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Play the Ten Drop – Commander 2016 First Impressions

Maybe it’s too early to say, but I’m going to say it anyway: this looks like the absolute best Commander product Wizards has ever released. Whether we’re talking about the Partner mechanic, the astounding number of new Legends, or the delicious mana bases, this year’s Commander has something for everyone. Let’s take a look.

 

Partner Looks Like a Home Run

When Wizards said they had a solution to the four color problem, they weren’t kidding. Partner will keep us all building new decks for years to come. Mixing and matching Commanders makes the game feel fresh, and it gives everyone so many more options for self-expression, one of the hallmarks of our format.

What’s more, I think Wizards did an excellent job balancing the mechanic. Think of all the broken combos that could’ve been printed on some of these cards. Seems like R&D was very careful not to make any of them too good, yet good enough when paired with another partner. Their collective power will at least match, if not surpass, many lone commanders.

Plus, I think Wizards made an excellent call by printing more enemy-colored commanders than allies. As the great and noble MaRo mentioned a few weeks ago, there just aren’t that many enemy color dudes out there. I’ve always found these color pairs more interesting than the allies, so I’m glad they’re getting a little more love.

 

The Sheer Number of Potential Commanders is Unprecedented

For both new and experienced players, the number of potential new commanders in this set is staggering. I went through the ol’ card image gallery and counted them up. There are 36 legendary creatures in this set alone (38 if you count Daretti, who can also be your commander). To compare that with some past Commander releases, here’s a breakdown:

Commander 2016 – 37 potential commanders

Commander 2015 – 18 potential commanders

Commander 2014 – 16 potential commanders

Commander 2013 – 21 potential commanders

Commander 2011 – 28 potential commanders

Partner certainly contributed to those numbers, but there are plenty of high-power reprints in addition. Zedruu the Greathearted and Ghave, Guru of Spores, for example, are two outstanding commanders that haven’t seen printing in five years. The deck building options are almost limitless.

And then there are the four-color commanders, which seem very exciting. Though they’re going to be tough to cast (especially on-curve), players are rewarded with some very powerful abilities. Atraxa and Yidris look very strong in particular, and if the numbers on EDHREC are any indication, they’re going to stay at the top of Commander pop charts for a while.

 

These Are the Best Mana Bases We’ve Ever Seen in a Commander Set

Though I’m still a little salty that we didn’t see the Shadowmoor/Eventide filter lands, the lands of Commander 2016 are still pretty darn sweet.

With inclusions such as the Alara and Tarkir tri-lands, Murmuring Bosk, Grand Coliseum, Exotic Orchard, Forbidden Orchard, and more, players can actually get their commanders out in a reasonable time frame. What’s more, these lands help reinforce any multi-colored mana base, whether they’re two, three, four, or five colors.

And, perhaps best of all, this gets some older lands into the hands of newer players, which is awesome. The Otarian filter lands haven’t been around in forever, which I find exciting. This opens up a whole new spectrum of possibilities for a heck of a lot of casual players.

If these decks sound good to you, I hear there are still a few left in the ol’ Three Kings Loot store. Go check them out!

 

By Kyle A. Massa – Play the Ten Drop
You can reach Kyle at @mindofkyleam on Twitter or through his site www.kyleamassa.com