The Predator of Predators
Commander / EDH
SCORE: 364 | 113 COMMENTS | 42242 VIEWS | IN 173 FOLDERS
The Gifts of New Capenna —May 7, 2022
As the fanfare and hype surrounding New Capenna was unfolding I only paid a marginal amount of attention to the set. I was considering the inclusion of Jetmir's Garden, but unfortunately I think triomes just aren't competitive enough for the deck. But as I've looked further, I was genuinely surprised about Topiary Stomper and Smuggler's Share.
While Stomper is a non-Enrage Dino it synergizes very well with the ETB trigger subtheme of the deck. If Zacama is not available for a Sword of Heath and Home or Cloudstone Curio trigger then having Stomper as a viable alternative that ramps on ETB seems viable as it gets us closer to the ultimate objective of casting Zacama and having her go in and wreck house. Also having that ability stapled on a 4/4 Vigilance Dino body is just an added bonus as it triggers Forerunner of the Empire, Herald's Horn, Marauding Raptor and more. Stomper was slotted in for Sylvan Scrying as I see the Dino as strictly better. Sure, it's nice to be able to tutor for any land to hand, but I like the idea of having ramp with recursion - and having it on a Dinosaur simply made it a must include.
The big card (in my opinion) from New Capenna is Smuggler's Share. I think that this card is future Commander staple material alongside the likes of Rhystic Study or Smothering Tithe (which desperately needs a reprint). Within the metas I play, my opponents tend to draw multiple cards using spells like Phyrexian Arena, Sylvan Library or Frantic Search. I also cannot recall a game where an opponent didn't play and crack a Fetchland. Smuggler's Share seems like the perfect card to discourage - or capitalize on efficient plays by my opponents due to the card scaling with the meta. I pre-ordered a full art copy for 30EUR (I really wish there was a foil option - think It's being saved for a Secret Lair?) - and to be honest I'm on the fence about this. I really want to try this card out, but I'm afraid I might've overpaid as it's possible that I missed the mark in thinking about the kind of impact this card could make in an average game.
What do you think about Smuggler's Share? Is it a mono-white cousin to Rhystic Study? Or is it over hyped and will fall flat in the coming months of its use? I'm genuinely interested in seeing what you all think - will you be picking up a copy when the price drops in the next few days/weeks? Please comment, and thanks for reading