With the new Commander set dropping this summer, I figured we could come together and make some speculation on what might the new cards could be. Since the theme of this Year's decks is planeswalkers, I figured something like this could work out. It's a riff on an old Commander card.
Opal Citadel
Land T: Add C. 1, T: Add to your mana pool one mana of any color in your commander's color identity. If you spend this mana to cast your commander and it's a planeswalker, it enters the battlefield with a number of additional loyalty counters on it equal to the number of times it's been cast from the command zone this game.
What kind of cards do you think we will see within these decks?
I'm thinking we could also see some very powerful Legendary Sorcery cards that show off a signature ability of the planeswalker in each deck.
Opal Palace for Planeswalkers? Neat idea. However, what if the commander doesn't have any loyalty counters? It would need to address planeswalker commanders specifically to avoid confusion. The land should also have a T for C ability.
Whether face or subcom, I see Serra's card looking something like this:
Serra3WW
Legendary Planeswalker - Serra
+2: You gain life equal to the number of creatures, enchantments, and planeswalkers you control.
-3: Create a 4/4 white Angel creature token named Serra Angel. It has flying and vigilance.
-9: Search your graveyard and library for any number of Angel and/or enchantment cards and put them onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library.
~ can be your commander.
4
Here's a new enchantment that would likely be included in the same deck for mechanical and flavor reasons:
Song of the Voices3W
Enchantment
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player chooses a color. Permanents and players gain protection from that color until end of turn.
The name is a reference to the Voice Angel cycle, each of which contains a verse from Serra's Song of All.
If they wanted to include a Sorin CPW that doesn't involve Vampire tribal, I could see one like this:
Sorin, Markov Outcast2WB
Legendary Planeswalker - Sorin
+1: Until end of turn, ~ becomes a 3/3 Vampire Knight with first strike, lifelink, indestructible, and haste. He's still a planeswalker.
-X: Target player draws X cards and loses X life.
-9: Create Avacyn, a legendary 8/8 white Angel creature token with flying, vigilance, and indestructible.
~ can be your commander.
4
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Even if they don't appear in Serra's deck, I think it would be cool if we got legends for Feather and the Fourth Sister.
Feather, Renegade Firemane2RRWW
Legendary Creature - Angel
Flying, lifelink, haste
When ~ enters the battlefield and at the beginning of your upkeep, each opponent may choose any number of creatures he or she controls and have you gain control of them until end of turn. Untap those creatures. Until end of turn, they gain haste and "damage dealt by this creature also causes its owner to gain that much life." As long as you control those creatures, they can't attack their owners or planeswalkers their owners control.
4/4
I like the idea of Feather being able to recruit creatures to her cause, with a couple caveats thrown in to reward other players' trust.
If they do a WB Angel/enchantment deck with Sorin at the helm and Serra as a subcom, that could be a good opportunity for the Fourth Sister.
The Fourth Sister5WWB
Legendary Creature - Angel
Flying, deathtouch
Whenever a creature deals damage to you, destroy it. You gain life equal to that creature's toughness.
Whenever another creature dies, return it to the battlefield under your control unless any player pays 5 life.
5/5
To fit in with herthreesisters, she'd need to have a CMC of either 4 or 8. 8 offers a lot more flexibility for a 5/5 flier, while 4 would practically require a drawback. That means she needs to be splashy. Even though Sigarda already wields a scythe-like weapon, I like the idea of the FS being a reaper of sorts, with the ability to manipulate life and death. She can No Mercy creatures with the addition of lifegain tied to toughness, and she can reanimate creatures under your control unless a player pays a hefty 5 life. I know lifelink works better on a 5/5 than deathtouch, but deathtouch better conveys that reaper vibe.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Song of the Voices is a really neat card. Seems dangerous though considering you can give your opponent a protection from your entire deck after you play it. But it's an interesting card.
Serra is also super neat!
I added the changes to Opal Citadel. Yeah so I looked at the OG opal palace and thought that it would be perfect for planeswalker Commanders because they're a little less resilient than creatures in my experience, and having extra loyalty counters each time you recast it can make it way tougher as you drive it towards its ultimate ability.
The Fourth Sister5WWB
Legendary Creature - Angel
Flying, deathtouch
Whenever a creature deals damage to you, destroy it. You gain life equal to that creature's toughness.
Whenever another creature dies, return it to the battlefield under your control unless any player pays 5 life.
5/5
I don't like that because Avacyn is 8 mana.
The Fourth Sister1WWB
Legendary Creature - Angel
Flying, lifelink 1: Reveal the top card of your library and put it into your hand. You lose life equal to its converted mana cost. Only an opponent may activate this ability.
5/5
Spark Tender2 Artifact Creature - Golem
When you would put a loyalty counter on a planeswalker you control, put that many plus one instead. 2/2
Just an idea I've had floating for awhile about planeswalker support.
I expect to see some planeswalker support cards seeing as how they aren't afraid to do it in standard sets. I think we have the potential to get some really strong cards for PWs honestly.
I think we'll finally see some interesting planeswalker design space explored.
Planeswalkers with triggered or activated abilities aside from their loyalty abilities. Auras and equipments for planeswalkers. Lands that interact with planeswalkers.
A WUBRG planeswalker seems likely to be the ultimate superfriends commander.
What kind of cards do you think we will see within these decks?
I'm thinking we could also see some very powerful Legendary Sorcery cards that show off a signature ability of the planeswalker in each deck.
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
Serra 3WW
Legendary Planeswalker - Serra
+2: You gain life equal to the number of creatures, enchantments, and planeswalkers you control.
-3: Create a 4/4 white Angel creature token named Serra Angel. It has flying and vigilance.
-9: Search your graveyard and library for any number of Angel and/or enchantment cards and put them onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library.
~ can be your commander.
4
Here's a new enchantment that would likely be included in the same deck for mechanical and flavor reasons:
Song of the Voices 3W
Enchantment
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player chooses a color. Permanents and players gain protection from that color until end of turn.
The name is a reference to the Voice Angel cycle, each of which contains a verse from Serra's Song of All.
If they wanted to include a Sorin CPW that doesn't involve Vampire tribal, I could see one like this:
Sorin, Markov Outcast 2WB
Legendary Planeswalker - Sorin
+1: Until end of turn, ~ becomes a 3/3 Vampire Knight with first strike, lifelink, indestructible, and haste. He's still a planeswalker.
-X: Target player draws X cards and loses X life.
-9: Create Avacyn, a legendary 8/8 white Angel creature token with flying, vigilance, and indestructible.
~ can be your commander.
4
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Feather, Renegade Firemane 2RRWW
Legendary Creature - Angel
Flying, lifelink, haste
When ~ enters the battlefield and at the beginning of your upkeep, each opponent may choose any number of creatures he or she controls and have you gain control of them until end of turn. Untap those creatures. Until end of turn, they gain haste and "damage dealt by this creature also causes its owner to gain that much life." As long as you control those creatures, they can't attack their owners or planeswalkers their owners control.
4/4
I like the idea of Feather being able to recruit creatures to her cause, with a couple caveats thrown in to reward other players' trust.
If they do a WB Angel/enchantment deck with Sorin at the helm and Serra as a subcom, that could be a good opportunity for the Fourth Sister.
The Fourth Sister 5WWB
Legendary Creature - Angel
Flying, deathtouch
Whenever a creature deals damage to you, destroy it. You gain life equal to that creature's toughness.
Whenever another creature dies, return it to the battlefield under your control unless any player pays 5 life.
5/5
To fit in with her three sisters, she'd need to have a CMC of either 4 or 8. 8 offers a lot more flexibility for a 5/5 flier, while 4 would practically require a drawback. That means she needs to be splashy. Even though Sigarda already wields a scythe-like weapon, I like the idea of the FS being a reaper of sorts, with the ability to manipulate life and death. She can No Mercy creatures with the addition of lifegain tied to toughness, and she can reanimate creatures under your control unless a player pays a hefty 5 life. I know lifelink works better on a 5/5 than deathtouch, but deathtouch better conveys that reaper vibe.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Serra is also super neat!
I added the changes to Opal Citadel. Yeah so I looked at the OG opal palace and thought that it would be perfect for planeswalker Commanders because they're a little less resilient than creatures in my experience, and having extra loyalty counters each time you recast it can make it way tougher as you drive it towards its ultimate ability.
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
Land (R)
T: Add C.
T: Add C for each time you have cast a commander of your choice from the command zone this game.
Though it's definitely different from the previous lands of the product.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
I don't like that because Avacyn is 8 mana.
The Fourth Sister 1WWB
Legendary Creature - Angel
Flying, lifelink
1: Reveal the top card of your library and put it into your hand. You lose life equal to its converted mana cost. Only an opponent may activate this ability.
5/5
Artifact Creature - Golem
When you would put a loyalty counter on a planeswalker you control, put that many plus one instead.
2/2
Just an idea I've had floating for awhile about planeswalker support.
I expect to see some planeswalker support cards seeing as how they aren't afraid to do it in standard sets. I think we have the potential to get some really strong cards for PWs honestly.
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
Planeswalkers with triggered or activated abilities aside from their loyalty abilities. Auras and equipments for planeswalkers. Lands that interact with planeswalkers.
A WUBRG planeswalker seems likely to be the ultimate superfriends commander.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate