Hot off the heels of March of the Machine previews, we have gotten more announcements regarding products that are making Commander players squee with joy. Wizards of the Coast has announced two more sets that are coming down the pipeline: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth on June 23rd and Commander Masters on August 4th.
Despite it coming sooner, we know less about the Lord of the Rings set, but here’s everything we’ve got so far.
The cards from this Lord of the Rings set is a straight-to-Modern set that will be legal in Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Commander. It will be a draftable set with a Prerelease (!!!) and of course Set/Collector boosters as well.
Coming with this set is four Commander decks that will include twenty (20) new cards PER DECK! This isn’t Warhammer 40k Commander decks level, but it is still an impressive amount of new Commander cards on top of likely cool Lord of the Ring themed versions of Commander staples. That’s 80 new Commander-focused cards coming to the legal card pool and that’s not counting the draft set.
Maybe this is what will get me to watch these movies. Universes Beyond doing its thing!
This one is juicy! Commander Masters is largely a reprint set, but also promises to have new cards in a draft format, likely reminiscent of Commander Legends.
We’ve already gotten a few reprints teased: Jeweled Lotus, The Ur-Dragon, and Capture of Jingzhou as three mythics in the set.
All three have a foil-etched treatment and the Lotus and Dragon have new borderless art they’re describing as Frame Break and Profile Borderless respectively. This set also comes with four Commander decks but this time with ten (10) new cards per deck. The good news is that we know more about these decks and it’s very exciting. The four decks are:
Get ready for pre-orders, guys. These sets are going to be hot, hot, hot. March of the Machine, Lord of the Rings, and Commander Masters? Get ready for a crazy Spring and Summer.
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AHHHHHH!
We have so much to cover and so little time! This weekend at a Magic Con in Philly, WotC unveiled new cards that are absolutely ROCKING! MY! WORLD!
Let’s get into what new things we saw.
The mega-cycle that is Omnath has come full circle, beginning with his monogreen version and finally ending with its compleated version, Phyrexian mana and all! This five colour general rewards you for playing cards with three or more mana symbols, which is a new take and riff on the typical five colour commander decklist. Omnath gives you an extra card a turn and turns all unused mana into black mana for you to use whenever. It’s also the Buy-a-Box promo, so expect to see a lot of these running around. Omnath is already super popular and I’d be shocked to see people shrug this one off.
Chandra is back and she is absolutely heartbroken. With key art shown of Chandra meeting a compleated Nissa, we can assume that Chandra is devastated. In fact, in both versions of her new card’s art, flaming tears are streaming down her face.
Chandra, Hope’s Beacon has a static ability that is Double Vision, a five mana enchantment while being a six mana planeswalker at 5 loyalty who can immediately bump you up a card or up two mana. This is a card that will make spellslinger Commander players happy.
Yuta Takahashi, World Champion XXVII has an invitational card of his own in the new Faerie Mastermind.
A 1B 2/1 Flash Flying Faerie Rogue that draws you a card whenever an opponent draws their second card per turn is already a head turner, but for 3U each player gets to draw a card. Nekusar players get a nice return on investment here. This is slightly reminiscent of Ledger Shredder, but I’d say it’s less powerful. That said, it’s likely to be very powerful in faster formats that stack their hands!
Story spotlight card confirms what we all saw coming: the multiverse is being invaded. This big mana spell wants to Phyrexianize a creature from each graveyard after dumping ten new cards into them each. Is this a huge finisher? Damn right it is. Is it a spell I want to copy in Grixis decks like Anhelo, the Painter? Big time. It’s my favourite kind of card for Commander. It’s big, splashy, and makes for fun stories!
4B. Teaser of Battles
Speaking of the multiverse being invaded, art for what people speculate as Battle card art shows many beloved planes being taken over like Mercadia, Kaladesh, and Lorwyn. It all looks pretty gnarly. I still have no clue what this new card type will be.
We’re getting a full cycle of the Praetors that turn into Sagas. They’re just named as their name (ie: Sheoldred, Elesh Norn, etc) and we got a look at Jin-Gitaxias.
Jin, is bonkers level messed up strong. Five mana 5/5 with Ward 2 that turns all your 3+ mana noncreature spells into cantrips is strong enough, but the Saga side is brutal. Double your hand size, then bounce all non-Phyrexia creatures to hands, and then a semi-Omniscience for the cards in your hand before exiling and returning as the creature that draws you so many cards. Not to mention the fact that we just got a whole slew of Proliferate.
These Praetors are going to the so strong and so cool, I genuinely am excited and terrified to find out what they all do.
More beloved (depending on who you ask) legends in Magic are being compleated. It seems that we’re getting a cycle of flip legends with key art teasing Ayara as a black and red legend. We also go Heliod, the Radiant Dawn, an Azorius Phyrexian God (!!!) that reduces how much your spells cost by how many cards your opponents have drawn in a turn. Oh, yeah, it’s also a Vedalken Orrery. What a strange and cool card! The art is devastating! Some of the scariest work is happening in how they compleated Heliod!
One of my favourite things WotC has ever done is combining legends into one single card. We’ve had Gisa and Geralf, but why stop there?
Ghalta and Mavren, Drana and Linvala, Yargle and Multani, Thalia and The Gitrog Monster are all in the main set while Goro-Goro and Satoru, Slimefoot and Squee, and Matilda and Lier are supplemental Commander set cards.
The pairs are all duos from the same plane banding together in ways that make sense. For example, Multani and Yargle are a beefy vanilla 18/6 creature while Slimefoot and Squee combines Squee’s resilience with Slimefoot’s Saproling sacrifice.
Every design is so cool and sweet! Not to mention…
The showcase frames represent where the characters are from! Slimefoot and Squee from Dominaria have the stained glass treatment, while Goro-Goro and Satoru have the Neon Dynasty treatment. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer gets the Kaladesh Invention frame despite not being an artifact.
Wait… Ragavan? What?
THAT’S RIGHT! Following the Brother’s War’s inclusion of a throwback artifact in every pack and Strixhaven’s Mystical Archive, March of the Machine will include a Multiverse Legend in every pack. They’ve already spoiled Ragavan and Atraxa (in a sweet New Capenna showcase frame) and I can’t wait to see who else is coming to party.
Finally, my favourite part – Planechase is back!
With five new planes, five reprinted planes, and a new Phenomenon per deck, this set’s five Commander decks just got really spicy for me. Get your Planar die ready!
Deck colours and themes are as follows:
There is some speculation that Oviya Pashiri is likely a reprint or returning character for Tinker Time, but the biggest hope is that maybe this time, we get a Temur Energy commander in that deck.
That’s it for the first looks from this set! I can’t wait to brew around the pairs we’ve got and more!
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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 Phyrexia: All Will Be One legend that is pretty innocuous, but can threaten players with an early loss.
I’m talking about Venser, Corpse Puppet. First of all, NOOOOO, VENSER!!!!! We knew he was dead, but not like this!
Secondly, I expected a much cooler card considering his return and the art. That said, I want to take a positive spin and put together a deck that will shine around our returned sweet boy.
For UB, Venser is a legendary Phyrexian Zombie Wizard 1/3 with lifelink and Toxic 1. Let’s see the rest of that textbox:
“Whenever you proliferate, choose one –
– If you don’t control a creature named The Hollow Sentinel, create The Hollow Sentinel, a legendary 3/3 colorless Phyrexian Golem artifact creature token.
– Target artifact creature you control gains flying and lifelink until end of turn.”
My first thoughts were “what am I supposed to do with this?!” and “Venser, NOOOOO!” Here are things to remember:
Let’s start with the enablers, the cards that’ll be triggering Venser, Corpse Puppet. As far as I’m concerned, the top end of the Proliferators are Inexorable Tide and Flux Channeler – they effectively turn every spell or noncreature spell respectively into whatever the Proliferate version of a cantrip is. You’ll be off to the races with Inexorable Tide or FC out.
Activating Contagion Engine, Contagion Clasp, Viral Drake, or Karn’s Bastion will require a lot of mana, but will pay you off well while you’re holding up your mana to be responsive in this deck. The Drake can even swing in for some poison on top of the ability.
Thrummingbird and Blightbelly Rat are triggered proliferators that you’ll find yourself appreciating, and while Vraska, Betrayal’s Sting falls into the same category, you’re getting more value out of her.
You can go overkill with Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus, doubling your proliferating. Staff of Compleation allows you to have more flexibility, and because of Venser’s lifelink-granting ability, the cost of life might not be a big deal. Throne of Geth gets the thumbs up for not only being a proliferator but also being a sacrifice outlet. Surprise! The Hollow Sentinel was tapped, sacrifice it to the Throne, boom proliferate! Now, the Sentinel is on blocks!
The question to ask is how you’d like to build this deck. Do you want extra turns like with Magistrate’s Scepter or Magosi, the Waterveil? Do you want Darksteel Reactor alt wincon? Scheming Aspirant drains your opponents for two each proliferate, maybe turbo Aspirant is fun.
You can also Ichormoon Gauntlet and build a band of Planeswalkers like Tezzeret, Jace, Vraska, Tamiyo, Ashiok, Kaito, Karn, Liliana, Tevesh Szat, Will Kenrith, Ugin, and of course Teferi. Don’t forget your Sivitri, Dragon Master if you go this route.
More specifically, I like As Foretold in this deck since a lot of cards are instants or you can play Vedalken Orrery or Leyline of Anticipation to give your hand Flash.
Serum Sovereign is a great way to keep your hand sculpted. Crystalline Crawler and Mindless Automaton can swing in the red zone with Venser’s lifelink and flying blessing while also keeping your ramp up and your hand stacked. Vat of Rebirth can keep bringing back important creatures from your graveyard.
I really like Geth’s Summons, Phyrexian Atlas, Anoint with Affliction, Distorted Curiosity, and Glistening Sphere as the Corrupted payoffs.
Finally, a fun brew I can foresee some folks brewing around is Sagas! Proliferate through your Sagas so you get payoffs when you want them, on your own time. Satsuki, the Living Lore has an enemy parallel in Venser!
This section is self-explanatory. Let’s find ways to give poison counters that isn’t just Venser. Ichor Rats enters and gives everybody a poison counter. Prologue to Phyresis and Vraska’s Fall do the same for your opponents but with some more upside for you. Reaper of Sheoldred is an excellent rattlesnake defender. Mirrex can crank out little Mites to Toxic at your foes.
Flensermite, Blighted Agent, Plague Myr, and Phyrexian Crusader are all lost cost Infect creatures who can get in early.
Give Venser Necrogen Communion or Prosthetic Injector Toxic to up his count. Slap Glistening Oil or Grafted Exoskeleton onto The Hollowed Sentiel, send it flying and end some opponents’ games. Can’t forget classics like Inkmoth Nexus and Tainted Strike. I know there’s a big one missing, but he’s coming later.
You want ways to sacrifice The Hollowed Sentinel so that when you Proliferate you make a new one? Here comes the fun.
Classic Aristocrat staples Ashnod’s Altar, Phyrexian Altar, Altar of Dementia, and Viscera Seer all get that job done. Throw in a Carrion Feeder for good measure. Hurt your opponents with Vraan, Executioner Thane, Zulaport Cutthroat, and Agent of the Iron Throne. Attrition to take out nonblack creatures. Grave Pact and Dictate of Erebos if you’re nasty! Take advantage of The Hollow Sentinel being an artifact with Krark-Clan Ironworks, Clan Crafter, Chronomancer, and Throne of Geth. Master Transmuter can “bounce” The Hollow Sentinel to your hand and surprise the table with a huge artifact from your hand. Costly Plunder and Deadly Dispute your Sentinel in response to a Proliferate for extra value. Ruthless Technomancer can eat the Sentinel and grant you three Treasures. Academy Manufactor loves that!
Take advantage of both types on The Hollow Sentinel with Fain, the Broker giving you much modality along the way.
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician is double duty as a proliferator and a sacrifice outlet and Braids, Arisen Nightmare guaranteeing that your opponents will sacrifice something on their board unless their greediness gets the best of them.
You want something to get flying and lifelink, it’s time to make some artifact creatures. Big daddy Blightsteel Colossus can end games quick. Solemn Simulacrum gains utility as a flying blocker. Myr Battlesphere needs you lots of life. Noxious Gearhulk and Duplicant are great removal and can pack a punch.
Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge loves when you’ve got artifacts, not only for discounts but also for draining your opponents.
Mycosynth Lattice, Encroaching Mycosynth, and Darksteel Forge help make your board indestructible while Silas Renn, Seeker Adept picks up the pieces when they fall. More utility comes from Cryptek, Foundry Inspector, Baleful Strix, and Liberator, Urza’s Battlethopter (remember I talked about Flash?).
Some of my favourite artifact creatures for the deck are Kappa Cannoneer, Canoptek Scarab Swarm, and The Omenkeel. If you want to be pretty mean, toss in Memnarch and start swinging at opponents in the air with their own beaters while you gain that life back.
I am absolutely shocked at how much I like Venser!
I can’t wait to put him together and see you at Commander night at Three Kings Loot. If you have a suggestion for a commander, please let me know @mikecarrozza on socials. Take care!
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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 Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander precon backup legend that has been gaining some traction online: Vishgraz, the Doomhive.
Vishgraz is fresh from the Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander preconstructed decks as the secondary commander to Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa. Given that they both come from the poison counters matter precons, of course I’ll be discussing poison counters. Heads up.
A quick word on poison counters: They are hated because of the perceived rate at which you can die to it. Ten counters versus 40 life and life gain doesn’t remove poison counters means that you’ll be squeezed a little tighter than you think. However, it must be focused to really get someone out all while amplifying the target on the poison player’s back. So it’s not the strongest archetype, but it does draw an immense amount of hate. Because of its return in a standard set, it means it’s coming to Commander. The precon made that clear. This time Toxic over Infect, but we still get to use Infect goodies, so let’s get started.
Vishgraz, the Doomgive is a 3/3 legendary creature Phyrexian Insect for 2WBG with a text box that doesn’t leave room for any of the flavour this guy deserves:
“Menace, toxic 1 (Players dealt combat damage by this creature also get a poison counter.)
When Vishgraz, the Doomhive enters the battlefield, create three 1/1 colorless Phyrexian Mite artifact creature tokens with toxic 1 and “This creature can’t block.”
Vishgraz gets +1/+1 for each poison counter your opponents have.”
For a card without red, this is one of the reddest cards I’ve read.
Things to remember:
Let’s get into the 99. Heads up, I will be avoiding new cards included in the precon deck.
I strongly believe that the best way to play Vishgraz is to slam a bunch of ramp, play your Swiftfoot Boots and Asceticism, get your commander out and smash. Make Vishgraz unblockable while you crank the poison. Alpha Authority and Familiar Ground with Vish’s Menace means unblockable. Add Vorrac Battlehorns and Wolfrider’s Saddle to that list. Canopy Cover isn’t exactly that, but some decks don’t have enough flyers or reach to blocker a big beefy menace effectively!
Attack alone! Use those Mites you have to pump your big boy with Angelic Exaltation and get a blocker out of the way with Angelic Benediction.
Untap your lands and protect your commander with Bear Umbra, pump up the slams with Bone Sabres, and give your boy double strike with Duelist’s Heritage – an equally impressive political tool.
If you don’t want to go the Voltron route, I cannot recommend Druids’ Repository more. Make your tokens when Vishgraz comes down, maybe blink him with a Teleportation Circle or Conjurer’s Closet to keep the Mites churning. Skrelv’s Hive and its analogue Bitterblossom belong in this version of the deck. Swing with them, add counters onto the Repository, then Proliferate those because of course you have some Proliferate effects, this is a poison deck!
Charge of the Mites is fun removal. White Sun’s Twilight is a board wipe and an army in one. Cathars’ Crusade will make Vishgraz a 7/7 before the poison counter buffs and your there Mites 4/4s. Give them all lifelink and double strike with True Conviction and take the game. Time to shuffle up.
I said of course you’re going to have Proliferate, but I’d like to mention a few interesting ones I like for this category. We know of the Evolution Sage and Contagion Engine but what about these neat lil’ freaks.
You can slap Glistening Oil onto your commander for some kill action, play Triumph of the Hordes or Tainted Strike to end it all.
Necrogen Rotpriest and Plague Nurse are standouts from the new set for our new Toxic king. A lot of the best Corrupted payoffs are in the precon deck and I urge you to check out that list for your fave tech. Phyrexian Atlas is maybe my fave innocuous little guy besides Skrelv’s Hive, which has already gotten some love this article.
You can make a ton of tokens and that means I want to recommend Altar of the Brood and Altar of Dementia for your alt win condition. Throw an Eldrazi Displacer and an Ashnod’s Altar in the deck and you’ve got yourself infinite blink and infinite mana and infinite Mites right there at instant speed. Why not mill your opponents out that way instead of just attacking? Come on, live a little!
This wouldn’t be an article of mine if I didn’t mention aristocrats. If you do make all of those tokens, please include a Zulaport Cutthroat or a Martyr’s Bond. For me.
If there’s any commander you want covered, message me @mikecarrozza! Thanks again for reading!
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Welcome to my set review of Phyrexia: All Will Be One, where I will pick five cards of each colour and discuss my favourite cards from them.
It’s time for me to cover the new cards from the Commander preconstructed decks, as well as the Commander-legal Set and Collector Booster exclusive cards.
Without further ado, here are my favourite new cards!
Teferi’s Protection brought back phasing in 2017 and we saw it take over metas all over. It truly is the best protection spell of all time. Clever Concealment is a potentially free (if you’ve got enough untapped creatures) but toned down version of Teferi’s Protection. It doesn’t phase out your lands and it doesn’t protect you or your life total, but it saves what you need to save and I love it.
This is the chase card from Commander precons if presale prices are to be believed and I understand why. Protect your enchantments in your enchantress decks, planeswalkers in your planeswalker decks, artifacts, creatures, whatever you need to protect on your board, it’s out of reach for your opponents. Protect your tokens even! Phasing! It’s awesome!
We have a new pillowfort card. Will this prompt an alpha strike to take you out? Yeah, likely. But this will give you the time to work out your defences. Also, with the influx of poison counters coming thanks to this set, we might see the second ability get some traction even without you taking damage.
Remember, if an opponent deals enough combat damage to kill you and you trigger the last poison counter, your opponent will survive.
I love the idea of seeing this in play and casting Fractured Identity on it. Enjoy cards and poison counters, ya nuts!
I absolutely love clone spells. I especially love clone spells with modality. Mockery’s closest analogue is Saheeli’s Artistry which for six mana gives you a token copy of a creature and one of an artifact.
Mockery is only for creatures, requires you to control them, and requires an artifact and nonartifact creature to entwine. Liquimetal Torque is in more and more of my decks. Adrix and Nev, Twincasters decks will likely be the ones to benefit from this most.
I am shocked at the amount of people absolutely bonkers excited for a dedicated Myr commander. It is so unexpected to me!
That said, Myr are known for being mana dorks in all colours and Urtet’s activated ability makes them a five-colour commander, so pop all those little guys into it. With these Myr getting untapped at combat, you can really just be a big mana deck and play all the expensive cards you’ve been holding off on because they’re eight mana and who has the time!
The activated ability paired with the untap means that your little Myr army can big pretty big when it’s time to swarm.
The issue is that five-colour commanders are so open-ended and while this definitely pulls you in a specific direction with the Myr type elements, it’s just easy to go whatever direction you need to go.
In white, you’re often making tokens accidentally even. Staff of the Storyteller is likely to become a Phyrexian Arena that costs one white mana instead of one life. Even on it’s ETB, Staff of the Storyteller can be 1WW for a card draw which in white isn’t the worst place to be. My Thalisse, Reverent Medium deck is going to try this out for sure. Otharri, Suns’ Glory (spoiler, my fave of the new commanders) is going to take advantage of this.
There are so many token decks in white that will have this seemingly innocuous piece outing gain advantage over time. Also, this feels like such a stupid thing to want to remove! It doesn’t feel good to target this with removal! Because it seems so innocent!
Watch your opponent get cards and then rethink your stance on not targeting this artifact. (This is more of a note to self right now.)
That does it for Phyrexia: All Will Be One! Let me know what commander you want me to write about @mikecarrozza on Instagram and Twitter!
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Welcome to my set review of Phyrexia: All Will Be One, where I will pick five cards of each colour and discuss my favourite cards from them.
Given that Phyrexia: All Will Be One also comes out with a pair of preconstructed Commander decks, I’ll also be covering my favourite new cards from there in another article.
Without further ado, here are my favourite Colourless and Lands cards!
This is a fun colourless commander. There aren’t a ton of amazing token generators, but my first thought was make an army of 1/1s and turn them into 5/3 Juggernauts. There’s something fun about Solemn Simulacrum daring your opponents to block it when it’s going to eat what’s in its way.
Graaz can be a real finisher in a Thalisse, Reverent Medium deck or even a Krenko, Mob Boss deck. Just any deck where you have a huge amount of creatures that would be buffed if turned into 5/3s, Graaz is your new anthem that’ll make people smile. You can also Goblin Welder this out! Loot on end step, Goblin Welder, untap, swing. GGs, everybody.
You can pay three mana for a fetch land. Or you can play Mirran Safehouse to be the Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx you just hit with a Beast Within. Playing a mill deck? You’ll surely find a utility land to somewhere for you to take advantage of. Mirran Safehouse isn’t fancy, but it’s cool, it’s new and it’s a Strip Mine away from being a Cabal Coffers that’s also… a Strip Mine. This is sneaky!
I love a good callback.
Staff of Domination has been Compleated and Staff of Compleation tells you to pay life instead of mana. It will add up, but in a superfriends deck, you’re looking at adding loyalty for three life. Card draw is a little steep, but paying four life and tapping this with Vilis, Broker of Blood under your control gets you practically a new hand. I don’t consider this quite a mana rock since it will dig into your life a little too aggressively, but it is one in a pinch. It’s versatile and useful, but be careful with your life!
Turn your land into any nontoken artifact you control by paying for it again. Mirage Mirror so good you need another? Good, here it is. Want a second Sol Ring or Mana Crypt? Consider it done. As long as you’re not looking for an ETB trigger to copy, The Mycosynth Gardens are a solid include for nontoken artifact targets like a Conjurer’s Closet or Sword of the Animist. It’s a land and it filters for any colour. Enjoy testing this one, it is bound to surprise many of us as the set rolls out. It’s not stuck at sorcery speed either!
Keep token players on their toes with this ability to blow them up at any time. It’s a Ratchet Bomb, we’ve seen this before. But this is legendary and fits in your legendary matters decks and, in certain cases, you can remove ten oil counters to deal a knockout blow of 10 damage. I really like that we have a legendary Ratchet Bomb. With the legendary matters push in Dominaria United, I think this is a solid and interesting addition to the card pool. I’m running this in my Will the Wise / Mike, the Dungeon Master deck.
That does it for Lands and Artifacts! Catch you next time for the new cards from the Commander Precons!
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Welcome to my set review of Phyrexia: All Will Be One, where I will pick five cards of each colour and discuss my favourite cards from them.
Given that Phyrexia: All Will Be One also comes out with a pair of preconstructed Commander decks, I’ll also be covering my favourite new cards from there in another article.
Without further ado, here are my favourite Gold cards!
I really, really like Tyvar. Here comes a planeswalker Thousand-Year Elixir with upside. He works with the original Tyvar Kell if you run him in an Elves shell.
Yes, it’s more fragile than Thousand-Year Elixir and you can’t activate it at instant speed, but this is about redundancy in the right decks. I run Will the Wise / Mike, the Dungeon Master, and Tyvar was such a windmill slam in that list I can’t recommend it enough. The -2 ability gets Will back out of the graveyard, too! It’s great for self-mill strategies. It’s a planeswalker, so it’s a different card type to cast with Muldrotha, the Gravetide. I am a big fan of this card, but recognize it’s getting the beatdown every time.
This is one of the best designed cards I’ve seen in a hot minute. I think it tells a story so well and its mechanics are useful and interesting. The static ability keeps Kaito balancing and helps you get a recast on a creature you want to leave or ETB again.
Sivitri, Dragon Master decks are going to love this. My Aminatou, the Fateshifter superfriends deck is going to love this.
Don’t sleep on the token Kaito creates. Drones are a plant for more because that token is strong. It deters attacks and when a board wipe hits, if you have four or five of these, that’s eight or 10 life per opponent. I am a massive fan of this card and believe it’ll be way more impressive than people can tell right now.
Yeah, seven mana is a lot, but Hexproof and six loyalty with card draw, draining, and of course, that huge -3 ability. Incredible. I cannot express properly just how brutal this is going to be against the right decks. I cannot tell you enough how nuts this is going to feel when you land it. I love Kaya, I feel comfortable saying she’s my favourite planeswalker. This card solidified her up there for me.
Superfriends and Orzhov tokens are the likeliest homes for Kaya, Intangible Slayer. Thalisse, Reverent Medium has Anointed Procession rocking, so it’s even more value. Let’s get hype! This card is expensive to cast, but its impact will be noticeable.
Big surprise, the aristocrats guy likes the Rakdos commander. A non-legendary pseudo-death Cascade makes this the leader for a “secret commander” deck. Build a deck around that and stuff it with legendary creatures to dodge. Rakdos legends are so fun, I think you can build this to be an interesting varied experience every time.
I’ll be trying this out in my Lyzolda, the Blood Witch. Let’s see what Kethek can pop out!
This is going right into my Zaffai, Thunder Conductor and if I want to, I might even just swap Ovika for Zaffai from time to time. I think Ovika is so interesting. Sure, you can go the Impact Tremors route too!
I really like Ovika because it’s very flexible. You see it in Izzet colours and you think instant and sorcery, but it only says noncreature. Instants, Sorceries, Enchantments, Artifacts, Planeswalkers – you can build Ovika a bunch of different ways. Targeting Ovika is difficult and one Sunbird’s Invocation gets you six tokens, then every cast spell gets you another, and if they aren’t creatures, boom, more Goblins.
Jesus, it’s also a 6/6 in the air if you wanna just swing. I think Ovika is cool as hell.
That does it for Gold! Catch you next time for Lands and Artifacts!
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Welcome to my set review of Phyrexia: All Will Be One, where I will pick five cards of each colour and discuss my favourite cards from them.
Given that Phyrexia: All Will Be One also comes out with a pair of preconstructed Commander decks, I’ll also be covering my favourite new cards from there in another article.
Without further ado, here are my favourite Green cards!
This is a solid contender to replace Crucible of Worlds in decks that need their artifacts to do something else while also allowing for calculated single plays. That second ability isn’t always going to be activated, but playing a fetch land or something from your graveyard, that’s every time.
The Gitrog Monster is one of my only remaining green decks, and when I tell you that some turns I only play one thing and the rest is activated abilities, I think this is going to find an easy slot in there.
This is definitely limiting, but in a pinch, it can be exactly what you need. Just don’t go playing Underworld Breach from this activation.
A new Craterhoof Behemoth for mono green decks or decks running Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth just dropped and she is sickening, honey.
Sure you can pay five mana, four life for a three loyalty planeswalker, but paying six, mana for five loyalty is also a sweet spot. The plus one in a deck poised to take advantage of big tokens like Ghired, Conclave Exile can get out of hand if you’ve got Nissa out on seven. That is of course if you don’t just ultimate her immediately. Nissa is a threat on the table or a surprise in hand. This is the scary planeswalker of the set for me!
Lagrella, the Magpie decks just got a new win condition.
Go ahead and look up cards that target any number of creatures. Then build up a board and target all of them. Venerated Rotpriest does not care who targets your creatures, whether that creature is a token or not, Venerated Rotpriest only cares if they are targeted by a spell.
Keep this one in your pocket until the time is right because this sick little freak is going to turn some heads. It’s only one mana! And that art! Good god, this card is beautiful.
Tamiyo’s Safekeeping, this is not, but Tyvar’s Stand does grant two of the best keywords to a creature for one mana and then you have the option of buffing that creature up as much as you need. Obviously, pop this on a trampler and get damage all the way through.
I think we are at capacity for Caustic Caterpillar type cards. Cankerbloom looks disgusting and the choice of cashing it in for destruction or construction is great in the right deck. Get over the top in your token swarm counters deck and mess with the math. Fynn, the Fangbearer decks get a little extra utility here. All in all, proliferate isn’t necessary everywhere, but it is nice to have when the time is right.
Yeah, I cheated, but for good reason. There is so much happening on this card. A mana dork that eats your opponents graveyard before becoming a small beater is incredible. Targeted graveyard hate is more and more necessary, and when it’s just tacked on to something that’s making you mana? Lord save us all. This is a power creep canary has been long dead in this coal mine moment.
That does it for Green! Catch you next time for Gold!
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