As you wander through the forest you see a faint flicker ahead. What could it be? Is it another adventurer like you? Or maybe it's a clutch of trolls luring you into a trap. But what if it's something more intriguing? What if it's another Magic set, with new cards to add to your Commander decks? You steel yourself for what lays ahead, hoping the Wizards of the Coast didn’t push the power level too far. As you approach you are relieved that there are few pushed cards but there are still some cards of interest. Read on to find the top ten cards for your ninety-nine from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, Magic’s next standard set releasing July 23rd.
White has steadily been getting more interaction with Planeswalkers, but seeing an efficiently costed single target removal spell is great for Commander. If the target is Black it will get exiled, otherwise it phases out. This can be a great response to an opponent’s Planeswalker that has a global effect or one that’s threatening an ultimate.
2. Flumph
Yes this is a creature with Defender that draws our opponent’s cards. So why could I possibly be recommending this? Well this card can draw you a lot of cards, and with some good deal making, you could get some help from an opponent to remove a shared threat. Yes you may end up using this Flumph as a chump blocker, and that may let the archenemy draw a card, but if you use your words right you’ll draw a lot of cards.
If you didn’t pick up Semester’s End from Strixhaven I’d still recommend it for the potential save it can get you, but here’s a similar effect needing a bit more devotion. With Guardian of Faith you can save your Creatures including tokens, the auras or equipment they are equipped with and their +1/+1 counters. Needing two White to cast this one will make it harder to splash in, but the lower mana value can sometimes make the difference.
Removing any nonland permanent is an effect that should be well sought after, and Minimus Containment does it nicely. Darksteel Mutation was the closest we had to this in White, but it only hit Creatures. This will hit almost any problem, making it slightly better than Imprisoned in the Moon and one step below Song of the Dryads. Arguably Minimus Containment is a bit better tempo wise, since the Treasure it transforms the nonland into can only be used once, and the permanent needs to be sacrificed as a bonus for us.
In Commander when you have three other decks at a table, cards like Wizard’s Spellbook can really shine. It does have a high mana value, so you’ll have to be patient, but when you get it in play, you’re going to have some fun. One of the best aspects of this is how different it will be in each game. Maybe you’ll cast some removal, or maybe even some ramp in your next mono Blue deck.
Before you say this wrath isn’t worth running since it only hits Creatures and Planeswalkers compared to an Oblivion Stone, I’d challenge you to reconsider. While your opponents will see it coming, if you drop Sphere of Annihilation with zero counters on it, it will still exile all tokens. The bonus of hitting the graveyard and potential turning off recursion strategies is worth giving this delayed wrath a shot.
Hoarding Ogre does have some added variance with dice rolling, but the floor of creating one treasure on attack is pretty good, not to mention creating two (or more). As long as you can get this ogre swinging you can start amassing treasures for a later turn. It won’t rocket you ahead the same way a Dockside Extortionist will, but it can give you some consistent acceleration at a much more affordable price.
Unexpected Windfall may not appear to be a slam dunk on first pass, but it offers some smoothing in terms of being able to cast your spells. You may find yourself in a situation where you’re a few mana short of your big play next turn (maybe you didn’t run enough lands), and investing mana for the future could be a net benefit. As long as you have the four mana available this card can act as a Thrill of Possibility. Of course, this card does even more work in any deck that cares about making tokens, sacrificing things or cares about treasures specifically (don’t forget Revel in Riches exists).
Gaea’s Cradle is a powerful land, and when it’s effect is made available in other ways it can have the same level of impact, although easier to remove. Like Growing Rites of Itlimoc, Circle of Dreams Druid gives players a more accessible way to play with this powerful effect. Having it stapled to an Elf means it will outperform in those decks (but which cards don’t outperform when sleeved up with 40 other synergistic cards), but I think it’s still worth running in decks that can manage the mana cost.
10. The Classes
Okay, I know what you’re thinking, there are twelve classes so using one spot for these cards could be considered misleading. It didn’t make sense to include any single class in particular since they are all fairly narrow (maybe Sorcerer Class gets a pass here since it draws you two for two). Rather, I wanted to highlight the cycle as I think the classes offer an interesting hook for deck building. They all have three levels which act as a slow form of modality (and modal cards are fantastic in singleton formats) and some of the individual effects are strong. Take Fighter Class as an example, where the first level is equivalent to Open the Armory and the second level gives you the metalcraft functionality of Puresteel Paladin. I’d recommend checking these out for your next build, you may find one that’s a perfect fit.
There we have it, ten (but actually twenty one) cards from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms you should definitely pick up for Commander. While the set overall is weaker than some recent powerhouses, there are a lot of flavourful cards in this one, and if you enjoy rolling dice there are a ton of new options to explore. If you’re wanting to try out these new cards after you get them, what better way than to join us on Tuesdays for Chimera’s Commander night? Our community is growing week by week, and we play Commander via SpellTable. It’s a great way to play with your decks while we wait for the go ahead to return to in-store play. All you need to do is join the Discord and hop into the Commander channel. Did I miss any obvious includes? Are there any Legendaries from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms you’re excited to build around? Let me know in the comments below or reach out to me on Twitter.
#Commander
#Kitchener-mtg
#Waterloo-mtg
#Divine-Smite-mtg
#Flumph-mtg
#Guardian-of-Faith-mtg
#Semesters-End-mtg
#Minimus-Containment-mtg
#Darksteel-Mutation-mtg
#Imprisoned-in-the-Moon-mtg
#Song-of-the-Dryads-mtg
#Wizards-Spellbook-mtg
#Sphere-of-Annihilation-mtg
#Oblivion-Stone-mtg
#Hoarding-Ogre-mtg
#Dockside-Extortionist-mtg
#Unexpected-Windfall-mtg
#Thrill-of-Possibility-mtg
#Revel-in-Riches-mtg
#Circle-of-Dreams-Druid-mtg
#GaeasCradle-mtg
#Growing-Rites-of-Itlimoc-mtg
#Sorcerer-Class-mtg
#Fighter-Class-mtg
#Open-the-Armory-mtg
#Puresteel-Paladin-mtg
