Command Zone OG's #3: Deception, and Ostracized Wizards

With Grandpa and the gang out planeswalking in the real, we have another week with a triple-dose of Landdrops. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to do since they let me out off the proverbial leash, but I think I figured out between yesterday's post and today how I can accomplish the two things that are on my mind: Do an installment of Command Zone OG's, and make serious fun of Duel Commander's banlist.

For those who don't really know, the so-called 1v1 "competitive" EDH variant is referred to as Duel Commander. When you add up all those words in the back end of the last sentence, I trust that you've come to a similar conclusion about how strange and ludicrous that sounds. Apparently, it was developed by the French, so if you're looking for someone to blame, well- blame yourself if you're playing their silly, Diet Coke version of fun.

ON THE RISE(?)

This morning I saw the first lists emerge on TappedOut for Phenax, and was once again left confused and semi-excited.

The Phenax deck designs seem to be incorporating these huge do-nothing Defenders coupled with enchantments to get the God to appear.

Now, there is a big question mark here, but I thought it was just worth mentioning that it looks like Mill strategies have  been given some serious power and innovation in the last year or so, and the trend is continuing. 

More time might mean this deck gets better, I'm not sure. But even if it's not good, the deck still seems interesting enough to want to be played and played against. For some, that just might be enough to sway you.

Should any of you find good lists for Phenax, or any of the new gods, please share them with me. 

ALWAYS AROUND(?)
It seems to me the threat of Zur at a table is a lot worse than actually having Zur around.

Apparently though, that didn't stop the Duel Commander staff from banning this guy a week or so ago.

Hailed as one of the best decks in their "format," the attempt to quell Zur's power while keeping him in the game for the longest time was to ban Vanishing, which is apparently the best card he could tutor for.

So yeah. They banned Vanishing. Only after realizing that a tutorable Rest in Peace plus Helm of Obedience was the biggest offender that they finally took Zur out of the Command Zone, unbanning the phasing Aura.

Now, I'm not saying Zur isn't good. All of this just seems a bit foolish. One of my favorite quotes is an Oscar Wilde one- "It is with the best intentions that the worst work is done." Seems to me like they could improve by taking a more Joker-esque approach. Be more like a dog chasing cards.

Again, Zur or the threat of this deck should always be around. He makes Necropotence even cheaper than it already is, and has access to plenty of free and neat tech. Even my Pauper version of this deck was pretty good.

UNDER THE RADAR(?)

Along with the Duel Commander "banning" (which is obviously not a real banning) of Zur came the surprise ban of our favorite Beast Wars Magic card.

According to their rationale, this card is just "too good with other cards." Apparently Birthing Pod gives them too much value. Hokori makes things too one-sided. And Bloom Tender gives them too much mana.

In Duel Commander Tournament circuits, this deck showed up in three different Top 8's, and that was enough for their little gang of folks to say, "No, not anymore!" and clip Derevi's poor wings.

So be on the lookout, guys. Derevi's a real terror. Sixty percent of the time, she's going to wreck your metagame every time.

Much like Zur, it's not about the lack of power. Obvious power is obvious. Banning a card because a deck designer knows how to power up cards is perhaps the worst banning explanation to date. Especially when this deck really isn't Zur in terms of its raw power.

As far as the normal metagame goes, Derevi will probably never be "under the radar" because she was part of a Commander expansion. Still, it's kind of a shock that I haven't heard dominating tales or heard of solid lists for the Empyrial Tactician. Especially none that were ban-worthy.

Again, I'd love to be proven wrong. So if you find one, send it my way in the comments below.

Here's to hoping you guys have a good Lazy Sunday.
-UL

UL's Buy or Sell: C13's Evasive Maneuvers (The Bant Deck)

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-

Noncreature List

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

First Impressions of Commander 2013

Happy Tuesday Zoners!

This week, we're going to get the scoop on all 51 new cards in the Commander 2013 product that's slated to come out November 1st.

Last week, we got our first look at one of the potentially two (mum's the word on whether or not the Invasion Dragons will be included, as predicted) new cycles of Commanders, and so I figured it was time we talked about them.

JELEVA, NEPHALIA'S SCOURGE

Though revealed at Comic-Con, I was hoping that the extra time in between spoilings might help me get a little bit better perspective- but it hasn't.

The best thing about Jeleva is her CMC. Before her, Grixis had Mishra, but it's a tough deck to get online, or really, even want to play.

R&D has done a pretty nice job creating differentiation among its Legendary Creatures, and this is a good example. Jeleva is definitely a great opposite to her Grixis pals, being a little smaller and more spell-focused. I also like the way that they're playing with Commander as a format, scaling the power of her enter the battlefield trigger.

That said, it isn't all rosy for me here. My biggest beef is simply me being picky, but the flavor actually doesn't work. The question isn't whether or not this color identity should have these abilities. The problem is that they've crossed several wires in creating this card, creating a domino effect instead of looking at this card and saying, "Something's gotta give."

The three points of contention that I have are Name, her ETB trigger, and creature type; the last of which, is the most troubling. Being a Vampire means she has to "drink minds," apparently, and I'm honestly cool with that. By that, I mean, I don't hate it. Vampires "drinking minds" is a thing that makes sense.

If these things are true, I don't get how she could be "Scourging" it up in Innistrad. From my understanding, there were no mind drinking Vampires made throughout the duration of our favorite Gothic Horror themed block, which really feels inconsistent. It makes more sense for her to be slumming it up with Mirko Polo on Ravnica, even with the triple color identity problem. I don't know. I've spent too much time trying to figure this one out. Maybe someone can help me sort out the flavor math here.

My other big worry with Jeleva is that she enables the "lazy deckbuilder," and that bothers me a little bit. I don't see a challenge to building this deck. Everyone and their mother will be trying to take as many turns as possible, and it could be possible here. Overall, I'm more confused than enthused here.

PROSSH, SKYRAIDER OF KHER

Let me start by saying I'm glad they brought back Kobold tokens, even if I think it's really weird that a Dragon who leaves fire in its wake would have friends. I know I'm being critical, but really, I'm just someone who "Kher's."

Speaking of caring, in case you do, look at your copy of Karador. Now look at Prossh. Familiar art? Absolutely. This is yet another nice little Todd Lockwood piece, in case you can't tell by the color palette, and the way his creatures have this angular, "I'ma pounce on you!" perspective.

Anyway, I'm okay with a lot of things here. Dragons are cool. Jund coloring is alright, even despite the fact that I like to see a little more scaly, sinister-ness with these guys.

Not much really to say. I don't think this is necessarily a bad creature, but the art is deceiving. It's not actually jumping at me.

MARATH, WILL OF THE WILD

Well, folks, we've got a real Hylian Loach on the line. Your patience is sort of rewarded a little here.

Marath provides the Naya Dude Squad with a much needed aggressive threat. Every time he's cast, he'll at least be everything you paid for.

I was looking at Ghave on Amazon, and at the bottom, it said, "Those who bought Ghave also bought this." I couldn't agree more.

If you didn't have enough fun with Ghave the first time around, here's your second chance.

Just do me a favor- this is not Marath. It was correctly pointed out to me at the shop last week that he only goes by one name- and that name is, "Dad of Resurgence."

OLORO, AGELESS ASCETIC

Timelessness is the idea of making something so good that it literally will never be unrelatable.

Agelessness, on the other hand, is beginning to have an expiration date. I'm not someone who wants to handle the nonsense that is Medomai the Ageless in all his terrible game-ruining glory, and I think that most Commander players might agree, if they too weren't inherent contrarians.

I'm not really up on this card, if you get my drift. I actually don't totally hate it though. I think the text box is its best quality. There is some serious life to be gained here, and the idea of having an extra card feels like good value.

What I don't like is everything else. Mostly, it's the art. Time has actually run out on apathetic creatures chillin' gangsta style in makeshift thrones (Yeah, I'm looking at you Teysa). I'd honestly much prefer they just go to Sears, like the original Solemn Simulacrum, spend whatever it costs for a simple 8x10, and go from there. Oloro just looks like he's camping out on a run-down putt-putt course with no plans for the future. Get it together dude. You've got a lot of life ahead of you. Literally. I'm as disappointed in you as you are in whatever it is you have to be super-emo about. I'd love to be a Giant Soldier. Must get all the Giant Ladies.

This card will probably require a Xanax prescription. Just be prepared.

DEREVI, EMPYRIAL TACTICIAN

Last weekend, the world's coolest living badass genius street artist Banksy paid someone to sit out on a sidewalk in the streets of New York and sell his spray paint art work for $60 a pop.

Click for Video.

My point? Why then, are we stuck with Beast Wars art from 1996?

I'm very sure that this Empyrial Tactician is much cooler in person. I'd also venture to say he's full on Maximal, but looks can be deceiving.

As a card, again- I like the rules box. This is by far my favorite rules box of the ones we're reviewing today. It has some elements of great design and provides decent power for a deck that already exists- Blinky Bant.

The best part of this card is ability three. Navigating around the Flash mechanic and rewarding a player for building around this as a Commander feels like a perfect fit. A recurring four-cost chump blocker with an ETB tap ability actually stretches is value on the defense, and I like what can be done here.

I can't wait to see what people come up with for Derevi.

Please share your thoughts on these guys too in the comments below. I'm always anxious to know what the community thinks.

Until next time, remember to mind your surroundings.

Funny. You Never Learned to Mind Your Surroundings.

-UL