I know it's early and there's a bunch of stuff coming out before then but commander anthology comes out later this year. They've also already told use the decks that are coming with it. It looks like great value. Heavenly inferno, evasive maneuvers, guided by nature, and plunder the graves are coming in it. Msrp is $164.99. It looks like great value but I'm not sure about some of the older decks like heavenly inferno and evasive maneuvers. Kaalia's deck seems ridiculous. I've seen it online for sale for over $100 so it seems worth it but I'm not sure. Thoughts?
Kaalia draws a lot of hate BECAUSE she's so good, as well as simple to build around. Without looking at $$$ for each card, I'd say she certainly is, yes.
Honestly the kaalia has the only appeal. My only appeal for the set is hopefully her individual cost goes down
If you have a buddy looking to get into edh and has nothing, this is great. Aside that though... eh
Edit- to be fair, to elaborte more. If you or a friend has no decks, or 1-2 decks, this is a great way to get several decks price wise. But for someone like me who has way too many decks as it is, meh.
I was honestly surprised with some of their choices on who they picked.
I understand buying every card individually can get expensive. A foil kaalia from commanders arsenal is about $55 right now. That's about a third of the value of you we're to buy it at msrp based off that one card. Financially it definitely seems worth it but is it worth the buy as a player? Obviously kaalia is good. I've played against a stock guided by nature and it's solid out of the box but definitely needs some upgrades. I'm not too sure about the other 2 decks though. Looking at the deck lists there doesn't seem to be a whole lot that's really playable. Kaalia has the most playable cards followed by derevi. Plunder the graves seems to have extremely playable stuff in say modern. It doesn't look like a very strong commander deck. There's a couple things that belong but most of it doesn't. And guided by nature is probably in between derevi and daxos as far as commander playability. It looks like they picked 2 of the better decks from the original release an ok one from the pw commanders and a crappy one from last years set.
Honestly the kaalia has the only appeal. My only appeal for the set is hopefully her individual cost goes down
If you have a buddy looking to get into edh and has nothing, this is great. Aside that though... eh
Edit- to be fair, to elaborte more. If you or a friend has no decks, or 1-2 decks, this is a great way to get several decks price wise. But for someone like me who has way too many decks as it is, meh.
I was honestly surprised with some of their choices on who they picked.
So you're saying just get kaalia by itself? I'm not only looking at the financial aspect of it but at the playability of it. Kaalia seems to need the fewest upgrades where daxos seems to need the most upgrades. The only thing I see kaalia needing is a better mana base. Three colors is pretty killer with what they put in there as far as mana generators are concerned, especially with how expensive the casting cost of a lot of the cards are. I understand the game takes longer but still. I like starting my board state fairly early. Not when I'm down to 20-30 life.
There are different ways to look at the product and answer your question. Before I do though, I want to mention that the #1 reason that the Heavenly Inferno deck is $100+ is because in 2011 the Commander product was severely under printed, distributors and collectors horded these boxes, and the Commander is really good. However, the other 99 cards in the deck are mostly forgettable. Path to Exile is a $10-$15 uncommon, Lightning Greaves is about a $4 stable uncommon, there are a few $1-$5 creatures here and there and then a pile of $0.25 bulk. It is nice to have a complete "ready to play" deck out of the box. That fact can't be overlooked. However, according to MtGGoldfish, a sealed box is worth around $200, and no way are the contents inside worth that price tag if you just plan on opening it. You would do much better financially to just buy the deck list as singles.
Okay, so next, i want to direct you to Tolarian Community College on Youtube. While the professor doesn't have a video yet available for Commander Anthology, he has reviewed Duel Decks Anthology and Planechase Anthology. Those video can be found here:
The same concepts and logic can be applied to Commander Anthology. Namely, if you are buying it to open and get value for your money, you will be disappointed. Just buy Kaalia of the Vast and what ever other lose singles you like and build something you really want. To be honest, most Commander decks have around 30 cards which are total garbage and need to be changed.
If you want a "board game" like experience where you keep the decks together and play them as-is out of the box with friends, then they look to be a lot of fun.
As a veteran player with a sizeable collection already, I only buy a complete deck if I know I want to play that deck and make minor modifications as time goes by. Otherwise, I just scavenge parts as single loose cards from other players and stores to improve decks I already own.
"Whatever style you wish to play, be it fast and frenzied or slow and tactical, the surest way to defeat your opponent consistently is by dominating him or her in the war of card advantage." - Brian Wiseman, April 1996
If you are wanting a bunch of pre-con's to introduce a new playgroup to EDH, and you have a nice pile of cash laying around, then sure this may be a good deal. But to be honest, these pre-con's are not compatible with each other in powerlevel.
I have very little interest in seeing this reprint. If you are interested in exposing a new playgroup, then financially you are better at picking up newer individual pre-con's that are actually compatible with each other (because honestly the Meren of Clan Nel Toth deck will likely stomp on everyone from sheer value unless Derevi, Empyrial Tactician just strait voltrons that player out of the game).
The only glimmer of hope I have is that they give all of the legendaries the same foil treatment that the 2016 pre-con's received. I mean all of the legendaries, not just the intended commanders.
Honestly the kaalia has the only appeal. My only appeal for the set is hopefully her individual cost goes down
If you have a buddy looking to get into edh and has nothing, this is great. Aside that though... eh
Edit- to be fair, to elaborte more. If you or a friend has no decks, or 1-2 decks, this is a great way to get several decks price wise. But for someone like me who has way too many decks as it is, meh.
I was honestly surprised with some of their choices on who they picked.
So you're saying just get kaalia by itself? I'm not only looking at the financial aspect of it but at the playability of it. Kaalia seems to need the fewest upgrades where daxos seems to need the most upgrades. The only thing I see kaalia needing is a better mana base. Three colors is pretty killer with what they put in there as far as mana generators are concerned, especially with how expensive the casting cost of a lot of the cards are. I understand the game takes longer but still. I like starting my board state fairly early. Not when I'm down to 20-30 life.
I'm saying the number one interest anyone would probably have is kaalia, who is worth almost a third of the price itself.
However, despite this, the extra 110-120 dollars... it depends on who finds this worth it. As others mentioned if you want a board game set or are brand new to edh, this is great. It's the reason I got the Planechase instead of just ebaying the planes alone for probably half the price.
However if you're more experienced or have a better pool of singles to make decks out of... especially if you bought these decks already... it's eh.
Although I will correct one thing, meren was probably one of the best decks they made, especially with how little money you need to tune her up. Flesh bag reanimations for the win!
I agree that Meren is the best of the four out of the box. I own Evasive Maneuvers and can say that the Derevi, Empyrial Tactician deck has a pretty terrible and unfocused deck out of the box. About 1/3rd of the card are part of a blink strategy for Roon, about 1/3rd work with Derevi, and the other 1/3rd are mostly just bulk and garbage. It is all over the place and a total mess to play out of the box.
Kaalia isn't optimized, but still has a plan of action with a pile of demons, angels and dragons to use with the commander, including the alternate commanders being the same type and each of those card types often being bombs. I think most 4 player games would come down to Meren and Kaalia with the other two players ending up frustrated.
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"Whatever style you wish to play, be it fast and frenzied or slow and tactical, the surest way to defeat your opponent consistently is by dominating him or her in the war of card advantage." - Brian Wiseman, April 1996
Kaalia makes for a powerful but very linear and ultimately boring deck. Derevi is probably the most broken of the commanders to be printed within the Commander products, but as has been noted, the deck she came in is a huge mess of poo. The Meren deck is pretty good right out of the box, probably second only to Daretti in that aspect, and can easily be upgraded to a very strong deck at minimal cost. The Freyalise one has a lot of good cards, but is not as built a very good deck at all.
Personally, I think it over-priced, but as with all things, YMMV.
Kaalia makes for a powerful but very linear and ultimately boring deck. Derevi is probably the most broken of the commanders to be printed within the Commander products, but as has been noted, the deck she came in is a huge mess of poo.
I feel like this was the general description of the 2011 and 2013 Commanders.
The 2011 Commanders lent themselves to a rather linear, combo-centric playstyle, but were ultimately just "powerful" cards that had a greater focus on combo than using combo as a backup plan.
The 2013 Frontline-Commanders meddled with the Command Zone itself and as a result while they seem less combo-centric, they were technically more powerful than the 2011 Commanders because their less linear/more generic requirements actually made them slightly more powerful than the 2011 Commanders because of the flexibility it provided.
Of course it doesn't apply to all of them, but it did have enough of an impact that I felt like this is an accurate "overall" description.
Think its crappy that I own half of the decks this will have. I will not be paying the MSRP just to get Kaalia. I guess I shall spend that money and buy singles to build a more comprehensive decklist.
So the decks are Derevi, Kaalia, Freyalsia, Meren.
First one, Derevi, I can't even use because she is banned in dual commander and I personally never been a fan of her stax decks. Kaalia was personally boring to me when I first saw her when she had originally came out and she is still that way for me now. Another Freyalsia deck I don't need as I own a German copy of her deck already. Finally, Meren of Clan Nel Toth deck which I am interested in but I am not willing to shell out $165, so I guess I am paying $45 for just her deck.
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EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
If you have a buddy looking to get into edh and has nothing, this is great. Aside that though... eh
Edit- to be fair, to elaborte more. If you or a friend has no decks, or 1-2 decks, this is a great way to get several decks price wise. But for someone like me who has way too many decks as it is, meh.
I was honestly surprised with some of their choices on who they picked.
So you're saying just get kaalia by itself? I'm not only looking at the financial aspect of it but at the playability of it. Kaalia seems to need the fewest upgrades where daxos seems to need the most upgrades. The only thing I see kaalia needing is a better mana base. Three colors is pretty killer with what they put in there as far as mana generators are concerned, especially with how expensive the casting cost of a lot of the cards are. I understand the game takes longer but still. I like starting my board state fairly early. Not when I'm down to 20-30 life.
Okay, so next, i want to direct you to Tolarian Community College on Youtube. While the professor doesn't have a video yet available for Commander Anthology, he has reviewed Duel Decks Anthology and Planechase Anthology. Those video can be found here:
MTG - Is it worth it to buy Duel Decks Anthology for Magic: The Gathering?
MTG - Is it worth it to buy Planechase Anthology? A Magic: The Gathering Product Review
The same concepts and logic can be applied to Commander Anthology. Namely, if you are buying it to open and get value for your money, you will be disappointed. Just buy Kaalia of the Vast and what ever other lose singles you like and build something you really want. To be honest, most Commander decks have around 30 cards which are total garbage and need to be changed.
If you want a "board game" like experience where you keep the decks together and play them as-is out of the box with friends, then they look to be a lot of fun.
As a veteran player with a sizeable collection already, I only buy a complete deck if I know I want to play that deck and make minor modifications as time goes by. Otherwise, I just scavenge parts as single loose cards from other players and stores to improve decks I already own.
I have very little interest in seeing this reprint. If you are interested in exposing a new playgroup, then financially you are better at picking up newer individual pre-con's that are actually compatible with each other (because honestly the Meren of Clan Nel Toth deck will likely stomp on everyone from sheer value unless Derevi, Empyrial Tactician just strait voltrons that player out of the game).
The only glimmer of hope I have is that they give all of the legendaries the same foil treatment that the 2016 pre-con's received. I mean all of the legendaries, not just the intended commanders.
Links to my most current deck lists;
Primary EDH; Rakka Mar Token Perfection, Crosis Mnemonic Betrayal, Cromat Villainous, Judith Gravestorm, Rakdos Empty Storm, Exava Artifacts, Bant Trash, & Fumiko Voltron!
EDH kept at home; Ruzzian Isset & Rakdos LoR!
EDH (nostalgic/pimp/retired) in storage;
Latulla Burns, Akroma Smash, Jeska Voltron, Rakdos Storm, Bladewing Darghans, Lyzolda Worldgorger, Xantcha Steals your Heart, Jori Storm, Wydwen Permission, Gwendlyn Paradox, Jeleva Warps, & Sigarda Brick!
Legacy Showanimator and High Tide!
I'm saying the number one interest anyone would probably have is kaalia, who is worth almost a third of the price itself.
However, despite this, the extra 110-120 dollars... it depends on who finds this worth it. As others mentioned if you want a board game set or are brand new to edh, this is great. It's the reason I got the Planechase instead of just ebaying the planes alone for probably half the price.
However if you're more experienced or have a better pool of singles to make decks out of... especially if you bought these decks already... it's eh.
Although I will correct one thing, meren was probably one of the best decks they made, especially with how little money you need to tune her up. Flesh bag reanimations for the win!
I agree that Meren is the best of the four out of the box. I own Evasive Maneuvers and can say that the Derevi, Empyrial Tactician deck has a pretty terrible and unfocused deck out of the box. About 1/3rd of the card are part of a blink strategy for Roon, about 1/3rd work with Derevi, and the other 1/3rd are mostly just bulk and garbage. It is all over the place and a total mess to play out of the box.
Kaalia isn't optimized, but still has a plan of action with a pile of demons, angels and dragons to use with the commander, including the alternate commanders being the same type and each of those card types often being bombs. I think most 4 player games would come down to Meren and Kaalia with the other two players ending up frustrated.
Personally, I think it over-priced, but as with all things, YMMV.
I feel like this was the general description of the 2011 and 2013 Commanders.
The 2011 Commanders lent themselves to a rather linear, combo-centric playstyle, but were ultimately just "powerful" cards that had a greater focus on combo than using combo as a backup plan.
The 2013 Frontline-Commanders meddled with the Command Zone itself and as a result while they seem less combo-centric, they were technically more powerful than the 2011 Commanders because their less linear/more generic requirements actually made them slightly more powerful than the 2011 Commanders because of the flexibility it provided.
Of course it doesn't apply to all of them, but it did have enough of an impact that I felt like this is an accurate "overall" description.
BWREDGAR MARKOV VAMPIRESBWR
First one, Derevi, I can't even use because she is banned in dual commander and I personally never been a fan of her stax decks. Kaalia was personally boring to me when I first saw her when she had originally came out and she is still that way for me now. Another Freyalsia deck I don't need as I own a German copy of her deck already. Finally, Meren of Clan Nel Toth deck which I am interested in but I am not willing to shell out $165, so I guess I am paying $45 for just her deck.