I have to admit, I was very skeptical about this set when it was announced. The leaks I've seen and all this new info today have really got me excited for it, though. Probably the most excited for a set I've been since Kaldheim . It seems like a really nice blend of "classic" and cyberpunk Kamigawa. Gonna try and read the entire story tomorrow after work (I've seen the spoilers already, it's fine).

I don't think I've ever seen Myr Servitor before. That's a cool one! I don't have any experience with Modern, though, so I can't make suggestions. Looks like a fun deck, though!

Unfortunately, I think I have to agree as well. Not liking the way they look at all. :(

Commander's Insignia seems like it would fit what you're looking for. Same with cards from the Storm cycle from C18 - Fury Storm, Echo Storm, Skull Storm, Genesis Storm and Empyrial Storm.

If any of these cards interest you, a really low cost commander like Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh would be a good fit.

I'm at a loss for anything else at the moment. Sorry!

Nice! Love seeing the "less powerful" CMR partners. I have an Urza deck that is pretty similar in concept. The Antiquities War and Sakashima's Will are more effects like your win-cons you might wanna check out. Rites of Replication would be great, too!

Thalisse, Reverent Medium could make stupid amounts of tokens thanks to her own effect with the possibility of Anointed Procession and Kaya, Geist Hunter.

Chatterfang, Squirrel General could do the same thing but in different colors. Would have access to Parallel Lives and self-mill effects to load up your graveyard.

Sarulf, Realm Eater could be some sort of voltron thing as he gets counters whenever opponents permanents get put in the graveyard (which tokens do). The partner commander Sengir, the Dark Baron does something similar and could be paired with something like Prava of the Steel Legion to double down on the token theme.

Kardur, Doomscourge, Thantis, the Warweaver and the partner pairing of Kamber, the Plunderer/Laurine, the Diversion are all about giving creatures to opponents and benefitting from them dying or attacking someone else. Akroan Horse and Genesis Chamber are more examples of giving other players ammunition. Syr Konrad, the Grim also loves seeing opponents creatures dying.

Tombstone Stairwell is such a cool card. I wish I picked one up before it spiked. :(

For me personally, it all boils down to two things. 1) Are they cheap cash grabs like The Walking Dead Secret Lair? and 2) Are they a crossover with something I like? Depending on the answers to those two questions, I may end up picking some up. I'll never play with them, though. While I find some appeal in owning/collecting a Geralt, the Witcher card or Johnny Silverhand card, I find ZERO appeal in actually playing them in a game of Magic.

Tayam, Luminous Enigma and Ghave, Guru of Spores are probably your best bets, as mentioned above. Other options include Kethis, the Hidden Hand, which would require some sort of legendary sub-theme, Nethroi, Apex of Death, which doesn't require Mutate cards but would greatly benefit from them, and Teneb, the Harvester or Karador, Ghost Chieftain for general graveyard shenanigans. As far as partner pairings are concerned, Ravos, Soultender and Tormod, the Desecrator is great for graveyard stuff while Reyhan, Last of the Abzan and Alharu, Solemn Ritualist are synergistic with counters and aristocrats stuff. Mix and match them because partner commanders are awesome!

I do think Tayam or Ghave would be your best shot, but the others may prove to be interesting depending on your personal preferences.

My brother hit my other brother with a Hatred for 39 life on a lifegain creature once on like turn three or four. He finished him off with Sign in Blood. Absolutely brutal. lol

Another fun one was when I thought I had the game in the bag using my Multani, Maro-Sorcerer deck with an army of tokens and a huge hand (like 20+ cards). My brother buffed his creatures, played a Gruul Charm and snuck through and killed me. I wasn't even mad!

As someone who has a Vilis, Broker of Blood deck in the rotation of decks that I play with/against, I can speak from experience when I say that Vilis might actually be a bit TOO powerful. In the games I've played against him, he almost always becomes public enemy #1 as soon as something like Psychosis Crawler, literally any Tutor card or an unexpected Hatred shows up. Asmodeus the Archfiend seems to be a similar playstyle but not quite as "kill on sight" as Vilis is. I don't have any experience with Asmodeus, however.

Basically, if you want high power but a high chance of being targeted out of the game, Vilis is your best bet. If you want a lower powered deck that could potentially draw less attention from opponents that could play the same, Asmodeus would be a better choice.

On a similar note, Erebos, Bleak-Hearted might be worth mentioning. He cares about creatures dying and life loss. Could be pretty easy to tie the themes together.

If you went a route other than the life loss theme, maybe Fain, the Broker might be worth a look. Makes lots of deals by sacrificing stuff in exchange for other stuff.