Lets speculate on the confirmed Commander 18 themes
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on July 13, 2018, 4:07 p.m. by RedUndead40
In case you missed it the decks are
-Izzet artificer
-Bant Enchanter
-Jund Lands Matter
-Esper "Top Deck Matters"
What could each of these decks bring to the table? What are some Izzet themes that can translate to this deck? How could it work? Who would the reprint commander be since this color isn't properly represented in artifact legends? Seems too early to reprint the only option I could think of, Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain.
Bant enchantress could be a pillow fort-y deck. Lot of directions they could go with this one.
Jund Lands Matter could obviously just be a landfall-y deck but I hope they make lands matter in a different way here. Perhaps some variation of The Gitrog Monster type effects since Jund is fond of sacrificing?
Esper top deck... this is the one I am most curious to see how it could work. Your top deck matters? Opponents top deck? Casting spells from top deck? Lantern control type shenanigans?
Let me know what you think!
They also released some of the artwork. Execept for the gal with the Nyx and the jug though (who seems very Bant), it's not obvious to me at all what art goes with what deck. Any ideas?
Esper, maybe, for the gal with the masks?
July 13, 2018 5:55 p.m. Edited.
So exited for Bant Enchantress. I've been looking at Karametra for awhile, it'll be nice to add a color to an already strong deck.
July 13, 2018 7:17 p.m.
RedUndead40 says... #5
I wouldn't read too much into that text stating "call on powerful planeswalkers".
For one thing planeswalker commanders were somewhat divisive and not super confirmed to be returning.
Secondly planeswalker is basically mtg's buzzword. Just makes things sound fancy.
Thirdly that text has been out forever and considering how long it took just to announce the colors / themes I doubt they secretly announced walker commanders months ago
July 13, 2018 7:23 p.m.
Yeah I was also really bummed out with how fast Jhoira became mox tribal, and am consequently excited for another run at Izzet Artifacts.
Personally, I'm most intrigued by the Jund Lands for a new deck and would like to see how that develops.
Definitely picking up bant enchantments first thing though, as I already have an Enchantress deck laying around and am very excited to see the archetype being supported this year.
July 13, 2018 7:58 p.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #7
Phaetion My thoughts exactly on Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain, so I would love to get a more interesting izzet artifact general. Love the term “mox tribal.”
I find esper to be the most exciting. Because of the colors, I think it will be powerful like Atraxa (also bant), but I would like to see a version of Sen Triplets that allows you to peek at the top of each player’s deck and cast one of those spells per turn (at sorcery speed to make it more tame).
For the artwork, I think the mask woman, the girl in the swamp, and the zombie are esper, the spider is jund, and the goddess and the knight are bant.
July 13, 2018 9:26 p.m.
seshiro_of_the_orochi says... #9
So the spider looks super badass. Great artwork. The monk lady will propably be in the enchantress deck, but doesn't look too bant. Rather seems like an enchantment itself. The woman shows similarity to Ephara, God of the Polis.
July 14, 2018 12:48 a.m.
theemptyquiver says... #10
Yeah...the artwork is very reminiscent to Ephara. The "starry" themed art is very typical to enchantments now.
As for the general Varchild. Wow. I'm....sold on that not just being coincidence. But he can't be mono-red...assuming it is a card from the Jund deck. So.....
July 14, 2018 1:23 a.m.
seshiro_of_the_orochi says... #11
Also: the swamp girl might be Will-o'-the-Wisp.
I just realzed that the varchild artwork is a female.
July 14, 2018 2:15 a.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #12
Phaetion Wow, that looks spot on!
For the goddess, I wonder if it will be some kind of Persephone model. Karametra seems to represent Demeter, and Persephone is her daughter, so that’s my ten cents.
July 14, 2018 7:25 a.m.
Flavorfully the goddess might actually be from the lands deck.
So like in Theros lore (I can't remember the original place its talked about in) there was a RG God prior to Xenagos, who kinda died. It'd be interesting to see that on a card.
Also speculative reprint but I'm betting that Borborygmos Enraged is probably in the Jund deck.
July 14, 2018 9:25 a.m.
RomanNumeroDos says... #14
I'm really intrested in Enbantress. Ive been building mine for the past couple of months and was lucky enough to get a Serra's Sanctum for cheap before the price spike. Now I can finally deck myself out with Lab maniac.
July 14, 2018 11:34 a.m.
seshiro_of_the_orochi says... #15
The jund lands will propably get a gitrog as well.
July 14, 2018 1:45 p.m.
RedUndead40 says... #16
I would put money on the Esper looking lady with the masks has some kind of ability that lets her become a copy of the top card of your library if it's a creature card. Probably plays with the top revealed.
July 14, 2018 4:09 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #17
Who are some famous characters from the story who have not yet had cards whom you would like to see in the story? I did mention them, elsewhere, but I would like to see Gix, Xantcha, Tawnos, Ashnod, and the black/white legendary angel from Innistrad.
July 15, 2018 9:09 p.m.
Like honestly I'm hyped about a potential Lord Windgrace card but I'm pretty sure that won't happen. But like I'm hoping for the Fblthp.
July 16, 2018 1 a.m.
Brottorney says... #19
Jund will likely have a Avenger of Zendikar reprint. They'll need a couple ~$10 reprints to make the deck attractive, Avenger fills that roll really well. I think it's fair to guess that Scapeshift and Crucible of Worlds will not be reprinted since they are both in Core 2019. It makes sense that there will be a few attrcative upgrade cards sitting around in the contemporaneous sets. Another example of that is Mycosynth Lattice reprint in battlebond for the UR artifacts deck. Borborygmos Enraged is a possibility, but he's less super cheap, who cares about him?
July 16, 2018 6:13 p.m.
passascats says... #20
Does anybody think we could see an Angus Mackenzie reprint in the bant deck?
July 17, 2018 10:09 a.m.
passascats,
No. He's on the Reserved list and will never be reprinted.
July 17, 2018 10:27 a.m.
RedUndead40 says... #22
Speaking of reserved list didn't realize Serra's Sanctum jumped to $120... glad I bought mine a while ago for $30!
July 17, 2018 10:30 a.m.
theemptyquiver says... #23
They could make a new version of Angus. Nothing about the reserve list prevents them from reimagining him
July 17, 2018 12:27 p.m.
passascats says... #24
A few cards I think we might see in the esper deck:
Arbiter of the Ideal, Cruel Tutor, Diabolic Vision, and maybe even Brilliant Ultimatum.
I'm not going to hold my breath, but what I really want to see is Scroll Rack.
July 17, 2018 3:15 p.m.
RedUndead40 says... #25
I really hope the Esper deck can hold up. Enchanter, Artificer, and even Land Sac are notoriously strong archetypes. Plus I already have enchanter and artificer decks built so looking forward to something different as long as it doesnt suck haha
July 17, 2018 3:21 p.m.
Honestly I think it really depends on what it does. Like if it's a lot of effects that work on the same card type with really stax style play it could be really cool and the aim being to get the card you need on top most of the time, it could produce some really good Staples. If it's like... Really random boosts and not a whole lot of ways of getting card advantage, then it could suck.
July 18, 2018 1:52 a.m.
RedUndead40 says... #27
Yeah. Purely because of the fact that a top deck theme relies on some portion of random luck makes me think it won't be as strong as these other tried and true archetypes. I hope not.
July 18, 2018 10:21 a.m.
shaharazad89 says... #28
So there was an article on DailyMTG yesterday and the opening paragraph said: "...with the upcoming Planeswalker Commanders for Commander 2018, let's take a look at every Planeswalker ever." Did anyone else see this article? They seem to have taken it down now. But yeah...Planeswalker Commanders...
July 19, 2018 1:44 p.m.
That was a foregone conclusion. This was something we knew from the very beginning.
July 19, 2018 2:14 p.m.
theemptyquiver says... #30
Hmm no I didn't. It's too bad you didn't snag a screenshot as of it was an accidental early release of an article that could have opened the flood gates of spoilers for c18.
I'll believe it when i see it.
July 19, 2018 2:15 p.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #31
shaharazad89 and theemptyquiver
https://mtglore.com/checking-in-on-the-planeswalkers-2018/
July 19, 2018 2:37 p.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #32
It has no new information, just another in Wizard’s (almost) annual “Checking in on the Planeswalkers”.
July 19, 2018 2:41 p.m.
RedUndead40 says... #33
That's not an officially sanctioned website though... but the presence of vertical art makes me lean towards believing planeswalkers will be the commanders. Can anyone else give any more support to this rumor?
July 19, 2018 5:18 p.m.
theemptyquiver says... #34
Aren't spoilers next week? That's not too far off
July 19, 2018 5:55 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #35
As usual, I shall hope for reprints of expensive yet essential cards, such as Akroma's Memorial, Chromatic Lantern, Rhystic Study, or Privileged Position; since Doubling Season was recently reprinted, it is not likely to be reprinted, again, so soon.
Although they are not essential cards, I would very much like to see Absorb, Undermine, Recoil, Countersquall, and Voidslime reprinted, because they are all excellent cards, but are either expensive or limited in quantity. Also, AEther Mutation is the only card of the mutation cycle that has not yet been reprinted, so I would like to see it reprinted, as well.
Sigarda, Host of Herons has never yet been reprinted, and, thus, is expensive, so she definitely deserves a reprint.
July 19, 2018 10:25 p.m.
My guess is the probable reprints include Future Sight, Privileged Position, and Enchanted Evening.
July 21, 2018 6:41 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #37
dbpunk, Opalescence and Greater Auramancy would also be very nice for that deck, and neither of them has ever been reprinted, yet.
July 21, 2018 11:15 p.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #40
In the art leaks released a few weeks ago, there was a new picture of Tamiyo.
I’m curious: what do people think her colors will be? To be honest, I see her as more Esper than Bant, but will they make her the latter (provided she’s actually in one of the decks)?
July 22, 2018 4:01 p.m.
I think Tamiyo will show up on Ravnica. Perhaps Ajani will convince her to join after her encounter with Emrakul.
Same with Elspeth and Theros, but that's different.
July 22, 2018 8:09 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #42
I really would like to see a reprint of Sigarda, Host of Herons, since she is currently very expensive.
July 22, 2018 10:11 p.m.
theemptyquiver says... #43
So Saheeli seems confirmed.
Saheeli's Directive is basically a red gen wave.
First time I've been intrigued by a red spoiled card in ages.
Breya decks all just got a great addition.
July 23, 2018 4:14 a.m.
All four marquee Commanders were leaked. Of note, it was apparently a leak not an official spoiler/preview, so according to the Leaks = Ban thread from a while back, we can totally talk about the cards, but we can't "post links and/or text from unofficially leaked cards."
But you can now find these cards elsewhere:
- Esper: Aminatau, the Fateshifter (the girl in the pond from the preview art)
- Jund: Lord Windgrace
- Izzet: Saheli, the Gifted
- Bant: Estrid the Masked (the woman with the masks from the preview art)
July 23, 2018 6:22 a.m.
Aminatau's ultimate is wild. Basically, select a direction and everyone shifts their non-land, non-Aminatou cards from that side (e.g., select 'right' and we get the board of the person to our right, and pass our board to the left).
I've no real idea how to build a deck to abuse that, but I definitely want to try :-)
Start with some Teferi's Protection, I suppose ...
July 23, 2018 6:34 a.m. Edited.
RedUndead40 says... #46
Gotta say I'm not really a fan of any of those commanders... not only am I not a huge fan of planeswalker generals but none of them scream "build around me!".
Especially sad with the Esper one... she is the "top deck matters" deck but has zero abilities that care about what's on top... Yeah, her +1 lets you put something on top but then does nothing to care about it afterward.
Windgrace is probably the best one but even then it's basically just card advantage. Here's to hoping the alternate generals have a bit more uumph.
July 23, 2018 10:27 a.m.
RedUndead40 says... #47
clayperce as for abusing that ultimate you could just build a deck with little to no permanents. Use a bunch of instants to protect her to her ultimate. That way you lose almost nothing and gain a lot.
July 23, 2018 10:28 a.m.
RedUndead40,
Yeah, that could be solid ... especially since she'll need a TON of protection to ever reach her ultimate.
Of course, even if she never gets there, the table politics as she approaches her ultimate are going to be hilarious ...
July 23, 2018 10:53 a.m.
RedUndead40 says... #49
I mean assuming you can protect her she ults on turn 6. Not too bad. A lot of decks don't even start attacking until then.
July 23, 2018 11:08 a.m.
clayperce: Whoa there, Satan. XD
Speaking of Animatou, I was rather hoping for the Esper deck to sweep me off my feet. I guess not...
Estrid is one I'm cautiously optimistic for, and I need more spoilers before I can give my verdict. That said, she does require a lot of setting up.
Saheeli is where I begin to get my knicks in a twist. Her and the Red Genesis Wave are both what I was looking for in UR artifacts, a deck I lost all hope for after "Jhoira, Mox Tribal" was spoiled. Now I just hope cEDH and/or the Bandwagon stays away from her. The same goes with...
Windgrace. That plus ability is something I do all the time. I always pitch lands, so this is second-nature to me. Always welcome. The best part is that the ult is the worst (though it wins the flavor contest) ability on the card, so you could minus with some ease.
Oh, and by the way, I totally called it on Varchild.
Phaetion says... #2
I'll break these down one-by-one:
: I was hyped for Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain when she was "leaked" but lost that hype when it became Mox Tribal. Worse, the playstyle isn't chaotic enough for me to warrant trying this out. If there's an legendary creature that's Indomitable Creativity on a stick, I sure as hell will run it. Otherwise, I can only hope there's an option that will break the linearity of the archetype.
: I never expected for Bant to finally get an enchantress legend, let alone three. Win-cons are my concern, and I hope there's more valid ones that will be released (not voltron please).
: Unleashes a rage with salty tears as to why they chose Jund when they should've went with Temur. Ok, that's better. I'm cautiously optimistic about this one. If Wotc gives us a much better reason to run over (akin to Tatyova, Benthic Druid), then I'll take it up.
: This one is most curious, and I'd love to see what they had in mind here. I just hope it doesn't come off as too strong or too weak. Perhaps they could pull off something very creative in that the deck never plays/wins the same way twice, and I would snatch that up in a heartbeat.
July 13, 2018 5:52 p.m. Edited.