The etb effect is decent, though lessened in multiplayer since you won't necessarily get to untap before instant-speed removal hits him. Anyway a 6/6 flyer for 6 with a relatively minor upside isn't getting anyone's attention, it's the triggered ability. Personally I'm not a huge fan. What makes big x draw spells great is being able to do them eot. WU is usually very reactive, paying a bunch of mana on your turn to draw feels like a bad idea, and Azor isn't cheap to begin with. He's certainly powerful, but he's not super synergistic or interesting imo.
I've never been a fan of tribal as a strategy, as it's pretty simple and uninteresting, but Kumena delivers as a tribal commander. His first ability is pretty unexciting, but CA and the tribal pump is pretty nice too. It's mostly just too bad he can't use the white and black merfolk cards - green fails to impress for EDH imo. Anyway I don't dislike his design, although as a tribal commander I'm unlikely to ever actually build him.
Obviously the biggest flaw here is that she has to actually hit the grave to create all the vamps, but this is WB we're talking about, so it shouldn't be too hard to get her back. That said, she's still just a beater that makes some tokens, and it takes a fair bit of work to get her going. Wouldn't you rather just play teysa or GCO or something?
Mono-white sucks pretty badly already, and is arguably the worst ramp color in the format. Zetalpa costs a ton, has no immediate impact, and is just a dumb beater, all things that suck in commander. Hard pass.
This guy looks like a house. Pricey, yes, but almost unkillable and a solid source of CA. I do wonder if he'll end up being excessively annoying, though. I guess nothing a good stifle couldn't fix. Not sure if he's quite interesting enough to build a deck around, when there are so many mono-blue CA-generating commanders, but he'll certainly see play.
Aww, boo. Total trash in the command zone, unless you want to jump through myojin-style hoops. He's still pretty ok in the 99, though, although I really wish he could be activated on enemy endsteps so you didn't have to call your shots quite so much.
Pretty solid effect, though definitely in want of haste. Only hitting one card means there's a decent chance of whiffing, especially in 2-3 player games, but he seems strong enough to be good while also being fun. Way more fun than Narset, though it'll be hilarious if you play against her and get Etali going first.
I like the "if you cast it" restriction (does that not trigger on aethersnatch?), but otherwise this card holds little interest for me. The abilities are all fine I guess but mana-intensive as hell and not particularly synergistic. Hard to imagine wanting to pilot this as a commander, though I'm sure he'll see play in Gishath, nonbo notwithstanding.
Thanks to the magic of layers, it doesn't even do that. Type changing effects like Urborg's apply in layer 4, and ability removal like Blood Sun happens in layer 6. All lands will still be swamps and Urborg will be a swamp with no abilities.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Merfolk: Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca doesn't open up a new commander color combination but he is much more powerful to a merfolk deck than Tishana or Zegana. On balance I think it's probably a stronger build for Fish Commander than Sygg, River Guide or Sygg, River Cutthroat. Losing out on the white and black merfolk sucks, but Green offers way more ways to untap your merfolk (Seedborn Muse, Vitalize, Benefactor's Draught) and the new UG Merfolk are on point. It also makes it easier to set up an infinite Intruder Alarm/Seahunter combo, as you can run mana dorks, Kiora's Follower + Cryptolith Rite, and Earthcraft. My wife's unlikely to abandon Sygg, but for someone looking to play Fish in EDH, Kumena is King.
Pirates: They got a smattering of individually powerful cards, but they still feel like a tribe without a focus. I don't know what this deck does, or how.
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Sufferer of EDHD
Commander - Currently Playing: RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G) RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B) WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
Maybe Zacama, Primal Calamity for the Cromat snow deck I'm working on. (Cromat enchantress is turning back into Rubinia Soulsinger enchantress.) I'm sorely tempted to to just build Zacama. But I have way too many big-mana decks already.
Sweet sweet commander gods.... what have you done.... Champion of Dusk is going to be ridiculous. Granted, its essentially just for swarm based Edgar decks but man..... thats one hell of a shoe in.
I think it'll work well in my Olivia, Mobilized for War deck. I already run enough actual vampires that Falkenrath Gorger and Malakir Bloodwitch are worthwhile includes, and my non-vampires are quite often turned into vampires by Olivia's trigger. Additionally, Olivia is emptying my hand all the time, so card draw is great.
I like the "if you cast it" restriction (does that not trigger on aethersnatch?), but otherwise this card holds little interest for me. The abilities are all fine I guess but mana-intensive as hell and not particularly synergistic. Hard to imagine wanting to pilot this as a commander, though I'm sure he'll see play in Gishath, nonbo notwithstanding.
Honestly I think you are undervaluing Zacama. What I like most about Zacama is that he is very open ended so you can build all kinds of fun strategies around him. I think Zacama is like Tasigur. You get to play cool cards like Naya Charm with a very low opportunity commander.
I like the "if you cast it" restriction (does that not trigger on aethersnatch?), but otherwise this card holds little interest for me. The abilities are all fine I guess but mana-intensive as hell and not particularly synergistic. Hard to imagine wanting to pilot this as a commander, though I'm sure he'll see play in Gishath, nonbo notwithstanding.
Honestly I think you are undervaluing Zacama. What I like most about Zacama is that he is very open ended so you can build all kinds of fun strategies around him. I think Zacama is like Tasigur. You get to play cool cards like Naya Charm with a very low opportunity commander.
I don't understand why being open-ended makes any commander interesting. Granted, something that's very directed (i.e. most tribal commanders) are boring to build because the deck basically builds itself, but something that provides no direction at all is equally boring imo. If your commander isn't an integral part of your deck, then why are you building with that commander instead of something else? For that matter, why are you playing commander at all?
To say he provides no direction isn't totally fair to Zacama - he obviously directs you towards ramp, if nothing else. But ramp is what 80% of EDH do these days anyway, so it's not much of a direction.
I am building Azor, the Lawbringer first. Already setting up a list for the deck challenge. :3
Blue and red elder dinos are interesting legends, though neither would lead a deck for me. There are many interesting cards to join decks, but nothing to start new deck types with.
Am I the only one totally pumped about Pitiless Plunderer? Seems strong in B creatures based decks, and insane in B token based decks. My Teysa, Orzhov Scion will be happy to abuse it <3
It seems rather in line with Sifter of Skulls and Pawn of Ulamog. There is a little variance given both the ones I mentioned only trigger off of nontoken creature deaths so I guess its nice that you can chain gun tokens and get the mana from them. There are pros and cons though as some decks would value additional creatures going through the engine more than they would a larger abundance of mana. If you were to add a Blood Artist to the mix for example its possible you would prefer seeing more bodies over more mana.
It depends on the deck but for the most part I dont really employ either of these effects very often and I suspect the new version will be a little similar in use for me.
I can see why you would compare Sifter and Pawn to the Plunderer, but the difference of the mana tokens not being creatures is heavily outweighed by the fact that it triggers off of tokens as well as makes colored mana-even ignoring the fact that the mana can be saved up over turns, and can even cause triggers from other permanents.
Basically, the way I am looking at this card is it is adding an extra colored mana to my sac-outlets. Phyrexian Altar becomes add 2 mana of any color to your mana pool, Ashnod's Altar becomes add 2c and 1 of any color, and any other sac-outlet becomes Phyrexian Altar+ plus whatever effect it has.
Am I the only one totally pumped about Pitiless Plunderer? Seems strong in B creatures based decks, and insane in B token based decks. My Teysa, Orzhov Scion will be happy to abuse it <3
This is strange and kind of awesome interaction lol. March is one of those cards that causes this stuff, and sin e you are already aware of this, it should be easily avoided if the interaction is unwanted.
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Another card that I think is amazingly abusable is Path of Discovery. With any token deck, this can help you buff your team and cycle through large chunks of your deck. Ghave will love it especially.
I'm super-happy with all the new stuff to put into Edgar Markov. As I tune the deck more and more, I think it's kind of fitting that I throw out more and more of the aristocratic and hedonistic Innistrad vamps and replace them with the devoted and militant Ixalan ones. They even seem to fit a little more with the image Edgar gives off: a powerful vampire knight/lord and his legion of vampiric warriors and clergy. That said, I'm going to go through the stuff that caught my eye.
Bishop of Binding: I like the dichotomy of this card. On one hand, it functions like a Banisher Priest, removing some troublesome creature, while netting me another body due to Edgar's eminence. Logic says to me that, I kind of want him to stick around for a while, so better net risk him unless I absolutely have to. However, if I use him to attack, he can pump another vampire up by the exiled card's P. So, a risk/reward situation. The amount of functions this guy can serve just has me looking into a spot for him.
Champion of Dusk: I love this card to death. Awesome art, potent and relevant effect that gives always needed CA, will give an extra body which boosts his effect, and is a 4/4 on his own. I couldn't hate this card if I tried.
Dusk Legion Zealot: A cheap body who gets me another body and a card. Not that flashy or powerful but still serves a purpose because Edgar always want to have more cards in hand.
Elenda, the Dusk Rose: Worth giving a shot. If she, works she'll definitely be a force to be reckoned as a beater and capable of refilling my field should it get wiped. However, I'll have to see her in action before I make anymore calls.
Forerunner of the Legion: What can I say? Having another tutor is not a bad thing, in my book. Not too mention, as I keep casting vamps and having Edgar spit out more aswell, he'll keep pumping members of the swarms for the next swing. He has impact when he's played and hits field and continues to serve a function afterword.
Legion Lieutenant: Cheap, gets me two bodies for the price of one and acts as an anthem. Simple and efficient, I will find a spot for him.
Martyr of Dusk: While not the most impressive card I've seen in this set, especially among the vampires, I can appreciate having another cheap vamp who'll not only add to the swarm but replace itsel, when it dies. A novel use if nothing else. Worth some testing, even if I wouldn't call it an auto include.
Paladin of Atonement: Cheap cost but could have some potential gains in the long run. Worth testing.
Radiant Destiny: A nice cheap anthem. Again, not a bad thing whatsoever. The Ascend ability is also a nice thing for a deck this aggressive.
Sanguine Glorifier:...hmmm. I do not consider her as good as some other cards but she still has synergy with other vamps who care about +1/+1 counters and is a 3/3 on her own plus the extra body she'll bring. Definitely testable.
Twilight Prophet: The best darn vamp to come out of this set, no, this block! Seriously, she's gonna go far not only in Edgar but in a lot of other black decks! She keeps draining your opponents while healing you. Just an awesome card.
Vona's Hunger: Decently costed. Won't be hard to get that Ascend in this kind of deck. Definitely going in.
Elenda actually seems better as a sacrifice commander than a vampire commander, but that means she's essentially a weaker Teysa (and is a nice addition to her deck). Her and Ashnod's Alter combine for a whole lot of death triggers.
Zacama kills things and gains you life. He's a swiss army knife that happens to also be a fat beatstick. You get to run extra ramp for added consistency and always have a reliable mana sink.
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The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Here's an interesting question: Does Zacama want Mycosynth Lattice? It seems pretty easy for him to make infinite mana. One out would easily be for him to just blow up all of your opponents things.
Here's an interesting question: Does Zacama want Mycosynth Lattice? It seems pretty easy for him to make infinite mana. One out would easily be for him to just blow up all of your opponents things.
Might as well include Aetherflux Resovior. If your making infinite mana you could gain infinite life and kill everyone. Of course, making infinite G is easier than infinite W.
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The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Time for my slightly-more detailed review - I've been busy during preview week, so I wasn't paying much attention to the set, but from what I skimmed through, there are some jewels in the set that fit in several decks of mine at the same time (despite me being jaded about new cards nowadays to minimize changes).
Slaughter the Strong - I think Alesha will enjoy this very much. Wraths are already less disruptive to the deck because it's heavy on the Blood Artist effects, and now this is a cheaper one that allows me to keep them alive (Blood Artist for free on top of everything) and the "Power 2 or below" deckbuilding rule I have in place more or less assures at least 2 creatures of mine survive. I almost daresay it's the most custom-designed wrath for the deck ever.
Zetalpa, Primal Dawn - I like the Elder Dinosaur Cycle as a concept, so I'll comment on them even if I'm not interested in adding them my decks. Well this one doesn't qualify, but if I had to place it, it'll definitely be in Karador, but Elesh Norn is a lot more practical for me (indestructible isn't a very huge boon in a reanimator deck, which is why I don't even run Avacyn in the deck, preferring Elesh Norn).
Dead Man's Chest - Horde of Notions might have an interest in this, I do have the library-exile theme going in there, but this is rather over-reliant on the opponent's creatures to function, but at the same time, it can be Sun Titan'ed, so even little value does add up over time.
Tetzimoc, Primal Death - More considerable than Zetalpa for Karador, but I still don't think it will make the cut since the deck focuses more on direct battlefield reanimation and Tetzimoc works way better with recursion (which I have fewer of in the deck). Still, there's the chance I'm severely underestimating it even with the few recursion cards I have and it'll replace a Wrath in the deck because it is still a Legendary Creature after all, which Captain Sisay can find.
Twilight Prophet - Oh my, this is definitely finding a home with Alesha, card advantage (with bonus drain) on an evasive body that Alesha can recur is exactly what Alesha wants.
Blood Sun - I run Blood Moon in Ryusei and while I would say this is marginally worse than Blood Moon in the deck (I know it functions differently, but in respect to the deck, that difference doesn't benefit me as much as typical comparisons in a vacuum), but redundancy for cards that hurt non-basics should never be overlooked.
Brass's Bounty - I had a good laugh at the R version of Boundless Realms, but no, I usually run Boundless Realms in Horde as a finisher for Avenger and not for the ramp, so this isn't functionally the same. Way too high in the curve for Ryusei to consider for artifact fodder.
Dire Fleet Daredevil - I might consider this in Alesha, as it's a very useful ETB effect and that might give it evasion (in the sense nobody wants this back in the graveyard for next turn) of some sort.
Etali, Primal Storm - It does library-exile, but I think Horde is way too slow for it to function, so I think Ryusei would benefit much more from the card advantage. Yes, one of them has Greaves, the other doesn't.
Ghalta, Primal Hunger - Tempting to put in Animar (since it effectively has double on the discount) and it is big trample fun, but it'll have to go through the same review as Nezahal.
Wayward Swordtooth and World Shaper - Horde would want these two. Exploration occasionally runs dry, while Swordtooth provides a 5/5 body that can be brought back by the Commander, so susceptibility of removal isn't much of an issue. I didn't run Splendid Reclamation, but World Shaper is pretty much the same to it as Swordtooth is to Exploration for me as well.
Azor, the Lawbringer - I'm tempted to have Azor as an alternate Commander to Isperia. He's probably generically better, but I liked Isperia's theme reflection (pillowfort). This would need some extensive testing.
Elenda, the Dusk Rose - I was initially excited for her in Alesha, but I don't think I can have the necessary tools for her in the deck to function that well in the end, so I think I'll be passing on this. If she had deathtouch over lifelink I might tweak the deck to accommodate her, but as it stands I don't think it's worth that much trouble.
Huatli, Radiant Champion - Probably the first card to have impacted me because of the Planeswalker change, but Karador involves Legendary and Creatures and she functions around both as well. But then again, her combination of abilities might be either underwhelming or unnecessary at times, so I wouldn't jump on it completely yet.
The Immortal Sun gets the razzie for most annoying card in the set. Guarantee I'll be seeing that in just about every deck I ever play against forever. Sphinx's decree gets the razzie for most pointless rare in the set for accomplishing very close to nothing whatsoever, although it's followed pretty closely by Silent Gravestone, which is not only an absurd level of redundancy in the category of 1-mana grave hate artifacts (including one literally one set previous), but even has a stupid redundant name.
I don't understand why being open-ended makes any commander interesting. Granted, something that's very directed (i.e. most tribal commanders) are boring to build because the deck basically builds itself, but something that provides no direction at all is equally boring imo. If your commander isn't an integral part of your deck, then why are you building with that commander instead of something else? For that matter, why are you playing commander at all?
To say he provides no direction isn't totally fair to Zacama - he obviously directs you towards ramp, if nothing else. But ramp is what 80% of EDH do these days anyway, so it's not much of a direction.
He provides quite a bit of direction, though.
He is a mana sink, so can be built in a sort of ElfBall deck and used as such if you don't draw your Fireball cards. White allows for some (not much, but some) protection and spot removal.
He untaps lands, allowing him to fit right into a Naya Enchantress deck that focuses on Utopia Sprawl and similar cards. I personally think Maranth, Will of the Wild is better just due to you having a win con in the Command Zone, but he definitely belongs in the 99 if you want to take him.
He's also a pretty decent Voltron commander, considering he has two highly relevant keyword (Vigilance and Trample), can clear/weaken blockers, and comes with the ability to equip even the most expensive items on him the turn he drops for free.
Dude's got plenty of direction if you can read his map
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Oath of the Gatewatch; the set that caused the competitive community to freak out over Basic Lands.
Thanks to the magic of layers, it doesn't even do that. Type changing effects like Urborg's apply in layer 4, and ability removal like Blood Sun happens in layer 6. All lands will still be swamps and Urborg will be a swamp with no abilities.
Forgot I meant to respond to this.
You do know that once Urborg has no abilities the swamp-ing effect disappears, right? It's not an etb even of the layers work out in such a way that the type change happens, once the effect creating the type change is gone the effect goes with it. The way you explained it you could destroy Urborg and lands would still be swamps.
Thanks to the magic of layers, it doesn't even do that. Type changing effects like Urborg's apply in layer 4, and ability removal like Blood Sun happens in layer 6. All lands will still be swamps and Urborg will be a swamp with no abilities.
Forgot I meant to respond to this.
You do know that once Urborg has no abilities the swamp-ing effect disappears, right? It's not an etb even of the layers work out in such a way that the type change happens, once the effect creating the type change is gone the effect goes with it. The way you explained it you could destroy Urborg and lands would still be swamps.
So yes Blood Sun DOES turn off Urborg.
That's not true. If you destory Urborg there's no effect in Layer 4 changing things to swamps, so lands aren't swamps. Blood Sun removes the ability after it has done its job, so lands are still swamps.
613.1d Layer 4: Type-changing effects are applied. These include effects that change an object’s card type, subtype, and/or supertype.
613.1f Layer 6: Ability-adding effects, ability-removing effects, and effects that say an object can’t have an ability are applied.
613.4. The application of continuous effects as described by the layer system is continually and automatically performed by the game. All resulting changes to an object’s characteristics are instantaneous.
Example: Honor of the Pure is an enchantment that reads “White creatures you control get +1/+1.” Honor of the Pure and a 2/2 black creature are on the battlefield under your control. If an effect then turns the creature white (layer 5), it gets +1/+1 from Honor of the Pure (layer 7c), becoming 3/3. If the creature’s color is later changed to red (layer 5), Honor of the Pure’s effect stops applying to it, and it will return to being 2/2.
Example: Gray Ogre, a 2/2 creature, is on the battlefield. An effect puts a +1/+1 counter on it (layer 7d), making it 3/3. A spell targeting it that says “Target creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn” resolves (layer 7c), making it 7/7. An enchantment that says “Creatures you control get +0/+2” enters the battlefield (layer 7c), making it 7/9. An effect that says “Target creature becomes 0/1 until end of turn” is applied to it (layer 7b), making it 5/8 (0/1, with +4/+4 from the resolved spell, +0/+2 from the enchantment, and +1/+1 from the counter).
That's not true. If you destory Urborg there's no effect in Layer 4 changing things to swamps, so lands aren't swamps. Blood Sun removes the ability after it has done its job, so lands are still swamps.
I bolded the important bit.
That makes literally zero sense. The ability making things into swamps is gone. But the official release notes confirm so sure. Makes no ******* sense though.
If a land has an ability that continuously changes the types of other lands (such as Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth does), that ability will apply before Blood Sun removes that land's abilities. If a land has an ability that grants abilities to other objects, Blood Sun will stop it from doing so.
He is a mana sink, so can be built in a sort of ElfBall deck and used as such if you don't draw your Fireball cards. White allows for some (not much, but some) protection and spot removal.
He untaps lands, allowing him to fit right into a Naya Enchantress deck that focuses on Utopia Sprawl and similar cards. I personally think Maranth, Will of the Wild is better just due to you having a win con in the Command Zone, but he definitely belongs in the 99 if you want to take him.
He's also a pretty decent Voltron commander, considering he has two highly relevant keyword (Vigilance and Trample), can clear/weaken blockers, and comes with the ability to equip even the most expensive items on him the turn he drops for free.
Dude's got plenty of direction if you can read his map
I already said he directs towards ramp, but everyone's playing ramp anyway so that's not much direction. Not sure why you'd say elves specifically given that he has negative synergy with nonland mana producers. Auras, sure, but not any moreso than regular, putting-lands-into-play ramp.
He's a horrible voltron commander. He's way overpriced for his stats and is in a bit of a dead zone for effective power since he needs 2 more to be a natural 2-hit kill but he's way overpriced for a 3-hit kill. Given that you're anticipating loading up a voltron commander with equipment anyway, paying 9 for a bunch of p/t is pretty pointless when you could pick anyone cheaper and be killing people before Zacama even hits the board. Plus voltron is a horribly ineffective archetype to begin with, but that's more my personal opinion.
Unfortunately, Blood Sun doesn't actually help against Cabal Coffers, Gaea's Cradle, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, etc. Although it does turn off Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
Azor, the Lawbringer: C
The etb effect is decent, though lessened in multiplayer since you won't necessarily get to untap before instant-speed removal hits him. Anyway a 6/6 flyer for 6 with a relatively minor upside isn't getting anyone's attention, it's the triggered ability. Personally I'm not a huge fan. What makes big x draw spells great is being able to do them eot. WU is usually very reactive, paying a bunch of mana on your turn to draw feels like a bad idea, and Azor isn't cheap to begin with. He's certainly powerful, but he's not super synergistic or interesting imo.
Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca: B+
I've never been a fan of tribal as a strategy, as it's pretty simple and uninteresting, but Kumena delivers as a tribal commander. His first ability is pretty unexciting, but CA and the tribal pump is pretty nice too. It's mostly just too bad he can't use the white and black merfolk cards - green fails to impress for EDH imo. Anyway I don't dislike his design, although as a tribal commander I'm unlikely to ever actually build him.
Elenda, the Dusk Rose: D+
Obviously the biggest flaw here is that she has to actually hit the grave to create all the vamps, but this is WB we're talking about, so it shouldn't be too hard to get her back. That said, she's still just a beater that makes some tokens, and it takes a fair bit of work to get her going. Wouldn't you rather just play teysa or GCO or something?
Zetalpa, Primal Dawn: D
Mono-white sucks pretty badly already, and is arguably the worst ramp color in the format. Zetalpa costs a ton, has no immediate impact, and is just a dumb beater, all things that suck in commander. Hard pass.
Nezahal, Primal Tide: B+
This guy looks like a house. Pricey, yes, but almost unkillable and a solid source of CA. I do wonder if he'll end up being excessively annoying, though. I guess nothing a good stifle couldn't fix. Not sure if he's quite interesting enough to build a deck around, when there are so many mono-blue CA-generating commanders, but he'll certainly see play.
Tetzimoc, Primal Death: D+
Aww, boo. Total trash in the command zone, unless you want to jump through myojin-style hoops. He's still pretty ok in the 99, though, although I really wish he could be activated on enemy endsteps so you didn't have to call your shots quite so much.
Etali, Primal Storm: B
Pretty solid effect, though definitely in want of haste. Only hitting one card means there's a decent chance of whiffing, especially in 2-3 player games, but he seems strong enough to be good while also being fun. Way more fun than Narset, though it'll be hilarious if you play against her and get Etali going first.
Ghalta, Primal Hunger: D-
I'm sure there are some Selvala players salivating over this card, but personally my interest is damn close to zero. Oh boy, a big fat fatty. Yawn.
Zacama, Primal Calamity: D+
I like the "if you cast it" restriction (does that not trigger on aethersnatch?), but otherwise this card holds little interest for me. The abilities are all fine I guess but mana-intensive as hell and not particularly synergistic. Hard to imagine wanting to pilot this as a commander, though I'm sure he'll see play in Gishath, nonbo notwithstanding.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
Merfolk: Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca doesn't open up a new commander color combination but he is much more powerful to a merfolk deck than Tishana or Zegana. On balance I think it's probably a stronger build for Fish Commander than Sygg, River Guide or Sygg, River Cutthroat. Losing out on the white and black merfolk sucks, but Green offers way more ways to untap your merfolk (Seedborn Muse, Vitalize, Benefactor's Draught) and the new UG Merfolk are on point. It also makes it easier to set up an infinite Intruder Alarm/Seahunter combo, as you can run mana dorks, Kiora's Follower + Cryptolith Rite, and Earthcraft. My wife's unlikely to abandon Sygg, but for someone looking to play Fish in EDH, Kumena is King.
Vampires: Elenda, the Dusk Rose is an awful commander, but this tribe is real scary now. Edgar Markov is quickly becoming my most feared opponent in my playgroup because he's so fast and efficient, and now he's got a wide variety of new tools and threats such as Dusk Legion Zealot, Legion Lieutenant, Oathsworn Vampire, Champion of Dusk, and Twilight Prophet. Several of those are going to be good in many monoblack decks regardless of tribal synergy.
Dinosaurs: They finally feel like a real tribe; I sketched it out and no longer do you have to run french vanillas to get a reasonable (33+) dinosaur count for Gisath, Sun's Avatar. You can even avoid strong french vanillas (Carnage Tyrant, Sky Terror, Charging Monstrosaur) if you want, since we got a ton of dinosaurs that actually do things like Polyraptor, Cacophodon, Crested Herdcaller, and Etali, Primal Storm. It's not going to be a Tier1 Tribal deck, but this deck seems fun and powerful with a lot of combos - including an infinite combo if you can make Cacophodon indestructible (using Eldrazi Monument, Shielded by Faith, Shield of the Oversoul, Darksteel Plate, Boros Charm, or Heroic Intervention) with a Pyrohemia or Fire Ants on the field. Having a Rite of Passage or a Bellowing Aegisaur copied by Mirror of the Forebearers also does the trick. Basically, the Enrage engine was there before but not the payoffs - Polyraptor, Cacaphodon, Silverclad Ferocidons, and Needletooth Raptor fix that problem nicely.
Pirates: They got a smattering of individually powerful cards, but they still feel like a tribe without a focus. I don't know what this deck does, or how.
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
Journey to Eternity and Twilight Prophet for Xira.
World Shaper for Tasigur and maybe Tymna & Kondo.
Maybe Zacama, Primal Calamity for the Cromat snow deck I'm working on. (Cromat enchantress is turning back into Rubinia Soulsinger enchantress.) I'm sorely tempted to to just build Zacama. But I have way too many big-mana decks already.
I like some of the other cards but I don't have plans for them at the moment. Etali, Primal Storm makes me glad I retired Intet, the Dreamer.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
Honestly I think you are undervaluing Zacama. What I like most about Zacama is that he is very open ended so you can build all kinds of fun strategies around him. I think Zacama is like Tasigur. You get to play cool cards like Naya Charm with a very low opportunity commander.
To say he provides no direction isn't totally fair to Zacama - he obviously directs you towards ramp, if nothing else. But ramp is what 80% of EDH do these days anyway, so it's not much of a direction.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
Blue and red elder dinos are interesting legends, though neither would lead a deck for me. There are many interesting cards to join decks, but nothing to start new deck types with.
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
I can see why you would compare Sifter and Pawn to the Plunderer, but the difference of the mana tokens not being creatures is heavily outweighed by the fact that it triggers off of tokens as well as makes colored mana-even ignoring the fact that the mana can be saved up over turns, and can even cause triggers from other permanents.
Basically, the way I am looking at this card is it is adding an extra colored mana to my sac-outlets. Phyrexian Altar becomes add 2 mana of any color to your mana pool, Ashnod's Altar becomes add 2c and 1 of any color, and any other sac-outlet becomes Phyrexian Altar+ plus whatever effect it has.
This is strange and kind of awesome interaction lol. March is one of those cards that causes this stuff, and sin e you are already aware of this, it should be easily avoided if the interaction is unwanted.
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Another card that I think is amazingly abusable is Path of Discovery. With any token deck, this can help you buff your team and cycle through large chunks of your deck. Ghave will love it especially.
Bishop of Binding: I like the dichotomy of this card. On one hand, it functions like a Banisher Priest, removing some troublesome creature, while netting me another body due to Edgar's eminence. Logic says to me that, I kind of want him to stick around for a while, so better net risk him unless I absolutely have to. However, if I use him to attack, he can pump another vampire up by the exiled card's P. So, a risk/reward situation. The amount of functions this guy can serve just has me looking into a spot for him.
Champion of Dusk: I love this card to death. Awesome art, potent and relevant effect that gives always needed CA, will give an extra body which boosts his effect, and is a 4/4 on his own. I couldn't hate this card if I tried.
Dusk Legion Zealot: A cheap body who gets me another body and a card. Not that flashy or powerful but still serves a purpose because Edgar always want to have more cards in hand.
Elenda, the Dusk Rose: Worth giving a shot. If she, works she'll definitely be a force to be reckoned as a beater and capable of refilling my field should it get wiped. However, I'll have to see her in action before I make anymore calls.
Forerunner of the Legion: What can I say? Having another tutor is not a bad thing, in my book. Not too mention, as I keep casting vamps and having Edgar spit out more aswell, he'll keep pumping members of the swarms for the next swing. He has impact when he's played and hits field and continues to serve a function afterword.
Legion Lieutenant: Cheap, gets me two bodies for the price of one and acts as an anthem. Simple and efficient, I will find a spot for him.
Martyr of Dusk: While not the most impressive card I've seen in this set, especially among the vampires, I can appreciate having another cheap vamp who'll not only add to the swarm but replace itsel, when it dies. A novel use if nothing else. Worth some testing, even if I wouldn't call it an auto include.
Paladin of Atonement: Cheap cost but could have some potential gains in the long run. Worth testing.
Radiant Destiny: A nice cheap anthem. Again, not a bad thing whatsoever. The Ascend ability is also a nice thing for a deck this aggressive.
Sanguine Glorifier:...hmmm. I do not consider her as good as some other cards but she still has synergy with other vamps who care about +1/+1 counters and is a 3/3 on her own plus the extra body she'll bring. Definitely testable.
Twilight Prophet: The best darn vamp to come out of this set, no, this block! Seriously, she's gonna go far not only in Edgar but in a lot of other black decks! She keeps draining your opponents while healing you. Just an awesome card.
Vona's Hunger: Decently costed. Won't be hard to get that Ascend in this kind of deck. Definitely going in.
BK'rrik Goodstuff
GWSythis Enchantress
URYusri Coin Flip
BRGKorvold Tokens
BGUYarok Lands Matter
WUBRaffine Looter
Zacama kills things and gains you life. He's a swiss army knife that happens to also be a fat beatstick. You get to run extra ramp for added consistency and always have a reliable mana sink.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Might as well include Aetherflux Resovior. If your making infinite mana you could gain infinite life and kill everyone. Of course, making infinite G is easier than infinite W.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Slaughter the Strong - I think Alesha will enjoy this very much. Wraths are already less disruptive to the deck because it's heavy on the Blood Artist effects, and now this is a cheaper one that allows me to keep them alive (Blood Artist for free on top of everything) and the "Power 2 or below" deckbuilding rule I have in place more or less assures at least 2 creatures of mine survive. I almost daresay it's the most custom-designed wrath for the deck ever.
Zetalpa, Primal Dawn - I like the Elder Dinosaur Cycle as a concept, so I'll comment on them even if I'm not interested in adding them my decks. Well this one doesn't qualify, but if I had to place it, it'll definitely be in Karador, but Elesh Norn is a lot more practical for me (indestructible isn't a very huge boon in a reanimator deck, which is why I don't even run Avacyn in the deck, preferring Elesh Norn).
Nezahal, Primal Tide - One-sided Heartwood Storyteller on a beefy uncounterable body sound great in Animar, but I'll need to check in detail in relation to the deck.
Dead Man's Chest - Horde of Notions might have an interest in this, I do have the library-exile theme going in there, but this is rather over-reliant on the opponent's creatures to function, but at the same time, it can be Sun Titan'ed, so even little value does add up over time.
Tetzimoc, Primal Death - More considerable than Zetalpa for Karador, but I still don't think it will make the cut since the deck focuses more on direct battlefield reanimation and Tetzimoc works way better with recursion (which I have fewer of in the deck). Still, there's the chance I'm severely underestimating it even with the few recursion cards I have and it'll replace a Wrath in the deck because it is still a Legendary Creature after all, which Captain Sisay can find.
Twilight Prophet - Oh my, this is definitely finding a home with Alesha, card advantage (with bonus drain) on an evasive body that Alesha can recur is exactly what Alesha wants.
Blood Sun - I run Blood Moon in Ryusei and while I would say this is marginally worse than Blood Moon in the deck (I know it functions differently, but in respect to the deck, that difference doesn't benefit me as much as typical comparisons in a vacuum), but redundancy for cards that hurt non-basics should never be overlooked.
Brass's Bounty - I had a good laugh at the R version of Boundless Realms, but no, I usually run Boundless Realms in Horde as a finisher for Avenger and not for the ramp, so this isn't functionally the same. Way too high in the curve for Ryusei to consider for artifact fodder.
Dire Fleet Daredevil - I might consider this in Alesha, as it's a very useful ETB effect and that might give it evasion (in the sense nobody wants this back in the graveyard for next turn) of some sort.
Etali, Primal Storm - It does library-exile, but I think Horde is way too slow for it to function, so I think Ryusei would benefit much more from the card advantage. Yes, one of them has Greaves, the other doesn't.
Ghalta, Primal Hunger - Tempting to put in Animar (since it effectively has double on the discount) and it is big trample fun, but it'll have to go through the same review as Nezahal.
Wayward Swordtooth and World Shaper - Horde would want these two. Exploration occasionally runs dry, while Swordtooth provides a 5/5 body that can be brought back by the Commander, so susceptibility of removal isn't much of an issue. I didn't run Splendid Reclamation, but World Shaper is pretty much the same to it as Swordtooth is to Exploration for me as well.
Azor, the Lawbringer - I'm tempted to have Azor as an alternate Commander to Isperia. He's probably generically better, but I liked Isperia's theme reflection (pillowfort). This would need some extensive testing.
Elenda, the Dusk Rose - I was initially excited for her in Alesha, but I don't think I can have the necessary tools for her in the deck to function that well in the end, so I think I'll be passing on this. If she had deathtouch over lifelink I might tweak the deck to accommodate her, but as it stands I don't think it's worth that much trouble.
Huatli, Radiant Champion - Probably the first card to have impacted me because of the Planeswalker change, but Karador involves Legendary and Creatures and she functions around both as well. But then again, her combination of abilities might be either underwhelming or unnecessary at times, so I wouldn't jump on it completely yet.
Hadana's Climb / Winged Temple of Orazca - As much as I liked Evolutionary Escalation in Animar on its flavor, it was rather unstable, whereas this seems way more functional and it's a secondary Kessig Wolf Run afterwards...
Journey to Eternity / Atzal, Cave of Eternity - I think I'm seeing this as Karador 2.0 in the 99 of his own deck already...
EDIT: Fixed Card Texts
The Immortal Sun gets the razzie for most annoying card in the set. Guarantee I'll be seeing that in just about every deck I ever play against forever. Sphinx's decree gets the razzie for most pointless rare in the set for accomplishing very close to nothing whatsoever, although it's followed pretty closely by Silent Gravestone, which is not only an absurd level of redundancy in the category of 1-mana grave hate artifacts (including one literally one set previous), but even has a stupid redundant name.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
He provides quite a bit of direction, though.
He is a mana sink, so can be built in a sort of ElfBall deck and used as such if you don't draw your Fireball cards. White allows for some (not much, but some) protection and spot removal.
He untaps lands, allowing him to fit right into a Naya Enchantress deck that focuses on Utopia Sprawl and similar cards. I personally think Maranth, Will of the Wild is better just due to you having a win con in the Command Zone, but he definitely belongs in the 99 if you want to take him.
He's also a pretty decent Voltron commander, considering he has two highly relevant keyword (Vigilance and Trample), can clear/weaken blockers, and comes with the ability to equip even the most expensive items on him the turn he drops for free.
Dude's got plenty of direction if you can read his map
Forgot I meant to respond to this.
You do know that once Urborg has no abilities the swamp-ing effect disappears, right? It's not an etb even of the layers work out in such a way that the type change happens, once the effect creating the type change is gone the effect goes with it. The way you explained it you could destroy Urborg and lands would still be swamps.
So yes Blood Sun DOES turn off Urborg.
That's not true. If you destory Urborg there's no effect in Layer 4 changing things to swamps, so lands aren't swamps. Blood Sun removes the ability after it has done its job, so lands are still swamps.
I bolded the important bit.
That makes literally zero sense. The ability making things into swamps is gone. But the official release notes confirm so sure. Makes no ******* sense though.
Here I end this war right now
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/rivals-ixalan-release-notes-2018-01-05
He's a horrible voltron commander. He's way overpriced for his stats and is in a bit of a dead zone for effective power since he needs 2 more to be a natural 2-hit kill but he's way overpriced for a 3-hit kill. Given that you're anticipating loading up a voltron commander with equipment anyway, paying 9 for a bunch of p/t is pretty pointless when you could pick anyone cheaper and be killing people before Zacama even hits the board. Plus voltron is a horribly ineffective archetype to begin with, but that's more my personal opinion.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6