On April 27, 2017, Felidar Guardian was Emergency Banned in Standard effective 4/28/17. This was because the Saheeli Rai & Felidar Guardian Infinite combo - also known as the Copy Cat combo - was overrunning Standard. I saw this coming, as did many other people. Of course, you can still try Copy Cat Combo in Modern, if you'd like. But for reasons I'll outline below, the combo isn't nearly as potent in older formats as it proved to be in Standard.

On the initial spoiling of the combo, my reasoning was that it would become a bit too powerful for Standard. Initially, I received some backlash for this opinion. I expected more support. Of course, there would be an eventual realization that Felidar Guardian was ruining the format. As it turned out, myself and others who thought it would be a disaster were completely correct. While it was nice to be vindicated, it was a bit depressing that Wizards so clearly overlooked a design blunder.

The Origins of the Saheeli Rai & Felidar Guardian Combo

Saheeli Rai was way too cheap at $5 for the longest time. The planeswalker was already part of a couple of infinite combos in Modern with Liquimetal Coating and Altar of the Brood or Disciple of the Vault. But, a competitive list never came out of it. Still, sooner or later, players knew that a card would be released that would make the 3-mana planeswalker part of something broken, right?

So, this happened!

REALLY, WIZARDS!? You just brought back Splinter Twin combo... in STANDARD!

But, is it, really?

Splinter Twin & Deceiver Exarch proved to be such a ridiculously powerful combination in Standard that me and a good many other players left competitive Magic for awhile because of it. Two card combos are absurd when they are so easy to perform on turn four on a consistent basis.

The combo was quite simple. You'd play Deceiver Exarch at the end of an opponent's turn since it had flash. Then the next turn, while an opponent is tapped out, you drop the 4-mana Enchantment Splinter Twin. This enchantment allows you to tap a creature to make a copy. However, because you're copying Deceiver Exarch, which has the ability to tap or untap a permanent, each of the copies can untap the original Exarch. This means you can tap and untap the Exarch an infinite number of times to make as many copies as you'd like. You just make enough copies to deal lethal damage to your opponent, and you can attack with them immediately since those copies have haste.

Sure, there are ways to disrupt the combo. But even against smart sideboarding, the combo proved consistent enough to spawn its own archetype. The only reason it stopped in Standard was that Rise of the Eldrazi, and thus Splinter Twin, left Standard at rotation in October.

Many players, myself included, refused to play Modern competitively as long as the combo was the heart of a powerful deck archetype there, too.  Modern also had Pestermite, which is a similar card to Deceiver Exarch. This gives you two creatures that could create the combo. Wizards finally banned Splinter Twin after deciding it was finally time for that combo not to be a deck anymore. While Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker still does the same thing as Twin, it's harder to cast. Kiki-Jiki can still work as a win condition, but it's not the main condition of any deck anymore.

So, is the Saheeli Rai & Felidar Guardian combo just as good as Splinter Twin, or is it even worse?

Ordinarily, Felidar Guardian is just a good card on its own. But alongside Saheeli Rai, you can create infinite madness. You use Saheeli's -2 ability to make a token of the Felidar Guardian. That token uses its ability to "blink" Saheeli Rai. This means she comes back with full loyalty counters on her. Then you get to use the -2 ability again to continue the process. You rinse and repeat until you have enough Guardians to swing in for lethal damage. Yes, those tokens have haste.

What makes this combo better in some ways is that even if it’s disrupted, either Saheeli Rai or Felidar Guardian can find other targets to make good on their abilities. The Guardian can blink any permanent you control. This means even lands! You can blink a tapped land and tap it again for extra mana! Yes, using the Exarch's flash ability to enter on an opponent's end step can be better.  A lot of times you'd tap down an opponent's land to make responding to your combo with counter magic more difficult.

In Modern, you can play Exarch in this deck, too! In fact, you can build a really, really good Jeskai Control deck with these two cards! Saheeli Rai can even Scry 1 for you and deal 1 damage to each opponent! Then you get to play all the counter magic and burn spells your typical Jeskai deck would already play! Saheeli can also copy other creatures and artifacts you control. So you can still get value from either half of the combo even if the other half becomes somehow  unavailable.

Fortunately, as good as the interaction between these cards are, it's not quite as dominant as the combination of Splinter Twin & Deceiver Exarch became. There are instant speed ways to deal with the Guardian, like Fatal Push with Revolt active. There was Declaration in Stone in Standard, and Fatal Push, as well. But the Declaration was Sorcery speed, so it was often too late of an answer. It’s also possible to burn away Saheeli before the Guardian can copy her. This is actually fairly easy to do since she brings herself down to a single loyalty. So, it’s a bit easier to disrupt than Deceiver Exarch and its 4 toughness was during its Standard days.

In Modern, you can stop the combo from resolving with Abrupt Decay targeting Saheeli Rai, particularly if you use it in response to the planeswalker’s ability. Even though the -2 ability would take priority, by the time the copy of the Guardian  resolves, there will be no Saheeli Rai to blink. Saheeli Rai can be dealt with quite quickly with Lightning Bolt, as well. Path to Exile and Dismember will do the trick, too, just as they always did for dealing with Deceiver Exarch.  So, this combo is also a bit easier to stop in Modern than Twin was.

Still, this combo was still a strong one to build around in Standard. Many players are shocked that no one at Wizards R&D caught this very obvious combination. Some people called for an emergency ban of Felidar Guardian. One Twitter user also demanded an apology from Wizards for their oversight. It seemed that Wizards committed an extremely obvious design blunder. Aether Revolt was already considered an overpowered set as it is, so creating a new infinite condition seems just absurd.

Is the Saheeli Rai & Felidar Guardian Combo Really Broken?

As good as this combo is on paper,  many people thought it was more of a "fixed" Splinter Twin combo, if anything. The argument was that there wasn't a lot of card selection spells in Standard right then. This meant that consistent Turn 4 wins are a lot less likely than they were years back. However, while the Saheeli Rai/Felidar Guardian deck wasn't quite as consistent as Splinter Twin combo decks were, it proved to be an effective win condition.

Did one or both cards actually need to be banned? There was the sentiment that it would likely take the printing of other cards to bring this deck to a dangerously over-powered level. However,  with Wizards now making banned and restricted list announcements more often, players decided that if it did become too busted, it would be dealt with.

In the early going of Aether Revolt being legal in Standard, Saheeli Rai & Felidar Guardian combo decks performed quite well. Jeskai Saheeli was the most successful build at the outset. A Jeskai Saheeli deck placed 7th at SCG Columbus. There were also four-color Saheeli decks performing well, known as 4-Color Copy Cat Combo. Even in Modern, Copy Cat Combo saw early success, at least on Magic Online.

In paper Magic, the deck quickly won at least one major Standard event. Dylan Donegan of MTG Card Market took down SCG Richmond with his Jeskai Saheeli deck! So while the archetype hadn't broken the format just yet, it quickly became clear that the combo was definitely a good one to build around. As a deck that could win, players battled to find the best version of this deck!

By late April 2017, so many Copy Cat combo decks  had won an unbelievable number of events. It finally became clear to Wizards that the Copy Cat combo had actually become almost just as bad as Splinter Twin had been. It was announced that Felidar Guardian would be emergency banned in Standard as of 4/28/2017, as to not ruin a brand new Standard format featuring the widely praised Amonkhet set.

Was the Copy Cat combo a design blunder on the part of Wizards? Clearly, this particular interaction was overlooked. It was definitely a strong enough combo to be at the core of a Standard deck from the get-go. Fortunately, Wizards recognized that Copy Cat combo was becoming oppressive in the format, before it became the Splinter Twin combo in Standard all over again.

Of course, another deck would take Copy Cat Combo's place in needing the banhammer. But that was for a much different reason, and that's a whole different story altogether.

But, Copy Cat Combo is still a deck in Modern. Decent Modern builds of Copy Cat Combo saw some competitive play. in the wake of the Standard banning.  One of these builds was a deck called Saheeli Evolution. It's more of a creature toolbox deck that runs the Copy Cat Combo plus the Kiki-Jiki and Restoration Angel infinite combo. While they are potent win conditions, Modern wouldn't  be overrun by them.

In 2019, Saheeli Rai and Felidar Guardian gained some valuable new allies. The upgraded Four Color Copycats deck benefited from the release of several cards from Modern Horizons. They included the snow artifact Arcum's Astrolabe - a card powerful enough at common that it was banned in Pauper - which not only draws a card when it enters, but even helps mana fix for the deck.  It gained further card draw from the snow creature Ice-Fang Coatl, which has flash and flying, along with conditional deathtouch if you control three or more snow permanents. Since the deck plays snow-covered lands in order to play Arcum's Astrolabe, that's easy to do.

Four Color Copycats also benefits from the addition of two new planeswalkers. One is Wrenn and Six, the value engine that has benefited many top decks in Modern by both retrieving land cards from the graveyard and being a "Gut Shot on a stick." The other key addition is a single copy of Throne of Eldraine all-star Oko, Thief of Crowns for his Beast Within-like ability and the ability to swap an artifact or creature for an opponent's creature with mana cost 3 or less. Basically, the deck gained a nice value engine, which makes it much easier to pull off the Saheeli Rai and Felidar Guardian combo in short order.


Copy Cat Combo BANNED Early in the Pioneer Format!

Now, with the Pioneer Format being announced, Copycat Combo was not only a playable deck in the non-rotating format that begins with Return to Ravnica. In fact, it was so playable that people are already expecting either Saheeli Rai or Felidar Guardian would get banned in the early days of the format. That would indeed be the case, as before competitive play began, Felidar Guardian was banned in Pioneer (along with Leyline of Abundance and Oath of Nissa). Clearly, based on the deck's dominance in Standard and the unofficial Frontier format (which began with Magic 2015 core set), Wizards decided to nip the problem in the bud before the deck overran the new format.

So, if you want to play Copy Cat Combo, which is actually a pretty fun deck when it's not owning the format, it's still alive and well in Modern. How much longer it will stay alive there, though, remains to be seen.

by Shawn Leonardo, CommanDollar

Commander is a format dedicated to the unusual,the wacky, the crazy, and the occasional rules question that make judges cry themselves to sleep.  The 100-card Highlander format was first geared towards multiplayer  and social play, though through the support of Wizards of the Coast (via creating products for the format and taking it into consideration when designing sets), the format has  taken a sharper edge. 

With the release of  Aether Revolt  comes Exquisite Archangel, a creature that many who enjoy the format are divided on-some think this to be an auto-include in their decks, while others believe it should be struck with the almighty ban-hammer. But why? 

At first, Exquisite Archangel looks bland-a  5/5 flyer for a total converted mana cost of 7 isn't all that exciting. The controversy comes from the small wall of text:
"If you would lose the game, instead exile Exquisite Archangel and your life total becomes your starting life total."

Put into layman's terms, if this card is on a player's field and  they take lethal damage, they simply remove this card from the game and start with a new buffer of life. In formats like standard, modern, etc. this may  be concerning-after battling  and slinging spells to eliminate your opponent from the lofty amount of twenty life, they simple reset to the start with all the board advantage intact. For commander players, however, this card is a much greater issue, as the format  has a starting life total of forty.  So what are the arguments for and against banning this card?

Why Exquisite Archangel should be banned in Commander
1) It negates all of  a player's hard work  in eliminating a single opponent
2) It is a single card that can change the outcome of an entire game
3) It can be splashed in any deck with white

Why Exquisite Archangel shouldn't be banned in Commander
1) It dies easily to removal
2)  Higher mana cost
3) Exiles, meaning it cannot be reused  multiple times
4) One-of in a 99-card deck

These arguments echo similar sentiment over the years, of cards players want banned from the game due to their degenerative nature. More often than not, however, cards become banned only  after   they have been tried in the format, and found guilty of warping the game around themselves (we're looking at you, Primeval Titan).

What are your thoughts on Exquisite Archangel? Should it be banned, or allowed to stay in the  format?

With  Aether Revolt     coming soon to  a kitchen table near you,  it's the perfect time to be both excited and prepared. The latest Magic: the Gathering set promises a whole new batch of fun, unique interactions that can potentially change a number of format's metagames. 

While it is sometimes difficult to get Commander players excited for a new set,  Aether Revolt seems to have delivered on that end of the bargain, especially with its set of Legendary Creatures.  Players both new to the format and experienced are bound to pick up these cards and want to  bring them to their maximum potential, and the ideas below  can give everyone a headstart on the process.

Sram, Senior Edificer and Batterskull

Draw in any mono-color besides blue makes everyone think twice , and after careful consideration it looks like Batterskull would be a Sram commander's best friend.  It doesn't take any kind of deep analysis  to see that  Batterskull can provide you with some much-needed card draw, as well as a potential threat. While somewhat expensive already, I can forsee the price rising just a hair due to the desire for commander players. Hopefully this has inspired you to  go to Gathereror some other card database and pour over the pages!

Baral, Chief of Compliance  and Arcane Denial

Counterspells were already pretty great before Baral was spoiled. Now, cards like Dissolve   are all Counterspells,  meaning two open blue mana will always signify a resounding "No" while this legend is out on the field, cancelling your plans entirely. Arcane Denial becomes merely one blue mana to outwit your opponents. This cryptic command will lock down the board state  as long as there is open mana, and is a wonderful option for the right control player. Foil your opponent's plans before they even get going with sheer force of will,  or wait for them to make a mental misstep before profiting  from your oppressive will.

Rishkar, Peema Renegade and Forgotten Ancient

Rishkar seemed underwhelming at first-until you notice that he turns your creatures with counters into Llanowar Elves. You could easily go into Elf tribal with this legend, however  you can go in almost any direction you want  with Rishkar's burst of strength.  Forgotten Ancient allows you to rapidly increase your mana sources, since everyone will be playing spells as much as they can to try and keep up. Note how this card's first ability is  triggered when  it enters the battlefield, meaning you can find ways to flicker it, adding to both your mana base as well as an increasing savagery during combat.  Once you've enjoyed the fruits of this card's natural panoply , casting as many cards as you have the mana for (which should be a lot, and quickly), the game should soon swing in your favor, and your opponents will find themselves in death's presence. A deck centered around  Rishkar will certainly be a triumph  of the hordes!

Kari Zev, Skyship Raider and Confusion in the Ranks

Red has a fatal attraction when it comes to...well, pretty much anything. As far as legends go, Kari may be the  weakest amongst the  Aether Revolt  when it comes to being a Commander.  Acting on impulse and reflexes alone won't get you far in the multiplayer format,  and fortunately this article can become a useful chasm guide for you. Kari likes to work with cards like Confusion in the Ranks, swapping a tapped Ragavan for your opponent's best creature, then watching the pandemonium that ensues when they lose Ragavan and their best creature after combat ends. Use these arcane teachings to cause impact tremors in the game, and you'll have a good chance of  avoiding where ancients tread.

Yahenni, Undying Partisan and Dictate of Erebos

Yahenni was made with some small measure of diabolic intent. With cards like Dictate of Erebos and Grave Pact,  this commander becomes an abhorrent overlord, making everyone  barter in blood. If your deck is not centered around creatures, you have a stronger chance; if not, the game becomes one of attrition, and you will soon eliminate the competition. There is no such thing as innocent blood in a game Commander , but with the right cards on the field this new legend becomes a merciless executioner, and one sinister concoction of a deck.

Hope of Ghirapur and Whispersilk Cloak

Wow! A new colorless Legendary! What a godsend! Now, what do we do with it? Attack, of course! Whispersilk Cloak is perfect for this creature, ensuring the ultimate evasion to get damage through in combat. This creature should be cast every first turn if it is your commander, to carry a blazing torch  to your  opponent's field. You may not be delivering any hot soup, however this card will certainly give you an infiltration lens on what your opponent's strategy is. It may not be  a power house, and it may earn a glaring spotlight from your opponent(s) who are locked down,  but if all your opponent can cast is creatures (locking out instants, sorceries, planeswalkers, artifacts, and enchantments), there will be more than just hope for victory.

These legendary creatures all have a  lot of potential for the Commander format, and players around the world are excited to get their hands on them and weild them with deadly efficiency.  

Prerelease for Aether Revolt   is this weekend, January 14-15, and releases in stores on January 20th, 2017!

Many Magic the Gathering players were excited about the return of the planeswalker Ajani Goldmane on Kaladesh! Aether Revolt features not one, but two Ajani Planeswalkers. First, we'll take a look at Ajani, Valiant Protector, the Planeswalker deck exclusive. Then, we'll compare him to the expert level expansion incarnation, Ajani Unyielding! Both have the same mana cost and are Standard legal. So, it's Ajani, Valiant Protector VS Ajani Unyielding!

Ajani, Who Is Protecting Valiantly!

Ajani, Valiant Protector is a 6-mana planeswalker who starts with 4 loyalty. That seems a bit low, doesn't it? That's ok, because this Ajani has two ways and not just one to gain loyalty counters.

His +2 allows you to put two +1/+1 counters on up to one target creature. This isn't a bad ability at all, but it seems rather pedestrian on sch a highly-costed planeswalker, does it not?

The +1 ability is similar to Tezzeret, Master of Metal's in that he lets you reveal cards from the top of your deck until you reveal a particular card type. In Tezzeret's case, it was artifacts. In Ajani's case, it's a creature. The rest of the revealed cards go harmlessly to the bottom of your deck in a random order. That's a decent way to get some card advantage, but again, is it worth 6 mana?

The "ultimate" -11 ability lets you put X +1/+1 counters on a target creature, where X is your life total. That creature also gains trample, but only until end of turn. While this could be a game-winning swing, 11 counters is quite a high price to pay! It's reminiscent of the avatar ability of the original Ajani Goldmane, which gave you a token with power and toughness equal to your life total. This isn't nearly as good.

As a "kitchen table Magic" planeswalker, Valiant Protector comes up a bit short. He has decent abilities, but 6 mana is a lot to ask to be ticking up those two to get to the ultimate. He does sort of protect himself by boosting a creature. But otherwise, he may just draw you into a creature card or two before opponents take him out. I do think that there is going to be room for him in some Commander decks, though. As far as Standard playability? Not happening.

The card art is really nice, though.

Ajani Who Will Never Yield!

Ajani Unyielding also costs 6 mana to cast, and only has 4 loyalty. However, his abilities are far more powerful than his Planeswalker Deck counterpart's.

His +2 is worlds better than Valiant Protector's +1. While you're limited to the top three cards of your deck, you get to put all nonland permanent cards you reveal into your hand. Essentially, he can draw you three cards for 6 mana right away. That's fine with me. Even if you only get 1 or 2 cards out of this ability, it's well worth it.

Ajani Unyielding's -2 ability is literally Swords to Plowshares. You exile a target creature and its controller gains life equal to its power. You can even use this ability on one of your own creatures to keep yourself alive! (Such a pro play!) It's not exciting on a 6 mana planeswalker, but it's going to be relevant by the time you get this guy in play!

Ajani's ultimate costs -9 loyalty counters and is actually pretty insane. You put 5 +1/+1 coutners on each creature you control PLUS five loyalty counters on each other planeswalkers you control. While it takes a bit to get up to this ultimate, in  a "superfriends" style deck based around planeswalkers, this is pretty devastating for your opponents. Nissa, Voice of Zendikar and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar are going to have a field day with this sort of boost, especially as they create tokens themselves that get the boost!

It gets better for the Unyielding. Oath of Ajani will let you cast this guy a turn earlier! The Oath makes all of your planeswalker spells cost one less to cast, plus puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control when it enters the battlefield! This Ajani costing 5 mana instead of 6 makes a pretty big difference. A Green/White Planeswalker deck will be more than happy to top off its mana curve with a couple copies of this guy! Heck, this guy will be playable in Modern if you throw up enough counter-magic to protect him.

The Verdict?

There doesn't really seem to be much contest here between the two Aether Revolt Ajani planeswalkers. Ajani Unyielding is so much more powerful than Ajani, Valiant Protector, and it's not even close. However, Valiant Protector has his fans and he'll be kicking around kitchen tables and creature-heavy Commander decks for years to come.

Here we are again: Planeswalker Deck promo planeswalkers versus the expansion set planeswalkers! This should be a fun VS series for every set going forward. Today, we have the two incarnations of Tezzeret featured in Aether Revolt: "Master of Metal" and "the Schemer." Let's put them side by side and see if either of these guys will have an impact on competitive MTG or just be a couple of fun cards to throw at each other.

The Master of Metal!

All metal band references aside (especially Metallica references), as a six-mana Planeswalker, Tezzeret, Master of Metal is a bit underwhelming. However, in raw power of his abilities, this Tezzeret isn't bad at all! Starting with 5 loyalty isn't bad, either, even for 6 mana (4UB).

First, his +1 one essentially draws you an artifact card. That's not a bad plus ability. Plus, the other cards you reveal just go back to the bottom. The other great thing about this Tezzeret's +1 ability is that it doesn't force you to select a card from a certain number of cards from the top of your deck. You can't actually "whiff" with this ability. While card selection is typically preferable, it feels bad to miss on a card advantage ability. So this is a good start for the Master of Metal.

The -3 ability makes me very happy. It reads "Target opponent loses life equal to the number of artifacts you control." You don't need to control a bunch of artifacts for this to take a huge bite out of your opponent's life total. In EDH, I could see this ability instantly taking out players. There are plenty of artifact decks that could use this ability to fantastic effect. In Standard, Modern, et al? It's not going to be worth casting him for on its own.

The -8 "ultimate" ability is extremely powerful. Not only do you gain control of all artifacts an opponent controls, but all of their creatures, too! Plus, it's not until end of turn. It's indefinitely! This is an even better ability to use in a grindy format like EDH. It takes some work to get to, but it can be a win condition! Who doesn't like potential win conditions?

So far, the Master of Metal looks pretty good. But 6 mana is a lot to ask in Standard. In a kitchen table setting, though, this guy is a boss! If you cast Mycosynth Lattice and turn everything into artifacts, it's particularly absurd! And since the Planeswalker deck exclusives are Standard-playable, who knows... he could sneak into some list sooner or later!

The Schemer!

So here we are with the "real" Tezzeret of Aether Revolt, Tezzeret the Schemer! He's much more aggressively costed at 4 mana instead of 6 in the case of the Master of Metal. Like the Master, the Schemer starts with 5 loyalty counters. His abilities are considerably different, however.

His +1 ability is one that I actually really like. He creates an "Etherium" token, which you can tap and sacrifice to add one mana of any color to your mana pool. They're sort of like clue tokens, except they give you mana instead of drawing you cards. I think some people may be underrating this ability. Extra mana is always good, especially in Blue!

His -2 is reminiscent of an old Liliana planeswalker ability, except instead of caring about Swamps, it cares about the number of artifacts you control. You give a creature +X/-X until end of turn where X is the number of artifacts you have in play. This ability can be used both offensively and defensively, but I see it mostly being used for removal. That's not bad for a -2 ability on a planeswalker that starts at 5 loyalty, and it only gets better as the game goes along. The Etherium token synergy is pretty good, too!

The -7 "ultimate" ability grants you a pretty cute emblem. At the beginning of each combat on your turn, a target artifact you control becomes an artifact creature with base power and toughness 5/5. It's sort of like a free Ensoul Artifact every turn, except that it's permanent without the need for an Enchant Creature card attached to it. There is one important thing I must point out, though: the emblem's effect is not optional. Once you start combat, you must choose an eligible artifact to become a creature. While this won't always be a problem, there are cases in which an opponent could pick off one of your better artifacts with creature removal in response to this ability. I still think this is a pretty good ability, regardless.

The most obvious synergy to me for this emblem is with the Kaladesh vehicles. Turning your Smuggler's Copters into permanent 5/5 flyers is extremely scary, for example. (Sadly, Copter is now banned, but there are other good vehicles, of course!) And as one player has already said, with the Etherium Tokens, you're getting free Lotus Petals every turn, which  is pretty good, too! People are already talking about how well he'll work in a Blue/Black Masterwork Colossus and Aetherworks Marvel decks. There's definitely a lot to like about this guy!

The Winner?

From a Standard standpoint, the Schemer looks more pushed for competitive play. But the Master of Metal just has so much raw potential that even at 6 mana, if he's protected and set up correctly, he could see a lot of play. He's going to be all over EDH, at least. Both of these Tezzerets were well designed, and while I know the Master of Metal was specifically designed for the kitchen table, he's actually a lot more aggressively costed than the Chandra and Nissa exclusive planeswalkers of Kaladesh.

I give both of these planeswalkers two thumbs up, but if I have to pick a winner, I have to choose the Schemer since he can fit into a lot of competitive strategies. Personally, though, I'll be looking to cast the Master of Metal more often. Or just both!

Updated 1/29/17