A Good Year for Commander Players
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Dec. 31, 2019, 11:16 p.m. by ZendikariWol
LET'S TALK ABOUT THEROS.
What a set, folks. Two days and change into spoiler season and I'm already crazy excited. The commander potential for this set is Beyond insane. Let's dig into why.
Escape is amazing- eapecially in commander. With all the board wipes getting tossed around, there are always going to be a million gravebound creatures, and being able to use them for consistent value is marvelous.
Also, Banishing Light and Idyllic Tutor ? A Satyr tribal commander? Allure of the Unknown and its bonkers political potential? Spicy new basics and playable duals?! I am very excited. How bout you guys?
I think that aside from the monocolor gods (athreos and klothys are overcosted and underpowered, respectively), almost no other single card has any potential in Commander. The satyr tribal card is bad and there are no playable satyrs. The escape cards are mostly grosly over costed, either in their exile other cards cost or their alternative mana cost. Idyllic tutor and banishing light are reprints, so they do not count.
The only cards with any potential in Commander so far are Storm Herald for a Voltron deck and nyx lotus as a second copy of that devotion land.
dalakos, crafter of wonders is the most egregious Commander plant in the set - because equipment commanders are perfectly fit for the enchantment set.
January 2, 2020 3:57 a.m. Edited.
ZendikariWol says... #4
I think you may be looking at this from a cEDH perspective. We kitchen table players are happy to build around a jank tribe any day.
That said, yes, most of the Escape cards spoiled thus far are a bit silly in terms of viability.
January 2, 2020 4:52 a.m.
I am most definitely not a CEDH player, but still there is my bar for viability is a bit higher, I guess. Still, some reasoning:
5 mana draw 5 and the opponent casts your best card is a decent political commander card, but there are a couple of decks at best who can really use this. Very rarely will this actually be good to cast.
There are currently 17 GR satyrs in the game and Gallia is not a very good satyr commander as 17 of those satyrs have 1 toughness. The tribe needs a few more lords or something else that cares about them being satyrs. The best satyr in the game is Willow Satyr , which is a slow Control Magic .
Dalakos is really something that was left on design floor of Kaladesh and suddenly pops up in Theros for no reason.
So far, there are barely any good Commander cards in Theros, but the year will probably be good for Commander, given the "flex slot" set of the year is commander focused.
January 2, 2020 5:14 a.m.
King_Ramses says... #6
Nylea's intervention, tectonic giant, woe strider, Setessan Champion , underworld breach, Allure of the Unknown , arasta of endless webs & nyx lotus are all very playable. The ox of agonas can be great in the right build as well. I agree with the OP that this set is very exciting.
January 2, 2020 2:06 p.m.
ZendikariWol says... #7
Wavebreak Hippocamp is also a pretty awesome card.
January 2, 2020 2:43 p.m.
Doesn't feel overly EDH-tastic to me. The gods are decent (Probably will be over $$ though). Having played in some truly grindy metas... I do see some possibility with Escape. Dreamshaper shaman is good, furious rise keeps giving more non-draw choices. I love that Rakdos continues to be the color for rumbling, showy fun. Big fan of Allure, as I play a lot of kooky politics & use bombs to dethrone any player making things too stale.
January 2, 2020 9:34 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #9
ZendikariWol, it would have been so much better if it, itself, had flash.
January 4, 2020 1:01 a.m.
ZendikariWol says... #10
I mean, everything would be better with flash, DemonDragonJ.
January 4, 2020 2:52 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #11
ZendikariWol, in this particular case, a player will need to wait until their turn to summon that creature, which shall then give their opponent plenty of warning about their strategy; if the creature itself had flash, the player could summon it during an opponent's turn and then immediately cast another instant, thereby gaining value from it immediately.
Cards such as Archangel of Thune and Rhox Faithmender synergize with themselves, so it is very unfortunate that this creature does not, as well.
seshiro_of_the_orochi says... #2
Not to forget the new legendary harpy.
I'm most excited for Gallia of the Endless Dance for now, and I really want to build a 60-card satyr tribal with her. Kunoros, Hound of Athreos is another very interesting card and might be a decent WB Hatebears-Commander.
What else does the set offer? A one-drop spider, some new snakes, a Gary-reprint. And ox of agonas will be a blast for my Chainer deck.
Oh, and have I mentioned the legendary harpy?
January 1, 2020 3:42 a.m.