It's been eight days since Wizards released our favorite kinda product, so this installment of Buy or Sell might seem a little late.However, we're twisting the routine with a hands-on assessment of the Commander 2013 product. This week, I had a chance to get in some games with a few of the new decks, so I thought it'd be nice to examine them from a perspective that was less theoretical and less about inherent value by looking at their straight out-of-the-box playability.
I'll be grading the deck's creatures, noncreatures, and mana base in order to answer our favorite question: Is it a buy or sell?
CREATURES
GRADE: B-
Creature List
1x Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
1x Acidic Slime
1x Aerie Mystics
1x Angel of Finality
1x Azami, Lady of Scrolls
1x Bane of Progress
1x Deceiver Exarch
1x Diviner Spirit
1x Djinn of Infinite Deceits
1x Dungeon Geists
1x Farhaven Elf
1x Fiend Hunter
1x Flickerwisp
1x Hada Spy Patrol
1x Karmic Guide
1x Kazandu Tuskcaller
1x Lu Xun, Scholar General
1x Mirror Entity
1x Mistmeadow Witch
1x Murkfiend Liege
1x Phantom Nantuko
1x Pilgrim's Eye
1x Roon of the Hidden Realm
1x Rubinia Soulsinger
1x Selesnya Guildmage
1x Skyward Eye Prophets
1x Stonecloaker
1x Thornwind Faeries
1x Winged Coatl
1x Wonder
This is a little generous. If we examine the 30 creatures in this deck, I really like half of them. Numerically, I feel like that's deserving of an average grade.
However, Derevi really deserves a little more credit. He turns a lot of these lemons into a tasty lemonade. Politically, there's not a whole lot of incentive to block janky chaff cards like the new Diviner Spirit or Hada Spy Patrol.
Playing with Derevi is a lot like casting a 4-cost Titan, which is basically what happens after he dies the first time. His enter the battlefield trigger is a serious tempo swing. Tapping down a creature and getting another helps the triggers really add up, which makes piloting the deck challenging. What I like the most about Derevi is that he doesn't give a crap about additional Commander costs, so wasting removal on him is pretty dumb. He also navigates around control decks very nicely too.
Bane of Progress is one of the newer cards I like from this set. The deck's pool of artifacts, as you'll soon find, are pretty expendable later on in the game. Having a big scalable threat is pretty nice, even if it doesn't have trample.
My biggest issue with the creature base is that a lot of the tap creatures aren't as successful as the design team could've hoped. Untuned, the deck's at its best when it's swinging its full force of 1 and 2 powered creatures at your opponents. Which is why Azami and Skyward Eye Prophets feel like really weird choices. Azami can't even deal damage, and it leaves these other guys particularly vulnerable if your opponent knows what to block.
The better creatures in this deck are the utility guys that can get out early, like Farhaven Elf and Pilgrim's Eye. Mistmeadow Witch, as you might guess, is pretty good utility as well. Not having to spend untap triggers on these guys really helps compensate for some of its other deficiencies.
NONCREATURES
GRADE: C-
Instants
1x AEthermage's Touch
1x Arcane Denial
1x Blue Sun's Zenith
1x Krosan Grip
1x Selesnya Charm
1x Unexpectedly Absent
Sorceries
1x Borrowing 100,000 Arrows
1x Kirtar's Wrath
1x Restore
1x Tempt with Glory
1x Wash Out
Artifacts
1x Azorius Keyrune
1x Basalt Monolith
1x Conjurer's Closet
1x Darksteel Ingot
1x Leonin Bladetrap
1x Selesnya Signet
1x Simic Signet
1x Sol Ring
1x Surveyor's Scope
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Sword of the Paruns
1x Thousand-Year Elixir
1x Thunderstaff
Enchantments
1x Control Magic
1x Curse of Inertia
1x Curse of Predation
1x Curse of the Forsaken
1x Darksteel Mutation
1x Flickerform
1x Leafdrake Roost
1x Presence of Gond
There isn't a lot to like. Ironically, the best card also explains what happened to the good noncreature spells. They're Unexpectedly Absent. GG talked about this card in his review, and I am basically in full agreement. It is a house.
Meanwhile, the rest of this part of the deck is topsy-turvy. Even traditionally good cards like Control Magic and Basalt Monolith feel a little odd juxtaposed with the aforementioned Bane of Progress. Monolith is also part of another big problem, even though fans of Magical Christmas Land will love the free untap triggers.
In all honesty, the best target to untap in all of these is whatever creature that happens to be enchanted with Presence of Gond. The rest is a waste of time.
I did find a little value in Curse of Inertia, but it's really only marginal. Mediocre cards in bad decks are typically overrepresented.
My least favorite cards in here have been Leafdrake Roost and Borrowing 100,000 Arrows. Neither of these cards represent half the value they appear to be. Roost requires at least three untap triggers, while Borrowing really wants your opponent to have more creatures than you.
Still, Krosan Grip, Arcane Denial, and Restore offer some quality goodies. I'm pleased that they added K-Grip, and Restore is really underrated.
LANDS
GRADE: D
Lands
1x Azorius Chancery
1x Azorius Guildgate
1x Bant Panorama
1x Command Tower
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Faerie Conclave
6x Forest
7x Island
1x Opal Palace
7x Plains
1x Rupture Spire
1x Saltcrusted Steppe
1x Seaside Citadel
1x Secluded Steppe
1x Sejiri Refuge
1x Selesnya Guildgate
1x Selesnya Sanctuary
1x Simic Guildgate
1x Temple of the False God
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Transguild Promenade
Despite my heavy criticism of the spells, it's really the mana base that I can't stand the most. Tap Lands are the devil. Ravnica Dual Lands are the world's most risky Strip Mine targets. Even with untap triggers, it's a huge waste of time, and doesn't actually help to accelerate the deck.
With the heavy mana curve, 38 land just isn't enough. Even with the mana rocks. Getting good opening hands with this deck was really difficult. This deck wants to run 40-41 lands, and definitely more basics.
VERDICT
Overall, there were some frustrating moments. In multiplayer, it can hold its own, but not well. It's tricky to figure out, and involves some serious skill to navigate straight out of the box.
So after talking with Mad Money's Jim Kramer, him and I came up with a pretty decent verdict.
Even if you're not playing it right out of the box like I am, there's a nice little ball of clay to work with. Wizards did a solid job of putting solid Commander favorites in here. It's worth the money, and it's a player's deck that wants to be edited and played. New art Karmic Guide, Unexpectedly Absent, Derevi, Rubinia Soulsinger, and Restore provide some fresh cards and decent power to work with. It's not great immediately, but if you're looking to start, and have some access to decent cards right away, Derevi is a pretty strong choice.
That's all we got for today. Until tomorrow, the cake is a lie; but that shouldn't stop you from eating some anyway.
Treat yourself.
-UL
No comments:
Post a Comment