So, I’ve already covered the upcoming Khans of Tarkir set, unveiled at the recent San Diego Comic Con panel, but there’s also a little bit of information about Commander: specifically, this year’s 5 decks released on November 21st.
I love Commander and the pre-constructed decks have been very strong in the past. The choice of new commanders, other cards that are useful in the format and various new cards specifically designed for Commander help support the format and give new players a starting on point. I don’t have a massive collection, but I can usually take a pre-con, add a few cards of my own and I have something that’s fun to play with. So, what’s new this year?
Colours
First of all, these 5 sets will each be mono-coloured. This is a break away from the previous sets, which have all been wedge themed. Since we’ve done all 10 3-colour combinations – plus the ample enemy wedge cards coming in Khans of Tarkir – this seems like the best idea. It was either that or 2-colour guilds and we’ve already had Return to Ravnica.
Mono-coloured Commander decks haven’t had much support. Most players look to multi-colour options to make use of gold cards, charms and a wider range of effective legendary creatures. However, there’s something to be said about picking one colour and sticking too it. While you can’t cover all your bases, you can push very heavily in one direction. For instance, a mono-red deck is going to have burn spells and creatures, but it can’t deal with enchantments. It’s a simple trade off but it adds to the fun.
While we know very little about the contents, a quick wish list would have to include:
- A reprint of the command cycle or a cycle of new mono-coloured charms/commands instead. This would really help give one colour decks some flexability
- Mono coloured lands with a decent activated ability, perhaps related to the commander. Mono colour decks have less options when it comes to lands and a few options here wouldn’t hurt.
There are a few other things I’d like, but they’ve already been confirmed…
Planeswalker Commanders
Each set will come with one new Planeswalker in the deck’s respective colour. While this is exciting enough, these Planeswalkers can be used as a Commander without house rulings. This will instantly change things up and I imagine many will be giving these new options a go as soon as the set comes out.
It seems to be a decent trade off, however, since few Planeswalkers can do damage to the opponent. As such, you’re not looking for Commander damage; instead, you’re looking for an all-round decent Planeswalker that helps improve your overall position.
Also, bare in mind these guys don’t have to be a commander: they’ll fit just fine in any deck and I imagine there’s a 5-colour good stuff deck out there looking to include all 5 for a super-friends strategy.
Case in point is the previewed blue card, Teferi, Temporal Archmage. When this guy hits the battlefield, he can instantly benefit you through card advantage or untapping four permanents. However, it’s the last, ultimate ability of Teferi that is interesting. Being able to activate Planeswalker abilities at any point raises a few questions:
- Can you activate abilities each turn? In 4-player commander, you could easily get certain ‘Walkers up to ultimate range before your next turn.
- Are instant speed reactions do powerful? Token generation at an end step (such as Elspeth) or boosting creatures is much more powerful at instant speed.
Yet, we have to remember that Teferi is mono-blue. If he’s your commander, you can only use him in conjuction with other mono-blue Planeswalkers. Again, this seems to be more of the trade-off Commander is getting known for – if you run him in a multi-colour deck, he won’t be your commander so you won’t see him as often, but he will be more effective.
Bare in mind this is just one example, but I hope they continue showcasing older ‘Walkers from Magic’s history. I can instantly thing of a few (Jaya for Red, Serra for White etc…) characters to include to keep older fans happy. Likewise, I hope the other options have effects as game changing as Teferi’s last option. Here’s hoping.
Previously mentioned characters
In addition to Planeswalkers, we’ll also get some new legendary creatures. This is no surprise and some new options – even if monocoloured – are always welcome. What I like is a similar approach to Teferi and co. This time, the creatures are all characters previously mentioned but never seen. Does this change gameplay? no, but it fleshes the setting out more and that means a lot to certain players.
The given example this time is the mono-black Ghoulcaller Gisa. Gisa appeared a lot in the flavour test of Innistrad and was a distinctive, memorable character. Her card instantly gets to the point and, in addition to being a perfect match in flavour, works well as a card. Gisa makes zombies every turn, as she can sacrifice one of her own 2/2 zombies to make 2 new ones. It gives her decks a constant sense of over powering opponents through sheer numbers.
I look forward to seeing how she is used, as she demands a certain play style – of course, mono Black itself demands a certain style in itself. It gives players an instant build around card, while I’m sure she’ll also fit into various other decks as a standard creature. I could, for instance, see her in some sort of Jund deck that likes to spam out creatures – perhaps with a few devour creatures to make the most of the additional tokens?
Of course, Gisa has a twin brother, Geralf, who was also important throughout Innistrad block. It can only be assumed he will make an appearance, since it seems odd to have one without the other.
New Cards
In total, there will be 61 new cards, with 15 per deck. If we imagine each deck has it’s own Planeswalker and Legendary creature, that’s 2 taken per deck and 10 off of the total. That leaves 41 new cards between 13 spaces per deck. I imagine there will be a few overlapping staples, such as mana rocks or a land that utilises your commander, while each will also get some strong mono-coloured options. As I said before, there are a few things I’m hoping for a few cards and there is definitely room to include them.
For now, only time will tell but I am looking forward to this set very much. It’s something to keep an eye on.
Mana Badger 