Hello and welcome to A Seat at the Table, the column where I pick a commander and talk about what I’d include in the 99. This week, March of the Machine: The Aftermath keeps on giving. Niv-Mizzet, Supreme is going to show you how it’s done with colour pairs.
WUBRG Supreme is a 5/5 Legendary Dragon Avatar with a textbox that’s going to make brewers’ brain-gears turn.
Time for a textbox:
“Flying, hexproof from monocolored
Each instant and sorcery card in your graveyard that’s exactly two colors has jump-start. (You may cast that card from your graveyard by discarding a card in addition to paying its other costs. Then exile it.”
A new WUBRG Niv-Mizzet!
A few things to note:
I will say that these are only my opinions. I know that people will have strong opinions about this, but remember: I chose my personal favourites.
Let’s get into the 99. Let’s pick the best instants or sorceries in each colour pair.
Nominees: Absorb, Dovin’s Veto, Emergency Powers, Faithful Mending, Fractured Identity, Render Silent, Sphinx’s Revelation, Supreme Verdict, Time Wipe
Winner: Spinx’s Revelation
I realize there are a ton of great board wipes here and you’ll need to pick more than a single card per colour pair, but there’s something about Sphinx’s Revelation’s simplicity. Instant speed draw for X with X life gain. I favour instants a lot more in this deck with jump-start allowing you to chain a few in a row. Sphinx’s Rev is a classic hand filler. I love it and you should too.
Nominees: Boros Charm, Campus Renovation, Deflecting Palm, Heartwarming Redemption, Lorehold Command, Reconstruct History, Razia’s Purification
Winner: Boros Charm
Extremely popular card in Commander, Boros Charm is a versatile all-star. Being able to hit a play for four is great, but nothing compared to saving your permanents from a board wipe. Hell, even discarding Boros Charm to play your own board wipe like Time Wipe and then discarding a land or something to play Boros Charm! Everybody hates you now! Finally, you can give your 5/5 commander double strike. That can mean a surprise win!
Nominees: Ancient Excavation, Connive // Concoct, Deny Reality, Drown in the Loch, Extract from Darkness, Glimpse the Unthinkable, Lim-Dul’s Vault, Memory Plunder, Mind Funeral, Mind Grind, Mnemonic Betrayal, Recoil, Shadow of Doubt, Siphon Insight, Whispering Madness
Winner: Memory Plunder
The colour of mill and theft, I was tempted to pick Siphon Insight or Mnemonic Betrayal, but it has to be Memory Plunder. Being able to cast it once is strong enough in some cases, but with enough mana, being able to cast it twice is pretty wild.
Shout out to Ancient Excavation which allows you to double your hand and then sculpt it back down to exactly what you need in hand, and in your graveyard.
Nominees: Abrupt Decay, Assassin’s Trophy, Casualties of War, Culling Ritual, Deadly Brew, Deathsprout, Golgari Charm, Harness Infinity, Revival Experiment, Rushed Rebirth, Windgrace’s Judgment
Winner: Assassin’s Trophy
One of the best spot removal spells printed in the colours. It’s hard to pick anything but this. Takes out any permanent an opponent control for the low price of letting them have a basic land. Honorable mention for Harness Infinity, which might have a spot in this deck somehow, but I’m not sure how exactly.
Nominees: Artifact Mutation, Atarka’s Command, Decimate, Escape to the Wilds, Frenzied Tilling, Hull Breach, Klauth’s Will, Manamorphose, Treacherous Terrain, Vengeful Rebirth
Winner: Manamorphose
Woof, Gruul is thin. Manamorphose can fix you and replaces itself. You can get your commander out a little easier. Try it out.
Nominees: Collected Conjuring, Counterflux, Double Negative, Epic Experiment, Expansion // Explosion, Expressive Iteration, Galvanic Iteration, Izzet Charm, Magma Opus, Practical Research, Prismari Command, Reinterpret, Steam Augury, Teach by Example, Teleportal
Winner: Galvanic Iteration
This card is just excellent value. Getting to copy your next spell is great, being able to double cast it for five right away with flashback is great. Jump-starting it saves you a mana, but in the end, you’ll get some extra value out of your spells thanks to this little gem.
Nominees: Anguished Unmaking, Batwing Brume, Castigate, Cauldron Haze, Culling Sun, Debt to the Deathless, Despark, Dire Tactics, Exterminatus, Fracture, Immortal Servitude, Inkshield, Kaya’s Guile, Merciless Eviction, Obzedat’s Aid, Rite of Oblivion, Utter End, Vanishing Verse, Vindicate
Winner: Inkshield
As much as I think Anguished Unmaking, Merciless Eviction, and Batwing Brume deserve a whole bunch of shine, there’s something about Inkshield that’s just freaking wild. Stay open for an attack, make a whole bunch of evasive 2/1s that crack back and then some. It’s hard to argue with that.
Nominees: Backlash, Bedevil, Blood for the Blood God!, Cauldron Dance, Delirium, Dreadbore, Fevered Suspicion, Grave Upheaval, Hurl Through Hell, Kill! Maim! Burn!, Kolaghan’s Command, Macabre Mockery, Rakdos Charm, Skull Rend, Spontaneous Combustion, Terminate, Torrent of Souls, Unlicensed Disintegration, Wrecking Ball
Winner: Rakdos Charm
Rakdos Charm has so much utility! Got a graveyard deck in the game besides yours, well, say goodbye to them being the problem. Immortal Sun? Not anymore. Token deck? Knocked out, easy.
I do like Fevered Suspicion a lot, and there’s Blood for the Blood God!. That’s just a beating and a new hand!
Nominees: Aura Mutation, Cosmic Rebirth, Eladamri’s Call, Fracturing Gust, Hymn of Rebirth, Join Shields, Join the Dance, March of the Multitudes, Mercy Killing, Reborn Hope, Safewright Quest, Sylvan Reclamation
Winner: Safewright Quest
Selesnya is very into creatures, so it’s a little thin here given that everything is pretty creature based. Safewright Quest in the early game allows you to fetch a Triome or something to fix your mana, and then does the same from the graveyard if you have Niv out in play. Reborn Hope is also a bit of a sleeper int his deck. Also, Hymn of Rebirth was a surprising discovery!
Nominees: Aether Helix, Biomantic Mastery, Body of Research, Bring to Light, Decisive Denial, Double Major, Eureka Moment, Growth Spiral, Incubation // Incongruity, Neoform, Repudiate // Replicate, Simic Charm, Spitting Image, Unexpected Results, Urban Evolution, Voidslime
Winner: Bring to Light
I’m a hater on tutors, but in a five colour deck, you have to run this powerful card to search up your best creature, instant, or sorcery at 5 or less mana. It’s just very solid and can set itself up perfectly. Do I think Growth Spiral is probably better? Yeah! I’m just a huge fan of making sure your deck can play.
That’ll do it for this edition of A Seat at the Table! Let me know which commander you’d like covered next time @mikecarrozza on Twitter and Instagram!
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Hello and welcome to A Seat at the Table, the column where I pick a commander and talk about what I’d include in the 99. This week, March of the Machine: The Aftermath has given us a lot to chew on, but of course, for anybody who knows me, I have to talk about Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin.
A Rakdos Demon in a pinstripe suit, our newest Ob is a 4/3 Flying and Trampling legendary Rakdos Demon for 2BR with a textbox that’ll have some Prosper, Tome-Bound players including it in the 99, or straight up pivoting.
Time for a textbox:
“Flying, trample
Whenever one or more opponents each lose exactly 1 life, put a +1/+1 counter on Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin. Exile the top card of your library. Until your next end step, you may play that card.”
EXCUSE ME! What a tank! The Ping King!
A few things to note:
Let’s get into the 99. There’s a lot to talk about!
There are so, so many ways to trigger Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin. The moment there’s a Laboratory Maniac or Thassa’s Oracle for red or black, this deck won’t have anything to fear. How about using lands to deal damage?
Hecatomb turns all your swamps into pingers. Manabarbs turns all lands into pain lands while Burning Earth only does it for nonbasic, so be sure to pack your basic lands and watch your opponents’ greedy mana bases run them into the ground. Leechridden Swamp has an activation ability where the condition is easy to meet and reads “ping a player and impulse draw a card” that’s not bad for the investment. Noxious Field and Barbed Field can turn a land of yours into a pinger as well.
Do you want your creatures to hurt your opponents? Impact Tremors gives all your creatures, even tokens, an ETB ping for each opponent. Kessig Flamebreather and Firebrand Archer hit each opponent for one when you cast noncreature spells. Electrostatic Field does the same if you play instants and sorceries. Just like the new Urabrask // The Great Work, but only pinging one opponent. Soot Imp punishes your opponents for playing nonblack cards and gives you card advantage. Blood Artist and Zulaport Cutthroat reward you for creatures dying and ping opponents. Gibbering Fiend hits on ETB and per upkeep, potentially drawing you an extra four cards a turn cycle. Kyren Negotiations turns all your creatures into pingers. Goblin Bombardment lets you dispose of creatures and trade them for damage and cards.
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor turn your opponents’ combat step into an extra draw for you and them, not unlike Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant. With Fate Unraveler and Kederekt Parasite, Nekusar all-stars found a new commander to team up with, punishing your opponents for drawing.
Pestilence, Pyrohemia, and Last Laugh all work together to ping down your opponents, get you cards, and pump up your commander. Fuel the laugh with little guys, like Goblin or Devil tokens.
Extort also works! Crypt Ghast and Pontiff of Blight particularly shine in this deck to get the party started.
Vicious Rumors is a lot of bang for your buck at one mana. Aether Sting tacks a tax onto each creature spell your opponents play.
Barbed Wire, Copper Tablet, and Roiling Vortex are all passive, like Gibbering Fiend, and net you cards all the way around the table if Ob Nixilis sticks around.
Wanna gamble? Rakdos Charm! Say hello to potentially your entire library!
The combo card we just saw last set is back with another infinite combo. That’s right All Will Be One goes infinite with Ob Nixilis. Just ping something, put a +1/+1 counter on Ob, rinse and repeat. Boring! But effective.
I prefer to lean into Mindcrank. Mill everybody else out! Why not! It’s your party.
I’m going to be honest, I blew my word count with that first section, so I’m going to be pretty economical with the rest of this article.
You need hella mana and lots of cheap stuff to cast from exile to get most of your value. Rituals like Dark Ritual, Seething Song, Cabal Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Desperate Ritual, Battle Hymn, Brightstone Ritual if for some reason you’ve got a ton of Goblins (hint hint), Burnt Offering, Culling the Weak, Infernal Plunge, Sacrifice, and of course, the best rituals, Jeska’s Will and Mana Geyser. I also really quite like Rousing Refrain, but if you’re playing competitively, leave it out of your list. Don’t forget to pack a Dualcaster Mage!
What about mana rocks? Mana Crypt, Mox Amber, Chrome Mox, Jeweled Lotus, Lotus Petal, Mana Vault, Sol Ring (duh), Arcane Signet, Grim Monolith, Fellwar Stone, and if you’re packing, Mox Diamond and Lion’s Eye Diamond.
What about creatures? Dockside Extortionist, Storm-Kiln Artist, Birgi, God of Storytelling, and another mention for Urabrask! Hmmm, feels like we’re missing a big one: Neheb, the Eternal! Making your post combat a real slam, Treasonous Ogre allows you to trade life for mana which can make a huge difference here. Hoarding Broodlord can tutor a card for you and then put your creatures to work to cast more stuff from exile!
Caged Sun is a big boost. Ghirapur Orrery will allow you to drop multiple lands, making sure you don’t miss any from exile. Empowered Autogenerator gets stronger every time it taps. Glittering Stockpile does a similar thing for one shot cash in, but does it nonetheless.
Maybe a Vedalken Orrery belongs in this deck with an Unwinding Clock and Inspiring Statuary. Pack a Ruby and Jet Medallion too! How about a Cloud Key?
Birgi got a nod but there’s a creature missing that deserves his own section…
Prosper is a slam dunk in this deck. Birgi being a mainstay in his 99, she can team up with the Tiefling and take a step to ONCK’s 99, bringing a whole bunch of goodies.
Pingers such as Mayhem Devil, Reckless Fireweaver, Disciple of the Vault, Nadier’s Nightblade, Ingenious Artillerist, and Hedron Detonator all think you should lean into treasures and tokens, and they’re right. Ghirapur Aether Grid lets you use your Treasures and turns them into cards without needing Professional Face-Breaker if you’ve got ONCK in play.
Passionate Archaeologist, Keeper of Secrets, Nalfeshnee, Wild-Magic Sorcerer, Delayed Blast Fireball, and Kami of Celebration pay you off for playing from exile. Pain Distributor turns your opponents’ Treasures into cards for you and gives you a little boost when you’re playing your first spell each turn.
No matter what, you’ll need your commander. Darksteel Plate, Swiftfoot Boots, Lightning Greaves, and Whispersilk Cloak are all ways to protect ONCK with Equipment. You might be losing a lot of life. Keep yourself out of reach with Shadowspear. That lifelink is more relevant than ever. Malakir Rebirth and Deflecting Swat keep your opponents from having it their way when they target the bossman.
You can play a lot of cards in a turn. Cards like Grapeshot, Tendrils of Agony, and to an extent Empty the Warrens will end a game if you boost your storm count high enough. Aetherflux Reservoir can keep you in the game and tear it down on the same card.
My favourite way to end a game with this big beefy mafia don is to toss him at your opponents faces. Chandra’s Ignition, Fling, and Rite of Consumption will turn ONCK’s power into a game over. But my favourite of the cards to end the game with in this way is Fiendlash, an overlooked piece of Equipment from Forgotten Realms Commander. Slap this on Ob Nixilis and start paying for Pestilence. I’d say give it five activations, and you’ll deal five damage to each opponent for a total of 15 damage. There with triggers for five, six, seven, eight, and nine damage to toss around for a total of 35, taking you to 50 damage total.
What an insane commander. I can’t believe this in the 50-card lil’ baby set! Be sure to pick up packs of March of the Machine: The Aftermath.
That’ll do it for this edition of A Seat at the Table! Let me know which commander you’d like covered next time @mikecarrozza!
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Hello and welcome to A Seat at the Table, the column where I pick a commander and talk about what I’d include in the 99. This week, a pair up legend from March of the Machine that has Dimir once again in the combo seat but isn’t completely wedged in that direction.
Hidetsugu and Kairi are one of at least two Dimir coloured commanders from this set that have unique play patterns and interesting builds for them. It’s quite exciting to see that the treatment Rakdos got in how fresh and new designs have been for years is translating to Dimir now.
Let’s start with the card!
For 2UUB, Hidetsugu and Kairi are a 5/4 Legendary Ogre Demon Dragon with a familiar enters the-battlefield trigger and a death trigger that’d make Vial-Smasher the Fierce proud.
“Flying
When Hidetsugu and Kairi enters the battlefield, draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order.
When Hidetsugu and Kairi dies, exile the top card of your library. Target opponent loses life equal to its mana value. If it’s an instant or sorcery card, you may cast it without paying its mana cost.”
A few things to note:
Let’s get into the 99.
The best way to reduce mana in a format like ours is to play cards with Delve or Affinity. Delve lets you exile cards from your graveyard to help pay down the cost and Affinity says you get a discount depending on what its Affinity is toward. I say this because you won’t always get to play these for free.
Cards like Treasure Cruise, aka budget Ancestral Recall, can be exiled with your commander or played for a single mana, assuming you’ve got seven cards in the yard you don’t mind exiling. Similarly for Dig Through Time and Temporal Trespass costing a single blue more and more cards from the graveyard. Dig is a super powerful card selection spell and Trespass gives you an extra turn which… I don’t have to tell you how powerful that is.
Other big mana spells that are fun are Rise of the Dark Realms, Decree of Pain, Sea Gate Restoration, Expropriate, etc. I think my favourite one is Beacon of Tomorrows which you can cast when you exile it and then it goes right back into your library.
Of course, don’t forget that you can play Omniscience, you just have to be okay with potentially exiling it for good.
Aside from your commander setting up the next two cards on top of your library, you should probably have more ways to manipulate the top. Sensei’s Divining Top allows you to pay one to rearrange the top three cards of your library, making sure you avoid exiling anything you’d rather keep.
Future Sight is an oldie but a goodie that The Reality Chip does a decent impression of, allowing you to extend your hand into the top of your library. Haunted Crossroads can put creatures from your graveyard back on top from your graveyard if want to nug an opponent for its mana value or just to recur the card at your next draw.
Your commander wants to die, come back, and die again so that it can be a value cannon. It’s time to make sure they keep coming back.
Beacon of Tomorrows is good, so it stands to reason that Beacon of Unrest is going to do a lot of work in this deck. Getting to hit somebody for five mana and reanimate your commander as a free roll is pretty sweet. Fated Return is seven mana and grants indestructible to whatever you reanimate (your commander probably). Grave Endeavor can bring your commander back potentially as a 15/14 and drain each opponent while already having hit one for seven. Rise of the Dark Realms gets you everybody’s creatures from their graveyards and hits someone in the face for nine. There are a lot of reanimation spells that are worth running in this deck that otherwise don’t see much play because they’re deemed too expensive in today’s meta. I am ecstatic that this is changing. Pick up your Breach the Multiverses!
Sacrifice outlets are some of my favourite cards. Altars in particular are among my favourite designs. So clean. Ashnod’s Altar, Phyrexian Altar, and Altar of Dementia when paired with Feign Death or Malakir Rebirth or Undying Evil can get a whole run of effects going and even might enable a mill win with Altar of Dementia. There is no Warstorm Surge in these colours, so save a copy of H&K for Be’lakor, the Dark Master if that’s how you want to build it.
Hidetsugu and Kairi are a legendary creature and how does one kill a legendary creature without sacrificing it? Turn the legend rule drawback into a massive game winning plan by making copies of H&K. See Double, Rite of Replication, Quasiduplicate, Cackling Counterpart, Sublime Epiphany as well as just clones like Phantasmal Image, Mirrorhall Mimic, and Stunt Double – all make a copy of H&K which nets you a Brainstorm and an immediate death trigger. Do you keep the token or the original? Who knows! Pack a Drivnod, Carnage Dominus to double up their death triggers and really tell your opponents to say hello to your not so little friend.
That’ll do it for this edition of A Seat at the Table! Let me know which commander you’d like covered next time! Check me out on Twitter and Instagram @mikecarrozza!
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Hello and welcome to A Seat at the Table, the column where I pick a commander and talk about what I’d include in the 99. This week, a mythic pair up Commander from March of the Machine, which is finally out!
Kroxa and Kunoros are bonkers and there’s already chatter about how powerful they are. While Kroxa is well represented on this card, Kunoros’ original card would be ashamed to see so many creatures coming out of the graveyard. I tried my hand at brewing Kroxa and Kunoros and I’m hoping to share some ideas and thoughts from this process.
Let’s start with the card!
Kroxa and Kunoros cost 3RWB for a Mardu 6/6 with a textbox that has great keywords and an ability that makes brewers excited.
“Vigilance, menace, lifelink
Whenever Kroxa and Kunoros enters the battlefield or attacks, you may exile five cards from your graveyard. When you do, return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield.”
A few things to note:
Let’s get into the 99.
To be able to reanimate a creature from your graveyard, you need six cards in there in the first place. That’s five to exile and one creature to bring back. That’s why I think Fabled Passage, Terramorphic Expanse, and Evolving Wilds all deserve a slot alongside the dual fetch lands.
That said, there’s a few ways to fill your graveyard and having had experience with Araumi of the Dead Tide, I have a few cards that pummel your library into your graveyard. Mesmeric Orb is the big one that mills each player for every card they untap. Your untap step could mill you ten cards pretty easily.
Perpetual Timepiece can tap to mill two but also shuffle a few key pieces back into your library. Cemetery Tampering mills three per your upkeep and likely gives you an extra free card. Millikin taps for a generic mana and mills you a card when it does.
Angel of Suffering turns all damage you take into double that much mill instead, while Doom Whisperer lets you surveil 2 for two life (make that mill 2 for two life, really).
Stitcher’s Supplier is the perfect self-mill card that mills three on the way in and on the way out. Flickering or doubling this ETB in this deck sets you up incredibly.
However, the most important mill piece is Altar of Dementia. Altar of Dementia allows you to sacrifice Kroxa and Kunoros in response to their trigger to mill six cards, then you can exile five cards to bring them back. Eventually, you’ll have more cards in your graveyard and you’ll be sculpting the perfect graveyard for reanimating.
Having targets to bring back means having expensive creatures that you want to cheat out. I’m talking Etali, Primal Storm. I’m talking Archon of Cruelty. I’m talking Ashen Rider. I’m talking Avacyn, Angel of Hope. Being able to loop Dockside Extortionist over and over is a solid move, too. Obviously. How about the Kamigawa Dragons of old and new? Atsushi, the Blazing Sky, Ao, the Dawn Sky, and Junji, the Midnight Sky perform very well along side Kokusho, the Evening Star and Yosei, the Morning Star. Vilis, Broker of Blood can get you a full grip that you later get to discard so you can reanimate more creatures!
Even creatures as simple as Solemn Simulacrum and Loran of the Third Path can make a huge difference at the right time.
You’ve got your value, but what about your game-ending beatings? With the amount of creatures going into and out of your graveyard, Syr Konrad, the Grim and Dreadhound are perfect for pinging your opponents. Tormod, the Desecrator can make a couple of Zombies whenever K&K trigger their ability. Those guys add up!
Looping Ashen Rider can be debilitating for your opponents, but sacrificing Kokusho, the Evening Star over and over spells game over on its own, just like Gray Merchant of Asphodel.
Flayer of the Hatebound combine with Kroxa and Kunoros, Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, or any way to reanimate beefy bad boys and you’ve got a cannon. Pair this with Warstorm Surge and Stalking Vengeance and damn, it’s probably game over.
This is a classic category here on A Seat at the Table. Phyrexian Altar, Ashnod’s Altar, Phyrexian Tower, Altar of Dementia, all are great for this deck, but I would recommend more creature based sacrifice outlets. Viscera Seer, Carrion Feeder, Ayara, Widow of the Realm // Ayara, Furnace Queen, Sadistic Hypnotist, and Undercity Informer (which also can mill you, by the way). Gotta double dip!
You need to have a backup plan. If Kroxa and Kunoros get shut down too many times, play Breach the Multiverse and Incarnation Technique which mill you and bring creatures back. Chainer, Nightmare Adept is a discard outlet and reanimator in one. Jaxis, the Troublemaker can put in some work as a discard outlet and value engine when targeting even just your commander. Body Launderer, my favourite card of 2022, connives when nontoken creatures you control die and then reanimates based on power. Junji, the Midnight Sky, Karmic Guide, and Sister Hospitaller just get your creatures out of the grave and into play already!
I recommend the obvious inclusions, but I think it’s worth noting them here. Smothering Tithe and Dockside Extortionist are heavy hitters for a reason. Black Market Connections is one of the best cards in recent years. You’ve got to use all your rocks: Arcane Signet, Boros/Orzhov/Rakdos Signet, all the Talismans you can grab. Gilded Lotus? Why not! Wayfarer’s Bauble, yes! Solemn Simulacrum, yes! Get this deck packed with some basics. I know it’s not ramp exactly, but get yourself a copy of Sneak Attack, you know, as a little treat!
That’ll do it for this edition of A Seat at the Table! Let me know which commander you’d like covered next time. Check me out on Instagram and Twitter @mikecarrozza!
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Hello! Welcome to my set review of March of the Machine Commander where I pick my favourite 10 cards from the MOM Commander set. I’ll also chat a little bit about some other cards that deserve a shout in the honourable mentions, specifically the commanders because I will likely be writing an A Seat at the Table for some of them down the line. I think they’re all pretty cool!
Without further ado, here are my favourite cards from the Commander set.
This is my favourite mana rock in a little while. Is this in a cycle with Cursed Mirror? A three mana coloured mana rock for 2N seems like a cycle to me.
For 2W, you get a tapped mana rock that only taps for white. Not a good start. Why do I like it so much then? Because I have been waiting for a card that gives other cards Convoke in non-green colours. Even green gives creatures mana abilities with Cryptolith Rite and that’s not really Convoke. Finally, Boros swarm decks can tap Wand of the Worldsoul and cast a Sun Titan on turn four or something. If you want fancier, then Gisela or Aurelia, but either way, you can use your creatures to cast spells! It ostensibly just costs you one mana to tap your creatures instead of lands. Kykar, Wind’s Fury decks get to double dip with this one. I’m excited to use this in my The Ever-Changing ‘Dane deck to keep upping to the next level since it’s a high mana value creature deck.
I think Mirror-Style Master asks so little of you to pay you off with one of the quickest extra combat escalators. If you have an extra combat outlet and the Master is modified, you’re getting more Backup triggers and when they attack, they trigger for each modified creature on their own. So if you have Anger in the graveyard and something like Cathars’ Crusade, play Mirror-Style Master, Backup another creature, attack with both – you get your whole board twice, and your Crusade goes off big time. That’s without the extra combat. I think this card rules and is going to be a big story card someday. I hope you play it with friends who want to see crazy stuff happen.
I love Treasure creation and hate on the same card. This guy punishes your opponents for sending artifacts to the yard from play but tells everybody that each turn, their first spell costs one less retroactively.
A group slug deck that is great in Prosper, Tome-Bound decks and great against them. Give your Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer playing friends hell when you slam this and board wipe. This being a three mana 2/3 with menace also means it’s probably getting through and procking Professional Face-Breaker and Grim Hireling. This lil guy rips!
All the decks that Pain Distributor would be good against, Hedron Detonator would be good in. This isn’t quite Reckless Fireweaver as it only targets a single opponent, but it makes up for that with a buffer body and an outlet to turn those artifacts into new cards. Prosper, Tome-Bound, yada yada, of course he loves this card. It requires two artifacts to sacrifice, but ultimately red is the artifact reanimation card. Goblin Welder and Goblin Engineer will be happy to see Hedron Detonator, a fellow Goblin Artificer, join them in their quest to hurt some opponents and get some more scraps.
Cutthroat Negotiator feels like it could have been legendary. Parley on a Pirate card? Good flavour! Ostensibly, this reads “2UR for a 4/3 Orc Pirate. When this attacks, draw a card and create up to four Treasure tokens.” This is a great direction for Izzet and it’s cool and interesting. This goes in all your favourite Pirate decks. It goes into decks that want more card draw and Treasures! Group Hug? Sure! You’re giving everybody cards! Why not?
Cutthroat Negotiator is such value for the table that some players might not even remove it, but ultimately this is a really powerful card for you.
As far as self-wheels go, this is on the expensive side like Khorvath’s Fury. While Valakut Awakening is probably the better card on rate just for filtering through cards, Khorvath’s Fury and Path of the Pyromancer both have other upsides. Fury hurts your foes while Path gives you mana equal to cards discarded. Think about it this way: The Locust God draws a ton of cards, plays this, draws tons more, makes little bugs, and has enough red mana to slam down a big haymaker.
The fact that this can enable a big windmill slam is very cool and enough to play it over Khorvath’s Fury. Let’s not even talk about the planeswalking ability that is only relevant if you’re playing with Planechase cards.
Henzie “Toolbox” Torre, your new Wurm is here. For a single green pip, you can probably Blitz this out for four mid-game for a 4/4 hasting creature that digs for a permanent card with mana value four or less (so you can always at least ramp) while putting three +1/+1 counters on another creature to do the same. Hell, you could make this a 7/7 and get a beefcake from your library, but I’m advocating for the double dip. Backup is such a cool mechanic, but unfortunately that precon is the least supported of the bunch.
White got a lot of goodies this set and this card is just the bee’s knees. Two mana enchantment that draws you a card when you attack with two or more creatures. So simple, so effective. But you can spend two to dump a card and make a 2/2 with vigilance. Excuse me? I can fuel my graveyard for reanimate shenanigans and set up to draw another card next turn? Genuinely shocked that people haven’t been freaking out over this more!
This is the card that’s been pounding people’s wallets in the prerelease season. It’s a better Generous Gift in every way but that extra white pip in its cost. It exiles a non land permanent and gives its controller an Incubate token with +1/+1 counters equal to the exiled thing’s mana value. They still have to pay two mana to flip over the thing, otherwise it’s almost as useless as a Scrap token.
Another card mentioned because of its high price tag, Uncivil Unrest is Rhythm of the Wild for decks that don’t run green. Not to mention, it’s a Gratuitous Violence for your creatures with +1/+1 counters on them. That’s all for the same price and less mana colour restrictions of Gratuitous Violence. It’s a very good card! It’s pretty damn strong and that’s why people are flocking to pick it up! But personally, I think it’s a little boring! Sorry!
I won’t be mentioning every card here, so I hope you see things you like.
That does it for March of the Machine. Let me know what commander you want me to cover! Message me @mikecarrozza on Twitter or Instagram!
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Hello and welcome to A Seat at the Table, the column where I pick a commander and talk about what I’d include in the 99. This week, a Rakdos legend plucked from my DREAMS, darling!
For 1BB, Ayara, Widow of the Realm is a Legendary Creature – Elf Noble 3/3 with a wall of text and a back side! Let’s see both textboxes:
“T, sacrifice another creature or artifact: Ayara, Widow of the Realm deals X damage to target opponent or battle and you gain X life, where X is the sacrificed permanent’s mana value.
5pR: Transform Ayara. Activate only as a sorcery. (pR can be paid with either R or 2 life.)”
And now the back side! She becomes Ayara, Furnace Queen, a 4/4 Phyrexian Elf Noble whose colours become black and red with –
“At the beginning of combat on your turn, return up to one target artifact or creature from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.”
Wowee!!!
A powerhouse with versatility that lets people know you’re a force to be reckoned with in the early or late game.
Things to note:
Let’s add some cards to the 99.
Since Ayara, Furnace Queen triggers at the beginning of your combat step, what better way to take advantage than to have more than one combat step? Ideally, you’ve got your extra combats stapled to a creature. Bloodthirster, Port Razer, Karlach, Fury of Avernus, Moraug, Fury of Akoum, and Combat Celebrant are all going to give you extra combats and if you’ve got multiple extra combats like with Port and Thirster, you can get lots out of your graveyard to play. Pair Combat Celebrant with a sacrifice outlet and your commander, that’s infinite combats. Lithoform Engine and Strionic Resonator let you double your commander’s reanimation ability or the frontside ability, which is extra useful if you’re already getting multiple activations.
Other cards that give you more combats are Aggravated Assault and Zariel, Archduke of Avernus. Enjoy!
It’s a Rakdos deck so you know there’s sacrifice synergy. Phyrexian Altar, Ashnod’s Altar, Illuminor Szeras, Fain, the Broker, Krark-Clan Ironworks, and Burnt Offering are sacrifice outlets that give you mana. Get stuff in your graveyard with Altar of Dementia, Keskit, the Flesh Sculptor, and Goblin Engineer.
Card draw and selection from Braids, Arisen Nightmare, Morbid Curiosity, Trading Post, Deadly Dispute, Village Rites, Warehouse Thief, Viscera Seer, and Woe Strider. Get some damage going with Goblin Bombardment and Oni-Cult Anvil.
But the most fun is a recent release: Kethek, Crucible Goliath. You’ll have big beefy creatures and at your end step, you can stack the triggers to sacrifice the reanimate creature to Kethek, so you can basically cascade into another threat.
I mentioned you’ll have big creatures. The following is a list of creatures that reduce their cost and come with some added benefit beyond just being a solid sacrifice to Ayana’s front side. Get extra removal out of Chandra’s Incinerator, Avatar of Woe, Obsidian Charmaw. Some ramp out of Conduit of Ruin and Mycosynth Golem. Games end when Blast-Furnace Hellkite comes down!
Here’s the rest I found that might be worth it:
Ancient Stone Idol, Avatar of Fury, Capricious Hellraiser, Dargo, the Shipwrecker, Draco, Embercleave, Emrakul, the Promised End, Gorex, the Tombshell, Marshmist Titan, Metalwork Colossus, Molten Monstrosity, Scion of Draco, Shadow of Mortality, Torgaar, Famine Incarnate, and Writhing Necromass.
You’ll want to reanimate some bombs with Ayara, Furnace Queen.
Throw some damage around with Warstorm Surge, Flayer of the Hatebound, Kokusho, the Evening Star, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Drakuseth, Maw of Flames, and Balor.
Time to draw some cards with Magus of the Wheel, Phyrexian Dragon Engine, Ox of Agonas, Dragon Mage, and Knollspine Dragon. Don’t mind the discard, it’s more fuel for Ayara. Elder Brain and Brainstealer Dragon take from your opponents instead and make them feel the pain. Combustible Gearhulk can draw you cards or deal loads of damage if you’ve got a high mana curve.
Your removal suite is wild! Noxious Gearhulk, Massacre Wurm, Markov Enforcer, Cavalier of Night, Butcher of Malakir, Shard of the Void Dragon, Rakdos, Scion of Draco, Fleshbag Marauder, Bearer of the Heavens, Bane of Bala Ged, Archon of Cruelty, Balefire Dragon, Portal to Phyrexia. Even Sire of Insanity can get rid of hands at the end of your turn.
Speaking of Portal to Phyrexia, reanimate other creatures with Ancient Brass Dragon, Phyrexian Delver, Sepulchral Primordial, Rakshasa Debaser, Apprentice Necromancer, and Doomed Necromancer. Keep your creatures around with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed.
Take control of your opponents’ creatures with Coercive Recruiter and Firbolg Flutist.
Make some tokens with Wurmcoil Engine, Abhorrent Overlord, and Bladewing, Deathless Tyrant.
You’ll need a lot of mana and in these colours, Treasures are the way to go. Mahadi, Emporium Master, Pitiless Plunderer, Ancient Copper Dragon, Professional Face-Breaker, Goldspan Dragon, and Ruthless Technomancer make a ton of Treasures in death or combat.
Black Market can turn all the deaths into a ton of mana in your precombat main phase while Neheb, the Eternal has you covered for the postcombat main.
Descent into Avernus gets crazy really quick and with Ayara, Widow of the Realm swinging damage everywhere and gaining you life, you’ll be taking an easy lead.
You know how I feel about tutors, but here are useful tutors to bring things to the graveyard – Gravebreaker Lamia, Entomb, Buried Alive, Disciples of Gix, Goblin Engineer.
This is a deck I can’t wait to brew!
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Hello and welcome to A Seat at the Table, the column where I pick a commander and talk about what I’d include in the 99. This week, another team-up card – Zimone and Dina! Immediately after being previewed, this card was being called the most busted of the bunch so far.
A Sultai commander in colour identity, Zimone and Dina are a 3/4 Legendary Creature – Human Dryad for Sultai mana (BUG) with a hell of a textbox. Let’s take a look at what people are raving about:
“Whenever you draw your second card each turn, target opponent loses 2 life and you gain 2 life.
T, Sacrifice another creature: Draw a card. You may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped. If you control eight or more lands, repeat this process once.”
Hot damn. That’s nuts! Here are some things to note.
With that in mind, let’s put some cards in.
Let’s maximize the damage! Cards like Sanguine Bond and Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose turn your life gain into more life loss for your opponents.
When you’re aiming to drain an opponent for two life every turn, multiply that life loss every end step with absolute bombs like Archfiend of Despair and Wound Reflection. A Transformer steps up – Blitzwing, Cruel Tormentor can keep the life loss going every end step and when it doesn’t, it becomes an evasive beater. Even Warlock Class, requiring a bunch of mana to get there, can be levelled up for an additional nine mana to double life loss on your turn, but with all the lands you’ll have in play, that’s peanuts.
You’ve got a commander that puts lands into play, you’re going to have some Landfall synergy. You can have creature token generators like Tendershoot Dryad for every turn, but what about Greensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer, Scute Swarm, Sporemound, Zendikar’s Roil, or Rampaging Baloths? You can use Landfall to take control of your opponents’ creatures to sacrifice to Zimone and Dina with Roil Elemental. Get a little more life loss in with Ob Nixilis, the Fallen and Retreat to Hagra. Need more mana? Lotus Cobra, Stone-Seeder Hierophant, and Tireless Provisioner have your back.
Bloodghast is my favourite for this because you can sacrifice it to the ability and put a land into play, getting Bloodghast right back onto the battlefield and keeping the cycle going. There’s plenty more landfall, but we’ll get to those…
To use the second ability, you’ll need to untap your commander. Thousand-Year Elixir, Seedborn Muse, Freed From the Real, Aphetto Alchemist, Fatestitcher, Minamo, School at Water’s Edge, Magewright’s Stone, Mind Over Matter, Murkfiend Liege, Patriar’s Seal, Pemmin’s Aura, Instill Energy, Quirion Ranger – there’s no shortage of ways to untap in blue-green-black.
My favourite’s are Intruder Alarm and Retreat to Coralhelm. With Intruder Alarm, anytime a creature enters, as long as you have another creature, you’ll be drawing a card and ramping, maybe even draining an opponent. Retreat to Coralhelm can untap your commander when a land enters the battlefield. Slam a land from the second ability and get to untap again. Don’t forget your Amulet of Vigor and Tiller Engines!
You need to draw two cards a turn to be able to trigger that first ability. Cards like Howling Mine, Kami of the Crescent Moon, and Font of Mythos help that happen on your turn, but also give your opponents cards. Temple Bell can get that second card if you’ve got that tap activation ready.
You’ve got a lot of untapping already, Arcanis the Omnipotent can snap three cards for you every activation.
Rhystic Study and Mystic Remora are classic cards that people hate to play against but love to play.
Consecrated Sphinx is probably the cleanest way to get Z&D’s first ability to trigger every turn. Alhammarret’s Archive and Teferi’s Ageless Insight turn the single activation of Z&D’s tap ability into an immediate trigger of the their first ability.
Teferi’s Puzzle Box keeps your hand rolling like the tides to be sure you always have a land to put into play.
Remember Landfall? Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait and Tatyova, Benthic Druid give you a card when you pop a land into play. Nissa, Vital Force’s ultimate ability is easy to reach and turns all your land drops into cards. Will you always have lands to play? No. But how to get more?
Moonfolk are very useful for getting lands back into your hand to put into play again. The best one is Meloku the Clouded Mirror. For just one mana, you return a land to your hand and create a 1/1 creature that you can sacrifice to Zimone and Dina. Soramaro, First to Dream is an expensive activation, but turns a land to hand into a draw. Soratami Cloudskater, Soratami Mirror-Mage, Soratami Rainshaper, Soratami Savant, Soratami Seer, and Uyo, Silent Prophet each have their advantages. Flooded Shoreline brings two Islands back to hand to bounce a creature. Trade Routes allows you to pick up a land for one mana which doesn’t seem worth it if you’re not discarding it to its second ability, but with Zimone and Dina putting lands back into play and all that landfall synergy, Trade Routes is like double dipping, baby!
I cannot wait for this set!
If there’s a commander you’d like covered, please message me @mikecarrozza on Twitter and Instagram!
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Hello and welcome to A Seat at the Table, the column where I pick a commander and talk about what I’d include in the 99. This week, another team-up card I think is cool as hell but will absolutely ruffle feathers at any table – Drana and Linvala!
For 1WWB, Drana and Linvala are a Legendary Creature – Vampire Angel 3/4 with flying and vigilance. Look at this textbox:
“Flying, vigilance
Activated abilities of creatures your opponents control can’t be activated. Drana and Linvala has all activated abilities of all creatures your opponents control. You may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to activate those abilities.”
It’s a fun mash-up! Linvala, Keeper of Silence is a Flying 3/4 Legendary Angel that says “Activated abilities of creatures your opponents control can’t be activated.” That’s most of the card! Drana brings the vigilance and the ability theft to the card. This can either do a lot or nothing at all, but ultimately, the commander screams stax.
So let’s talk stax. First, what is stax? Stax is a playstyle that derives its name from Smokestack. A card like that should tell you all you need to know. It’s about resource denial. It’s a permanent-based control deck. It’s a prison deck.
A few things to remember:
Here are some cards I’d put together in a Drana and Linvala deck.
There are ways to get your opponents to slow down. This is a big deal in stax. Stuff like Authority of the Consuls makes your opponents’ creatures enter tapped and boost your life to shoulder the brunt of whatever attacks you’ll be receiving. Blind Obedience does the same with creatures, but also your opponents’ artifacts. The Extort ability on Blind Obedience can make the difference in the long run. Make sure you keep using your mana to drain the table! Need a creature to have your back with this effect? Thalia, Heretic Cathar and Archon of Emeria are solid inclusions.
Deafening Silence can be backbreaking against spellslinger decks and be a boon for you if you’re going more for of a creature build. Same goes for Ethersworn Canonist if you’re more of an artifact build. Similarly, Eidolon of Rhetoric restricts everybody’s ability to cast multiple spells a turn, just like Rule of Law. Don’t want things to untap? Winter Orb is hated big time for a reason.
Spirit of the Labyrinth restricts card draw to just one a turn. Containment Priest stops pesky reanimate decks from doing their thing (or worse, like Winota). Phyrexia: All Will Be One gave us one of the craziest versions of a Praetor in Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines – shutting down ETB triggers and doubling yours.
Okay, this one is a little messed up: Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and Kormus Bell. Using this combo with your commander out means that your opponents can’t tap their lands for mana and you get to use any of the abilities from those lands with D&L. And if anybody plays a board wipe, that’s an Armageddon for everybody.
Everything your opponents do against a stax deck costs a little extra. Smothering Tithe turns their card draw into a Treasure for you unless they pay two. It gets out of hand quickly and there’s a reason it’s one of the all-time best white cards.
Do your opponents want to crack a fetch land? Deep Gnome Terramancer, Archaeomancer’s Map, and Archivist of Oghma get you lands or cards.
Kambal, Consul of Allocation and Liesa, Shroud of Dusk makes spells cost life. Spelltithe Enforcer tells your opponents to pay up or sacrifice a permanent.
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse gives you life when you draw and your opponents drawing their cards costs two life now.
You want to attack me with two or more creatures? You want to cast two spells? Gotta pay the Mangara, the Diplomat toll and I’ll draw a card! One of my recent favourites is Aerial Extortionist – exile a non land permanent on ETB or combat damage to a player and when your opponents cast spells from anywhere but their hand, you get a card.
Damping Sphere and Rug of Smothering make storming off a lot harder to do and turn spellslinger decks into an expensive affair. Aura of Silence makes artifacts and enchantments cost two more and can be cashed in to get rid of a strong artifact or enchantment when it does land. God-Pharaoh’s Statue puts another clock on the game while making everything your opponents cast two more mana. Painful Quandary makes their spells cast an extra card or five life. It adds up!
You need to control the board by diverting attention. Sphere of Safety, Ghostly Prison, Windborn Muse, and Archangel of Tithes make attacking you cost mana or impossible altogether. Deter them more with Cunning Rhetoric which lets you have one of their cards if they attack you.
You’ll need spot removal and board wipes. Cleansing Nova, Austere Command, Farewell, Damn, Swords to Plowshares – there is so much removal in the format. Pack a Shadowspear for your commander and use that activated ability to get rid of pesky cards making things difficult for you.
You don’t want to make everything a bad time. It’s time to make some friends.
Loran of the Third Path allows you to blow up an artifact or enchantment when she ETBs but can also tap to snap cards for you and an opponent you like. Cut a Deal is a draw three for three that gives your opponents a card too. Secret Rendezvous does the same but give the three cards to a single opponent. Maybe they’re going to die soon anyway! Forbidden Orchard can give a creature to an opponent. Hunted Horror does the same while adding a 7/7 to your board.
Turn an artifact an opponent controls into a creature with Karn, the Great Creator so you can use artifact activated abilities with your commander.
If you really want to make friends, give them your commander! Assault Suit on your commander means that they’ll be able to use everybody else’s creatures activated abilities and their opponents won’t be able to during their turn. Goad D&L with Parasitic and Martial Impetus. This should put a solid clock on the game.
We talked about Extort with Blind Obedience but it’s worth mentioning with Crypt Ghast and Pontiff of Blight. Life Insurance does double duty as it turns aristocrat decks into further fuel for your decks.
Exsanguinate, Debt to the Deathless, and Torment of Hailfire are X spells that are perfect for all the mana you’ll have saved up to end the game. Gray Merchant of Asphodel is a massive drain on legs with its ETB draining for black devotion. If that’s not enough to kill your opponent, you should have enough life for Aetherflux Reservoir to finish the job. Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose and Sanguine Bond turn all your life gain into life loss for your opponents. Exquisite Blood paired with either of these turns either of those last two cards into an infinite combo win.
That does it. Let me know if there’s a commander you’d like covered! @mikecarrozza on Twitter and Instagram!
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