Was listening to an old, old Drive to Work on Gold cards and Mark Rosewater discussed how bad the gold legendaries from Legends were. Yes, they seemed awesome when they first came out, and they created an interest that developed the Elder Dragon Highlander format, but by modern standards few of the cards are playable.
What the ones that would still be considered playable?
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----- "I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
"Playable" has many determining factors, first and foremost being format. For the purposes of my list I'm only considering Commander, Old School, and kitchen table casual. I'll also rank the playable cards: playable-worth putting in decks, marginal-worth using but there are better options, and niche-good with certain mechanics only, possibly-not sure but believe so.
Livonya Silone would be playable in my meta as most of my group uses legendary lands. An unblockable gruul commander is dangerous. Johan seems like he wouldn’t be good, but in a multiplayer format, vigilance is highly underrated.
Most of the elder dragons aren’t up to snuff with the power of creatures these days, what with their 8 cmc and upkeep cost. That being said, Nicol Bolas can really logistically knock a player out of the game with one hit while Vaevictus Asmadi essentially reads [1]:+1/+0 until EoT. That mana friendly fire-breathing can 1 hit KO an opponent with a decent buff, aura, or equipment.
Lastly, I am not going to repeat one’s from the above post, but what about Halfdane? Halfdane can always be the biggest creature on the board and has a very decent cmc. Halfdane isn’t good if you are winning, but it can be the scare you need when you are behind. I feel like both piloting and facing a Halfdane deck would be a positive experience.
In case you suspect bias, my first legend was Chromium. It will always be a fond memory, but not the best if you want to cast your commander more than once.
Livonya Silone would be playable in my meta as most of my group uses legendary lands. An unblockable gruul commander is dangerous. Johan seems like he wouldn’t be good, but in a multiplayer format, vigilance is highly underrated.
Most of the elder dragons aren’t up to snuff with the power of creatures these days, what with their 8 cmc and upkeep cost. That being said, Nicol Bolas can really logistically knock a player out of the game with one hit while Vaevictus Asmadi essentially reads [1]:+1/+0 until EoT. That mana friendly fire-breathing can 1 hit KO an opponent with a decent buff, aura, or equipment.
Lastly, I am not going to repeat one’s from the above post, but what about Halfdane? Halfdane can always be the biggest creature on the board and has a very decent cmc. Halfdane isn’t good if you are winning, but it can be the scare you need when you are behind. I feel like both piloting and facing a Halfdane deck would be a positive experience.
In case you suspect bias, my first legend was Chromium. It will always be a fond memory, but not the best if you want to cast your commander more than once.
Livonya, Halfdane, and Johan should of been on my list, considering some of my other picks.
While Vaevictus has fire breathing, I’d rather have Palladia-Mors, I feel trample is better when facing blockers.
Back in ‘96, I believe, I would cast Buried Alivefirst turn, put three Nicol Bolas in the grave. Turn two cast Shallow Grave. Fun times.
Marginal? He's one of the best blink commanders, IMO. Whereas cards like Roon do the blinking, Rasputin is an incredible blink target. Spend a couple mana to get 7 mana? Yes please! He instantly goes infinite with Eldrazi Displacer or Nim Deathmantle and any repeatable sac outlet that costs 3 or less mana to activate. He's an incredible target for Vanish into Memory (draw 4, discard 1, gain 7 mana). And if you're not using his counters for mana, he's also effectively a 4/8.
Marginal? He's one of the best blink commanders, IMO. Whereas cards like Roon do the blinking, Rasputin is an incredible blink target. Spend a couple mana to get 7 mana? Yes please! He instantly goes infinite with Eldrazi Displacer or Nim Deathmantle and any repeatable sac outlet that costs 3 or less mana to activate. He's an incredible target for Vanish into Memory (draw 4, discard 1, gain 7 mana). And if you're not using his counters for mana, he's also effectively a 4/8.
Touche-
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What the ones that would still be considered playable?
"I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
Adun Oakenshield- playable
Angus Mackenzie- very playable, great commander
Dakkon Blackblade- marginal, great for flavor
Gwendlyn Di Corci- playable as a commander, one of the better discard creatures
Hazezon Tamar- possibly
Jacques le Vert- marginal, not the worst toughness booster but not the best either
Lady Evangela- marginal, OK combat trick
Nebuchadnezzar- niche, good in discard or Lobotomy style decks
Nicol Bolas- marginal, reanimate with haste early game and he's good
Rasputin Dreamweaver- marginal, fragile mana ramp
Rubinia Soulsinger- playable
Sol'kanar the Swamp King- playable, there are better things for this CMC but I think he's good
Tetsuo Umezawa- playable
Tuknir Deathlock- marginal, might be a tad expensive for it's ability and P/T
Xira Arien- marginal, although not the worst repeatable card draw in those colors
That's more than I expected, remember this list is highly subjective. I'm open to suggestions, critiques.
Not sure if Ragnar belongs on this list.
Honorable mention:
Rohgahh of Kher Keep- very niche, but I do love me some Kobolds
Johan seems like he wouldn’t be good, but in a multiplayer format, vigilance is highly underrated.
Most of the elder dragons aren’t up to snuff with the power of creatures these days, what with their 8 cmc and upkeep cost. That being said, Nicol Bolas can really logistically knock a player out of the game with one hit while Vaevictus Asmadi essentially reads [1]:+1/+0 until EoT. That mana friendly fire-breathing can 1 hit KO an opponent with a decent buff, aura, or equipment.
Lastly, I am not going to repeat one’s from the above post, but what about Halfdane? Halfdane can always be the biggest creature on the board and has a very decent cmc. Halfdane isn’t good if you are winning, but it can be the scare you need when you are behind. I feel like both piloting and facing a Halfdane deck would be a positive experience.
In case you suspect bias, my first legend was Chromium. It will always be a fond memory, but not the best if you want to cast your commander more than once.
Livonya, Halfdane, and Johan should of been on my list, considering some of my other picks.
While Vaevictus has fire breathing, I’d rather have Palladia-Mors, I feel trample is better when facing blockers.
Back in ‘96, I believe, I would cast Buried Alive first turn, put three Nicol Bolas in the grave. Turn two cast Shallow Grave. Fun times.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
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Touche-