Commander Legends Spoilers
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Aug. 22, 2020, 10:30 p.m. by Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor
I haven't seen any posts about this yet, but we just got our first bit of spoilers for Commander Legends and things look spicy so far. Generic partner is back with 41 new partners (not sure how I feel about that) and we finally get cards for Baron Sengir, and Halana & Alena which is awesome.
I am also pretty stoked to see the Battlebond land cycle completed
Lastly, WotC is finally addressing White's ramp deficiency in the correct way IMO with Keeper of Accord.
Let the discussion begin!
Coward_Token says... #2
"Abomination of Llanowar" : Woah okay that art is pretty freaky. Simple yet pretty interesting wide-to-high voltron commander trough elfball.
Falthis, Shadowcat Familiar: neat when paired with a trampling partner
Ich-Tekik, Salvage Splicer: as is the least artifact-friendly, I feel this is kind of a misguided attempt to answer the fairly big demand for a Golem tribal commander. However, this could be the start of a new megacycle, with one partner Splicer per color. Golems for everyone!
Nevinyrral, Urborg Tyrant: what was ever about this guy? I can only assume it's more mechanically for the board wipes. Anyway, not at all efficient but this + Tombstone Stairwell + Conjurer's Closet is pretty funny. More seriously, delayed/cheap wipes like Planar Collapse or the activation of his Disk lets you afford casting him while still killing a lot of people's stuff, while end-of-turn flickers like Turn to Mist lets you dodge & profit from opposing wipes.
"Flamekin Herald": Honestly kinda underwhelming? I can't think of any commanders -inclusive commanders that can rescue themselves like Wydwen, the Biting Gale
Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn: Unicorn Power!
November 2, 2020 1 p.m.
NotaNetDeck says... #3
Not sure if this is the best place to say this, but putting Wheel of Misfortune in brackets only seems to link a weird custom card, even if I include (CMR). Anyone have an idea how to link the Commander Legends card instead?
November 2, 2020 1:20 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #4
Idk, an efficiently costed creature that gets you additional cascades off of Maelstrom Wanderer and Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder
seems pretty good to me. Flamekin Herald also is surprising potent in Omnath, Locus of Rage and Omnath, Locus of the Roil decks due to its elemental subtype. Plus each of those Omnath iterations have high CMC costs and are often cast multiple times a game.
November 2, 2020 2:10 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #5
Araumi of the Dread Tide: Sundial of the Infinite to keep the tokens, goes into the 99 of Obeka, Brute Chronologist for much the same reason. At the helm of her own deck, maybe go the artifact route so that you can churn out three hasty Blightsteel Colossuses in good time?
Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn: Okay more serious now. It says "other creatures" so no going with straightforward voltron. Since you're allowed to put the counters among any number of creatures, you can obviously get several extra counters with Hardened Scales & Conclave Mentor if you're going wide. Mass lifelink is obviously nice here since it means you can convert the extra power from the counters into more life, and so on. (Vigilance might be nice too since that'll let you get your creatures involved in more damage-dealing combat.)
NotaNetDeck: the actual card hasn't been added yet (also, use "card:" with the brackets to be sure)
November 2, 2020 3:16 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #6
At last, there is a card of Nevinyrral, and he is very impressive, as he should be! I like how he has synergy with his own disk, which makes sense.
Juri now has a card, as well, but I wonder why WotC waited until now to give her a card, instead of making Judith and Exava in the previous Ravnica blocks.
Necrotic hex is a flavor fail; it makes each player sacrifice six creatures and then creates six tokens, but it costs 7 mana to cast.
I am glad to see Generous Gift being reprinted in this set, and I hope that this means that WotC will never again reprint Beast Within, since the latter card is a color pie break.
Elvish dreadlord is a very nasty card, and I know that I will not wish to be on the receiving end of its effect, but its name sounds like something from Warcaft.
Llanowar abomination is amazing, and any elf deck that contains the colors black and green will want it, but I do wish that it has been a Lorwyn/Shadowmoor elf, since the dark and creepy atmosphere of the card would work better on that plane.
On that subject, I really would like to see a reprint of Llanowar Dead, since that card has never been reprinted, before.
Araumi is very nice, with how he or she (the name sounds feminine) can grant encore to creatures, which will be best with creatures that have abilities that trigger when they enter the battlefield.
November 2, 2020 5:39 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #7
Hullbreacher: this could have been a card imo. With Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator in mind, why is getting non- ramp in this set? (Also, kinda mixing metaphors with Hull Breach around.)
Sakashima of a Thousand Faces: oh baby, finally a replacement/complement to Mirror Gallery: cheaper, doesn't group hug, and actually does something outside of janky combos. Making multiple Krark's Thumbs in my Obligatory Zndrsplt & Okaun Coins Deck is looking a bit less magical christmas land, esp. as Sakashima can copy Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom for great profit.
Coercive Recruiter: nice alternative to Captivating Crew for Admiral Beckett Brass, with no need to mess around with Captain's Hook
"Reyav, Master Smith": yeah he's an uncommon but this isn't an interesting direction to take in
Mana Drain: very nice reprint
November 3, 2020 11:51 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #8
The new Sakashima and his associated cards are all excellent, and I am glad to see that WotC is revising a legendary creature from Kamigawa. Now, only the white mythic rare legendary creature has not yet been revealed, so I have very high hopes for it.
I do not like hullbreacher, since blue already is the best color at drawing cards, so did it really need its own version of Smothering Tithe (one in which the ability is not even optional)?
It is very nice that Glacian finally has a card, now, as well, but, as with Rebbec, he is very underwhelming, considering his prominence in the story. His ability is quite nice, so perhaps he could have had a lower mana cost?
That reprint of Mana Drain is very nice, so there are now two very valuable cards in the set, and I do expect that this shall decrease its price, and, on the subject of prices, Jeweled Lotus is now the most valuable card in the set, which I suppose should not be a surprise.
November 3, 2020 5:55 p.m.
SynergyBuild says... #9
Tbh, massive upgrades for my TnT variant in Opposition Agent and Hullbreacher, just a huge difference in power through fear.
Now cracking a fetch is so much worse than just when Aven Mindcensor existed, which I will still run, or when Notion Thief existed wheels or even just some extra draw was scary, Hullbreacher just is so much worse.
I am cutting Smothering Tithe, and I do love that card but it's just bad in comparison, can't pitch it to Force of Will/Force of Negation, 1 cheaper, flash, means I can drop Enlightened Tutor which I didn't love but sorta ran for a few good options, it's easier to get on my current tutor package, and also has flash.
With 4 flash hatebears, all of which are onesided and hates hard on any lists I know of, but is also cheap and the new ones give me huge benefits, I can get draw, tutor my opponents decks, get treasure tokens, cut off my opponents draw, tutors, and all at flash speed. Insanely powerful.
My Urza list is now going to crush with Hullbreacher cutting draw which giving me tons of Mox Sapphires to give me free cards, and Jeweled Lotus is another Black Lotus/Mox Sapphire depewhen it's drawn. Beautiful.
November 4, 2020 1:33 a.m.
Coward_Token says... #10
Hellkite Courser: meh, paying 6 mana to just temporarily get out your commander and then being left with a french vanilla creature is pretty underwhelming for a mythic
Dawnglade Regent: similarly, too expensive for the benefit
Akroma, Vision of Ixidor: kinda meh for the cost and the rarity, especially with Sakashima fresh in mind. Still, get out Odric, Lunarch Marshal and team of keyworders for +13/+13 all round (and and extra +1/+1 for Akroma and her partner)
Akroma's Will: imo too expensive to reliably work as a wrath answer, although attacking with an unblockable doublestriking team with vigilance can probably let you safely take out one player
Miarna, Thorn of the Glade: whew, how is this uncommon more exciting? for 1 card is a fine rate. Anyway, as alluded to in the video you're all but forced to go for your partner; Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix is pretty cute while Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa gives you a bit more tribal range, although he's anti-synergetic with anthems
"Kwain, Curious Itinerant": Well that's kind of disappointing. It has no mechanical relationship with Archelos, Lagoon Mystic and a Howling Mine in the command zone doesn't excite me. Maybe I'm missing something?
Bell Borca, Spectral Sergeant: Meh yet again. Outpost Siege in the command zone isn't thrilling, even if it does make a bit more reliable
Court of Ire: I don't really see why this one has to be more expensive than the rest. Yes, it helps you retain the monarch and thus enables its own upkeep activation, but with three opponents, removing one creature isn't doing that much, and burning a single person for 17,5% of their life doesn't really compare cheating out a big creature with Court of Bounty.
Jared Carthalion, True Heir: Man this art is 80s as hell. Anyway, quite interesting design space and pushed cost without at all being overpowered.
November 4, 2020 12:20 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #11
Bell Borca is a character whom I did not expect would receive his own card, but the card itself is an interesting new idea that has not been used, before, so I like it, although I am still said that there are still no cards for Ashnod and Gix.
I am very pleased to see that Swords to Plowshares is being reprinted, again, although I am less pleased that the judge promo artwork is being used, since that makes it less special.
Hellkite courser is very awesome, because its ability bypasses the commander tax, since the player is not actually casting their commander from the command zone.
Finally, the white mythic rare legendary creature has been revealed, and I am so glad to see that it is a new incarnation of Akroma, my favorite creature in the game! Even better, she has a lower mana cost than do her previous incarnations, so I am very pleased with her card, overall. Her will is also very awesome, and I wonder if I can make room for it in any of my existing decks.
It is so nice that there is now finally a card of Jared Carthalion, a character from a comic series back in the early days of this game.
The red court, court of ire, is very straightforward, but that is to be expected of red, the least subtle color in this game.
Dawnglade regent is very nice, but its high mana cost means that I am not certain if I can use it to replace Privileged Position in my decks.
Ingenuity engine is amazing; repeatable artifact recursion for a relatively low cost will definitely make many players happy.
I definitely like how elvish doomsayer is the exact opposite of Elvish Visionary; that was a great idea by WotC.
Feast of succession has great artwork by Seb McKinnon, so I would like to see him release an artbook, one day.
Soul of eternity is better than Serra Avatar, but I still wish that it had a keyword ability, such as flying, first strike, lifelink, or vigilance.
Kwain must be the counterpart to Archelos, so I find it to be very odd that he does not contain the color red.
I like body of knowledge very much, so I hope that I can find room for it in some of my decks.
Sol Ring really should have been upgraded to a rare, since this set is designed for drafting, and it being only an uncommon will make it far too abundant (let alone the fact that it is insanely powerful).
Guildless commons is a colorless counterparts to the Ravnica bouncelands, so I wonder why it took WotC so long to print such a card?
November 4, 2020 4:33 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #13
Also I kinda wish they made Akroma an Angel Illusion, AFIK multiple creatures types weren't a thing back then
November 4, 2020 4:37 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #14
So Hellkite Courser is will be a menace in Ur-dragon decks. And it's an ETB ability to boot so you can continuously trigger it.
New Akroma is pretty awesome. Notably, she allows a naked Zetalpa, Primal Dawn to hit for 18 on one swing and Aurelia, the Warleader can one shot someone if you give her double strike. Odric, Lunarch Marshal is probably still slightly better due to the fact that it is 3 mana cheaper and granting abilities across the board is stronger than pumping creatures, but then again Akroma has partner so we can expect her to be a little watered down. On that note, I like all of the mythic mono-colored legends and I think they each do cool things. Kamahl gets the nod for strongest of the bunch as he will more often than not win the game the turn he is played and his mana cost isn't too prohibitive for mono green.
I agree with folks that Kwain not having red is a little odd. They could've easily just made him Boros, slapped haste on him, and made him loot instead of draw. That would've been a perfect contrast to Archelos.
Jared is definitely an obscure reference, but very cool card design.
Court of Ire, like the blue court, will be really good in specific decks, but pretty mediocre outside of those few. I think the black court wins strongest of the bunch as it is so disruptive and deals a ton of damage.
November 4, 2020 7:50 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #15
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor: curious, what did you have in mind for Court of Ire?
November 5, 2020 12:07 a.m.
Coward_Token says... #16
Also, this is basically Jared Carthalion, True Heir: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1807239.Champion
November 5, 2020 12:10 a.m.
Coward_Token says... #17
Wyleth, Soul of Steel: I had this spoiled for me yesterday so I'm not as excited as I could be, but whatever. I don't think it's cEDH but it's obviously very functional for , being a draw engine piece in the command zone for a pretty low cmc. Bloodforged Battle-Axe obviously comes to mind, and as I mentioned earlier Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar will help decrease the voltron problem even if Wyleth doesn't have partner.
Hamza, Guardian of Arashin: Basically, has affinity for creatures with +1/+1 counters and gives that to all your creature cards, which is obviously spicy. Good-Fortune Unicorn is the obvious auto-include here (sorry Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn!). Neat token/counter cards include Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, Felidar Retreat & Animation Module Avenger of Zendikar might be kinda win-more here but casting it ahead of the curve, dropping a land and then following up with a big Eldrazi or something sounds damn cool.
Frenzied Saddlebrute: pseudo-haste for everyone is neat design space, but I feel this is just a bit too expensive since haste is something you want earlier rather than later.
Triumphant Reckoning: Does not include creatures without the relevant types. Probably does best in a multicolor artifact/enchantment deck.
Explosion of Riches: pretty fun with drawing-increasing things like Alhammarret's Archive. Molten Psyche is probably more reliable though.
November 5, 2020 4:38 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #18
Coward_Token - The card advantage it provides already makes a lot of mono red interested. Especially burn decks where you can 21 someone with Fiery Emancipation or Neheb, the Eternal decks for the free 7 mana. I'd also think most red based group slug decks would like this card. Lastly, pillow-fort decks running red (like Queen Marchesa) can use it as another way to close out games.
It's nice to see white get arguably the strongest iteration of a cycle in Triumphant Reckoning. It may be a slightly more limited Praetor's Counsel, but returning to the battlefield is quite strong.
Volcanic Torrent is a pretty interesting variant on Storm. At the very minimum it is a 2 damage sweeper for 5.
Frenzied Saddlebrute is freaking awesome. Granting haste to the entire table as long as they don't attack you is the kind of group hug that I can get behind.
I find Hamza to be rather interestingly designed. I tend to not really enjoy the Selesnya color pair or +1/+1 counter themes, but this guy has peaked my interest.
November 5, 2020 7:26 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #19
I do not like the fact that Triumphant Reckoning does not return creatures to the battlefield, which I feel that it should, if it costs 9 mana to cast; artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers are all wonderful, but it is most often creatures that have the greatest influence on the outcome of games.
There no cards of Ashnod, Gix, and Dyfed in this set, so, hopefully, they shall appear in a future set.
November 5, 2020 10:51 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #20
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor: my objection is that for one, Emberwilde Captain is cheaper if you just want the monarch & some burn (yes, you could run both) & mono- decks are going to have a hard time keeping three people from taking the monarch from them, in which case you're just going to get a cantriping Arc Blade with suspend 1. I do agree tho that the Court cycle in general give cool rewards to pillow fort decks... except for 's, I guess they thought it already had it easy to pillow fort compared to the other colors
November 6, 2020 12:22 a.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #21
Coward_Token - I somewhat disagree with that assessment on two points. 1) Emberwilde Captain is a fragile creature (only 1 cmc cheaper) and opponents can play around its rattlesnake ability. Furthermore, the people who are willing take the damage and attack you are more likely to be the same people who are low on cards. To the contrary, Court of Ire is guaranteed damage that can be directed at creatures or players. 2) I do agree that keeping the monarchy is more difficult in some mono-red burn decks (Both Purphoros's and Neheb shouldn't have any problem fending off attacks), but I think people focus too much on protecting the monarchy anyways. I personally use the monarchy more as a smokescreen in my decks. I rarely protect it as people often tunnel vision on the card draw and will ignore my growing threat at the table. Mono-red burn could use this to it's advantage as its damage output usually turns it into the archenemy. Even redirecting 1 or 2 attacks can be the difference in finishing off the table and dying.
November 6, 2020 9:58 a.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #22
Also, I am not saying the Court of Ire is amazing, just strong in a few specific decks. In fact, besides the white court, all of the cycle is pretty niche, but very strong within their niches (which is how I wish WotC would approach commander products on the whole). And the more I look at the court cycle, the more I am liking the Court of Grace over the others. All of the other courts monarch enabled trigger are very strong and have potentially higher ceilings, but Court of Grace has a much higher floor. The non-monarch enabled trigger 1/1's can be utilized in so many ways. Plus they have flying so you can easily take back the monarchy. And 4/4 angles for free is still ridiculously strong.
November 6, 2020 11:54 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #23
Here is part 2 of the articles that provides brief biographies of each legendary creature in this set; I definitely will have a quite a task with adding each creature to my list of commanders by home plane.
I am surprised that Juri is male, since he has a feminine name, which is also the case with Rayamy; did the people at WotC actually research those names before giving them to those characters?
I also feel that neither Aesi nor Wyleth should have been mythic rares, since they are not sufficiently powerful to be such; normal rares would have been perfectly fine for them.
November 6, 2020 4:28 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #24
DemonDragonJ, can't speak for the name Rayamy, but Juri is a pretty common male nordic name.
November 6, 2020 8:31 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #25
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor, I actually misspelled the name; the proper spelling is "Rayami," and I was not aware of that; there is a female character in Digimon Tamers named Juri, so that was previously my only exposure to the name.
November 6, 2020 10:02 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #26
As Ravnica has Slavic flavor, I think it specifically refers to this:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Juri
A transliteration of the Russian male given name Ю́рий (Júrij, “George”).
November 7, 2020 3:51 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #27
Coward_Token, thank you for that information, and that is likely the name that WotC had in mind when they named Juri in this game.
November 7, 2020 9:35 a.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #28
FYI, if anyone is interested in the lore surrounding some of these deep-cut legendary cards. MTGGoldFish just put together a nice little recap. It's basically everything you would find on the MTGWiki, but it's succinctly organized in one page here.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/the-lore-of-commander-legends
November 9, 2020 9:54 a.m.
Coward_Token says... #29
Took me forever to realize that if you copy Sakashima of a Thousand Faces, the copy will inherit his Mirror Gallery ability along with everything else, so you can at least repeatedly copy one legendary creature without things falling to pieces if Sakashima gets taken out
November 9, 2020 11:48 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #31
Why was Sol Ring not upgraded to a rare for this set? It being an uncommon is not a problem in pre-constructed decks, but it is in booster-based sets, since it will be appearing far too frequently for a card of its power. WotC did not realize its power in the early days of this game, but they have no excuse, now.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #1
Coward_Token - good catch. I missed the "until end of your next turn" portion. Still, I think that just makes the card O.K. instead of unplayable. 9 mana for a spell better win me the game or put me so far ahead that my opponents can't catch up. Soulfire Eruption is just too high variance to be worth running over cards like Commune with Lava, Ignite the Future, or Light Up the Stage, which all can be cast for much cheaper. To be honest though, of the 4 spoiled so far, only the blue 9 mana mythic seems potentially worthwhile. Also, its nice to finally see green get arguably the worst mythic of a cycle as Reshape the Earth is just plain bad.
This is it, this is perfection. Juri, Master of the Revue is exactly what I have always wanted Judith, the Scourge Diva to be. Time to start brewing Rakdos aristocrats again.
Commander's Plate is a nice little bonus for voltron commanders with limited color identities. Hope of Ghirapur and Traxos, Scourge of Kroog will love this card.
Seeing Nevinyrral get a card is pretty cool and he is pretty solid to boot. Stapling his Disk's ability onto him might be a little oppressive in those colors though, but still a cool design.
Also, Splicers finally got their legendary creature. I am surprised that he is mono green though, but he has a pretty solid partner pairing with Livio, or if you want to get the best splicer out there in Wing Splicer (and some artifact synergies), Ishai would be a solid partner.
Lastly, it's nice to see more landfall hate showing up with Nightshade Harvester. As much as I love my lands decks, it is pretty tough to punish people for playing lots of lands outside of large scale land destruction effects or stax effects that hurt the whole table (play more Tectonic Edge people!). This gives black a nice little punisher effect for those aggressively ramping.
November 2, 2020 12:49 p.m.