Comparing the Anthologies
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on May 31, 2018, 7:49 p.m. by Phaetion
Does anyone else feel that the second Commander Anthology is better than the first? Expensive, but comparing the two, this is the better anthology to choose to play out of the box.
The first deck had the Kaalia deck, and while Kaalia of the Vast being reprinted was great, the decklist just wasn't good. It's a precon that didn't age well. Especially when compared to Devour for Power, which has got a lot of staples in it. Some of the card choices are weak now, but there's no denying that it's the better stock list.
The first anthology had Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury, which is a good card. I think it's more personal preference when I say Built from Scratch is better. That said, Guided by Nature gave a good starting point for Elf tribal decks. However, Daretti's deck was better out of the box because it didn't have an identity crisis like Freyalise's deck did.
The one time the first anthology is better than the second is Meren and Kalemne. Meren was the better deck (and the better legendary creature). Having said that, Kalemne did have the spicier cards like Blade of Selves and Fiery Confluence (and Urza's Incubator).
Then there's Derevi, Empyrial Tactician and Atraxa, Praetors' Voice. I'm biased here, because I really am not a fan of C13. Derevi's deck represents this in a way because the list is torn between flicker and untap shenanigans. Breed Lethality, though, is more in demand, has a much better list, and has one, overarching theme (even though everyone and their mother has an Atraxa deck).
Let's also not forget the legendary frame from Dominaria, which is just the icing on the cake (The Partners look amazing with it). I had all the decks at one point myself, but I just fell in love with this Anthology and swiped it.
What do you guys think? Was I spot on? Anything I missed? And if you disagree that Vol. II is better than Vol. I, do explain why. Discuss away.
maxon: True, and my ramblings were more opinion-based. Speaking of varied colors, I'd actually argue that was perfect in the new anthology.
Vol. I
: 2 (Kaalia and Derevi)
: 1 (Derevi)
: 2 (Kaalia and Meren)
: 1 (Kaalia)
: 3 (Freyalise, Derevi, and Meren)
Then, here's Vol. II:
: 2 (Atraxa and Kalemne)
: 2 (Atraxa and Mimeoplasm)
: 2 (Atraxa and Mimeoplasm)
: 2 (Daretti and Kalemne)
: 2 (Atraxa and Mimeoplasm)
Admittedly, Atraxa is featured in most of the color combinations, but that's 4-color for you. Also, the newer anthology has one each of a mono-color deck, a bi-color deck, a tri-color deck, and a quad-color deck whereas the old anthology had 2 tri-color decks, a mono-color deck, and a bi-colored deck. It's worth noting, considering that there's all kind of combination categories in Vol. II (barring and )
May 31, 2018 9:51 p.m.
jordybear2002 says... #5
I'm kinda torn honestly. The commander anthology decks are kinda ment for beginners to commander. So I for my I have the mindset of "How can I improve this deck?" and so that is why I think that Vol2 wins for the over all deck improvement/better commanders. Atraxa can be used in SO many ways! You can do infect,+1/+1 counter, or -1/-1 counters! So I think I will get the second anthology first and fiddle around with the deck a little bit. COUGH COUGH add infect COUGH COUGH!!!
maxon says... #2
I'm not qualified to make any major judgements, but my first thought when I looked at the new anthology was that they could have done a better job of having more varied colors. I really don't know every deck they had to choose from though or why they chose what they did.
I guess if Atraxa is really that popular this is just an Atraxa reprint with the mimeoplasm deck as a supplement for customization. Not a bad bargain I'd say considering the current cost of the Atraxa deck alone.
May 31, 2018 8:40 p.m. Edited.