of Havenwood in a green deck, or you can play blue cards in a Memnarch-helmed deck. Am I wrong?

I've made a complete list of all the 490 existing Commanders (6 of which are banned), with their creature types. I'll share it here, might be useful: enjoy. (It's MTG data, not MTGO, so some of those aren't online.)

For the new Gideon, I think by Leviathan at Thu, 02/14/2013 - 13:25
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For the new Gideon, I think my opinion was influenced by the fact that I seem to run into Ghave EVERY SINGLE GAME. And if it isn't Ghave, it's some other token producer. So I was constantly seeing board states where a single opponent would have 5-8 creatures out at a time. Maybe it's just my own game play experience, I dunno. But I do know that people start to crap their pants if they think that the whole board is going to be reset anytime soon. Sort of like seeing the Karn planeswalker running around. But if token strategies are on the wane, you're right, he isn't that great. I'm more than happy to be wrong about him.

Completely missed the "may" trigger on Obzedat. My bad. Makes him a lot better actually.

Regarding Enter the Infinite, I think it'll be a while before it gets banned. The mana cost is slightly prohibitive, and it doesn't automatically put everyone at 1 life. So we'll probably see a probationary period for the card before they decide whether to ban it.

With the Extort mechanic, I guess the ruling is that reminder text does not affect color identity. Sheldon talks about a little bit in the second paragraph of his review of the set here: http://www.starcitygames.com/article/25584_Gatecrash-Set-Review-Commande...

Sweet list! I'm always looking for new commanders to build around.

Well, maybe you're right and by Kumagoro42 at Thu, 02/14/2013 - 18:44
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Well, maybe you're right and Gideon will be way more enabled in Commander than in other Constructed formats (which, after all, are what currently influences the price and general reputation). I still don't feel like people will embrace en masse a planeswalker that does next to nothing before going ultimate, then does a (I agree) very annoying thing without even guaranteeing you'll be on top after that.

As for Obzedat, I don't know if it'll show up a lot as a Commander (for one, I like my 1- or 2-color Commanders to be more interactive with my cards), but it sure is one of the best creatures in the set overall, possibly the top one.

I didn't even consider that the mana symbol in extort is just a reminder text and the actual rule text just reads "Extort" and nothing else. It's kinda unusual, isn't it? Off the top of my mind, I can't recall any hard keyworded ability (as opposed to stuff like bloodrush, where the different costs have to be explicitly stated on the text) with mana symbols in the reminder text.

I made that list (which I just updated with the 5 Gatecrash legends) for the Tribal Commander event, which we'll do again a couple more times this year. I'll be glad if you'll join us. :)

if you get a lot of counters by Paul Leicht at Thu, 02/14/2013 - 20:04
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if you get a lot of counters on Gideon first, and then ultimate you win. There is no doubt. The reason people don't like it is, a)It doesn't defend itself and b) is very slow to get the ultimate. I am a fan of a 4/4 indestructible human soldier. The problem is he wont stay a 4/4 if your opponent can damage him so you have to be able to protect him somehow. Once he starts swinging he's paying for himself. But before that not so much.

Yeah, in the game I show, I by Leviathan at Fri, 02/15/2013 - 01:21
Leviathan's picture

Yeah, in the game I show, I was able to get 7 creatures out. Admittedly it's a tribal deck, but I was able to do it without using creature tokens. So it shouldn't be extremely hard to get him to ultimate.

Lord of the Void with Finest by KaraZorEl at Thu, 02/14/2013 - 12:28
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Lord of the Void with Finest Hour and Fireshrieker....I need to make this happen.

Best uncommon of the set: Holy Mantle. Why? You slap it on a big old 6/6 dragon for 6 cmc with white in its cost. Put all the triggers on the stack forever.

Additionally, random hint: Bower Passage is really good in a deck where your general is green flier (such as Jugan the Rising Star or Scion of the Ur-Dragon).

You're right about Bower by Leviathan at Thu, 02/14/2013 - 13:28
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You're right about Bower Passage, that's a good find. Other interesting Commanders would be Jenara, Intet, Darigaaz, Karrthus, Rith and Vorosh!

Soul Ransom by pumpkin_hd at Thu, 02/14/2013 - 14:03
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Soul Ransom is not removal - opponent may discard to get Aura sacrificed, not creature. So it's either Mind Control or Mindculling efect.

Ugh, really? That's pretty by Leviathan at Thu, 02/14/2013 - 16:00
Leviathan's picture

Ugh, really? That's pretty awful then. Sad times.

Great review just wanted to by Neo001992 at Thu, 02/14/2013 - 15:57
Neo001992's picture
5

Great review just wanted to point out a few things.

1) Aurelia's Fury also stops players from casting non-creature spells which is an important part that you didn't mention.

2) I despise all of the primordials because they all feel like sledgehammer designs where you just rush to 7 mana and they do dumb things for you.

3) I don't think Enter the Infinite will be banned, even though I would like it to be, simply because for 12 mana you can do a number of other things to draw your entire deck and win already.

4) It makes me kinda sad how bad Gruul Charm and Orzhov Charm are compared to the other 8 charms because I was looking forward to 5 more playable charms in this set, but only got 3.

5) I think you're undervaluing Ogre Slumlord because his effect generates a rat token whenever any non-token creature dies so for a stax or control deck slumlord can give you another way to feed Braids, Cabal Minion or Smokestack.

Yeah, Gruul and Orzhov aren't by Leviathan at Thu, 02/14/2013 - 16:06
Leviathan's picture

Yeah, Gruul and Orzhov aren't really that great. I do like that Gruul is basically Brand with more options, but neither of them are really exciting enough for me to go out and get them into decks.

As for the Slumlord... You're right, Stax decks will like him. But do I really want to help out Stax players? Nope. Let them figure out their own tech. They're smart enough to get it.

As for the primordials, I think we're going to see variations of these types of multiplayer cards a lot in the future. Wizards knows that kitchen table players (meaning most Commander players) like these type of cards. But like I said, you can only cram so many of these into your decks without being too top heavy.

From experience, I can by KaraZorEl at Thu, 02/14/2013 - 18:30
KaraZorEl's picture

From experience, I can already tell you that the black primordial is fantastic in a reanimator deck. I'm using Teneb, the Harvester. I found someone's Acidic Slime- twice- and blew up the same Caged Sun twice. Didn't think I'd beat an Omnath deck quite that way.