General (CMM) Commander Masters 2023 Previews
- Thread starter TrainmasterGT
- Start date
Just wait until you hear about 19 Mountains and 21 Bolts!!!
From a color identity draft perspective, I really like that they put in Slow Fetches at uncommon. And the dream of getting a bicycle land to fetch is there, too.
Hey if you guys want to see how the (Custom cards) enemy-colored Slow Fetches look like in my cube (Designed by @Velrun , assisted by @blacksmithy , created by MakePlayingCards)
Click here to go to the custom card forum:
https://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/custom-cards-the-lab.403/post-125116
What slow fetches?
Hmm... I like this better than the Squad cards from 40k, if only because it doesn't have that terrible border. That secondary text is pretty likely to be trinket text in most cubes... but it'd definitely be a funny A+B combo with something like Universal Automaton or Nameless Inversion.
(For anyone who thought we were safe from new cards... PSYCHE!)
...I hadn't considered replicating Changeling Outcast. That's fun.
Looking at the list of changelings on Scryfall... I'm reminded of why they're kinda disappointing from a cube perspective. I really wish that we had more changelings that are cool in the absence of tribal synergies. I think I'd only really be tempted to run the following:
And those cards pretty clearly don't all belong in the same cube together (I do want to make a cube with Shapesharer at some point. I had forgotten that it existed and it's... interesting).
It also doesn't help that Changelings push you towards either having Tribal Tribal as an archetype (which I always find to be kinda meh) or having a full-on tribal cube — the "normal" use for them (where they just bulk out tribes that have been undersupported) really doesn't work that well in draft.
(Jumpstart, though... hmm...)
And those cards pretty clearly don't all belong in the same cube together (I do want to make a cube with Shapesharer at some point. I had forgotten that it existed and it's... interesting).
It also doesn't help that Changelings push you towards either having Tribal Tribal as an archetype (which I always find to be kinda meh) or having a full-on tribal cube — the "normal" use for them (where they just bulk out tribes that have been undersupported) really doesn't work that well in draft.
(Jumpstart, though... hmm...)
There's also this little build-around:
I just want to play Spirited Companion as if it were Explore, OK?
I just want to play Spirited Companion as if it were Explore, OK?
It's not bad either!
You don't have to exile your own stuff, but you can if you want extra ETBs. Paying 6 mana and waiting two turns for an Avacyn is really not that bad of a deal, Academy Rector can grab it, and it "protects" you while you wait for your angel to hatch by pulling their best creatures away from the board until you get your big bomb.
I'm certainly intrigued.
And the token is beautiful. Too large file for me to upload. You can see it here:
https://scryfall.com/card/tcmm/60/avacyn
Just notice it is not an actual full Avacyn, Angel of Hope because it doesn't give everything indestructible.
https://scryfall.com/card/tcmm/60/avacyn
Just notice it is not an actual full Avacyn, Angel of Hope because it doesn't give everything indestructible.
Really nice stat line to buy some time and ramp. This might finally give a use to Urza's Saga?There's also this little build-around:
I just want to play Spirited Companion as if it were Explore, OK?
Care to elaborate?
finally, a reason to play Urza's Saga
The first part or second part?
First part is that a 1/3 for 2 is a solid blocker and the deck that wants this probably wants to buy time.
The second part is a joke cus the card is already broken.
As the Eldrazi guy, I figure I should do a review:
This isn't bad. It's colorless Sultai Emissary at worst. It's a mana sink. It's pretty annoying to kill as it scales up. I appreciate manifest as opposed to making a specific token to add to the token pile, but the current Eldrazi suite doesn't care about counters or manifest, so it's a bit out of place in that regard.
I like what they tried to do here. Combining the effects of the titans into an Ultimatum-like card is a good idea, but this costs way too much. I'd rather play most of the actual Ultimatums. Would it have killed them to make it an instant? At least that can create some memorable moments.
Not terribly inspiring, but maybe getting a little extra value here and there is enough?
As soon as I saw the mana cost and read the "As an additional cost...", I knew what this card would do. Best care scenario, it's win more with a Titan. Average case scenario, it's a conditional six mana wrath. There's admittedly some corner cases where revealing a 3 drop is a big deal or something, but come on.
Not only have we not seen an Eldrazi yet (in mythicspoiler's ordering), but this is a straight up artifact reference? What the hell? For eight mana, you might as well wait a turn and play a Titan without wasting a card. There's probably some loop with this where you get some advantage every turn, but you can pretty easily get more value lower in your curve.
Let's consider this reanimation restriction.
Half of the Titans have a shuffle clause. Of those, one costs fucking 15. Another costs an even mana value.
From the other half, two of them have an even mana value. The other will probably cost about as much as this spell.
You'd better be ready to respond to the shuffle trigger when your indestructible Infinite Gyre dies to basically just Tragic Slip if you want your Eldrazi to be Unbound by this.
Really poor design. Let it hit any permanent and let it reanimate anything colorless.
Finally. An Eldrazi. And an interesting one, at that. It doesn't grant you as much advantage as the previous titans, but one of my favorite things to do has been giving haste to creatures with annihilator. Changing the P/T of the target can make scenarios where you don't simply take their biggest creature, which is cool. And if you give this guy haste as well? That's almost always gonna be GG.
This is ok. Feels like Eldrazi Mimic2, except it isn't an Eldrazi. It requires other cards to be any good, but can buff up off of Stars and Spheres. Gaining trample is cool, but this is not too exciting unless there's something that I'm missing.
Decent value engine in a slower format, but if the Eldrazi are supposed to be Unbound, then this misses the mark. I don't need a 2/2 coming in alongside my 10 drop.
And the double cascade guy that was originally previewed isn't interesting, either. I don't need double cascade on my 10 drop, either.
Overall, this is extremely disappointing. "Eldrazi Unbound" sounds like the Titans are ready to beat some ass. Instead? Some useless spells, some manifest support, and a "Darksteel" card?
This isn't bad. It's colorless Sultai Emissary at worst. It's a mana sink. It's pretty annoying to kill as it scales up. I appreciate manifest as opposed to making a specific token to add to the token pile, but the current Eldrazi suite doesn't care about counters or manifest, so it's a bit out of place in that regard.
I like what they tried to do here. Combining the effects of the titans into an Ultimatum-like card is a good idea, but this costs way too much. I'd rather play most of the actual Ultimatums. Would it have killed them to make it an instant? At least that can create some memorable moments.
Not terribly inspiring, but maybe getting a little extra value here and there is enough?
As soon as I saw the mana cost and read the "As an additional cost...", I knew what this card would do. Best care scenario, it's win more with a Titan. Average case scenario, it's a conditional six mana wrath. There's admittedly some corner cases where revealing a 3 drop is a big deal or something, but come on.
Not only have we not seen an Eldrazi yet (in mythicspoiler's ordering), but this is a straight up artifact reference? What the hell? For eight mana, you might as well wait a turn and play a Titan without wasting a card. There's probably some loop with this where you get some advantage every turn, but you can pretty easily get more value lower in your curve.
Let's consider this reanimation restriction.
Half of the Titans have a shuffle clause. Of those, one costs fucking 15. Another costs an even mana value.
From the other half, two of them have an even mana value. The other will probably cost about as much as this spell.
You'd better be ready to respond to the shuffle trigger when your indestructible Infinite Gyre dies to basically just Tragic Slip if you want your Eldrazi to be Unbound by this.
Really poor design. Let it hit any permanent and let it reanimate anything colorless.
Finally. An Eldrazi. And an interesting one, at that. It doesn't grant you as much advantage as the previous titans, but one of my favorite things to do has been giving haste to creatures with annihilator. Changing the P/T of the target can make scenarios where you don't simply take their biggest creature, which is cool. And if you give this guy haste as well? That's almost always gonna be GG.
This is ok. Feels like Eldrazi Mimic2, except it isn't an Eldrazi. It requires other cards to be any good, but can buff up off of Stars and Spheres. Gaining trample is cool, but this is not too exciting unless there's something that I'm missing.
Decent value engine in a slower format, but if the Eldrazi are supposed to be Unbound, then this misses the mark. I don't need a 2/2 coming in alongside my 10 drop.
And the double cascade guy that was originally previewed isn't interesting, either. I don't need double cascade on my 10 drop, either.
Overall, this is extremely disappointing. "Eldrazi Unbound" sounds like the Titans are ready to beat some ass. Instead? Some useless spells, some manifest support, and a "Darksteel" card?
Not terribly inspiring, but maybe getting a little extra value here and there is enough?
You know what's a triggered ability? Annihilator.
This is ok. Feels like Eldrazi Mimic2, except it isn't an Eldrazi. It requires other cards to be any good, but can buff up off of Stars and Spheres. Gaining trample is cool, but this is not too exciting unless there's something that I'm missing.
It's Eldrazi Mimic meets Shimmer Myr, all in a tidy Ikorian package.
As for exciting stuff... I like the idea of casting Thought-Knot Seer on villain's draw step.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I’ld like to add that manifest support is a really bad fit for Eldrazi as well, as those frequently have cast triggers that don’t work if they’re put onto the battlefield fade down :facepalm:
1. Damn I did not catch that it was a joke
Fool on me!2. Damn I was hoping for some clever analysis that I didn’t catch but it turned out there was nothing I didn’t catch…except that it was a joke of course
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I'm not really the pessimistic kind, but these four decklists feel pretty underwhelming considering their price point. Not too many cards I want to include in any of my many Commander decks. Admittedly I don't have a Sliver deck, because I think slivers are boring, and no planeswalker deck because planeswalkers are really hard to protect in a multiplayer format, so that already cuts the number of interesting lists in half, but still.
@Brad
Correct me if I am wrong here but could the reason behind your disappointment with the colorless deck be that you thought it would be all about Eldrazi so now you feel let down?
Wizards have said that it will be about:
- Eldrazi (Mostly)
- Archaic (The colorless gods that came before colored mana on Arcavios (hence the name). Before the Snarls there was only Archaic.
- Ikoria's colorless insects
- Ugin's origin on Tarkir where Sarkhan og Ugin changed history with time travel and manifestations.
I am personally very happy about how this deck turned out and the new cards. I especially like Rise of the Eldrazi except it should obviously exile instead of destroy. No idea why they changed this. Now we have yet another set-named Magic card.
Correct me if I am wrong here but could the reason behind your disappointment with the colorless deck be that you thought it would be all about Eldrazi so now you feel let down?
Wizards have said that it will be about:
- Eldrazi (Mostly)
- Archaic (The colorless gods that came before colored mana on Arcavios (hence the name). Before the Snarls there was only Archaic.
- Ikoria's colorless insects
- Ugin's origin on Tarkir where Sarkhan og Ugin changed history with time travel and manifestations.
I am personally very happy about how this deck turned out and the new cards. I especially like Rise of the Eldrazi except it should obviously exile instead of destroy. No idea why they changed this. Now we have yet another set-named Magic card.
I mean, the deck's called Eldrazi Unleashed with a big ol' Eldrazi as the default Commander and Eldrazi on the box art. "That deck is all about Eldrazi" is a pretty safe assumption to make as a casual consumer of Magic — you need to go out of your way to find the blog posts and such where MaRo goes "actually, yeah, it ended up being easier to just make it a deck themed around big colorless spells, so we did that instead".
Not named Eldrazi Unleashed but I get your point. It is named Eldrazi Unbound so you were very close. Your point is that @Brad is excused for not knowing and thus having his expectations be disappointed.
I will not argue against that! I super agree that it could have been more clear from packaging. But the deck is mostly about Eldrazi though so maybe it is adequately named?
I just asked Brad if his expectations of this being a strictly only Eldrazi set could be the reason for his disappointment. It was just a friendly question with some added bonus information for those interested
And here comes some more from Wizards of the Coast for those who want to read more:“Deck 1: Colorless Eldrazi
Commander Masters has two legendary Eldrazi, but there simply weren't enough colorless cards to make drafting such a deck viable; however, Gavin and the design team wanted such a dream to exist somewhere. There are a lot of challenges with designing a colorless deck due to less card options. In addition, there aren't a lot of colorless instants, so it's tricky giving the deck enough ways to be reactive. In the end, they chose to make the deck more about playing giant colorless spells rather than specifically referencing Eldrazi.”