Category: Commander 2016

Benefactor's Draught - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

12/15/2016

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Is Benefactor's Draught the Best Green Draw Spell of All Time?

Featured in the Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 deck, Stalwart Unity, Benefactor's Draught is a very powerful cantrip. A cantrip is a card that always replaces itself in your hand by drawing a card. For 1G, drawing a card might be good enough. But this Instant also untaps all creatures on the board. If that wasn't enough, each time a creature an opponent controls blocks, you draw another card.

There are games in which you will be able to draw an incredible number of cards using this instant. Playing this card after blockers have been declared can give you an amazing amount of card advantage for only 2 mana. Timed correctly, Benefactor's Draught offers perhaps the best draw power a Green deck has ever had.

It's in the same deck that features the 4-color Commander, Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis. Because of this fact, this instant has really only seen play with that certain Commander. Only time will tell how many decks actually adopt Benefactor's Draught, but it's just too good to not see play across the format.

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Magic the Gathering - Commander 2016 - Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder Review

10/27/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

All five of the 4-color Legendary Creatures in Commander 2016 are pretty interesting options. Atraxa, Praetors' Voice is probably the most competitive. Breya, Etherium Shaper could be quite a silly Thopter-happy artifact deck. Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis make for a new take on "group hug". Saskia the Unyielding can essentially allow you take on two players at once. But Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder offers Commander deck builders an extraordinary amount of power.

Yes, Yidris is four colors and that can make casting him difficult. and yes, we had a commander like this before with Maelstrom Wanderer, except that you got immediate dividends when you cast him. Cascade is a crazy ability that essentially casts you free spells. Having to deal combat damage with Yidris first, then having to cast more spells to get cascade seems like a bit too much work. But Yidris does have trample, so it's not all that hard for a 5/4 to get through for at least 1 damage. So is waiting to cast spells during the second main phase is worth the payoff?

Whenever you cast a spell with Cascade, it allows you to reveal cards from the top of your deck until you reveal one with a lower converted mana cost. This gives you a free spell, essentially. Maelstrom Wanderer allows you to Cascade twice whenever he is cast. This means you got two free spells. But Yidris takes that a step further, giving you every spell you cast from your hand Cascade. It doesn't give them extra chances to Cascade if they already had it, but getting two spells for the price of one is already silly (see: Bloodbraid Elf). And yes, you can play the Wanderer in this deck.

So what would a Yidris deck look like? It would probably look like a Maelstrom Wanderer deck except with Black cards included. Also, because your Commander's ability is based around combat, you'll want enablers to give you additional combat phases and main phases. While the combat phases are redundant, getting an additional main phase is important, too,especially if you get creatures with haste to attack with. Aggravated Assault, Fury of the Horde, Relentless Assault, and Seize the Day are the perfect cards for this scenario. Plus, you get to Cascade into as much as a 6-drop with Fury of the Horde and even a 3-drop with Relentless Assault or Seize the Day. Aggravated Assault is only 3 to cast, so you'll probably Cascade into it on a regular basis. Seize the Day has Flashback, too. You'll always want to Cascade into these since you'll get to burn through your deck a lot faster.

The rest of the deck will look a lot like your average Maelstrom Wanderer Commander deck, except that you get to include Black removal and other cool stuff, too. Extra turn spells, big splashy creatures and card filtering are the norm for Cascade decks. (You can even play Temporal Extortion!) When some optimal builds are finally discovered, Yidris' true power will become a lot more clear. I don't mind playing Bituminous Blast in a deck like this, that's for sure!

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Faerie Artisans - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Review

10/27/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Faerie Artisans is one of the more interesting takes that I've seen on a clone effect. I think it's pretty good, especially when you consider that the copy that they make is an artifact in addition to its other types. It definitely makes opponents be more cautious about what they play, especially creatures with enter the battlefield abilities. Having only one copy at a time to me seems fine, and with doubling effects you can actually get two or more copies of each creature an opponent plays.

Yes, this ability isn't optional, but I think that it being mandatory is what actually makes this card so good. This sort of copycat effect gives the card a lot of flavor, and a 2/2 flyer isn't a bad body on a 4-mana creature with this kind of ability. The Artisans are already seeing play in a great many Commander decks, especially alongside the Commander that they come with, Breya, Etherium Shaper. This is one creature to watch from this set.

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Deepglow Skate - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

10/26/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

This card looks too good to me. Deepglow Skate has an enter the battlefield ability that I'd like to call "super" proliferate. Not only does it double any kind of counter on any kind of permanent, but there are so many decks that have the tools to have it reenter the battlefield multiple times in a turn. Five mana is a bargain for this effect, especially when it's attached to a 3/3 body.

The Skate is a perfect complement to decks that run Proliferate cards like Contagion Engine. New 4-color Legendary Creature and Commander Atraxa, Praetors' Voice will be very happy to have this in her deck. as well. Really, I see this becoming a staple in any counter-happy deck running blue. Commanders more than happy to have Deepglow Skate include Vorel of the Hull Clade, Ezuri, Claw of Progress, Marchesa, the Black Rose, and many others.

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Tymna the Weaver - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

10/26/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Maybe it's just me, but when Tymna the Weaver was first spoiled for Commander 2016, I feel like a lot of people misread her. It seemed like people thought that her ability was only concerned with how many opponents were dealt damage of any kind during your turn.

However, there's a reason that you activate Tymna's ability at the beginning of your postcombat main phase. Her X ability is only concerned with combat damage, but the good news is, that means you're getting to often draw at least 1 card while only paying one life. She's like a super Phyrexian Arena, and that's a very good card. Getting 2 or 3 cards is pretty good also, but having to pay a life for each card is pretty fair.

Don't get me wrong. Tymna the Weaver is really good. In decks that already feature a good amount of lifegain, her ability is quite welcome. She's also a Partner Commander, meaning that there are a lot of ways to abuse her ability by adding more colors to the mix. But honestly, it's not that hard to deal combat damage in Commander. I am always happy with her being a conditional Phyrexian Arena on a stick. A 2/2 with lifelink is also perfectly acceptable. But I really think she needs a partner to unlock her full potential. Or maybe she's the Cleric Tribal Commander everyone was waiting for...

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Kraum, Ludevic's Opus - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

10/26/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

My first impression of Kraum, Ludevic's Opus was that he was a much improved version of Jori En, Ruin Diver. With Jori En, you drew a card whenever you played your second spell in a turn. Kraum flips that around and draws you a card when an opponent plays their second spell in a turn. But on top of that, Kraum is a 4/4 with flying and haste. That's pretty aggressive. Plus, he has Partner, so he can pair up with any other Legendary Creature with Partner.

Kraum seems pretty good to pair up with Vial Smasher the Fierce who deals damage to a random opponent for the first spell you cast during your turn equal to that spell's converted mana cost. Kraum draws you cards and Vial Smasher softens up your opponents' life totals. Gaining the black mana is pretty awesome, too.

If you want to draw even more cards, you can Partner him with Tymna the Weaver. She not only gives Kraum access to Black and White mana, but has a draw engine of her own. At the beginning of your second main phase, you can pay X life where X is the number of opponents damaged in combat that turn. If so, you then get to draw X cards. This seems like a natural partnership to me. Then you can suit up Kraum and really go to town.

A lot of players have found Kraum, Ludevic's Opus underwhelming on his own. But he has an aggressive body and an ability that can draw you at least an extra card almost every round of turns. He's definitely better with a Partner, but I really just like him overall.

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Vial Smasher the Fierce - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

10/25/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Vial Smasher the Fierce is a Commander with Partner that could see play in Legacy.

An alternate time-line version of the Ankle Shanker from Khans of Tarkir, Vial Smasher the Fierce is a Commander with the Partner mechanic with a powerful, but random ability. At first glance, it's clear that Vial Smasher is really good at throwing a lot of damage around.

Whenever you cast your first spell each turn, including on your opponent's turns, Vial Smasher deals damage equal to that spell's converted mana cost to a random opponent. Because this damage is random, she is probably not going to be very popular creature in a multiplayer Commander game. Vial Smasher is really more of a nuisance than anything else, but you can get a ton of value out of this ability.

In a one-on-one Duel Commander game, however, Vial Smasher is extremely powerful. Since the ability is always going to hit your opponent, it can become a very short game. Duel Commander starts with a much lower life total. It used to be 30, but this amount was lowered to 20 in September 2016. This could be one of the best commanders in that format.

Keeping this in mind, could Vial Smasher even be Legacy and/or Vintage playable? Keep in mind, casting a Force of Will, even for its alternate casting cost of exiling a blue card from your hand and paying 1 life still has a converted mana cost of 5. As Vial Smasher is only 3 to cast, it's possible she could be a way to finish off a game in what's usually quite a fast format.

It also seems possible that Legacy Burn may want a copy or two of Vial Smasher. Even an extra 1 or 2 damage goes a long way in those decks. In Vintage, there are some big spells that get cast, so Vial Smasher can win the game if she's on the board when they are. This seems like a card that could show up occasionally in these formats.

As a Partner, Vial Smasher not only gives access to Red and Black mana, but also gives a way to deal a lot of damage out of nowhere. While it's rare that she'll just kill a player out of nowhere, spreading the damage around just for you casting spells is an extremely efficient way to close a game out quickly. I think this gal is going to see a lot of play as a lone Commander, a Co-Commander, and as one of the 99. And if Vial Smasher is as good as she looks, she may even pop into competitive Legacy or Vintage!

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Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

10/25/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Kruphix, God of Horizons can do some pretty silly things in Commander. The Prophet of Kruphix was so good that she was banned in the format. Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix isn't quite so broken but creatures that can produce more than one mana in a turn are always useful. Being colorless mana lines up well with the God Kruphix's ability to store colorless mana in your mana pool indefinitely. She seems a useful member of his 99 and a nice complementary piece to any Green/Blue Commander deck.

As a commander herself, she doesn't seem that exciting. Her deck would basically be focused about drawing a bunch of cards and dumping all of that colorless mana into something like Helix Pinnacle. Or you could draw out your entire deck, play Laboratory Maniac, and win the game by having no cards left. Another option would be to play a bunch of Eldrazi. There are options, but I'm not sure how powerful she really is as a Commander.

On the other hand, she has the Partner ability, which allows her to be a co-Commander with another other Legendary Creature with Partner. This seems to be her best use, as in this case, providing Blue and Green mana to build around one or two other colors makes her ability simply gravy. I don't think that I would consider her as a Commander by herself, but as a Partner, I really like her.

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Silas Renn, Seeker Adept - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

10/25/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Silas Renn, Seeker Adept isn't just another artifact-friendly Commander. Any time he deals combat damage, you get to choose an artifact from your graveyard, and you'll be able to cast it until the end of the turn. This makes for a nice card advantage engine. He also has deathtouch, so this makes people Think Twice about blocking him. But what's most fascinating is that Silas Renn has the Partner ability. This means that he can team up with another Legendary Creature with Partner and become a Co-Commander!

One great partner for Silas Renn is Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder. Not only does Bruse Tarl allow you to also run Red and White cards, but his ability to give a target creature double strike means that you can get two activations out of Silas Renn, and not just one. Allowing a 4-color artifact deck opens up a lot of options. Red provides a lot of firepower and White provides tutor and recursion abilities, plus some White-only artifacts. This combination of colors makes for a deck that can set up its win conditions in new and exciting ways.

The other Partner Commander that seems to fit well with Silas Renn is Vial Smasher the Fierce. Not only does he bring Red mana to the deck, but Vial Smasher's ability can really wear opponent's down while you get your board set up. With the Goblin Berserker on board, when you cast your first spell each turn, he deals damage equal to that card's converted mana cost to a random opponent. This makes for a non-political way of doing damage without having to actually attack. It probably won't make you very popular, though, but blue and black have plenty of ways to stop opponents from attacking or greatly disincentive them from doing so

While Silas Renn's ability appears pretty fair on its own, him being able to Partner up opens up the number of cheap things he can allow you to recast. That's really where you want to be with a Silas Renn deck, consistently recasting cheap artifacts with sacrifice abilities. You will want to make him unable to be targeted by opponent's spells (hexproof) and make him unable to be blocked so that he can connect on a regular basis. Incremental card advantage adds up over a long game and typically the player with the most options has the best chance of winning the game. This guy is going to be fun to build arround and I can see him having a place in the 99 of many other Commander decks, as well.

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Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

10/25/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

If you have always been a fan of green/white aggro, Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa is your guy. Also, with his partner mechanic, he can bring another friend with partner to be his co-commander. There are a lot of options to build around Sidar Kondo, especially when he's partnered up. First, let's take a look at the head of the Jamuraa warclan from Magic's the Gathering's Mirage block of sets.

The first thing to see with Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa is that he's brought Flanking back! Flanking is a powerful ability that reduces a blocking creature's power and toughness by 1 whenever it blocks a creature with Flanking. This is an ability that we haven't seen since Time Spiral. Being a 2/5 himself, this gives players a disincentive to blocking his attacks.

But the most important part of Sidar's ability is the fact that he makes all creatures your opponents control without reach or flying unable to block creatures of power 2 or less. What's interesting about the way this ability is worded is that it affects all of your opponents. So if an opponent is planning on swinging with a bunch of little creatures, they will be unable to be blocked as well, but you will still be able to block. What's even cuter about this ability is that after blockers are declared and no one is able to block, pump spells can be still used to buff your army during the combat damage step.

On his own, Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa looks to be a fun Commander to build around. But when partnering with the other Commander 2016 Legendary Creatures that also have Partner, there are many more options that present themselves. This guy is going to be a lot of fun.

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Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

10/24/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

With Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder, we get quite a Red/White Legendary Creature. He is one of the Commander 2016 Legendary Creatures with Partner. This means that you can have him Partner up with another Legendary Creature with Partner and have two Commanders! By having two Commanders, you get to utilize the colors of the other Partner to build around, as well. Besides having this innovative mechanic, though, there's a lot to like about this Human Ally.

First, there's the bit that he's an Ally! There are a lot of people out there who like to build Ally tribal decks, and Bruse Tarl can serve the function of Commander for those decks. Since he triggers Ally abilities, it's not a bad idea to explore this avenue when deck-building. But what's most fascinating is his repeatable ability. Whenever Bruse Tarl enters the battlefield or attacks, he gives a target creature you control double strike AND lifelink until end of turn. This could be himself, of course. As a 3/3 for 4 mana, he's not a bad candidate to be a Voltron-style Commander.

However, being a Partner Commander opens up possibilities. Since Bruse Tarl can gain the use of one or two other colors alongside a partner, the number of potential creatures with nasty combat damage triggering abilities that he can target increases dramatically. With double strike, not only are you gaining a lot of life, but you can create some pretty unfair advantages with combat-damage triggered abilities.

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Atraxa, Praetors' Voice - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Mythic Rare Card Review

10/24/2016

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Pretty much everybody said the same thing about Atraxa, Praetors' Voice. Since she's able to allow you to proliferate at the end of every turn, everyone is thinking about running a 4-color Infect deck. So, what's proliferate? It means that you can choose any number of target permanents or players who have a counter on them and put another counter of that type on those players or permanents.

Proliferate was a big deal back in New Phyrexia, since you can add poison counters to players with each proliferate trigger. There are plenty of Infect creatures from the Scars of Mirrodin block in White, Blue, Green, and Black. So, you can see the appeal of having all 4 colors at your disposal. But as someone who has never been a huge fan of Infect as a win condition, I'd like to find ways to utilize her a bit less one-dimensionally.

What's most awesome about Atraxa is the sheer number of abilities on her. Not only she is a 4/4 flyer for 4 mana, but she also has vigilance, lifelink, and deathtouch. There are so many dimensions to build off of here that a single article can't possibly contain all of the potential builds!

Personally, I'd build a Voltron style deck with Atraxa that utilizes Auras and Equipments which offer +1/+1 counters, such as the Ordeal Cycle from Theros. Then, I would also include other ways to proliferate such as Contagion Engine. Atraxa is always going to be a ton of fun to play with, even if some of the more obvious themes are built around her for the most part.

Grave Upheaval & Sylvan Reclamation - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Reviews

10/24/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

With the 4-color decks of Commander 2016, Wizards decided to print new cards with the basic landcycling ability. These include Grave Upheaval and Sylvan Reclamation. In addition to their regular effect, you can use to pay 2 colorless mana to discard it and search out a basic land card from your deck to add to your hand.

Grave Upheaval is a nice little reanimation card. While most cards like this usually cost 5 mana, it's costed higher due to having this cycling ability. In Commander, paying 6 mana for this effect is OK, especially since the creature you get can be from any graveyard and it gains haste. It's a card I could see myself playing.

Sylvan Reclamation is a slightly over-costed Return to Dust. But having the flexibility in the early game to cycle it for a land you need makes it worth the trade-off of paying an extra mana later. It's also nice that it always removes two cards, because Return to Dust only hits one card unless you play it during your own main phase. It's definitely a card that can see a strong amount of play in a variety of Commander decks.

Overall, I like Grave Upheaval more than Sylvan Reclamation, but both are playable cards.

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Prismatic Geoscope - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

10/24/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Domain is back in Commander 2016. Prismatic Geoscope may cost 5 mana to cast and come into play tapped, but once you have 4 basic land types in play, you can add 4 mana to your mana pool in any combination of colors that you want. This doesn't have to be just basic lands, as other lands with basic land types count, such as Cinder Glade and Hallowed Fountain.

While this mana rock isn't so good early in the game, it's extremely good later on, especially in helping you cast the 4-color Legendary Creatures of Commander 2016. It will become a staple in many 5 color Commander decks, as well as in 4 color Commander decks. It's passable in 3 color decks, but with only 1 or 2 land types in play, it's just not really worth casting. In the 4 and 5 color decks, though, it's a solid mana rock.

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Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 - Commander's Sphere Reprinted

10/24/2016

by Richard Rowell, Gaming Successfully

Commander's Sphere is an excellent little mana rock first printed in Commander 2014. It was included in each of the 5 pre-constructed decks. It’s a mana rock that costs 3 colorless mana to cast and supplies one mana of any color in your Commander’s color identity. You can also choose to sacrifice it to draw a card.

Despite being a card that can work in any Commander deck, typically the Sphere has been used in mono-colored or two-color Commander decks. It’s most popular in red decks, but works in any non-green deck that needs another source of mana ramp that can replace itself with a card draw when it’s no longer needed. The Sphere is also particularly good in Daretti, Scrap Savant decks and any other decks that can easily recur it after sacrificing it to draw a card.

Despite being only a common, Commander’s Sphere has become the most sought after card from the Commander 2014 decks. It’s joined by Arcane Lighthouse and Myriad Landscape as the three most popular cards from the set, and those two lands have become staples in many Commander decks. Deceptively simple cards like this are why the Commander product design teams have been able to introduce such useful staples into the format. The Landscape and Lighthouse have seen their supplies dry up in a hurry as they are useful in such a wide array of decks.

With the four-color decks of Commander 2016, it was decided to reprint it. This is great news for players who may not have wanted to pick it up as a $2 common, since it is a card high in demand and not many remain on the open market from the Commander 2014 decks. The Sphere should be a staple in four-color Commander decks going forward, as the mana fixing will even be more important than in the one and two color decks it currently sees play in.

Benefactor's Draught - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

Magic the Gathering - Commander 2016 - Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder Review

Faerie Artisans - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Review

Deepglow Skate - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

Tymna the Weaver - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

Kraum, Ludevic's Opus - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

Vial Smasher the Fierce - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

Vial Smasher the Fierce is a Commander with Partner that could see play in Legacy.

Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

Silas Renn, Seeker Adept - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

Atraxa, Praetors' Voice - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Mythic Rare Card Review

Grave Upheaval & Sylvan Reclamation - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Reviews

Prismatic Geoscope - A Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 Card Review

Magic the Gathering Commander 2016 - Commander's Sphere Reprinted

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