Khans Part II: Red, White, and Green

Happy Thor's Day Zoners!

Today we get back on track talking about the cards I consider to be "spicy meatballs" for Commander. We talked Blue and Black last time, so let's look at the rest of the color pie today.

Red has always been appropriately colored when it comes to Commander and the order in which our society ostracizes stepchildren. Seems like every semi-powerful card has a marginally unequivocal drawback when compared to its other-colored kin.

Wild Guess was the double-red incarnation of Tormenting Voice, and I think both cards, in this case, benefit the Red deck considerably. A few weeks ago I mentioned the Squee deck as a viable engine deck, and Tormenting Voice does well to help support the strategy of incremental advantage via Squee-throwing.

Additionally, the better Red decks in the format are usually looking for redundant combo pieces anyway. By reinforcing this with redundant card draw, it makes those decks a lot better, perhaps adding incentive to playing a card like Wild Guess where you might not have played it by itself before. It's no Kodma's Reach and Cultivate, but it's a start in the right direction for the oft-shunned mages who prefer Mountains.

Enter the Dragon...speaker...conversation.

Don't get me wrong, I love this card. GG's assessment in the set review felt pretty on point- it's a card that has power, but does it simple and easier than some of the other P-Dubs out there.

Still, I'm not sure how playable it is in our format. I had the luck of opening one up in pack 3 of a draft a few weeks ago. Unfortuantely, Sarkhan didn't get to see play because I'd hard drafted into Sultai with a pack 2 Sagu Mauler.

But I've slotted him into HH, where I think he could do work similar to what my Thundermaw Hellkite does in the deck, so we'll have to see. I don't think we'll ever get an ultimate off, and I don't see any reason to minus loyalty for a midrange threat, so it's all or nothing with our Ugin-chasing buddy.

Since we talked about Sarkhan, I'll opt not to talk about the other obvious red card Ashcloud Phoenix. Instead, we'll talk about this nifty little enchantment called Goblinslide.

In my playing of Khans Limited and Sealed, I've gotta admit the mechanics and flow in design have been some of the most natural that I can remember.

Goblinslide is one of the nice little includes in set design that can illustrate what I'm talking about. It's a card that combines Mardu creature-bashing with Jeskai trickery, making it a decent pickup as the packs get passed around in draft. While Mardu is probably less likely to pick it up if there's a decent face-beater, Goblinslide helps to turn some of the mana rocks and overcosted removal into additional chumps or damage as the game goes on.

In Commander, this is going to be another solidcard for mono-Red. Squee, Purphoros, Krenko- these are all Commanders that want to turn their spells into additional value. Bear in mind there's additional tempo incentive, even if you're casting a Goblin Offensive, due to the fact that the token you get off Goblinslide does have haste.

Moving onto white, we have some great creatures in the Outlast department. Though I like them all, Abzan Falconer is by far the the superior playable option. Designing around +1/+1 counter-based decks like Ghave, Marath, or even something lowly like White Mike (Mikaeus, the Lunarch) provides some serious evasion.

While there will be a lot more removal to point at it in Commander versus a format with 60 cards or less, it's worth playing, if only to force removal so that you can cast a Sun Titan, and get right back to work.

While I love the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Artwork" going on with the Pearl Master, this is one of the few cases in the set where I felt Wizards got something wrong.

While Tormenting Voice is a great redundant addition to Wild Guess, essentially making both cards more useful, MoP fails to make anything OP.

The main reason is that he is the best morph creature in his colors, which means that immediately this card isn't playable in mono-White if you're looking to surprise someone.

The second reason this card bums me out is that he could've been made relevant, regardless of whether or not he's the best white morph creature, if his morph trigger was "When Master of Pearls is turned face up, other creatures you control get +2/+2," turning the card into a janky half Elesh Norn or Kabira Vindicator, and again, forcing your opponent(s) to come up with an answer.

I get the design choice. The EOT clause was put here to facilitate the eventuality of someone removing MoP, giving you a chance to respond, so you aren't left with nothing. Still, if R&D didn't mind a little awkwardness, they could have their cake and eat it with something like, "When Master of Pearls is turned face up, other creatures you control get +2/+2 until the end of the turn in which Master of Pearls leaves play." Flavor-wise, there might not be enough pearls to make this work, but it would surely make for a cooler card.

What's good for Standard isn't always good for us- and Wingmate Roc is surely going to be good for Standard.

I'm a big fan of this card, so I'm probably just going to force the Bird Buddies into Commander, and make it work somehow. Mine's probably going into basic Isperia deck I pull out for newer players.

This probably isn't a good idea, as this is another card GG doesn't believe you should be hanging your hat on, and he's right. The life gain and extra bird isn't even close to the value you're gonna get from the Soul Sisters if you're looking to gain life, and it's not nearly as much value as Captain of the Watch or Knight-Captain of Eos, if you're just looking for pure tokens and value.

If my opinion changes, you'll be the first to know though.

See the Unwritten was in my prize packs from Khans prerelease, and I was pretty excited about it. After the card got spoiled I figured it'd be as nuts a Garruk, Caller of Beasts in the Stompy green decks, which is where mine was going to go.

Honestly, it took me longer to decide whether to put this in Melira or Silvos than it did to realize this card is just not gonna work well for me. Although I'm a fan of the easy value granted by the mid-range fatty mechanic Ferocious, it's clear to me See the Unwritten is going to have much better returns in formats where there's access to multiple copies of creatures you want, versus spinning the wheel in a 90+ card deck and hoping you overcommitted to big creatures and have options amongst the top 8 cards of your deck.

Were I not so convinced this is just severely outclassed by Summoning Trap, I would tell you to give it a chance. That said, I don't think that, ironically, this card is the real trap.

Time to go big by GETTING BIG folks!

This is my super-sleeper Commander pick of the set, for obvious reasons, but let's run through them quickly anyway.

First, the trickiness. It's an instant that turns even your most awkwardly unplayable  Elvish Mystic into a dude that can eat a Titan. The scale finally fits our game, making it absurd for the part of the game when we need to turn dudes sideways. And in case you've never played a Forest mana on a turn in your life, this is a big part of the green player's game plan.

And the best part? It's NEVER going to cost 5G. Between cost reduction and the odds that you're probably never going to need most of the nonsense you put into your graveyard anyway, Become Immense is a Giant's Giant Growth. Any green deck dedicated to 21 points of legendary creature damage, and every green deck dedicated to making combat wide and ripe with Overrun effects wants to be getting this card into play- so essentially, it should be huge in mono-Green decks and other splash-colored Stompy variants too. This card allows you to be Beserk without spending $50 to buy your own copy of Beserk. So don't just do it big. Become Immense.

The last card we'll talk about continues with my theme of noncreature green cards, known affectionately in my local game store (and probably everyone else's too) as Bear Punch.

Even though the best part of the card is the artwork, the fact that we're continuing to get fight cards is sweet. Most of them, I'll admit I don't even play, and I'll probably be pulling this card out of Silvos before long, but I do enjoy having the option of pumps and bear-tackling to get damage through. This is a solid card, particularly when combined with the abundance of deathtouch that green has inherited over the last several blocks.

In Limited, I've been doing a lot of Bear Punching with Heir of the Wilds to great result. So if you've got some good stories about fight mechanics, or Bear Punch stories, be sure to share them in the comments below. I love a good Man vs. Wild story.

Pass.
-UL

Khans of Tarkir Set Review: Threats

Hello and welcome to The General Zone's Review of Khans of Tarkir! I am Grandpa Growth and I will be guiding you through the myriad landscapes of Magic's newest multicolor set.

First, let us establish the ground rules. Same as always:

• The set review will be broken into multiple parts, separated by the function the cards serve within the game. Threats, answers, utility cards, mana producers/fixers, and Legendary Creatures, which get their own article because of how important they are to the Commander format.
• Being that this is a blog about Commander, we will be looking at these cards through the lens of a Commander player. I will make notes about other formats, but in general my comments are meant to be taken in the context of Commander. 
• I will not be reviewing any cards that are not relevant to Commander. If you feel that we skipped a card that should have been included please make your case in the comments. Additionally, no reprints will be mentioned in any of these articles. Their place in the format is already known and doesn't need to be re-evaluated just because the card got new art. Remember also that there will be several segments of this review and just because a card doesn't appear in this segment doesn't mean that it has been ignored. It probably just got moved to another post.

Now that we have the introductions out of the way let's talk about the set. The long awaited, the much touted WEDGE SET! It is the end of an era. Wizards has made major announcements regarding the future of Magic set releases. The block structure we have been using for almost two decades is going away. Khans is the last of its kind. Is it going to be the grand send off that we all deserve? Signs point overwhelmingly to yes, but let's take a look at the cards just for good measure.

In this article we will be discussing the threat cards. A threat is something that you try to win the game with. Usually Creatures and Planeswalkers, but any card type can manifest itself as a win condition in the right deck. Since the set is so jam packed full of juice, these articles are going to get pretty lengthy. To compensate, I will endeavor to treat each comment with an application of brevity...starting now:


Here we have a mediocre token generator. This is unlikely to shine anywhere except limited because of how slow and costly it is. Ending up with a handful of tokens and a single large Creature after several turns of a heavy mana investment is not a great plan to win the game. If you are interested in effects like this, you already have a deck full of better options. Leave this at home.





Surprise kills are huge. It is simple to visualize a scenario where casually flipping this thing up can create a lethal amount of damage. It is also much more innocuous than your run-of-the-mill anthem effect. It can come down early and deal damage on its own, without alerting your opponent to the imminent threat that it poses.

I don't often play token swarm decks, mainly because I feel they are overly blunt. Adding a touch of subterfuge could go a long way towards improving the archetype as a whole. In the same way that Overrun effects steal games for Green, this can do the same for White.


This card is worse than Broodmate Dragon in a variety of ways. It is also better in some other regards. Neither is ever going to be relevant in Commander for any reason other than nostalgia. This card will tear up Standard in the coming months, but it is a few birds shy of a hen house when it comes to EDH.

Lifegain, the ability that most clearly distinguishes it from its predecessors, is nearly irrelevant in a format where you start with a huge chunk of extra health.. Play Geist-Honored Monk instead.



This will be the single most impactful card from the set. It has no peers in Khans of Tarkir. One could make the argument that widescale availability of Onslaught fetchlands to newer players will create upheaval in decklists, but I am going to lay that discussion aside for another time.

This card is the most significant update to cloning technology that we have had since the massive rules overhaul last summer. Clever Impersonator is going to be in every deck that can produce Blue mana. No exceptions. If you aren't playing it, you are intentionally lowering the quality of your decks and your play experience. Get a hold of as many copies as you can because if the prerelease is any indicator, they will be sought after for years.



For a while it seemed like every set had an obligatory giant Red monster. While that remains mostly true, obligatory Blue monsters are starting to appear equally frequently. Why? Heck if I know, loyal reader. I literally can't think of a single deck in the format that needs this card. It is most useful as a way to protect your lands from Strip mine, but land destruction is most effective when used early and often so if you made it to seven mana against a ponza deck, you probably won.

The truth is that there are just so many better finishing Creatures in Blue. You are much more likely to win the game with something else. It is so replaceable that the question begs to be answered: "Why am I still talking about it?"




We now have a rare version of Aetherize and it is attached to a big Flying body.  I prefer to think of this as the Blue Sunblast Angel, which places it in a pretty strong position.

This is going to be a standout limited bomb and is likely to see some sparse adoption at casual tables as well. It is competing for a small number of spots against some other very impressive cards, but players who are new the format or looking for a refreshing change of pace will quickly realize the power of this card. Decks can always use a good token hoser.




Good golly. I wish Wizards would stop printing Creatures that look like this. They are powerhouses in Standard aggressive decks, often make it into aggro-slanted cubes, and generally make games of EDH unfun. The flavor text might as well just read: "Combine with Skull Clamp for best results." Token sacrifice decks everywhere are salivating at the chance include even MORE redundancy into their already air-tight decklists.





So, it is basically Army of the Damned as an Instant. Bear in mind that the aforementioned zombie-bomb is real, represents an immediate clock even in the late stages of the game, and makes more chump blockers than you can shake a severed limb at. It is not unreasonable to think that this will make more, potentially many more, tokens than Army ever did. It doesn't have Flashback, which is a high price, but I consider the two relatively equal at this point in time, which means that this is an auto-include in many Swamp-based decks.



Speaking of being good with Skullclamp...

Phoenix(es?) is a sweet, flavorful Creature type that has been occasionally asserting their claim on the upper rarity of Red's set skeletons for years. This is an excellent addition to that crew. Guaranteed to come back, guaranteed to smash face. I can dig that. I have a mono Red build that I will be debuting on Ill-Gotten Games in a few weeks that could really use a card like this.

As a general rule, every Morph Creature becomes slightly more powerful with the printing of every other Morph Creature. It just becomes harder and harder to accurately predict which card you are playing against. Some Morphers demand removal before they turn up, which is a scary and skill-testing situation. Given the growing volume of Morph, you can expect your opponents to guess wrong a solid percentage of the time.


Whoa, whoa, whoa...he gets Indestructible too?! Original Gideon must feel pretty silly. This card is just awesome. The best Red planeswalker that we have seen in my opinion. Each ability is powerful. Each will get used quite a bit. It can protect itself. It can generate pressure and card advantage. It has a very reachable ultimate that, while it doesn't win the game, puts you into an advantaged position.

I rather like the idea that a planeswalker's ultimate doesn't necessarily need to do something insane and gamebreaking. Can't we just make it cheap, strong, and efficient like normal cards? OH! We can? Thanks, I'll take it.

OBLIGATORY HYDRA! This time with Morph. Wheeeeeeeeeeee! In all seriousness though, I have always seen Symbiotic Wurm as being just outside the fringe of playability in Commander. This is scalable, so it doesn't need to be so dog garn expensive. I can get behind that. I don't expect it to replace any of the standard Green beaters that we see already, but it is worth a thought if you are looking for something off the beaten path.






You know I have to say it...

Bonus points for the Dubstep Remix!


If you had told me they were going to print a Creature with Haste, First Strike, AND Deathtouch I would get nervous. This gives keywords to your whole team, which is a pretty sweet bonus. I do have some misgivings though, like what do you say to declaring no blockers? This just doesn't do enough damage to present a realistic clock. It is only good if you have a giant army that is slightly less giant than your opponent's. Frankly, I don't get into situations like that all too often because, ya know, Wrath of God.

This isn't Legendary and that feels like a missed opportunity for fans of Commander. I will always appreciate a sweet Creature when it is printed. Ditto for reanimation engines. Being three colors though, I just don't see where this is getting played outside of Commander and with that in mind, BUG isn't the deepest color combination in terms of potential Commanders. I would really have liked to be able to sleeve this guy up at the helm of a value mill deck. BUG is just so much more enticing than RBU because of that all important Green.

On a side note, I am not looking forward to people using the terminology Sultai instead of BUG. That doesn't feel like an improvement.



This has already drawn favorable comparisons to Putrid Leech, a card which dominated its Standard environment and even saw some Legacy play in its prime. Cheap, efficient Creatures are never going out of style and you can never have too many of them. Deathdealer has the added bonus of becoming a huge source of damage rather quickly, resisting removal, and being able to trade (or not) with much larger, more expensive threats.




It has a lot of abilities. Some are pretty good, I guess. It has efficient numbers, but I just don't see this being good enough for Commander. This color combination in particular has access to basically every kind of giant face-smashing monster you could ever dream of, so why settle for this one that is hard to cast, and doesn't provide any avenues for card advantage.







Our final card for today, yet another version of Sorin. Now he has the added bonus of an even sweeter, less flavor appropriate trench coat. I wonder what his sword is named? Ever since Elspeth got her own Legendary weapon I am (blood)thirsty for more. BUT I DIGRESS.

Solemn Visitor has some generic color appropriate abilities that are neither exciting nor groundbreaking. As far as planeswalkers go, this is an exceedingly mediocre one. Also, because of the relative dearth of strictly B/W commanders, this is a card that isn't likely to see much play in Commander.

I am happy to see Sarkhan and Sorin reunited in the same block because it marks a return to the storyline that brought us such historical high notes as Jace TMS and the Eldrazi. I don't think that it is a coincidence that this set also features fetchlands, just like the last time we saw these two pdubs together. I am very interested to see how this story unfolds and I look forward to the inevitable return to Zendikar for the dramatic final showdown with the uncolored alien overlords.

What do you think of the set so far? Do you agree with my evaluations? Did you have a blast battling it out with the new cards this weekend at your local prerelease events? Get at us in the comments!

We will be back Tuesday, Thursday, and again next Sunday with ongoing coverage of the set, so look for new segments of the set review as they go live!

-GG