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I.  INTRODUCTION

Before we get to my portion of the SOM review, I just wanted to check out where I am in my quest to create a deck based on each of the color combinations.  Click on the name of the Commander to go to the article about it.

Mono-Colored W: Zhang Fei, Fierce Warrior U:  Sakashima the Imposter B:  Maga, Traitor to Mortals R:  G:  Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer Brown:

Ravnica Guilds Boros:  Brion Stoutarm Golgari: Dimir:  Wrexial, the Risen Deep Selesnya:  Asmira, Holy Avenger Orzhov:  Selenia, Dark Angel Izzet: Gruul:  Stonebrow, Krosan Hero Azorius:  Isperia the Inscrutable Rakdos:  Bladewing the Risen Simic:  Experiment Kraj

Multi-Colored Bant: Grixis:  Lord of Tresserhorn Naya:  Rith, the Awakener Esper:  Dakkon Blackblade Jund:  Xira Arien  Numot: Oros:  Oros, the Avenger Intet: Teneb/Doran:  Teneb, the Harvester Vorosh:  Vorosh, the Hunter Coalition:  Fatties!

Closer and closer we get.  Only 7 more decks to go!  So I should be done with all of them by my 40th article.  It's going to be really satisfying when I get all of them done. 

Now, as I mentioned last week, Lythand and I are going to be splitting up the review of the SOM cards for Commander/EDH.  I get to look at the Green and Artifact cards, while Lythand gets to look at everything else.  But before we get into the breakdown, we have to tackle the newest guys on the block.

II.  NEW LEGENDS

Lythand and I agreed that we should both review of the legends in the set.  There are four new ones in Scars to take a look at.  Since everyone likes playing with new cards, expect to run up against these guys the next time you log on.

Ezuri, Renegade Leader:  Elves elves elves elves elves elves.  And elves some more. Well, this is really just a different version of Kamahl, Fist of Krosa that forces you to play with elves.  Now, elves aren't generally known as EDH powerhouses, but you do see them every once in a while.  I just think that Kamahl is better.  Kamahl can animate lands, and kill off random lands to Wrath effects.  Ezuri's second effect is only relevant for elves.  There are plenty of elves out there and you can make a passable deck with them.  Will Ezuri push them over the top?  Probably not. Kamahl is also bigger than Ezuri.  If you strap some equipment on Kamahl, it will take fewer turns to get a general kill.  I am sure there are other reasons why Kamahl is better, even if Ezuri is cheaper to cast.  I'm probably a little biased though.  Because I hate elves. However, if you have an elf deck, he deserves a spot in it, even if he isn't the commander.

Geth, Lord of the Vault:  This is a more typical Commander you can expect to be playing against.  First, he is large.  He also has Intimidate, which means that he is going to be pretty hard to block for a lot of other decks out there.   His zombieness can come in handy, as there are plenty of zombie related cards out there as well, and some people like tribal decks, like me.. However, his activated ability is interesting.  Built in recursion is nice, but it does have some limitations.  First, you can't activate his ability without having a target in someone's graveyard.  So you can't start milling randomly.  Next, you can't pay more mana than the cost of your target.  However, with these limitations you basically have a repeatable Beacon of Unrest.  Although you can't start milling people right away, there are usually enough guys going to the graveyard that you will have plenty of targets.  This guy is solid. As a regular creature, I think he is worthwhile in any beat down deck with Black.  His ability is very useful and his stats are good.  He will definitely go into any zombie themed deck as well.

Kemba, Kha Regent:  So her base stats are good.  She is cheap, and she comes out quick.  She has a big butt, which means that it takes a decent amount of damage to get rid of her. She basically says "Play me with a lot of equipment."  If you only have one piece of equipment on her, you only get one token.  But multiples are even better, obviously.  To me, the question is how much equipment versus support cards?  Sure, throwing in Raksha is great, he will pump all your little kitties. I have a feeling your are going to see a lot of decks that pack Kemba as their only creature, and go overboard with the equipment.  I would avoid this route, as you will be screwed to Hallowed Burial and other tuck effects.  In addition, if you build around her you are going to want the indestructible equipment, such as Helm of Kaldra, over the shroud equipment, as giving Kemba shroud means that you can't equip her more.  I still think she is a fairly solid, if one dimensional, general. I don't think she is good enough to be just a normal creature in a deck though.  She needs to be built around, and most decks don't have enough equipment to make her worthwhile.

Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon:  Here he is, the big bad boy that you need to worry about the most.  The infect mechanic basically cuts general damage in half.  This guy isn't the biggest dragon, but he has haste, can keep from dying with regeneration, and flies.  He will be difficult to deal with once you have enough mana to cast him and regenerate him.  Mono black doesn't usually have a problem making a bunch of mana, either. He also has the ability to slowly whittle away at bigger blockers, as you can just send him in and regenerate him.  And if you pump him at all, either with equipment or with something like Death Baron, he is basically a 2 turn clock.  That's not good for your opponents. What I am trying to say is that he is powerful, especially in a mono-black control deck that can keep the skies clear for him to charge through.  I have a strange feeling that he is going to be similar to Uril.  Lots of people will be playing him.  So be prepared with flying defense or ways to prevent his damage.  You don't want to be caught with your pants down against him. You will likely be seeing this guy as a creature in any Black control deck.  His haste ability is what makes him particularly scary in those situations, as you can't plan for him.

III.  GREEN

Green is typically the anti-artifact color, so it is interesting to see how Wizards changed that focus for this set.  Let's take a look at the Green cards that may have viability in your Commander games.

 Acid Web Spider: I know there are going to be people out there saying how this is a useful card due to the amount of equipment that is played.  But wouldn't you really rather play Indrik Stomphowler?  Or Acidic Slime?  By limiting the utility of this card to only hitting equipment, it is severely hamstrung as opposed to other, similar creatures.  Sure, it has reach, but due to its small but it won't last very long against most dragons. 

 Asceticism:  This card seems to be on everyone's list of "cool, gotta play it" cards, but I'm a little bit underwhelmed.  First, it costs 5 mana.  Second, the regeneration is a little bit steep.  It is a little bit better that Privileged Position in that you can target your own creatures and regenerate them though, so you get a little more flexibility there.  I just think that at the cost of this card, you would want something that proactively affects the board.

 Bellowing Tanglewurm:  I like this guy as sort of a better version of Roughshod Mentor, or even Sun Quan, Lord of Wu.  Doesn't work very well against mono-green decks, but against most other decks it should be a great way to push damage through.

 Blunt the Assault:  A Fog and a halved Congregate in one card, which isn't a bad stall tactic.  I've seen a few (Angus McKenzie) decks running around, and I'm sure this will be a great fit. 

 Engulfing Slagwurm: Although this wurm does not technically have any evasion, he will probably get in for a few good hits before he gets blocked.  Remember, the destruction doesn't happen at the resolution of combat damage.  Instead, he destroys creatures upon blocking.  That means that if for some reason he is blocking a Leviathan, or another creature bigger than him, the other creature is destroyed before dealing damage.  The life gain is just icing on the cake.

 Ezuri's Brigade:  I can see how getting an 8/8 trampler for 4 mana could be great for Standard.  I just don't think that it is overly impressive in Commander.  Metalcraft isn't that hard to achieve when you are playing Esper colors, but if you are mono-Green, it's a lot more difficult.  Next time you are playing, take a look and see when a non-Esper deck has three or more artifacts out.  It happens, but it isn't very common.  Even then, an 8/8 trampler, while nice, isn't overly impressive in this format.

 Genesis Wave:  This is the card that many people are salivating over, and for good reason.  Through mana ramp and other spells, it is possible to get 15 or more mana by turn 6.  Drop this bad boy, and all of a sudden you have accelerated your mana even more, brought out some threats, and dropped whatever helpful enchantments you may have as well.  You can also put planeswalkers into play with this thing.  You will be seeing this not only in mono-green, but any deck that can pump out a decent amount of mana.  A MUST HAVE CARD, and probably the best in the set in terms of overall utility.

 Liege of the Tangle:  The liege has been getting a bad rap, and for good reason.  Turning your lands into huge dudes sounds awesome, until you realize that his effect only really works after combat.  This means that your opponents will have a turn to deal with your animated lands, through mass destruction or other methods.  If they do cast a Wrath of God after you animate most of your lands, the Wrath is essentially a one sided Armageddon.  That's not cool.  The only way to make him work is if you can give your creatures haste and have multiple attack steps.  But that's a lot of hoops to jump through.

 Tangle Angler:  How many times have you seen anyone play with Prized Unicorn?  That's about how often you will see this guy played as well.  I guess you can combo him with Vhati il-Dal, but seems unnecessary.  It is a horror though.

IV.  ARTIFACT CREATURES

Before I talk about individual cards, I just want to mention the Myr.  There are a few Myr related cards in this set, but I don't think there are enough for a dedicated Myr deck.  I think they bring some nice cards to support other decks.  But you shouldn't build a Myr based deck and expect to do well.

 Chimeric Mass: Late game mana sink that can survive Wrath effects.  Easy to tutor for with Trinket Mage, so that's nice.  Having to activate it is a pain though.  I know that it's not the same as Sigil of Distinction, but I like the Sigil better.  Heck, I like lands you can animate better as well, since they serve another purpose in your deck.

 Clone Shell:  Basically Summoning Trap in creature form.  Good if you have a Top out or something similar.  But blindly playing this is a gamble that is usually not worth it.  And if it gets removed from the game, you lose the imprinted creature.

 Darksteel Juggernaut:  I really like this guy the most out of the new Darksteel creatures.  Obviously fits well into an artifact based deck, like Sharuum.  However, a lot of artifact decks are more controlling and won't like having to attack when they want a blocker.  But I would definitely play it.

 Etched Champion:  Fun ability, but seems small.  Can act as a blocker, but I would be more interested in equipping it and attacking.  Would you be willing to overextend your artifacts just for this guy though?  However, the artwork is pretty sweet.

 Golem Artisan:  Can give two forms of evasion (I include trample here), and also pump guys up if you have some spare mana.  I really like this guy.  The cost to activate his abilities is a little steep, but I think he is worth it.  Sharuum and Triplet decks will like him a bunch.

 Kuldotha Forgemaster:  So you have to wait a turn before you can use his abilities.  Then, you need at least two other artifacts in play that you are willing to get rid of in order to get your "answer."  It just seems like there are other, easier to use tutors to get what you are looking for, whether they be Fabricate or just Diabolic Tutor.  Plus, who really wants to get rid of two other artifacts.  If your deck really wants to rely upon an artifact to get the job done, then I can see including this guy.  Otherwise, pass.

 Molten-Tail Masticore:  Each of the Masticores requires the discard of a card, so that's not new.  However, putting it on a new card doesn't make it any less annoying.  In addition, the damaging ability requires not only mana, but removing a valuable resource from the game:  A card in your graveyard.  Not just any card, but a creature card.  It just seems like a lot of hoops to jump through.  It does hit players, but how often are you going to have enough creatures in your graveyard that you want to get rid of to activate this ability more than twice?  At least Razormane Masticore does his 3 damage for free, even if it is just to creatures.

 Moriok Replica:  Probably the only new Replica I think is playable.  Card draw is always nice, and can be used as a speed bump in a pinch.

 Myr Battlesphere:  A good amount of power for the cost, and brings some fun tokens to the table as well.  Due to his ability, you almost never want to attack with the tokens.  Use them to pump the Battlesphere, and cause direct damage to the opponent.  Should be a fun card.

 Palladium Myr:   A Worn Powerstone on legs is nothing to sneeze at.  Unfortunately, it is much more susceptible to removal.  I think it is worth trying out though, and it is definitely going to go in a few of my decks.  Until it gets killed a bunch, at least.

 Platinum Emperion:  His art makes him look like a huge beast, but is this better than Platinum Angel, or Eternity Vessel?  Well, he can beat down pretty well.  8 power is pretty solid.  But he is vulnerable to a ton of removal.  And if your life total cannot change, you will have a hard time paying life for things like fetchlands.  I think he will see occasional play, but I don't think he is worth it.  Go with Platinum Angel for a similar effect.

 Steel Hellkite:  I like this guy a lot.  First, the bad news:  His firebreathing ability costs too much compared to what we are used to.  However, his second ability is similar to those found in the Invasion and Planar Chaos dragons.  The ability to destroy stuff of opponents' that he has hit is killer.  It is a limited Pernicious Deed that can usually take out their best permanent.  Add the 5 damage, and I think we have a winner.

 Wurmcoil Engine:  I read somewhere that this is basically the colorless Titan that didn't get printed in M11.  I wouldn't quite go that far, but it is still really good.  First, he is a 6/6 for 6 colorless mana with no drawbacks.  As a matter of fact, it has a couple of great abilities.  Lifelink on a huge creature like that is not something that comes along often, and now it can go into any deck.  On top of that, the Engine has some defense against Wrath effects and destruction.  This is another guy that you can definitely pick up and slip into almost any deck.

V.  EQUIPMENT

There is a decent amount of equipment in this block, as you can expect.  However, there aren't that many that are good.

 Argentum Armor: This is the big bad equipment of the set.  First, he gives +6/+6 to the equipped creature.  More importantly, whenever the equipped creature attacks, you can destroy a permanent.  That's right, the creature doesn't even have to connect.  That's pretty brutal.  Of course, it costs a bunch to use that ability.  If you play fair it would cost 12 mana to cast and equip this bad boy.  But who likes to play fair?  Right now Stonehewer Giant is the Armor's best friend.  Sure, you won't be able to attack with the Giant the turn you search up the Armor, but it should be worth it.  Other cards that cut down on the cost include Stoneforge Mystic and Godo, Bandit Warlord.  Expect to see this equipment when you play.

 Grafted Exoskeleton:  Put this on a creature that's large enough, and you get a one hit kill.  Or two hits, depending on the size of the critter.  Also good at Withering down large indestructible guys.  The fact that it doesn't actually deal damage to players isn't a big deal.  I think the fact that it is a "grafted" piece of equipment, meaning that the equipped creature is destroyed if it becomes unequipped, may scare some people off though.

 Infiltration Lens:  This is great for cards like Hamletback Goliath or Greater Gargadon and other large guys that don't have some form of evasion.  Unfortunately, it basically makes these creatures into a version of Browbeat, giving the opponent the opportunity to deny you cards to take damage.  Although you get to choose which opponent has the choice, you may not get the answer you want.  This equipment will probably have a hard time fighting for space against the other, better equipment out there.

 Nim Deathmantle:  I like the idea of how the Deathmantle turns your creatures into Zombies and acts as a form of Wrath insurance.  Would probably work best in a deck that sacrifices creatures for effects, like a Brion Stoutarm or Kresh the Bloodbraided deck.  In addition, after a Wrath effect, if you have enough mana you can bring back multiple creatures as it triggers each time one goes to the graveyard.  Unfortunately, it costs a lot to activate, and you don't always get a choice as to when your creatures die.  Still worth a shot though.

 Strata Scythe:  Great in monocolored decks.  Especially useful with creatures that have evasion or trample.

 Sword of Body and Mind:  There are a lot of mono-Green decks running around, with Azusa, Lost but Seeking being very popular right now.  However, Green is also very good at destroying artifacts as well, so this Sword isn't quite as effective as it should be.  The ability to make wolf tokens is nice, but the milling ability is a double edged Sword.  By milling people, you give the Teneb and Wrexial players more targets to hit.  To me, this Sword is just not as good as the original big two.

V.  ARTIFACTS

Here are the most interesting of your good old, mono artifacts (and I guess some poly artifacts also).

 Contagion Engine:  This thing, as well as its little brother Contagion Clasp, has limited applications in the Commander format.  But where they fit, they will fit well.  Experiment Kraj really likes counters, as does Vorosh, the Hunter, Chorus of the Conclave, Jenara, Asura of War, Skithiryx and even Skeleton Ship.  Arcbound creatures love these artifacts, as well as Slith and Green decks with Vigor.  Also, don't forget that each of the Myojin can have their divinity counters multiplied with these Contagion artifacts.  

 Lux Cannon:  So basically, without additional shenanigans, you won't be able to destroy anything until the third turn after you play it.  Even in a deck that specializes in proliferate, you are probably only usually shaving a turn off of that.  Seems slow and clunky.

 Mimic Vat:  This seems like it could be cool.  If you wipe the board, you can choose which creature to imprint.  Preferably one that is large and has evasion or trample, or something with an "enters the battlefield" ability like Woodfall Primus.  However, it is one of those cards that just doesn't have a home in any particular deck, so it may just get lost in the shuffle.  Definitely worth considering though. 

 Nihil Spellbomb:  A nice version of Tormod's Crypt that gives the option to draw a card if you are playing black.  A useful spellbomb.

 Prototype Portal:  Another artifact that seems interesting.  You can have a bunch of Sword of Fire and Ice, one or more for each creature.  You can also use it to pump out artifact creatures, and not worry about colored mana for the Alara Sphinxes and such.  Even better with stuff like Solemn Simulacrum.  However, I rarely see anyone ever play Soul Foundry, so I'm guessing you won't see it much after the new card smell wears off.

 Ratchet Bomb:  This may be all the rage in Standard, but it is too slow for our purposes.  We have access to Oblivion Stone, All is Dust, Nevinyrral's Disk, and even Pernicious Deed.  It just doesn't stand up to those cards.

 Semblance Anvil:  Aside from the card disadvantage that is inherent to imprint artifacts, this looks like it could have a lot of interesting applications.  You can use it to reduce the cost of all your creatures by 2, which can be helpful when playing with expensive tribes like dragons.  However, I think you will end up seeing this used with other artifacts, especially cheap ones.  Sort of like a personal Helm of Awakening.  It can be used for storm shenanigans, and to draw your deck with SDT and Future Sight.  In other words, another card for combo players.

 Venser's Journal:  Spellbook on steroids.  There are plenty of decks out there that can draw a ton of cards.  Usually those decks just stick Reliquary Tower into their decks and hope to draw it.  If they want back up, Spellbook is good, specifically because it is free.  Is the 5 mana you pay for this artifact worth it?  I don't know for sure, but I have a hard time buying it for this cost.  My thought is that if you have that many cards in hand, you should be doing pretty well already.  If you are playing a really slow, controlling deck that takes a lot of early damage, however, you may end up playing this card.  Just remember it doesn't do anything against general damage.

VI.  CONCLUSION

So there you go.  There are a ton of artifacts out there for everyone to use, but many of them only fall into specific deck types.  Genesis Wave is a house, and you should pick one up when you can.  The other cards that are probably most useful are Wurmcoil Engine and Steel Hellkite, as they both can go into any deck.

Infect is a crazy mechanic.  It can basically turn a little creature into a second general for your deck.  Basically something large enough with Grafted Exoskeleton can knock you out in one turn, no matter what your life total is.  Plus, the little infect guys can have their damage add up over time.  And until they reprint Leeches in the next Masters Edition, there isn't really a way to get rid of your poison counters.

Finally, with all of the new artifacts, Karn, Silver Golem just got better.  So expect to see him a lot more in the coming weeks.  I know on the day after the prerelease I played against two different Karn decks.  I am sure they won't be the last ones I see either.

VII.  BONUS DECKLIST

I recently played a game against someone who had an interesting deck that I thought I would share.  The deck uses the Cascade mechanic to its fullest.  Let's take a look:

 

This deck has a lot of fat, a bunch of cascading stuff and two action spells:  Eureka and Hypergenesis.  Nothing else in the deck costs less than 6 mana.  Of course, this limits a lot of your deckbuilding choices.  Most tutors cost less than 6, as do most land search spells.  Roussous gets around this by using Beseech the Queen as his tutor, and land search through the various landcyclers such as Twisted Abomination.  Ideally, after cascading into the action spells, he will have more fat in his hand than than opponents, and can start to beat down.  Unfortunately the only card that costs 6 or more that gives haste to the entire team is Akroma's Memorial.  Madrush Cyclops just cannot fit into this deck without majorly disrupting it.

Some of the creatures do more than just beat down.  Woodfall Primus and Terastodon do a good job of removing threats.  Sundering Titan and Realm Razer leave opponents with a lot less mana, and therefore it is more difficult for them to respond to the threats this deck drops.  Hoverguard Sweepers can bounce the stuff opponents drop, and Bringer of the Blue Dawn will help draw cards after you play your hand.

The deck is sort of a one trick pony, so watch out for counterspells.  Roussous has to wait until the Blue players are tapped out before starting his cascade.  However, he does have a little bit of redundancy in the deck if it does get countered.  First, the deck has both Hypergenesis and Eureka in case something goes wrong, so all he needs is another cascade spell to get going again if one of them does not resolve.  In addition, Time Spiral can shuffle them back into the deck so he can try again.  But it seems like fun to play if you like to live on the edge.  Dropping your entire hand into play and then watching someone play Wrath of God is one of the risks you take with this deck.  But with high risk comes a high reward!

Hope you enjoyed the overview and the deck.  Until next week!

Leviathan, aka Tarasco on MTGO
mrmorale32 at yahoo dot com