Sets [C18] Commander 2018

The first Commander spoilers have started to roll in! I generally don't like commander sets too much for cube, but there are occasionally some gems, such as Daretti, Scrap Savant. I think the card-type focus of this particular set might give us some more useful cards than normal.

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Card text:
2, T: Draw a card. Activate this ability only if you control at least three lands with the same name.

I don't think this is a cube card. Power level seems way too low.

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Interesting, but ultimately I think this is just bad for a non-multi player format.

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Probably the most interesting card of the bunch previewed today. This card is a token-generating engine which can come down early and start to take over the game if it isn't answered. I like how the final ability only requires you to sac a Thopter without paying any additional mana. Imagine turn 1 this, turn 2 make a servo, turn 3 Pia Nalaar, sac the thopter to make a 4/4. I think this could be playable if you're into this kind of thing...

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This card basically sums up why I dislike the yearly commander products. This card is great in most commander decks (looking at you Atraxa), but it is completely worthless anywhere else. I wish we got a yearly product printing cards specifically designed for cube...

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No.

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Since we can't take advantage of the commander stuff, this just ends up being a win-more card. Because we needed 2 Blightsteel Colossuses.

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This also seems pretty bad, unless you have some way to give it evasion.

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Red's Genesis Wave. The card-type restriction kind of kills this card I think, but in a cube with a heavy artifact theme I think it could work.

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Lemmie just borrow that Mox Ruby for a second...

I don't think this is a card lower-power cubes are going to want to play, but it might be fun in cubes running the moxes and all the signets and some other broken artifact-based fast mana. It's probably a pass for me, but it does look fun. Also, I just noticed he's holding a Sol Ring

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Card text:
[+2]: Discard a card, then draw a card. If a land card is discarded this way, draw an additional card.

[-3]: Return up to two target land cards from you graveyard to the battlefield.

[-11]: Destroy up to six target nonland permanents, then create six 2/2 green Cat Warrior creature tokens with forestwalk.

Lord Windgrace can be your commander.

This guy could be playable, but I think the fact that he is Jund kills it for most people. If he cost 3RG I could definitely see him being played. Also, I always thought Windgrace was a W/B character...

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This card is interesting, but I can't help but feel she'd be relegated to drawing cards and blinking permanents if anyone were to actually play her.

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I like that we are finally getting an enchantments-matter planeswalker. I wish she had either been G/W or U/W. All of her abilities are great for an enchantments-matter cube, but I think she ultimately falls a bit flat due to her 3rd color. I'll pass... for now.

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This is the only planeswalker from this set I like. Both of her +1 abilities are actually pretty good. Her first +1 can help protect herself, which is pretty important for planeswalkers. Her second +1 can help to power out big spells in a way that doesn't feel super GRBS-y. Specifically, I like that she can reduce the cost of X-cost spells like Banefire and Blue Sun's Zenith. I think Saheeli's ultimate is pretty underwhelming, and that might ruin her chances of being playable in cube. Her status as a gold card does not help her case.

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This card might not be good, but it certainly looks fun! Double Myr Battlesphere triggers? Yes please! Double the tokens from Wurmcoil Engine? I'm pretty sure that works! Double names from our Phyrexian Revokers, Pithing Needles, and Sorcerous Spyglasses? That just seems punishing. I think this card's biggest issue is that it has a pretty low floor. I'm not sure a 1/3 haste for 2 is playable without being able to take advantage of any other abilites.
 
This just got previewed:

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I'm actually kind of excited about this. It's token synergy is good with thopter bois. Giving tokens haste seems relevant. I wish this cost 5. Then I would be all over it.
 
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Probably the most interesting card of the bunch previewed today. This card is a token-generating engine which can come down early and start to take over the game if it isn't answered. I like how the final ability only requires you to sac a Thopter without paying any additional mana. Imagine turn 1 this, turn 2 make a servo, turn 3 Pia Nalaar, sac the thopter to make a 4/4. I think this could be playable if you're into this kind of thing...

This is fun for sure, and it has the coveted 1 CMC, which makes it a target for Trinket Mage, Auriok Salvagers, and Salvaging Station. Ideally I'd like to see a few other cards that produce servos or thopters in the cube before including this, if only because a drafter picking this up would be on the lookout for them.

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This card might not be good, but it certainly looks fun! Double Myr Battlesphere triggers? Yes please! Double the tokens from Wurmcoil Engine? I'm pretty sure that works! Double names from our Phyrexian Revokers, Pithing Needles, and Sorcerous Spyglasses? That just seems punishing. I think this card's biggest issue is that it has a pretty low floor. I'm not sure a 1/3 haste for 2 is playable without being able to take advantage of any other abilites.

I'm seriously considering this for my UR artifacts matter signpost card over Maverick Thopterist. It's a more fun effect, but less versatile. I guess that's a question for Fight Club!
 
I'm interested in trying out Saheeli, a nice support piece for UR artifact shells. Being able to turbo out something like a Myr Battlesphere + another relevant spell on T6 off her, a rock and maybe some artifact land(s) is very appealing. Adds even sweeter utility for the Artifact Lands I keep in my ULD. Having both her abilities increase her loyalty while starting out at virtually 5 loyalty on T4 (or T3 off a rock) is pretty great. Sold!

The other walkers seem more like support for a given archetype than cool build-arounds. I'm kind of interested in the Esper girl, but I do think she'll just become a draw engine that you +1 forever. I'm interested in seeing what top of library matters stuff they do create, a black Miracle (Misery?) would be pretty cool.

On a non-cube note, I'm pretty bummed over the Bant walker. I was hoping for something that cared more for enchantments in general rather than suiting up with masks and auras and whatnot. Just gotta hold out hope for something cool that I can play in my GW Karametra Enchantress deck. I've had the deck for about 4 years adding bits and pieces and I'm pretty much at the point where I have only like 2-3 flex slots to mess around with.
 
I'm seriously considering this for my UR artifacts matter signpost card over Maverick Thopterist. It's a more fun effect, but less versatile. I guess that's a question for Fight Club!
Why not just play both?

Two more previews:
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I like the body on this guy. The ability to shrink all of your opponent's dudes into 1/1s is super appealing, and can be a nice artifacts matter payoff. I think this might be cubeable.

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This card interests me since it's red enchantment hate/removal that isn't OP. I run a ton of enchantments in my cube, so it should usually find a target. I'm not sure about normal cubes though... I don't think it's that good there.
 
I hate everything spoiled so far except for Saheeli and Retrofitter Foundry. I'm getting more and more sour on Commander sets as the years go on. God help me, I'm turning into a curmudgeon.
 
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Remember when we didn't have enough good black three drops? I like this one!
That's from core 2019 though?

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Card text:
This spell costs 1 less to cast for each attacking creature.

Flash
Trample

When Ancient Stone Idol dies, create a 6/12 colorless Construct artifact creature token with trample.

Seems good?
 

Dom Harvey

Contributor
Tawnos can't double your Revoker/Needle/Spyglass names, FWIW. The card looks cool but actually using it is going to be tricky

Brudiclad, OTOH, is amazing. This might be the non-oppressive Welder/Tinker target I've wanted (Ancient Stone Idol is not that but I like it too!) and it goes perfectly with stuff like Feldon/Arcane Artisan while being in the perfect colours for all of that. Lots of random synergies to look out for (Reef Worm? Bramble Sovereign? Mimic Vat? Clues/Treasure!)

Retrofitter Foundry is neat; I found I had too many Thopter creators in my early UR artifact sketches, so the cards are there to set it up

Aminatou could be fantastic if there's enough 'top card matters' stuff after this set; it was already a subtheme I pushed anyway, but a lot of the cards that went well with it were in green or red (Courser/Oracle of Mul Daya, Bonfire, Riddle of Lightning). Repeatable blink (on anything, so Temples, other PWs, various ETB artifacts/enchantments are in the mix) is already toeing the line by itself. That art combined with the dark/shoddy foiling is creepy af though...

I really hope we get some more good lands synergies in the Jund deck (especially in Gr or even RB) but Windgrace itself might not be it as there are a ton of those cards at 5 mana
 
Here's what's been previewed today so far:
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Legendary Creature - Spider
Vigilance, reach

All creatures attack each combat if able.

Whenever a creature attacks you or planeswalker you control, put a +1/+1 counter on Thantis the Warweaver.

Probably jank, but it's at least an interesting design...

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This is a cycle... Great...

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Again, I thought Windgrace was a W/B Character...

Is this any better than either Maelstrom Pulse or Abrupt Decay? I don't think it is...

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Definitely not a cube card, but it's cool to see a throwback legend who was actually relevant to the story! (Windgrace was too... but I think Xantcha was in more of it.)
 
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Really stoked for this guy as a red 6. Comes in, bashes in the air, and while the wording is a little unfortunate, the ability to redirect one of your opponent's targeted spells is pretty darn cool imo.
 

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
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Really stoked for this guy as a red 6. Comes in, bashes in the air, and while the wording is a little unfortunate, the ability to redirect one of your opponent's targeted spells is pretty darn cool imo.
My first impression was: "Too hard to kill, too easy to splash, kills in three hits."
 
Given they’re printing new landfall creatures in this set, here’s hoping they print 1 or 2 new cubable ones in the 1-3 cmc spot.
 
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Hey, remember how we were talking about how BW lifegain wants to have outlets to spend life for value? Plus if you dump a bunch of counters on this from somewhere else it gets awesome. This feels less like a Commander card and more like an Ixalan card that got cut from the file at the last minute.
 
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