by Richard Rowell, Write W.A.V.E Media Staff
Modern Masters 2015 turned out to be a pretty strong set. It also has probably the best mix of mythic rares that a set has ever seen, with one exception, a card that has been printed several times: Comet Storm. It is widely panned as one of the worst mythic rare inclusions in any set by competitive players.
Having been printed in Worldwake, as a pre-release promo, Commander 2011, and Modern Masters 2015, it’s pretty much a bulk mythic rare. Yet, it’s usually on plenty of buylists for more than a quarter - the usual bulk mythic rare. So where’s the demand coming from if the card’s so bad?
Comet Storm is basically a functionally better Fireball, one of the iconic burn spells of Magic. Whereas Fireball divides the damage among targets, Comet Storm deals X damage to each target. That sounds pretty good, right? Plenty of Commander players think so. With so many ways to copy big spells in the format, such as Increasing Vengeance, Reiterate, and Reverberate, it can serve as a finisher in a format otherwise flooded by mana. It’s also at Instant speed, meaning you can unleash it on anyone’s turn.
Having been printed in Worldwake, as a pre-release promo, Commander 2011, and Modern Masters 2015, it’s pretty much a bulk mythic rare. Yet, it’s usually on plenty of buylists for more than a quarter - the usual bulk mythic rare. So where’s the demand coming from if the card’s so bad?
Comet Storm is basically a functionally better Fireball, one of the iconic burn spells of Magic. Whereas Fireball divides the damage among targets, Comet Storm deals X damage to each target. That sounds pretty good, right? Plenty of Commander players think so. With so many ways to copy big spells in the format, such as Increasing Vengeance, Reiterate, and Reverberate, it can serve as a finisher in a format otherwise flooded by mana. It’s also at Instant speed, meaning you can unleash it on anyone’s turn.
Beyond just being a really big burn spell, it has some synergies with a few Commanders, as well. The most notable is that with the Red/Green Legendary Giant from Shadowmoor: Rosheen Meanderer. This Giant Warrior has the ability to add 4 colorless mana to your mana pool, but it can only be used for X spells. In a deck mostly populated by Hydras with X costs in their casting requirements, Comet Storm helps finish the deal.
Wort the Raidmother is a popular Red/Green Goblin Commander that not only brings a couple of Goblins into play when she enters, but also gives your red and green instant or sorcery spells conspire. Conspire is a really cool mechanic that allows you to simply tap two creatures that share a color with the spell that you are casting; you then get to copy it and are also able to choose new targets for it. A massive Comet Storm or Banefire is often the endgame for this really powerful Goblin Commander and her army.
Wort the Raidmother is a popular Red/Green Goblin Commander that not only brings a couple of Goblins into play when she enters, but also gives your red and green instant or sorcery spells conspire. Conspire is a really cool mechanic that allows you to simply tap two creatures that share a color with the spell that you are casting; you then get to copy it and are also able to choose new targets for it. A massive Comet Storm or Banefire is often the endgame for this really powerful Goblin Commander and her army.
Melek, Izzet Paragon is well known as one of the best Budget commanders out there due to the fact that he can cast any red or blue instant or sorcery spell from the top of your deck and copy it. Comet Storm is a particularly juicy burn spell for him to Fork.
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight is one of the most popular Angel Commanders for good reason: she doubles all of the damage that your opponents receive (yes, this includes the damage your other opponents would do to each other!) Comet Storm is pretty nasty in this deck, even though you would rarely play copy spells in the deck.
Riku of Two Reflections can copy any instant or sorcery spell for only UR (Blue/Red). Two mana to copy a Comet Storm is pretty sweet.
Other Commanders that like to include Comet Storm among their 99 are: Ashling the Pilgrim, Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh, Daretti, Scrap Savant, Heartless Hidetsugu, Jaya Ballard, Task Mage, Rakka Mar, Urabrask the Hidden, and others.
So next time someone hates on Comet Storm, remind them that Wizards knows how good this card is in Commander. Why it was included in Modern Masters 2015 is beyond me, but it’s far from the worst mythic rare ever printed.
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight is one of the most popular Angel Commanders for good reason: she doubles all of the damage that your opponents receive (yes, this includes the damage your other opponents would do to each other!) Comet Storm is pretty nasty in this deck, even though you would rarely play copy spells in the deck.
Riku of Two Reflections can copy any instant or sorcery spell for only UR (Blue/Red). Two mana to copy a Comet Storm is pretty sweet.
Other Commanders that like to include Comet Storm among their 99 are: Ashling the Pilgrim, Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh, Daretti, Scrap Savant, Heartless Hidetsugu, Jaya Ballard, Task Mage, Rakka Mar, Urabrask the Hidden, and others.
So next time someone hates on Comet Storm, remind them that Wizards knows how good this card is in Commander. Why it was included in Modern Masters 2015 is beyond me, but it’s far from the worst mythic rare ever printed.
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