Now Brewing: Narset, Enlightened Master

Happy Thursday Zoners and welcome to another installment of Now Brewing. Today we will be looking at Narset, Enlightened Master in the Spirit of the Khans Spoilers that started last week. When she was spoiled she made me question whether to play Abzan or Jeskai at the pre-release event just on the fact that she enables me to build a deck I haven't tried before.

When it comes to deck building I have always found myself with at least 20 creatures in a deck but I have always wondered what piloting a deck that had more non-creatures than Creatures. I have found the inspiration in Narset and I'd like to see what we can get brewing here so let's get started!

Right off the bat she reminds me of Jeleva, Being able to play in Instants and Sorcery spells in response to attacking. Unfortunately we don't have the advantage of pulling from your opponents as well as your own library because we don't have Black. Instead we get both First Strike and Hexproof which is nice due to her hefty mana cost which means she'll stick around a little longer.

Her ability draws from your library in flavor of one's Inner-strength that the Jeskai are all about but there is one part that the Daxos players like myself ran into. "Until end of turn, your may cast Noncreature cards..." This means no lands my friends. But don't fret my dear Zoners, I've got a plan...

Getting into what we can do with her is build more into Artifact based mana ramp. Original Ravnica Signets, Basic colorless ramp like Sol Ring and Thran dynamo, New Ravnica Cluestones or Key stones and Chromatic lantern. These help insure you get your general out a turn or two early and
make your land base a little smaller.

Narset also wants to be attacking, and to make sure she doesn't fall victim to strong ground creatures she's going to need a boost. partial Voltron or Enchantress can really push her through to the red zone and keep her alive to the next phase: If you like Artifact based Voltron you can't go wrong with a Swords Package (Feast and Famine, Fire and Ice, War and Peace, Body and Mind), If you like the Enchantment based, Spirit mantle, Pemmin's Aura, and Eldrazi Conscription can be powerful if used correctly. Either way I still recommend Sunforger in the deck. Being able to pull an Instant out of your library in a time of need could sway the battle in your favor

When It comes to building the spells for Narset, Ideally you would want versatility above all else but playing some Control will help keep the aggro at bay. One of the best ways is utter land destruction. Since Narset is our let's play it for free, then lets make sure our opponents cant make up the tempo. It's funny that FTV: Annihilation was just before this set because most of those cards are perfect for this, Armageddon, Cataclysm, and Decree of Annihilation are a strong albeit rough way to put the game into your favor. Combining her abilities with effects that trigger off Instants and Sorceries like Quiet Contemplation are the second half of what can make this deck strong. Cards like; Guttersnipe, Talrand Sky summoner, Cast through Time, Gelectrode, Sphinx-Bone Wand can give us a win condition, token creatures and reuse our already free spells.

Narset is a fresh new legend that i can't wait to see what becomes of it, will she live up to becoming a combo general? Could Blue/Red/White be new Control colors? or will she just be a casual yet fun general to play like her "sister" Jeleva? Only time will tell, For now though these are the building Blocks for Narset. It's a little slimmer than my previous ones but since the set is still getting spoiled there could be so much more in store for us, and Narset.

[Building Blocks]

Creature

Talrand, Sky Summoner
Guttersnipe
Gelectrode

Enchantment

- Enchantress
~Spirit Mantle
~Pemmin's Aura
~Endrazi Conscription

Quiet Contemplation
Cast through time

Artifact

- Voltron
~ Swords

(Boros, Izzet, Azorius) Ravnica Signets
(Boros, Izzet, Azorius) RtR Cluestones/Keyrunes
Sol Ring
Thran Dynamo
Chromatic Lantern
Sunforger
Sphinx-Bone Wand

Sorcery
Armageddon/Cataclysm/Decree of Annihilation

Now Brewing: Kaalia of the Vast

Welcome back Zoners! Today i've got a treat for you. It's an old spin on a popular Commander that is notorious for her tribes. Tribes you say? why yes, Kaalia of the Vast loves her Angels, Demons and Dragons. Now Primarily Kaalia has been a strong 1v1 general.

Having only one target to focus her wrath on makes for quick games and smashed faces. This unfortunately doesn't transfer well into Multiplayer, Usually the Kaalia player is focused out quickly and their tempo is lost.

So the question is, How can we make Kaalia multiplayer "friendly" and have the endurance to power through 3+ players? The answer is Reanimation, Kaalia Style. Some of you Zoners know I have a Karador deck that focus' on "hyper-Reanimation" meaning cards that keep a chain of effects bringing other creatures out, But for Kaalia she asked for something different.

Kaalia tends to lend herself to a heavy mana curve just by playing into her effect. So looking for reanimation effects that require little to no mana to provide the service. Looking at the permanent based reanimation i've chosen Phyrexian Reclamation as the headliner. It Brings the big creature back into your hand, can be played even when you dont have or are not allowed to have a hand, and can be activated on the stack of Kaalia attacking for added suspense.

Moving through the Reanimation mana curve we've got; Animate Dead - a well known spell that is very Sun Titan Friendly, Gift of Immortality - Very useful both on your general and any ETB creature, Karmic Guide - An awesome angel to drop and recycle, Sun Titan, and topping our curve is Sheoldred, Whispering one. It's always nice to get Sheoldred out early, not just for the sacrifice and reanimating but because it can draw more hate than your general forcing your opponents to make the difficult choice of who to blow up.

The second half of the Reanimation package is the Non-permanent based side. This was the harder choice to make due to so many of the effect exists. So lets look at the Cream of the crop for Kaalia. First up we've got Reanimate, Its straightforward and while it may take out a heafty chunk of life out it's always worth it. With so many beefy Creatures you've always got something worth the life.

Continuing with our mana curve progression; Exhume - Now this can be heavily situational, if you have the advantage go for it, nothing beats hitting your good stuff while your opponents gain mana fetchers and utility creatures, Victimize - Sac one to bring back two, nuff said, and Unburial Rites - Itself is a 2 for one and the flashback being cheaper is always a plus.

Combining all of this not only gives her the stamina needed for longer games in multiplayer but it also transfers well into 1v1. How did we do that? weren't we trying to build multiplayer? Truth is Kaalia really shines in 1v1 no matter how you build her. What this build does do is gives her some staying power, keeps the threats coming and can become utterly Relentless.

But I'm interested in where you, Our Community of Zoners would take this from here. Leave comments below and in a Future article I will revisit and talk about some of your ideas.

And with that, May your vengeance come swiftly and on the wings of Demons. JC

Kaalia's Reanimation Building Blocks

Creature

Karmic Guide
Sun Titan
Sheoldred, Whispering one

Enchantment

Phyrexian Reclamation
Animate Dead
Gift of Immortality,

Sorcery

Reanimate
Exhume
Victimize
Unburial Rites

Now Brewing: Iroas, God of Victory

Today Zoners I bring you a new article series that focuses just on the building blocks of deckbuilding.  Starting from either a Legendary or a card combination I have been thinking about and looking to you, our loyal readers for input and further development. my hopes for this article is to join material from both our staff and our readers.

So what's in store for us this week? it's Iroas, God of Victory. Iroas caught my attention as being a "better" Boros aggressive general than Tajic due to the evasion and protection that he grants your attackers. Getting in the Red Zone has never felt so good, let's begin.

Beating face with Iroas is a game of the quick and the furious and the first mechanic I chose to run with is Battle Cry. Hero Of Bladehold and Hero of Oxid Ridge are the two I think of when I want to get my swings in. Bladehold brings 2 1/1 friends and Oxid ridge prevents creatures with power 1 or less from blocking and with out first ace in the hole, Mirror Entity, can bring the game to a swift end. Mirror Entity is perfect for a deck that runs so low on CMC and gives you an outlet for all that excess mana that you'll have around.

An aggressive general like Iroas can get around many decks except for token production decks. If the token player can get rolling by the time you start pumping out Iroas you can lose ground and lose the aggressive advantage.

 Let's not let token decks have all the fun though, Strong low CMC creatures like Brimaz, Goblin Rabblemaster, Precinct Captain, Rakka Mar, and the previously mentioned Hero of Bladehold all give us a consistant Tactical advantage. But if you can't Get around them, Our second Ace would have to be Legion Loyalist. He seems a bit off but for 1 mana battalion trigger and devotion he provides a solid answer to a common problem in EDH.

Our second main Mechanic is Level up. A low CMC deck tends to run out of gas and top deck after turn 5, so having something to spend mana on to make better is well within this decks theme. The best four i can think of is Kargan Dragonlord, Lord of Shatterskull Pass, Student of Warfare, and Transcendent Master. Most if not all of these guys can speak for themselves in the end game result of Devotion, and red zone.

While not technically a "Level up" creature, Figure of Destiny is a Beast for this deck, Starting out he's already adding 2 to Devotion. At the end of his transformations hes a 8/8 flying first striker that adds to and upcoming card in this article, Concerted Effort.

Next step, Global Enchantment bonuses to make our weenies more meaty. Ferver, Glory of warfare, Concerted Effort, Luminarch Ascension, and Mobilization makes for a strong set of power boosting and sharing.  If you make soldiers with mobilization, they have vigilance, Concerted effort will grant vigilance to all your creatures. The same can be said with Sierra Ascendant, now they all fly. Fabled Hero or Silverblade Paladin for doublestrike,and Bloodyfray Giant for trample. Best part of these are that not only do they add to devotion to make our general a Creature, but they all want to attack anyway.

So far we have Small creatures that provide big effects when together, token production and evasion, Small creatures to spend mana on to level them up and global enchantment buffing that helps bring the victory for our God here, But what would you guys do with these building blocks? Let me know your Ideas and in a future Article i will Review some of your suggestions,

May the Top decks be ever in your Favor, JC

Iroas Building Blocks
Creatures

1. Hero of Bladehold
2. Hero of Oxid Ridge
3. Mirror Entity
4. Brimaz, King of Oreskos
5. Goblin Rabblemaster
6. Precinct Captain
7. Rakka Mar
8. Legion Loyalist
9. Kargan Dragonlord
10. Lord of Shatterskull Pass
11. Student of Warfare
12. Transcendent Master 
13. Figure of Destiny
14. Sierra Ascendant
15. Fabled Hero 
16. Silverblade Paladin
17. Bloodfray Giant

Enchantments

1. Fervor
2. Glory of Warfare
3. Concerted Effort
4. Luminarch Ascension
5. Mobilization

Johnny Confidants' Casual Kiki-Jiki

Hey Zoners, It's your old friend Johnny C here with a new article and a new deck!

For the past few month's I've been piloting twin Mono-red Generals to enrich my deck building skills. On a challenge I was asked to build a mono color deck without any Infinite combo's, So I built two. One was a Chaotic Multiplayer Norin the wary deck and the other is my Kiki-jiki deck.

If no Infinite's, Why Kiki?

I wanted to take a general that had as much stigmata with infinite combination tricks and change that expectation. When i come to the table with a general like Kiki the usual response was to target me first. Needless to say I lost many games during its introduction.

While I did omit those combo's I did not stray away from strong synergistic plays. Through play-testing I found that I don't have to interact with the table, and my general really only needs to show up when I'm going for the end game. This was something that I haven't had an experience with. There are a small set of commanders that you don't necessarily need to call upon until you are going for gold, Commanders like Oloro, Oona, and Sharuum come to mind and i'd like to add Kiki-Jiki to that list.

What came out of all of this is a Mono-red deck that people actually like to play against. They now know there are no win-outs that ruin the the experience of the table and the environment is very casual. This creates great moments that allow people to keep their fields, make strong moves and create moderate length games that leave players in good spirits.

Kiki's Agenda, Or lack thereof 

The main agenda is to get ramped up to about 4 or 5 mana. The spells that i play, Including Kiki dont get interesting until 4 and above. For that we look at red's love/hate relationship with Artifacts. Once we get there we have laid the ground for the second and more interesting phase, ETB Shenanigans!

Kiki Jiki has a well known relationship with creatures that provide value entering or leaving the battlefield. This deck is no different, but with a twist. Most of the creatures in this deck effect the board indirectly by making tokens or tutoring artifacts.  Laying low to assemble the bombs that lay in wait. The few creatures that effect directly are a mix of classic red creatures with some variety of niche abilities.

Kiki's Kit and Krew

Kiki has 3 big engine cards in this deck. Clone Shell, Hoarding Dragon, and Thornbite Staff. They respectively Find creatures, Artifacts, and untap Kiki enabling more of the previous two. Once I get the original out I'll have to make a choice, do i go for the best thing in case it gets destroyed by next turn? or find something moderate and go for what I know i'll get once the copy is sacrificed.

The Token package I mentioned are primarily Goblin producing. Why? Because with a beast like Krenko in this deck who wouldn't want more goblins? Krenko along with mono-reds new favorite enchantment Purphoros, God of the Forge makes for an excellent win condition. Along with them are; Siege-Gang Commander to fling those tokens around, Stingscourger being the goblin version AEther Adept, Goblin Welder to play switcheroo with artifacts, and Goblin Assassin to make everything a game of chance.

What is Mono red without a little bit of chaos? Effects that do things randomly or have a 50% chance of backfiring are right up the sub-theme of this deck. The previously mentioned Goblin Assassin is one of them but he is not alone. Teferi's Puzzle Box finds itself a strong presence in this deck. Card draw works differently in mono red ever sense Innistrad gave us the "Looting" effect and T. Box is both disruptive and advantageous. A personal favorite is the Tyrant of discord interaction with Kiki and Thornbite Staff. I've have 6 stacks of Tyrants continuously and spread out the love causing mass destruction. I call him my WMD.

The under the radar win condition award for this deck has to go to Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle. i had a crazy opening hand of 3 Mountains, Sol Ring, Expedition Map, Burnished Hart and Ancient Tomb. it turned into a 6-you each end phase with just Kiki, Burnished Hart, and Valakut doing the work. The effect can be done with Solemn Simulacrum but its generally slower but better card advantage. This is the direct damage approach, creatures like Bogardan Hellkite, Fanatic of Mogis, Myr Battlesphere, and Comet Storm are the big burn package. They add pressure when life totals drop to about 20. I have been known to do 19 or more damage in a turn.

With all of this aggression where's the defense? The main defense in this deck is it's offense, creatures in the burn, token and chaos package enable blockers and removal for what's in play but unable to stop spells and  enchantments. Those two needed some kind of remedy and our answers are Price of glory, Chaos warp, and All is dust. Price of Glory keeps the table safe from counters, battle tricks, and EoT advantage plays like Top. Chaos warp is the Bail-out card Red has wanted forever even though it's a color pie flavor foul. Lastly All is dust is a kind of reset button that you see across many non white, non black mono color decks where wraths are rare, so its not real surprise its here.

The last topic in our kit is the Planeswalkers of the deck, Who is right for the deck and why? The answer I came up with was Koth and Chandra Ablaze. Koth has done well giving both mana and providing a 4/4 mountain in times of need. While I have yet to ultimate Koth the ability seems lacking in contrast to mana production and mana untapping. Chandra on the other hand is great, Dumping artifacts into the graveyard to be swapped out for with the Welder, tossing red spells I dont need for 4 damage, or simply drawing 3 cards at the cost of my usually empty hand. She is a strong Planeswalker for most mono-red decks. Combining damage, Wheel, and the Ultimate Flashback spell. For a time I did consider her Most recent incarnation for the card "advantage" but since we just go Act on Impulse in M15 i think Ablaze shall stay for the long run

Looking Forward, and Card considerations

Since I've had the deck up on Tapped out (link will be at the end) I've had a few suggestions that i have strong consideration for.

For artifacts I'm thinking about Mangara's Tome, and Sands of Time. The Tome gives me some form of tutor and optional draw condition that can turn the tide and guarantee the card unlike Gamble. the big risk is if the tome is destroyed the cards are exiled but that's an acceptable risk. Sand of Time is a goofy card that switched the tapped cards with the untapped card's each turn. This has great synergy with Price of Glory and Kiki-Jiki. Preventing people from setting up all of their lands and giving kiki targets each turn.

For Enchantments I have considered Shivan Harvest. I produce many tokens especially ones that are going to die anyway so why not reap some destruction with them. While this card wouldn't see play with my main group, I do have a side group of players who are more competitive and this card is right up their ally. another LD card i could use would be Wake of Destruction for a all around land sweep.

In Closing, And what I've Learned

I absolutely love this deck. Mono-Red has been a blast to pilot as Kiki and even more crazy with Norin. I'm not saying it's for everyone but I highly recommend trying out a mono red commander. Red is constantly Misunderstood as the weakest color by EDH standards. When you compare it to the other colors and what they provide it's easy to rate red as the lowest, but Red's strength cannot be compared to any other color. It's entire line of thought is different and its own. Cards like Gamble and Act on Impulse represent the power of red. Its home to the most bizarre and silly creatures to exist in magic along with the only cards that gives loose change a place in your dice bag.

So take a walk on the wild side, For the Deck List, Click Here

 <3 J. C.

Johnny C's Command Zone OG's #1: Daxos, Darien, Sapling of Colfenor

Happy Thursday Zoners!

It's your favorite undercity connection, Johnny Confidant. Today marks the first episode of Command Zone OG's, a series featuring quick hits on Legendary Creatures
On the Rise, Under the Radar, or potentially Always Around a local playgroup.

No matter where you play, or who you play with, there's always going to be new Legends trending and old Legends re-surfacing to lead new designs into battle once more. And whichever it may be, we're going to keep you in the know.


ON THE RISE

Azorius Newcomer - Daxos of Meletis

Before Theros was even out, Daxos had a serious buzz on TappedOut and in the MTG Salvation forums for good reason. Like Thada Adel, he's cheap to cast, slips past big blockers in his mission to bring value.

Though he does come with a few obstacles to overcome, most of his problem is solved by handing him one pertinent static ability: Double Strike.

Because lands and library manipulation like Crystal Ball can really ruin your plan, Double Strike enablers like Fireshrieker, Steelblade Paladin, and True Conviction not only help net you stuff to play, but also help make this 2/2 shirtless Soldier a little more beefy and frightening. 

Speaking from experience, the Voltron-ing helps. So far, the best card I've exiled is Sanguine Bond. With life gain from Daxos and Drogskol Reaver, the combo-ing was incredible. Medomai the Ageless can also help support and finish off an opponent if you need a couple extra turns to get to 21.

Here's my list if you want to check it out:
Daxos of Mediocrity

ALWAYS AROUND

Mono White - Darien, King of Kjeldor

Darien here is a Human Lord (Errata Human Soldier) from way back in Coldsnap. He makes tokens, is semi-tribal and while not very fast at 6 mana, he makes up for it with lots of White utility.

Most Darien decks run heavy sorcery-speed board sweeps, especially if they don't destroy tokens. Austure Command, Martial Coup, and Hour of Reckoning with Global sweep all-stars like Wrath of God, Day of Judgment and Phyrexian Rebirth are all reasonable expectations in a Darien.

A piece of interesting tech about Darien is putting in Pain lands that help Darien pop out his soldier babies when your opponents won't. Tarnished Citadel, Grand Coliseum, and City of Brass to essentially read {t}: add any color mana to your mana pool, X deals 1 Damage to you then put a 1/1 Soldier into play. It's an odd way to get tokens out but it works well with Skullclamp, which creates a great draw engine.

This deck wins with assistance from some Elspeth love, and stuff like Cathar's Crusade, True Conviction, White Creature Buffs, Avacyn and Mirror Entity to push through with swarms of lethally strong soldier babies. 

UNDER THE RADAR

Golgari Goodies - Sapling of Colfenor

Sapling is a deck I have only seen once. Honestly I'd like to see more. An Indestructible creature with a reward for attacking is pretty nice.

What I like about her is that despite dodging the most common removal, 2 power is still not very threatening. Underestimating her is a real possibility if you're not careful.

Colfenor usually contains Pariah's Shield to buy time and take advantage of her abilities. Other strong includes are Lurking Predators and Shaman Tribal which has a strong and underrepresented presence at the kitchen table. Eternal Witness, Drana, Deathrite Shaman. They all sound good to me.

That's it for this week Zoners. Be sure to check back for the Stack on Saturday and GG on Sunday.

Have a good one.
-JC

Sydri, Galvanic Genius, The New Queen of Combo?

Hello Zoners! Long time no see. It's your ol' pal Johnny C.

Now that the Commander decks are all 100% spoiled, we will be seeing fresh new deck-lists with these new commanders all over the internet exploring all the potential these legends bring to the table.

I'm sure you all have one you're digging. For me, it's Sydri.

Not your average hobbyist

This so-called Genius feels like a combo machine. I had a massive inspiration of card interactions soon after she was spoiled, and I want to share a few of those here today. With access to tutoring and control, this deck can be more than just a way to March your Machines to life and into battle.

For this build, I'm going to run a deck filled with win-cons that utilize Infinite mana combinations and other common combo shenanigans that I have previously fought against using. Why? In a format that allows near-limitless freedom of card choice there are those who enjoy "Going-Infinite" and combing out with sure wins to secure the game. The goal with Sydri is to break into the combo game and to take out the combo players like a charming assassin by being faster, and stronger than the rest. Some of these combos are well known grief-machines while some are possible only in rare and "dream-like" game states. Lets begin shall we?

Why Sydri, Galvanic Genius?

First because of her colors. The Esper Shard has a wide variety of artifact, tutor and draw cards to choose from as well as combo and control themes that already exist. 

The second reason is for her abilities. For U: making an artifact a creature then combining them with effects that apply to creatures that discount of boost abilities. While the second ability will be for more defensive measure, the combination of deathtouch and lifelink is a nice way to create value with our resources.

Compared to other Esper generals, she's probably not the clearest choice. Sharuum is a pretty competitive combo deck, and Sen Triplets is a very solid control strategy also. Still, what we're going to be doing mainly requires Sydri's skillset, not Sharuum's.

"Infinite" Possibilities.

The main way this deck will close the game is creating Infinite mana. 

Let's start with Basalt Monolith. Basalt Monolith is a well known generator of infinite mana when paired with Rings of Brighthearth by copying its "(3): Untap Basalt Monolith" ability. The combo works by having both on the field, tapping the Monolith for 3, using that three mana to untap itself and then stack its untap ability by paying 2 mana copying the untap effect. At this point you have 2 "Untap Basalt Monolith" effects on the stack and the infinite mana is generated by playing off the stack netting you 1 colorless each time you build the stack.

While that's one way to do it, Sydri can do better. Together with Sydri, T-Grounds and making Basalt Monolith a creature reduces it's untap ability to 1 and therefore allowing 2 mana to be produced without playing off the stack and less clunky to play with. A few other combinations that can be used when Sydri makes them a creature are:

-Grim Monolith(Creature) + Training Grounds = 1 mana each time (Infinite)

-Basalt Monolith(Creature) + Heartstone = 1 Mana each time (Infinite)

-Power Artifact (In place of Sydri) and above combos

-Gilded Lotus(Creature) + Voltaic Construct = 1 Colored mana each time (Infinite)

Phase 3 - Win Conditions

With infinite mana established common go to's for using it are;
 -Exsanguinate
-Debt to the Deathless
-Blue Sun's Zenith (1v1 without Laboratory Manic) 

Others may include:
-Mind Grind
-Psychic Drain
-Sands of Delirium 
-Whetwheel.

Sands of Delirium/Whetwheel are good ways to mill your opponent to death but won't end the game if you're playing Multiplayer. This is where Voltaic Construct can assist when Sydri or Power Artifact make these Creatures you can mill the table out.


Another combination that may seem risky and is possible turn 3 is Consume Spirit with Bond of Agony. With the right Swamp allocation or Dark Ritual casting Consume Spirit for 1 then following that up with Bond of agony for 40 ends the game pretty fast. Chances of this going off this early are fairly low but since it is so cheap cost wise to produce it's worth a shot.

The point of beating other Combo players is having what you need when you need it, Thankfully Black/Blue/White have everything we need.

The Final addition to the Win conditions is probably the most upsetting- Land Destruction.

Land Destruction with Sydri is ridiculous. Even without access to Armageddon, a well-timed Sydri teamed up with Mycosynth Lattice can destroy lands with only one blue mana activation! Obviously people are going to be searching up lattice as fast as possible because the fastest way to win is make people scoop or grind out a painful game of Landloss. For that reason alone, I will not be running Lattice in my build of her.

This is my ideal list right now. Be sure to check it out, and feel free to comment either below or on the list if you've got 'em.

JC's Sydri Combo Deck 

Until next time Zoners, Play nice and watch out for your Neighbor! 

-JC

Commander 2013 Review: Threats

Hello and welcome to The General Zone's Review of Commander 2013. I am Grandpa Growth and I will be walking along with you through the new goodies in the set. First, let's discuss the ground rules:

• Were going to be breaking it down like this: the review is split into three parts: threats, answers, and utility/mana. In today's section we will be talking threats. A threat is something you use to win the game. Most of the time these are creatures, planeswalkers, flashy spells, and some engine cards, but good threats often serve multiple functions.
• We are not going to talk about any of the reprints. IF those cards are important to Commander, then we already know about them anyway. Although I may come back around in the future and do an article just about all the new art. There sure is a bunch.
• We are not going to talk about any of the new legendary creatures. That may seem like we are skipping the most important part, but you can check out Uncle Landdrops and the others for discussion of the new generals. That is all citizens. Let's jump right on in.

I like me some graveyard hate. I love it when targeted hate cards come with extra value. I really love when your extra value can attack and block. There are plenty of other good graveyard hate cards that you can choose from to be sure, but the value of colored permanents is at an all-time high right now. Devotion is so powerful and is going to have such a large impact on Commander that just having a mana symbol on your creature is going to make it worth more than Tormod's Crypt in many decks. Previously, this format was largely defined by colorless permanents (mainly Artifact mana) and Sorceries (Kodama's Reach, Bribery, etc.), but this is changing rapidly.



What in the world? Have you read Treachery? Bribery? Azami? Tamiyo? This is not what you want to be doing with your five mana in a Blue deck. Everything about this is bad...including its flavor text, but the worst part:

IT DOESN'T FLY? Are you serious? How does it get around? It isn't an ooze. It isn't a snake. You tell me guys. I literally have no idea.

FLAVOR FAIL PART II: This is called Diviner Spirit. So it should tell you something about the future right? The flavor text however, points to a completely separate interpretation of the flavor behind drawing cards, i.e. experiencing a stream of consciousness. This card repulses me. Considered in terms of flavor, mechanics, design, art, playability, and general flashyness factor, this is the worst card I have seen in the last ten years.



This ability is crazy powerful. Left unchecked you will probably win the game and the closer the board state was to parity, the more valuable this is going to be, which is a good quality for a game-winning card to have, sadly though, I don't think this is going to make it into any real decklists. Too expensive, too risky, too vulnerable, and worst of all it is a 2/7 for SIX. Where is the beef?

I dig the art and the flavor text here, but the name seems a little bit over the top. INFINITE DECEITS? Come on. Nobody likes a braggart.

Commander 2013 brings us the resolution of a super cycle that is more than a decade in the making, beginning with Verdant Force all the way back in Tempest. He was a powerhouse. One of the first true fatties. The O.G. of the overgrown. The Sultan of Saprolings. His legacy is one of glory in battle. His backwards Blue cousin seems to have his head up his keister though. Unfortunately nowadays, this effect simply isn't worth eight mana. There are much scarier things you can do. In multiplayer this does allow you the advantage of locking down several threats throughout each turn cycle, but this will work out in such a way that it isn't great for promoting attacks...except against you. Without evasion or protection from removal this cycle is bound to languish in mediocrity while the real work gets done by more impressive threats...except for maybe the Black guy. Or the Red one. That card is pretty good.

So...this is obviously the SECOND most powerful card in the set. For three you get a three power attacker that can't be blocked, can't be targeted, and can't be damaged. It basically just dances around on the board yelling "CAN'T TOUCH THIS" at your opponent. In an FFA this card really isn't all that bad either. What incentive does a third party have to waste a kill spell on a threat that can't really do anything to them? This is eventually going to force the named player to Wrath or try to race, but since this can carry a Sword (and they can't do anything about it) they are most likely going to have to pull the trigger. Overall, this is an excellent card. This has a high power level, interacts favorably in almost every board state, isn't susceptible to the common answers, and is priced aggressively.

I do have one question though...why Blue and why a Merfolk? I guess that is technically two questions, but I feel like this is a Black or Black/White card and probably a Horror or a Demon/Angel. What do you guys think?



The aforementioned Black guy. So, here is one way to think about this: You love Phyrexian Arena. This is like getting two for the price of one and you get a 7/7 for four extra mana. That sounds like a sick deal right? Now here is another way to evaluate it. It is more expensive than Consecrated Sphinx, draws less cards than Consecrated Sphinx, doesn't have a 'may' trigger, causes you to lose a bunch of life for no real benefit, and it doesn't Fly. Will it see play? Sure. Is it tier 1 Gosu tech? No.



 All things considered this isn't a half bad token generator. Every turn you get a 2/2 for a three mana down payment? I can live with that. Sure, you have to battle them and it comes into play tapped, but whats the difference if you have a bunch of zom-buds to hang out with? I can't recommend playing this card in multiplayer. Even though the cycle was specifically designed to be used for that purpose. There is no real benefit to giving your opponents free tokens. Yes it incentivizes people to attack other players, but you have a token generator! You should have more stuff than your opponents if you are playing a token deck.




So the dream is to sac all your dudes to kill all their dudes and then bash to get all your dudes back. Cool. This card can certainly provide ongoing advantage in a grindy game, but it seems like an awful lot of work. It has decent stats for a seven drop and the ability means it will likely trade favorably in every combat situation, but something about this still rubs me the wrong way. It could be the art, which looks like it was ripped straight out of a promo for Outlast, but I just don't see this happening in big boy Commander, but what do I know? It's not like I write about it for a living.



In the hood, this is how we roll. So let me get this straight: When you are behind on board, your guy becomes unblockable, so you can attack...and fall further behind in the race? But what if you have this and Empyrial Archangel...you're like...totally unstoppable...

Not much of a surprise, but I think we can do better for five mana.





Okay, compared to the Curse of Shallow Graves we get: a 2/2 body to battle or block with, the tokens are smaller and have a less relevant creature type BUT have Deathtouch, and we only ever get one if we don't have one...wait what? What is that jank all about? We don't just get a bunch of snakes like we wanted, we only get to keep one? This is b.s. Sorin would not be fascinated with this garbage. He can make a bunch of tokens and still be home in time to blow up their best threats for dinner. This is sketch tech at best.



I am tempted to play the absolute snot out of this card. You get the best threat from your bin and if they choose to get their best guy you get your second best guy too? Deal. If that game state doesn't favor you then you are playing a pretty horrible reanimator deck. Try to get your skills up and come back later.

Keep in mind that this doesn't target. You make the choice on resolution, so it can't be foiled by targeted removal like Surgical Extraction. Just like the other Tempting Offer cards, all the Creatures come into play as part of the resolution of the spell so any related effects will trigger at the same time for all creatures.

This falls way short of my expectations. You can pay a bunch of mana for a equally sized bunch of silly 1/1 tokens at Sorcery speed. Maybe you end up with a truly bananas amount of tokens if your opponents are bad and/or bad at math, but that still doesn't seem like that great of a deal for 8+ mana. Storm Herd will probably give you an equivalent number of tokens, but they will Fly and, importantly, your opponents won't get anything but a beating.

Now imagine this: This card just costs one Red mana and you got one token plus another for every person who takes one too. Then we would have a card that ACTUALLY plays well in multiplayer and scales to the amount of people in the game instead of the amount of mana we pump into it. Keep in mind that having a bunch of creatures is way cooler BEFORE your opponent(s) have mana for a Wrath of God.



I think it is funny (sad) that the design team on this product, which included several prominent Commander players by the way, managed to come up with half a dozen new cards that will NEVER get played in Commander. The experience and expertise of their dojo is in question.

It doesn't look like this card is an elemental. It looks like this is a cow that is:
1. Falling off a mountain.
2. Actually on fire and more than a little upset about it.



I don't even know what this is so I am just going to leave it here in the threat article. Technically, it can kill an opponent, it just never will. This is another plant for multiplayer and, once again, it is horrible, even in multiplayer.



Ehhh, this isn't so bad. You smashed a Grizzly Bears onto a Shatterstorm...type thing...and then you get to make it big. YAAAAAY. Don't get me wrong, this is powerful and probably undercosted, but blowing up your own things is too much of a cost. You don't want to be killing your opponents mana rocks on turn six...you want to be the guy with the mana rocks. Preferably on turn one or two.



Shout out to all my James Brown fans. This card has got soul and it is SUPER BAD.

I have a rewrite for this card. Each player reveals until they see a nonland card. All the lands go back on top of those libraries and you exile the nonland cards. This thing gets counters equal to the converted mana costs just like before, but this new card gets Trample AND the non-green pseudo-shroud. For eight mana? Come on, this thing should at least buy you dinner before it screws you.




Oh boy...what do I even say about this? After that tasteless rant I just finished about Naya Soulbeast being a horrible 8 drop I don't think I have it in me. Just do me a favor: destroy every copy of this that you see so I never have to talk about it again. My legacy will be this card reaching $100 dollars because I have burnt all but two copies.

Well there you have it folks. All the shiny new toys from Commander 2013 have arrived and are ready to get sleeved up. Grab yourself a True Name Nemesis and get the beatdowns on. In the words of Vicente Valtieri: "Spill some blood for me, brother."

-GG