I know this forum is kinda sleepy, and we're not technically commander players, but what do we think of this set? Encore, monarch, and cascade seems like a slam dunk for us.
I’m here to amend my statements. Played a ton of draft on Arena and WOW, the flip cards are nutty. The blue one that digs for spells and the green Regrowth are for sure staples for years to come, and I was even impressed with the black menace Rogue one and the white protection one for MP games. There’s no reason not to play as many as you can, especially since you can protect slow starts with politics.
I think that the bolt lands are also 100% necessary, they’re all actually quite good. I severely underestimated the power of these lands without actually playing with them. Once you start playing cards that bounce lands (Karoos finally playable?) or stuff like Tilling Treefolk, you can just never miss a land drop again.
Hey everyone. Ratings are from C- to A+. Anything under a C- is unplayable and thus not included. C- to C+ are reserved for the most casual of tables, B- to B+ are archetype staples at more competitive tables, and A- to A+ are general MP all-stars.
In order to evaluate cards better, I will be doing them in name order, so there's less of a chance to overrate cards because you're seeing cards of the same color all in a row, thus inflating value ("Hey, I think this card will really supplement this card! B-!")
Agadeem's Awakening
I'm quite low on this card, as we all know you need to pay 5 for X (for Gray Merchant of Asphodel). 8 mana cards will rarely reach the A zone, and I think there's better cards than this that do the same thing (Living Death...). There's something to be said about having the access to the extra land in a greedy black deck, so there's a small chance this becomes a no-brainer include in black decks, like Castle Locthwain. Still, I have a hard time seeing how this is any better than the Castle.
Rating: C
Akiri, Fearless Voyager
This card has a lot going for it, and I'm pretty excited to see it played at casual tables. It'll be hard to get a big payoff on turn 3, but in general it'll be nice to have sitting on the back lines in any casual equipment deck. The activated ability might actually be better than the first ability, as indestructible is quite good when you're a white deck playing Wrath of God.
Rating: C+
Ancient Greenwarden
I think this card is a lot weaker than it looks at first glance, as even Ulvenwald Hydra will get you something before it gets wrathed. I would say that this card is pretty bad when you're limited to one land a turn, and having to rely on Azusa, Lost but Seeking or something similar is not going to end well at anything but the most casual of tables.
Rating: C-
Angel of Destiny
Believe me when I say this is better than Baneslayer Angel in multiplayer (which is not saying a lot). This card gives you the ability to bypass players with strong defenses and hit the weaker player, without outright killing them. Then, once you're at a comfortable life total, you can nuke the stronger player out of orbit. However, this card costs a hefty 5 mana. I don't see this in any competitive deck but it'll be fun to mess around with.
Rating: C
Attended Healer
If you're in a meta where Sun Droplet is good (surprisingly it's a pretty good card at casual tables) then I implore you to try this card. It's quite slow but will churn out a nice stream of cats.
Rating: C-
Branchloft Pathway, etc
Dual lands will forever be good. These aren't amazing but will get the job done if you have a lot of them from opening Zendikar Rising packs or something.
Rating: A-
Canyon Jerba
I think people really underrate the "board-spam-then-pump" strategy in MP. This is also repeatable, scales with fetchlands and multiple Jerbas, and is in the color with great tokenspam. Tokens aren't a terrible strategy, but the jury's still out whether or not you'll actually play this in the deck. However, I personally believe it's more powerful than Cathar's Crusade, which is too slow for my tastes.
Rating: C
Cinderclasm
I have played Pyroclasm before, and I'm not really sure this is better than that.
Rating: C-
Confounding Conundrum
Woah. Hello. I really like this card if you're in a ramp-heavy meta (which is an ever-popular MP strategy). In fact, I think that if you're jamming the classic Simic/Temur/etc ramp deck, you should put this card in simply just to get the leg up in the mirror. It even replaces itself so you might as well just play four and forget about it. One time out of 50 it'll lose you the game by giving your opponent more Landfall triggers, but I really believe that "A land on the 'field is worth two in the hand" so play this thing.
Rating: A
Drana, the last Bloodchief
5 mana 4/4 flying creatures belong at the casual table, but this hits earlier than Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni and also triggers on attack so you're likely to get at least one payoff from it. Slap one of these in your casual MBC and have fun getting Path to Exile'd.
Rating: C-
Farsight Adept
A wise man once said, "Making friends with the most powerful player is the best MP strategy, don't even argue with me".
Rating: C-
Felidar Retreat
I'm going to call this "Zendikar Siege" after the Outpost Siege cycle. Those cards are quite good for the C range, so this will be around there. Sit back and let the kitties fly.
Rating: C
Forsaken Monument
I will be jamming a deck full of Wastes, Basalt Monoliths, and Sundering Titans. I think that the colorless/artifact stax/Eldrazi spam archetype is alive and well, and this card as a 5 mana mana doubler is quite powerful. The lifegain is marginal but I'm sure the infinite mana from the Basalt Monolith loops will ease the pain.
Rating: B
Glasspool Mimic
Hear me out. Cloudpost decks need blue mana but also sometimes don't need any mana at all. Copying a Wurmcoil Engine is a game winning play, and sometimes you just run out of card slots. This is where this guy comes in. I'm not sure how well ETB tapped will work out for you, but in a MP game, it happens, and you might as well get 4 free Clones out of it. This is one of the more powerful flippy cards from the set, and it's worth a look.
Raring: B-
Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager
This card as a standalone 3/3 that makes a 3/3 on death is actually pretty good, and only gets better in the counters archetype. It's worth looking at, even if it'll grow quite slowly.
Rating: C-
Kazuul's Fury
I'll be trying this card out in big red archetypes (along with Leyline Tyrant below) and think it's another card along with Glasspool Mimic that you can play in your slow decks, replacing 4 basics, so you can access a powerful finisher later in the game. However, this one in particular is win-more, as if you have a powerful creature you're willing to launch, you're probably close to winning anyways.
Rating: C-
Leyline Tyrant
This card may actually be quite playable, as Braid of Fire is an uber-powerful card that requires a strong foundation. 4 mana is a lot for a competitive deck, but being able to play this card when your Braid is popping off for 10+ mana may be a great power play. I'm not sure about this card because it seems slow, but if you slam this late game and it gets immediately killed, it might be able to take a player down with it.
Rating: B
Linvala, Shield of Sea Gate
Pretend the 5 lines of text between "flying" and "Sacrifice Linvala" don't exist and you'll get a pretty decent card for MP. Saving your creatures' bacon is always an amazing ability as it allows you to jam Wrath of God in your white decks and still keep up the pressure. I think this card is great. Don't try and build a Party deck though, as a) it's not going to happen and b) the payoff isn't that great here
Rating: C+
Lotus Cobra
Awesome reprint. I don't need to say much about this guy.
Rating: A
Lullmage's Domination
I can see this card being great, since some MP games go long and you'll get the payoff a lot of the time. Solid card to slot into your slow blue decks.
Rating: C
Luminarch Aspirant
Worse than Champion of the Parish and Thalia's Lieutenant, but plays well with them, especially at slower, more casual tables. Luckily, it can buff itself, so just throw it out there and have it eat removal.
Rating: C
Moraug, Fury of Akoum
This bad boy comes hot off of Basalt Monolith like nobody's business. Pair it with Inferno Titan for an absolute beating. Getting two or three additional combat phases off of this can wipe the table in a single turn. It's a lot of mana, but for a card that can OTK giving the correct circumstances, I have to give it at least a B.
Rating: B
Nahiri, Heir of the Ancients
The OG Nahiri planeswalker was played in the equipment deck, and this is one mana cheaper. I like cards that can bypass you large amounts of mana, so jamming this with Colossus Hammer or even Batterskull or a Sword will be a game-winning line. Not sure if the Equipment deck is A range, but it's a staple in that deck.
Rating: B+
Nighthawk Scavenger Vampire Nighthawk was very playable until recently, and this is a great successor to the classic Black workhorse. I'll take 4.
Rating: B-
Sea Gate Restoration
Unlike the other Mythic-Mega-Lands, this one actually is pretty good. You really only need to play one of these to make it good, so I don't mind jamming 4 and playing the other 3 as lands. That's why I think this one is the better of the bunch-- you don't feel like you need to hold it, and it'll help you refill your hand after playing the other ones as lands.
Rating: B
Zareth San, the Trickster
The second card in the set to emulate Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni, I think this one is a direct sidegrade. Overall, I like stealing things from yards and this'll net you something pretty once in a while.
Rating: C+
Back after a few weeks and man, I have to say Whisper Squad is one of my more favorite cards from the set. It slices. It dices. It even shuffles for Bolas's Citadel in a pinch.
Some mana rocks to power out Nekusar, the Mindrazer (he's really slow but it sounds like you still want to play him).
Smothering Tithe is also an oppressive way to punish draws if your manabase can handle it.
Apparently Xyris, the Writhing Storm is a new card? Seems super slow but fun to mess around with in casual places. Could replace Nekusar's Grixis wheels deck.
I was digging through cards and found a great mutate base creature. It's a real blast from the past (4 years!). Elusive Tormentor! I almost forgot about this guy. Literally unkillable. Not sure that a mutate stack is better than Nighthowler but you could always play both?
Essentially the synergy is to have Lurrus (100% guaranteed) and Kaya's Ghostform (you'll draw it eventually) and use it for all the sacrifice synergies you need. For example, if you have Lurrus and the Ghostform, all it costs is {1}{B} to drain an opponent for 1 with Pitiless Pontiff and Cruel Celebrant out. Bonus points if you have one or more Hateful Eidolon out, as that loop additionally nets you a card.
Wowee, something combos with Phyrexian Altar. As the original deck was standard, I didn't have that luxury. You can add it if you want.
Overall, it sucks to not be able to play Ayara, First of Locthwain. It might be better to just run Lurrus in the main 60 so you can add her and other GY deck bombs like either Ereboses or even the new Luminous Broodmoth. Overall I think just having a super consistent combo to rely on really shows how broken Companion is.
Hearthstone: Releases Genn and Baku, two cool designs
Wizards: Sees that and develops the Companion cards
Hearthstone: Bans Genn and Baku
Wizards: *surprised Pikachu face*
These companion cards are totally busted and I for one am glad I'm here to witness the ****show unfold.
I took a look at the serpent but I was looking for things with ETB value, but that's definitely super spicy actually. Whelming Wave and Archaeomancer are even
After thinking about it more, I'm not sure I want to make another black deck without Yarok's Fenlurker. In addition, I think adding a Dredge the Mire would be really cool in this deck. I've been thinking about Tempt with Reflections and I think it might be a good way to bait people into milling themselves. Obviously not better than just jamming a bunch of Clones but it would be super funny to jam this on a Gyruda or a Baleful Strix. Finally, playing a non-zero amount of Animate Dead seems to be a good way to make people groan.
Move over, Sire of Stagnation. Dimir has a new bomb to play with. (Has it really been almost four years since Oath of the Gatewatch??)
Gyruda, Doom of Depths seems to be a powerful pseudo-primordial effect that starts in your "hand". In addition, you can even play it in your deck!
Turns out that there are a lot of great common even-mana cards to steal. From Blood Artist and Scavenging Ooze all the way up to Wurmcoil Engine and Primeval Titan, my meta is chock-full of powerful targets. If all else fails, you'll probably hit something from your own deck anyways.
Deck restrictions are honestly not a big deal, especially in eternal formats such as ours. You hardly have to get creative to craft a powerful 60. Playing commander with 60 card non-singleton decks is INSANE.
I suppose technically you could just Gyruda into a bunch of clones and mill everybody out, but there's combos out there for a lot less mana that does that. This is more fun anyways.
Thoughts on the card? I think it definitely gives Sire of Stagnation a run for its money in Dimir shells, especially since it gives immediate value lest it get prematurely removed. You could even play both in the same deck and just run the single Gyruda as the companion. Overall I think it's a fine addition to the archetype. Thoughts on the companions? Overpowered? Not? Let me know your guys' thoughts on what we should build next.
Also taking a look at Insatiable Hemophage, if you mutate one on it, that's 1 damage, two is 4, three 9, and four 16? If that's how it works? Seems like a worse Gary obviously but there could be some merit to it. Chittering Harvester and Cavern Whisperer seem okay as well in casual circles.
Archon of Coronation
Court of Grace, Court of Ambition, Court of Bounty, Court of Cunning, Court of Ire
Promise of Tomorrow
Seraphic Greatsword
Slash the Ranks
Soul of Eternity, Amphin Mutineer, Elvish Dreadlord, Rakshasa Debaser
Triumphant Reckoning
Hullbreacher
Mnemonic Deluge
Sakashima's Protege
Elvish Doomsayer
Nadier's Nightblade
Nightshade Harvester
Opposition Agent
Tormod, the Desecrator
Coastline Marauders, Fathom Fleet Swordjack, Impulsive Pilferer
Frenzied Saddlebrute
Port Razer
Biowaste Blob
Fin-Clade Fugitives
Kamahl, Heart of Krosa
Kodama of the East Tree
Phyrexian Triniform
Blazing Sunsteel
And probably a bunch of other stuff I missed.
I think that the bolt lands are also 100% necessary, they’re all actually quite good. I severely underestimated the power of these lands without actually playing with them. Once you start playing cards that bounce lands (Karoos finally playable?) or stuff like Tilling Treefolk, you can just never miss a land drop again.
In order to evaluate cards better, I will be doing them in name order, so there's less of a chance to overrate cards because you're seeing cards of the same color all in a row, thus inflating value ("Hey, I think this card will really supplement this card! B-!")
Agadeem's Awakening
I'm quite low on this card, as we all know you need to pay 5 for X (for Gray Merchant of Asphodel). 8 mana cards will rarely reach the A zone, and I think there's better cards than this that do the same thing (Living Death...). There's something to be said about having the access to the extra land in a greedy black deck, so there's a small chance this becomes a no-brainer include in black decks, like Castle Locthwain. Still, I have a hard time seeing how this is any better than the Castle.
Rating: C
Akiri, Fearless Voyager
This card has a lot going for it, and I'm pretty excited to see it played at casual tables. It'll be hard to get a big payoff on turn 3, but in general it'll be nice to have sitting on the back lines in any casual equipment deck. The activated ability might actually be better than the first ability, as indestructible is quite good when you're a white deck playing Wrath of God.
Rating: C+
Ancient Greenwarden
I think this card is a lot weaker than it looks at first glance, as even Ulvenwald Hydra will get you something before it gets wrathed. I would say that this card is pretty bad when you're limited to one land a turn, and having to rely on Azusa, Lost but Seeking or something similar is not going to end well at anything but the most casual of tables.
Rating: C-
Angel of Destiny
Believe me when I say this is better than Baneslayer Angel in multiplayer (which is not saying a lot). This card gives you the ability to bypass players with strong defenses and hit the weaker player, without outright killing them. Then, once you're at a comfortable life total, you can nuke the stronger player out of orbit. However, this card costs a hefty 5 mana. I don't see this in any competitive deck but it'll be fun to mess around with.
Rating: C
Attended Healer
If you're in a meta where Sun Droplet is good (surprisingly it's a pretty good card at casual tables) then I implore you to try this card. It's quite slow but will churn out a nice stream of cats.
Rating: C-
Branchloft Pathway, etc
Dual lands will forever be good. These aren't amazing but will get the job done if you have a lot of them from opening Zendikar Rising packs or something.
Rating: A-
Canyon Jerba
I think people really underrate the "board-spam-then-pump" strategy in MP. This is also repeatable, scales with fetchlands and multiple Jerbas, and is in the color with great tokenspam. Tokens aren't a terrible strategy, but the jury's still out whether or not you'll actually play this in the deck. However, I personally believe it's more powerful than Cathar's Crusade, which is too slow for my tastes.
Rating: C
Cinderclasm
I have played Pyroclasm before, and I'm not really sure this is better than that.
Rating: C-
Confounding Conundrum
Woah. Hello. I really like this card if you're in a ramp-heavy meta (which is an ever-popular MP strategy). In fact, I think that if you're jamming the classic Simic/Temur/etc ramp deck, you should put this card in simply just to get the leg up in the mirror. It even replaces itself so you might as well just play four and forget about it. One time out of 50 it'll lose you the game by giving your opponent more Landfall triggers, but I really believe that "A land on the 'field is worth two in the hand" so play this thing.
Rating: A
Drana, the last Bloodchief
5 mana 4/4 flying creatures belong at the casual table, but this hits earlier than Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni and also triggers on attack so you're likely to get at least one payoff from it. Slap one of these in your casual MBC and have fun getting Path to Exile'd.
Rating: C-
Farsight Adept
A wise man once said, "Making friends with the most powerful player is the best MP strategy, don't even argue with me".
Rating: C-
Felidar Retreat
I'm going to call this "Zendikar Siege" after the Outpost Siege cycle. Those cards are quite good for the C range, so this will be around there. Sit back and let the kitties fly.
Rating: C
Forsaken Monument
I will be jamming a deck full of Wastes, Basalt Monoliths, and Sundering Titans. I think that the colorless/artifact stax/Eldrazi spam archetype is alive and well, and this card as a 5 mana mana doubler is quite powerful. The lifegain is marginal but I'm sure the infinite mana from the Basalt Monolith loops will ease the pain.
Rating: B
Glasspool Mimic
Hear me out. Cloudpost decks need blue mana but also sometimes don't need any mana at all. Copying a Wurmcoil Engine is a game winning play, and sometimes you just run out of card slots. This is where this guy comes in. I'm not sure how well ETB tapped will work out for you, but in a MP game, it happens, and you might as well get 4 free Clones out of it. This is one of the more powerful flippy cards from the set, and it's worth a look.
Raring: B-
Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager
This card as a standalone 3/3 that makes a 3/3 on death is actually pretty good, and only gets better in the counters archetype. It's worth looking at, even if it'll grow quite slowly.
Rating: C-
Kazuul's Fury
I'll be trying this card out in big red archetypes (along with Leyline Tyrant below) and think it's another card along with Glasspool Mimic that you can play in your slow decks, replacing 4 basics, so you can access a powerful finisher later in the game. However, this one in particular is win-more, as if you have a powerful creature you're willing to launch, you're probably close to winning anyways.
Rating: C-
Leyline Tyrant
This card may actually be quite playable, as Braid of Fire is an uber-powerful card that requires a strong foundation. 4 mana is a lot for a competitive deck, but being able to play this card when your Braid is popping off for 10+ mana may be a great power play. I'm not sure about this card because it seems slow, but if you slam this late game and it gets immediately killed, it might be able to take a player down with it.
Rating: B
Linvala, Shield of Sea Gate
Pretend the 5 lines of text between "flying" and "Sacrifice Linvala" don't exist and you'll get a pretty decent card for MP. Saving your creatures' bacon is always an amazing ability as it allows you to jam Wrath of God in your white decks and still keep up the pressure. I think this card is great. Don't try and build a Party deck though, as a) it's not going to happen and b) the payoff isn't that great here
Rating: C+
Lotus Cobra
Awesome reprint. I don't need to say much about this guy.
Rating: A
Lullmage's Domination
I can see this card being great, since some MP games go long and you'll get the payoff a lot of the time. Solid card to slot into your slow blue decks.
Rating: C
Luminarch Aspirant
Worse than Champion of the Parish and Thalia's Lieutenant, but plays well with them, especially at slower, more casual tables. Luckily, it can buff itself, so just throw it out there and have it eat removal.
Rating: C
Moraug, Fury of Akoum
This bad boy comes hot off of Basalt Monolith like nobody's business. Pair it with Inferno Titan for an absolute beating. Getting two or three additional combat phases off of this can wipe the table in a single turn. It's a lot of mana, but for a card that can OTK giving the correct circumstances, I have to give it at least a B.
Rating: B
Nahiri, Heir of the Ancients
The OG Nahiri planeswalker was played in the equipment deck, and this is one mana cheaper. I like cards that can bypass you large amounts of mana, so jamming this with Colossus Hammer or even Batterskull or a Sword will be a game-winning line. Not sure if the Equipment deck is A range, but it's a staple in that deck.
Rating: B+
Nighthawk Scavenger
Vampire Nighthawk was very playable until recently, and this is a great successor to the classic Black workhorse. I'll take 4.
Rating: B-
Sea Gate Restoration
Unlike the other Mythic-Mega-Lands, this one actually is pretty good. You really only need to play one of these to make it good, so I don't mind jamming 4 and playing the other 3 as lands. That's why I think this one is the better of the bunch-- you don't feel like you need to hold it, and it'll help you refill your hand after playing the other ones as lands.
Rating: B
Zareth San, the Trickster
The second card in the set to emulate Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni, I think this one is a direct sidegrade. Overall, I like stealing things from yards and this'll net you something pretty once in a while.
Rating: C+
I've also been playing a ton of Scheming Symmetry in every black deck including this one. I throw in a ton of fun-of's like Open the Graves or Liliana, Dreadhorde General and it does the trick.
Mythos of Illuna pops into blue Cloudpost decks nicely.
Bonder's Enclave goes into Eldrazi decks quite well as a great source of card advantage that can be tutored by Hour of Promise.
Hunted Nightmare might be a budget beater or a nice political tool.
Other nice cards include Primal Empathy, Auspicious Starrix, Offspring's Revenge.
Dark Deal
Windfall
Notion Thief
Wheel of Fortune if you have it.
Some mana rocks to power out Nekusar, the Mindrazer (he's really slow but it sounds like you still want to play him).
Smothering Tithe is also an oppressive way to punish draws if your manabase can handle it.
Apparently Xyris, the Writhing Storm is a new card? Seems super slow but fun to mess around with in casual places. Could replace Nekusar's Grixis wheels deck.
The list runs a core like this:
Essentially the synergy is to have Lurrus (100% guaranteed) and Kaya's Ghostform (you'll draw it eventually) and use it for all the sacrifice synergies you need. For example, if you have Lurrus and the Ghostform, all it costs is {1}{B} to drain an opponent for 1 with Pitiless Pontiff and Cruel Celebrant out. Bonus points if you have one or more Hateful Eidolon out, as that loop additionally nets you a card.
Wowee, something combos with Phyrexian Altar. As the original deck was standard, I didn't have that luxury. You can add it if you want.
Of course, you can only add permanents with CMC 2 or less. For multiplayer, I might be inclined to add Zulaport Cutthroat. In addition, I'd run Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim or Cartel Aristocrat to replace Pitiless Pontiff. In addition, Gonti's Machinations comes back with Lurrus...
Overall, it sucks to not be able to play Ayara, First of Locthwain. It might be better to just run Lurrus in the main 60 so you can add her and other GY deck bombs like either Ereboses or even the new Luminous Broodmoth. Overall I think just having a super consistent combo to rely on really shows how broken Companion is.
Wizards: Sees that and develops the Companion cards
Hearthstone: Bans Genn and Baku
Wizards: *surprised Pikachu face*
These companion cards are totally busted and I for one am glad I'm here to witness the ****show unfold.
Gyruda, Doom of Depths seems to be a powerful pseudo-primordial effect that starts in your "hand". In addition, you can even play it in your deck!
Turns out that there are a lot of great common even-mana cards to steal. From Blood Artist and Scavenging Ooze all the way up to Wurmcoil Engine and Primeval Titan, my meta is chock-full of powerful targets. If all else fails, you'll probably hit something from your own deck anyways.
Deck restrictions are honestly not a big deal, especially in eternal formats such as ours. You hardly have to get creative to craft a powerful 60. Playing commander with 60 card non-singleton decks is INSANE.
1 Gyruda, Doom of Depths
4 Dimir Signet
4 Talisman of Dominance
4 Impulse
4 Languish
2 Memory Plunder
1 Cyclonic Rift
3 Gyruda, Doom of Depths
1 Thassa, Deep-Dwelling
2 Nightmare Shepherd
1 Deadeye Navigator
4 Spark Double
1 Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
4 Drowned Catacombs
4 Polluted Delta
1 Mystic Sanctuary
2 Witch's Cottage
5 Island
5 Swamp
I suppose technically you could just Gyruda into a bunch of clones and mill everybody out, but there's combos out there for a lot less mana that does that. This is more fun anyways.
Thoughts on the card? I think it definitely gives Sire of Stagnation a run for its money in Dimir shells, especially since it gives immediate value lest it get prematurely removed. You could even play both in the same deck and just run the single Gyruda as the companion. Overall I think it's a fine addition to the archetype. Thoughts on the companions? Overpowered? Not? Let me know your guys' thoughts on what we should build next.
Also the cartoon arts for them are amazing.