Her art is absolutely stunning. Elspeth has always looked good but damn...shame the card it just...limited? Like, it's practical but there's not much to be done with it. Even the decks that would want it, it wouldn't be an auto-include.
As an EDH player, my thoughts on this thing are...meh. It's just not that impressive. Yeah, it'll mess with some of your opponents' draws but there's so many ways around it and that's assuming that it sticks around. And, even if he does, an impulse draw is just not anything to write about. Unless you playing Prosper. The mediocrity of this card is glaring when compared to the previous version or the new Jin or Vorniclex. Yeah, those two are not the be-all, end-all but they can put in legitimate work for their controllers in the right decks. What they can do, feels like it can matter. Vorniclex is beatstick who makes it easier to make him bigger or just basic utility for anything counter based. Jin is expensive CMC-wise but even then, being able double up on certain kinds of spells is at least attractive to want to utilize. Old Urabrask could be a legit pain-in-the-butt because not only did he make it easier for your opponents to be attacked but made it so any creature that tapped was going to have to wait to be useful.
To sum up: the positives it gives you are not...bad but incredibly niche and narrow and it'll barely slow down your opponents. The other praetors make me want to use them and can be applicable to several different decks, even if just for fun. This one is just...there.
It's also interesting how despite the differences, you see an overarching design philosophy, especially for Grixis. For Grixis, they like to give them a "Catch 22" design plus ever increasing threat. Thraximundar forces you sacrifice a creature which makes him bigger and then makes you decide whether or not to throw up another creature to the chopping block or take a 7/7 to the face. Even if you have some other creatures, Thraximundar will start chip away at those defenses, all the while getting bigger. He's basically, take your damage now or take even more later.
Garza Zol is big enough that she'll kill most of what tries to block her in most situations, which just makes her bigger. But if you allow her to connect, you not only take damage but give her controller card advantage. So, do you make her hit harder later or allow her to get a card and punch you now?
Xander is the same but lacks the haste due to story reasons (he's got a bad right knee and needs a cane) and because his attack trigger is rather brutal. But he makes up for that because the moment he comes into play, he attacks your opponent's hand and if he's killed before being allowed to swing, he still goes after their board state. Xander has a trigger for all the major things a creature does in Magic: enters the field, attacks and dies.
No matter what, on a basic level, all three of them force a situation that if it's allowed to continue, things will become untenable.
I really don't see why there's so much debate about Xander's creature types. Vampire is what he started as, Demon he gained from the contract that founded New Capenna and he's an aristocrat, hence Noble. It's no different than Vannifar being an Elf Ooze Wizard. In fact, there's your precedent right there. Characters who start as one thing but gain traits from another get multiple creature types with the first being what they started as and the second being what they got traits of.
Even if you want to argue what a Demon is, that would only hold to naturally occurring demons. Xander and the other family heads are artificial.
Yep why is it that people keep anticipating that’s $20ish reprints it’s the new cards that get those price tags later on
Because we've had a $20 card reprinted in Commander before (and yes it was between $20-$25 when reprinted in C14). It didn't make Daretti's deck more expensive than any other one. They don't have to shy away from great reprints.
Indeed. Rift is one of those cards that's very good and quite a few people would buy if the price dropped a bit. Seeing it reprinted in a Commander product wouldn't be unheard of. There's also the fact that many people (myself included) have been asking for a reprint for years.
I'm honestly surprised that the thing hasn't seen a reprint in all these years at some point.
I prefer Otrimi to Zaxara, but mostly because the idea of a Mutate deck seems fun, if not super viable.
See that's the thing. Otrimi seems interesting to me but I just don't know how viable Mutate really will be. I've kind a been on the lookout to see if I could find a Sultai commander to possibly replace Yarok. I like the commander and the deck I built but I just sometimes question if a more...engaging commander will come along that will peak my interest. Ya know? Thing is though, Yarok can be a lot of fun and requires me to really think while still being powerful. It's just that, he's such a simple Commander.
I'm a little scared that Otrimi will turn out like my venture with Volrath, which was the opposite. The card is fun and rather cool, but the mechanics of it made the deck felt hit or miss. Basically a reverse Yarok problem. Commander requires a bit strategy to properly utilize but the 'feel' of the deck suffers for it.
Overall I liked that they tied the decks into the set; i think it was a good way to get more out of a set in commander for mechanics like Mutate and the like that would otherwise suffer. Flavor wise it is also really neat.
I have to agree. It does feel good that the Commanders and the set are linked together. Generally, at least to me, sets usually mean that just a handful of new cards for Commander. A list that further gets filtered through a combo of interest and what decks you already have. But with them pulling double duty with Ikoria as a whole, it just feels like we're getting so much more to experiment with.
In addition, the flavor is really nice. Ikoria as a whole has the epic feel to it. The idea of running around and slaying huge, mutating beasts while partnering up a beast of your own just gets the blood pumping. I haven't felt so interested in a plane in a long time.
My guess is that Zaxara will come out of this as, by a wide margine, the most popular card that isn't a free kill spell or counterspell from these decks. The Jeskai and Temur partners will fall shortly behind Zaxara in terms of deck popularity.
I'm tempted to agree. I've already heard rumbling around the net of people so happy to finally have a Hydra tribal commander with arguably the most powerful color combo. Honestly, if I didn't already have a Sultai commander I'd be tempted to pick of Zaxara myself.
I'm not complaining too much. Yeah, not a lot of value but there are good cards in the decks. I'll take generally positive direction versus an outright negative one. Is it all I wanted. No. But it is good enough.
That said, kind of mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, it's a good card. On the other, it's so good that everyone and their mother is going to want one.
Ok, this is awesome! IIRC, this the creature from in the trailer that Vivian fought.
So, what are the rules for companion in commander?? Now, I know how it works if you're going to select the card as a companion but can you use it as just a regular card in the 99? I've got an idea for this guy but I need to know the specifics first.
Honestly this set is...out there. Not bad, not good. Just out there. I say that because I have no bloody idea how it's going to play out across the various formats. As a Commander/EDH player I've been waiting for this set to fill out my last commander slot for a while. I'm just not sure if I'll bother. Mainly due to the fact, like others, my response to the set is just 'How is this gonna work?'. Not the most reassuring feeling in the world but who knows? I'm willing to take give a little faith.
On to the issue of Lutri, yeah, I'm not mad at anyone for banning that.
As for the new commanders, what's everyone feeling? I'm digging Kalamax and Kathril but can't decide which. On one hand, I already have a spellslinger deck in Kess but Kalamax does work very differently. I'm just scared it will turn into a weaker variation of a deck type I already have, ya know? As for Kathril, I see a lot of cool creature shenanigans with it and it's a style of play that no deck I currently use does.
Hunger is better on cast, as mentioned above. Two exile targets vs. one destroy.
Yet, Gyre protects you from mill just by sitting in your deck.
Both are dangerous once they're out and allowed to swing. The difference is speed and consistency. Hunger exiles a lot of stuff but that effect works both ways. Yes, he can hit combo pieces and the like. But he also can just end up thinning an opponent's deck, making them run into much needed cards faster. Plus, to fully exile someone's deck, you're going to need like 3-5 attacks. Gyre, on the other hand, effects the opponent's board state. He immediately forces them to make painful decisions on what to get rid of which is compounded by the fact that they still need to chump him, which will usually mean another thing is dying. One attack is usually devastating to most opponents. Two usually kills any momentum they've built to that point. Three will lock them out of the game usually. Heck, depending on the situation, Gyre can ruin a board state in just one attack.
Honestly, I think Gyre is better. He gets rid of something on cast, he easily pressures opponents on the field and he protects your cards while in the deck.
I agree with Ritokure. Just because a card has a random element doesn't automatically make it bad. Everything depends on what the effects of the random element is. 'Fixing' the randomness by setting what Haktos is weak to seems like it would make it 'better', but that would just make it consistent. Which would work against him as now it's easy to home in on his weakness. The random element makes it so that this cannot be easily done as it forces opponents to have to work around something that requires a specific answer at a specific time.
Simply put, his randomness allows for the possibility of him seeing play and doing things in game vs. being constantly shut down because you always know what it take to stop him.
It'd be different if Haktos' effect was like:
Roll a 2: Sacrifice Haktos.
Roll a 3: Give him to an opponent.
Roll a 4: Haktos has protection from all CMC except 4.
Seriously, TBH has just been awesome. I've have found something for every deck I currently run, whether it's a serious card to add or just so fun that I want to throw it in.
Siona is just...man, can't even put it into words but I'll try...Siona has combo potential, she digs for the pieces of that potential and she generates value. The art is beautiful, the effects are good and she's well costed. As a commander or 1 of the 99, she's just brilliant! I finally got that card to enable an infinite combo for Kestia.
Real talk, I'd love to go over to WotC and shake the person's hand who came up with her.
To sum up: the positives it gives you are not...bad but incredibly niche and narrow and it'll barely slow down your opponents. The other praetors make me want to use them and can be applicable to several different decks, even if just for fun. This one is just...there.
It's also interesting how despite the differences, you see an overarching design philosophy, especially for Grixis. For Grixis, they like to give them a "Catch 22" design plus ever increasing threat. Thraximundar forces you sacrifice a creature which makes him bigger and then makes you decide whether or not to throw up another creature to the chopping block or take a 7/7 to the face. Even if you have some other creatures, Thraximundar will start chip away at those defenses, all the while getting bigger. He's basically, take your damage now or take even more later.
Garza Zol is big enough that she'll kill most of what tries to block her in most situations, which just makes her bigger. But if you allow her to connect, you not only take damage but give her controller card advantage. So, do you make her hit harder later or allow her to get a card and punch you now?
Xander is the same but lacks the haste due to story reasons (he's got a bad right knee and needs a cane) and because his attack trigger is rather brutal. But he makes up for that because the moment he comes into play, he attacks your opponent's hand and if he's killed before being allowed to swing, he still goes after their board state. Xander has a trigger for all the major things a creature does in Magic: enters the field, attacks and dies.
No matter what, on a basic level, all three of them force a situation that if it's allowed to continue, things will become untenable.
Even if you want to argue what a Demon is, that would only hold to naturally occurring demons. Xander and the other family heads are artificial.
Indeed. Rift is one of those cards that's very good and quite a few people would buy if the price dropped a bit. Seeing it reprinted in a Commander product wouldn't be unheard of. There's also the fact that many people (myself included) have been asking for a reprint for years.
I'm honestly surprised that the thing hasn't seen a reprint in all these years at some point.
See that's the thing. Otrimi seems interesting to me but I just don't know how viable Mutate really will be. I've kind a been on the lookout to see if I could find a Sultai commander to possibly replace Yarok. I like the commander and the deck I built but I just sometimes question if a more...engaging commander will come along that will peak my interest. Ya know? Thing is though, Yarok can be a lot of fun and requires me to really think while still being powerful. It's just that, he's such a simple Commander.
I'm a little scared that Otrimi will turn out like my venture with Volrath, which was the opposite. The card is fun and rather cool, but the mechanics of it made the deck felt hit or miss. Basically a reverse Yarok problem. Commander requires a bit strategy to properly utilize but the 'feel' of the deck suffers for it.
I have to agree. It does feel good that the Commanders and the set are linked together. Generally, at least to me, sets usually mean that just a handful of new cards for Commander. A list that further gets filtered through a combo of interest and what decks you already have. But with them pulling double duty with Ikoria as a whole, it just feels like we're getting so much more to experiment with.
In addition, the flavor is really nice. Ikoria as a whole has the epic feel to it. The idea of running around and slaying huge, mutating beasts while partnering up a beast of your own just gets the blood pumping. I haven't felt so interested in a plane in a long time.
I'm tempted to agree. I've already heard rumbling around the net of people so happy to finally have a Hydra tribal commander with arguably the most powerful color combo. Honestly, if I didn't already have a Sultai commander I'd be tempted to pick of Zaxara myself.
Already got my deck pre-ordered.
Oh, that's just...mean.
That said, kind of mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, it's a good card. On the other, it's so good that everyone and their mother is going to want one.
So, what are the rules for companion in commander?? Now, I know how it works if you're going to select the card as a companion but can you use it as just a regular card in the 99? I've got an idea for this guy but I need to know the specifics first.
On to the issue of Lutri, yeah, I'm not mad at anyone for banning that.
As for the new commanders, what's everyone feeling? I'm digging Kalamax and Kathril but can't decide which. On one hand, I already have a spellslinger deck in Kess but Kalamax does work very differently. I'm just scared it will turn into a weaker variation of a deck type I already have, ya know? As for Kathril, I see a lot of cool creature shenanigans with it and it's a style of play that no deck I currently use does.
Yet, Gyre protects you from mill just by sitting in your deck.
Both are dangerous once they're out and allowed to swing. The difference is speed and consistency. Hunger exiles a lot of stuff but that effect works both ways. Yes, he can hit combo pieces and the like. But he also can just end up thinning an opponent's deck, making them run into much needed cards faster. Plus, to fully exile someone's deck, you're going to need like 3-5 attacks. Gyre, on the other hand, effects the opponent's board state. He immediately forces them to make painful decisions on what to get rid of which is compounded by the fact that they still need to chump him, which will usually mean another thing is dying. One attack is usually devastating to most opponents. Two usually kills any momentum they've built to that point. Three will lock them out of the game usually. Heck, depending on the situation, Gyre can ruin a board state in just one attack.
Honestly, I think Gyre is better. He gets rid of something on cast, he easily pressures opponents on the field and he protects your cards while in the deck.
Simply put, his randomness allows for the possibility of him seeing play and doing things in game vs. being constantly shut down because you always know what it take to stop him.
It'd be different if Haktos' effect was like:
Roll a 2: Sacrifice Haktos.
Roll a 3: Give him to an opponent.
Roll a 4: Haktos has protection from all CMC except 4.
Siona is just...man, can't even put it into words but I'll try...Siona has combo potential, she digs for the pieces of that potential and she generates value. The art is beautiful, the effects are good and she's well costed. As a commander or 1 of the 99, she's just brilliant! I finally got that card to enable an infinite combo for Kestia.
Real talk, I'd love to go over to WotC and shake the person's hand who came up with her.