Split Second #1: Commander on Dies Triggers

TappedOut Commander Series

Suns_Champion

8 June 2020

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Hello friends! It is I, Suns_Champion:

• TappedOut’s resident jank EDH brewer
• New commander trailblazer
• Part-time dead-Planeswalker
• Full-time Boros Legionnaire
• Author of The EDH Deckbuilding Process

Welcome to Split Second, a series where I tackle assorted mini-topics within MTG and especially EDH/Commander!

In my inaugural article of this new series, I am going to talk about the latest buzz in the EDH community.

On June 7th, the EDH Rules Committee announced they were changing the way commanders with death-triggers work in EDH.

Short version: If a commander has an ability which triggers on it dying or going to exile, it will trigger before heading to the command zone.

Long version: If a commander is in a graveyard or in exile and that card was put into that zone since the last time state-based actions were checked, its owner may put it into the command zone.

If a commander would be put into its owner’s hand or library from anywhere, its owner may put it into the command zone instead. This replacement effect may apply more than once to the same event.

I won’t get too into the ruling weeds here, because the article linked above does a good job of that for me. Today, I’m going to talk about my quick take on the issue, and the biggest winners (commander-wise) of the change.

Opinions… everyone has one

First off, it should be known this rule change is an issue that is near and dear to my heart, because I play Elenda, the Dusk Rose.

For the longest time, I was firmly against the potential change. Why? Well, there has been chatter and discussion about this change for a while. As an avid Elenda player, I was perhaps more in-tune with it than most. I have been playing Elenda for a few years and have patiently explained to everyone I’ve played with how the old rulings worked, and why they mattered. I received varying degrees of responses like: “huh?” and “oh that sucks” and “why play Elenda if she has to die?”

The answer to all these questions has to do with my deckbuilding philosophy. I like playing “hipster commanders” or commanders that don’t see a ton of play because their abilities are weird/bad or because, like Elenda, they didn’t quite work the way you’d want in EDH. I enjoyed the build-around challenge, and the death-trigger on Elenda made her difficult to utilize, unique, and “hipster,” so she was the perfect challenge for me. Plus her art is amazing. See above.

More recently though, I started coming around to the idea. I had my fun building the hipster challenge, but I slowly began to see the benefits of changing the rules:

• It is more intuitive. Pretty much everyone I’ve ever talked to has said it would make more sense if the death-triggers went off and you could still send the commander back to the zone. With Elenda, the Dusk Rose it is confusing in two ways because when another commander dies, she (previously) did not get a +1/+1 counter. Now she does, and I think that is less confusing. If a creature dies, she gets a counter. Simplified.
• This all makes it easier for newer players to understand commander, which means one fewer barrier to a game and format which, let’s be honest, have a lot of barriers.
• The new Mutate cards allowed a mutated commander to die, be rezoned, and still get the commander’s death-trigger. I’ve been told by my friend on the Commander Advisory Group that this was the final argument that made the change happen.
• Finally, there are a lot of cool commanders that become viable or more powerful with this change. That’s what I’m going to talk about below!

So after they announced the change, I was upset at first, but I understand that this is the best move for the format. So much confusion is cleared up. I regret that my Elenda the Dusk Rose deck is no longer all that hipster, but I will get over it eventually ;)

Winner winner, chicken dinner

So now we’re ready to talk about each of the commanders directly affected by the rule change; in other words, every commander with a self-referencing death-trigger where this new ruling might affect gameplay or power level! I will separate these into 4 categories: Barely Improved (only improved because other commanders dying might affect them) Improved (some very small benefit), Moderately Improved (decent change in power), and Most Improved (significant change in power). There are a bunch of these guys, so buckle up!

(Commanders not counted: commanders that only trigger when “another” creature dies, for example, Daxos, Blessed by the Sun. He is not affected by this change. Next, commanders with death-triggers that would only be improved if something else was in play. Example: Atla Palani, Nest Tender would be better if you gave here the creature type “egg” or all creature types, but that requires another piece. Basically, the death-trigger doesn’t apply to her without another card getting involved. There might be a few exceptions to this rule though. Lastly, commanders with death-triggers that aren’t improved in any way by being able to rezone it afterward, like God-Eternal Bontu. You have to choose one or the other, just like previously.)

Barely Improved

For the commanders improved in the most niche or insignificant of ways.

Axelrod Gunnarson: Axelrod (great name) is improved only if he happens to damage an enemy commander and then it dies. This is not really significant but is still an improvement.

Anafenza, the Foremost: Anafenza is barely improved because she now shuts down enemy death-triggers when commanders die. Since this is only relevant if your opponents have death-triggers (something out of your control) I don’t see this as a huge deal.

Baron Sengir: See: Axelrod Gunnarson. Small improvement.

Etrata, the Silencer: Due to the rule change, Etrata can now kill a player by exiling their commander if and only if their commander is the third and final card they own exiled with a hit counter. This might seem like a big improvement, but despite the improvement, this requires so many steps and will really just never happen.

Garza Zol, Plague Queen: See: Axelrod Gunnarson and Baron Sengir. These three are similar to other commanders in future lists, but in these cases, the benefits are so small and they are so hard to achieve.

Kumano, Master Yamabushi Like Anafenza, Kumano now shuts down enemy death-triggers when their commanders die if they have been dealt damage by him.

Ob Nixilis, Unshackled: Ob will get a few more incidental counters from enemy commanders dying. You weren’t playing him for that ability though.

Patron of the Nezumi: Will now “ping” enemies when their commanders die. This is not a huge improvement for a commander that still isn't very good.

Rayami, First of the Fallen: Like Anafenza and Kumano, Rayami now shuts down enemy death-triggers when their commanders die. Unfortunately, Rayami misses out on the blood counter.

Zurgo Helmsmasher: Zurgo gets +1/+1 counters for killing enemy commanders. This is difficult to do and also isn’t that great. If they’re blocking Zurgo you’re in trouble.

Improved

For the commanders that see a small benefit with the rule change.

Anax, Hardened in the Forge: When Anax dies, you will get one or two 1/1 satyrs now, depending on his power. I think this is a decent improvement if nothing too amazing. Getting some extra sac fodder is never a bad thing.

Judith, the Scourge Diva: Judith will now deal 1 damage to any target when she dies as your commander. Again, an improvement, but nothing special.

Kresh the Bloodbraided: Kresh now gets counters for commanders dying. Not the biggest deal, he isn’t super improved here, but it matters.

Massacre Girl: M-Girl will get triggers from commanders dying, good improvement.

Mathas, Fiend Seeker: Mathas’ ability now works for commanders too, the problem here is that, well, is ability is still bad.

Pashalik Mons: Like Judith, Pashalik Mons will also deal his 1 damage when he dies. I think in a red damage deck this is significant. Every little bit helps!

He Who Hungers: He Who Hungers can now grab a spirit from your yard into your hand on his way to the command zone. I’m not really sure this makes him a great spirit tribal commander, but the ability to rezone him and do it more often is pretty good. He’s in the lower improvement category because he is in black, the color that just wants to Reanimate stuff anyway.

The Haunt of Hightower: Haunt now gets +1/+1 counters when enemy commanders die. I think this is a decent change. You can now cast a selective board wipe and potentially swing in for 3 more damage and 3 more life than you would before.

Yahenni, Undying Partisan: Yahenni now gets +1/+1 counters for enemy commanders dying. Pretty decent I’d say.

Moderately Improved

For the commanders that see a decent buff from the rule change.

Chevill, Bane of Monsters: Chevill now benefits from your opponents commanders dying. I think this is a significant improvement because that’s what you probably wanted to target anyway.

Glissa, the Traitor *oversized*: Glissa now triggers whenever you kill a commander. Like Chevill I think this is a significant improvement because that’s what you probably wanted to target anyway.

Jugan, the Rising Star: Here we have the first of the 5 Champions of Kamigawa dragons. The rule change basically makes the whole cycle playable as commanders. Jugan gets a pretty good buff here, and can now replace itself with +1/+1 counters.

Keiga, the Tide Star: Keiga is now pretty strong. Being able to steal a creature to replace it and then be ready to re-cast it is pretty scary, and your opponents will turn their aggro in other directions to avoid you. Don’t underestimate this one.

Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet: Kalitas 1.0 is similar to Glissa and Chevill, in that you really wanted to target those commanders most of the time anyway. Now you get his trigger too.

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet: Kalitas 2.0 will now shut down enemy death-triggers when their commanders die, AND give you the 2/2 token. This is a great buff.

Kodama of the Center Tree: While the ability is very similar to He Who Hungers, I think Kodama is way more improved due to her being in Green, not black. Green can’t reanimate but it can ramp to mitigate that commander tax. I think Kodama is significantly improved by the rule change, but the jury’s still out on mono-green spirits as a tribe.

Kothophed, Soul Hoarder: Kothophed will now draw you cards when enemy commanders die. This is a good improvement because card draw is king.

Kelsien, the Plague: What’s with all the “K” names? Similar to Glissa and Chevill and Kalitas 1.0. You now get those experience counters for killing commanders. This is a good improvement for Kelsien.

Omnath, Locus of Rage: Angry Omnath is very similar to Judith and Pashalik Mons, except he throws around Lightning Bolts when he dies. This is nothing to be scoffed at and is a great buff.

Ryusei, the Falling Star: When Ryusei dies, it will deal 5 damage of vengeance on its way to the zone. I think this is pretty good, maybe not as powerful as most in this section (because he’ll probably die to board wipes anyway) but it is a significant advantage.

Syr Konrad, the Grim: Konrad will now trigger an extra time for enemy commanders. An already busted commander just gets better.

The Scorpion God: You will now get that extra card for enemy commanders dying. Good stuff.

Teysa Karlov: This is a notable exception to one of my rules. Teysa will now double any death-triggers you control when she or an enemy commander dies. This is a really strong buff for Teysa, and she only misses the top list because she needs other pieces to benefit from the rule change.

Toshiro Umezawa: You will now get his recast ability from enemy commanders dying, a big improvement, especially if you’re slinging removal spells.

Tuktuk the Explorer: I almost put Tuktuk on the final list because, relatively, this might be the biggest improvement. TukTuk went from zero to hero overnight and is now a fully playable commander. The problem is, even with a relatively massive buff, he still isn’t that great. I look forward to seeing more TukTuk lists out in the wild though.

Yosei, the Morning Star: Yosei is scary with the ability to be rezoned. Not quite the best in this section, but still a significant improvement that might get really annoying for your opponents should you give this one a try.

Kokusho, the Evening Star: Kokusho barely missed out on being on the final list. Similar to He Who Hungers Kokusho is held back by the fact that, in black, you really just want to Reanimate it anyway. Who needs the zone at all? Still, the flexibility the new ruling provides is a big improvement, and should not be overlooked.

Most Improved

For the commanders that become way better because of the rule change. Expect to see more of these out in the wild.

Child of Alara: Child is really, really good as a commander now. It’s true, with black in its color identity, most Child decks want to Reanimate it anyway. But in this case, it frees up space in the deck for other things, and you get the flexibility to Reanimate it or recast it from the zone, and with an effect like Child’s, that is really good.

Elenda, the Dusk Rose: Elenda is significantly powered up by this. Again she’s in black, so why not just reanimate her? But in her case, she has TWO relevant death-triggers that are improved. Her first ability is improved because other commanders die and get re-zoned, giving her +1/+1 counters when previously they had not. And her second ability provides an army that can be sacked to Ashnod's Altar or Phyrexian Altar to mitigate the command tax. Very significant buff.

Lazav, Dimir Mastermind: Lazav decks have always had one thing holding them back: Lazav couldn’t become enemy commanders when they got removed. Now he can, and I honestly think this is a massive improvement. You can finally live the dream of playing someone else’s commander but with hexproof, and let’s be honest-there are a lot of commanders that become really scary with hexproof regardless of whose board it’s on.

Roalesk, Apex Hybrid: Roalesk got a lot of crap when he was spoiled. Roalesk is now redeemed! Missing black, Roalesk could never reliably reanimate for a consistent strategy, but now the deck can utilize Green's ramp to mitigate the commander tax and keep on proliferating! Roalesk can finally get out of Vorel of the Hull Clade’s shadow and become its own deck.

Losers

You might be surprised, as I was, to hear of a few legendary creatures negatively affected by this rule change.

Haakon, Stromgald Scourge: Okay everyone put on your hipster glasses. On top of being one of the hardest to play commanders ever due to his cast requirement, Haakon is negatively affected in the most niche of ways. Scenario: you have somehow managed to get Haakon into your hand and then somehow managed to get him from your hand into your graveyard, then you’ve cast him from your graveyard and he is now on the battlefield. Congratulations, achievement unlocked. You win EDH. Seriously. Now, in 99.99% of cases, if Haakon would die, the best move would be to put him in the graveyard and lose the 2 life. However, in the scenario that you are at 2 or less life, your only option not to lose the game would be to rezone him. With the new ruling, the trigger happens no matter what, and you die. So yes, in the most hilariously niche scenario, Haakon is somehow worse than he was before, an incredible feat for an already incredible card.

Gerrard, Weatherlight Hero: Gerrard is not functionally affected by the rules change. In fact, he still works as normal. He’s not technically “worse.” But from a design standpoint, Gerrard has been made significantly less cool with the new rulings-in my humble opinion, of course. Gerrard was spoiled and advertised as being the solution to the commander death-trigger issue; his elegant dying-then-self-exiling ability was a clever way to get him from the graveyard to the command zone without any extra steps. But with the ruling, that cool aspect of his design is moot. All commanders can do that now. Maybe it’s because I have a Gerrard deck and love his design (for the legion!), but I think it is a sad side effect of the rule change.

So those are the winners and losers of the commander death-trigger rules change. What do you think? Did I miss any? Is my methodology off? Am I wrong in my assessment? Let me know in the comments below!

I know there are a LOT of other cards and commanders that care about stuff dying in different ways, but this is all I want to talk about for now. Thanks for reading Split Second, which, while sounding cool, is apparently a terrible name because this was way longer than I wanted! In any case, let me know in the comments what topic you’d like me to discuss next!

Until then, may the Saint Elenda bless you!

Suns_Champion