Legacy Playables in Commander 2017
Legacy forum
Posted on Aug. 10, 2017, 9:57 p.m. by sylvannos
I'm actually liking some of the new cards in the upcoming Commander release. I figured we could use a thread to discuss what cards are playable in the new set and people's thoughts on them from a non-EDH perspective.
Some of my thoughts so far:
This seems solid in Ad Nauseam, but I'm not experienced with the deck to know whether this is better than any of the other Angel's Grace cards. The nice thing is you can respond to a Doomsday or Ad Nauseam as usual, but you're not stuck at 1 life. You can also use it defensively to phase out your permanents to protect yourself from Wasteland.
You can also use the protection on yourself so you can dodge cards like Hymn to Tourach.
I might play around with this in Goblins. Getting Lotus Petals each turn seems strong in conjunction with Aether Vial. Might also try some kind of weird R/x Prison deck with Mishra's Factory beatdowns.
The mana costs on this are lower than Mirage Mirror. An activation cost of seems solid when you want to create multiple Goblin Piledrivers, hatebears, or Priest of Titania. The downside is that it can only be used on tribal cards and you need to have a creature in play worth copying.
"That's a nice Brainstorm you have there. It would sure be a shame if you were to get Notion Thief'd by Death and Taxes..."
Not sure if this will find a home in any Legacy decks, moreso that it's kind of a cute beatstick. I was thinking Maverick may have a slot for it, since there's some synergy with Qasali Pridemage. You could also make some weird Illness in the Ranks deck. Hunted Troll , Hunted Phantasm , and Forbidden Orchid would be the other cards, but this doesn't seem like a viable strategy in Legacy to me.
Oddly, it might be better in a BUG Fish shell in Vintage. Combined with Null Rods, Trygon Predator, etc., you get mainboard hate against Oath of Druids and Monastery Mentor.
Another piece of removal for Hatebear strategies. I like this guy, especially since it gets rid of the creature permanently and you don't have to do weird Flickerwisp + Fiend Hunter things. The only downside is you can't deal with a creature before it attacks, specifically Emrakul, the Aeons Torn in the Show and Tell matchup. Still, I'm 99% positive this guy finds itself taking over slots in D&T.
Any other cards people are thinking about playing in their Eternal non-EDH decks? As far as I know, the full card spoiler hasn't been released anywhere, so there will likely be other new playables or staples coming out. I don't think we're going to see anything on the level as True-Name Nemesis, but some of these come close.
Very interesting breakdown! I had NOT considered the ambush Cat, but with Aether Vial it certainly seems interesting and at 3 CMC it's perfectly at the top end. A reusable Swords to Plowshares with Flickerwisp is definitely worth testing, though it's sad that the value goes down somewhat after being Aether Vialed in, since afterwards the effect is broadcasted.
I think the Notion Thief cat at 4 mana will see marginal sideboard play AT BEST, entirely depending on how many Jace, the Mind Sculptor decks are around. 4 mana is not where you want Vial to be and it's pretty expensive to hardcast. But I don't play the deck, so I dunno!
August 11, 2017 11:20 a.m.
Marcus_Licinius_Crassus says... #4
you missed the finisher that 4C Leovold / Grixis Control needed which is Kess, dissident mage .
August 13, 2017 10:36 a.m.
@abby315: rofl I didn't even think about flickering it to reset the ability. For some reason, I was thinking it read "When you cast Stalking Leonin..." and not an ETB.
@Marcus_Licinius_Crassus: I'm always hesitant to name 4 CMC blue cards due to Jace, the Mind Sculptor already occupying that slot in so many deck lists. You're probably right, though. Being able to flashback spells each turn on a 3/4 is solid.
It's the exact kind of card the more tempo-oriented decks (like Grixis Delver) want.
August 13, 2017 5:33 p.m.
Marcus_Licinius_Crassus says... #6
Pro:
Verdict: 1 of in a 4C Leovold Shell
Reasons:
Untargeting snap caster effect every turn
Pitches to FoW
Dodges bolt
Dodges unrevolted fatal push
3/4 FLYING body out of Grixis / 4C Control is huge because it kill a Leovold, Flickerwisp, Serra Avenger, V. Clique, and other common legacy threats.
Dodges abrupt decay
Lightning Rod to draw out the Swords to Plowshares in order to land the Leovold #1 OR Leovold #2.
Con:
- This card will get sided out in many matches, BUT Grixis Delver is 16% of the current meta, and Uxx Delver decks are a major portion of the meta.
August 13, 2017 6:31 p.m.
malfeischylde says... #7
kess. It's all about kess. She's a perfect fit for any deck that likes flashing stuff back, like 4c or Grxis pyromancer
aholder7 says... #2
As someone who plays a deck in modern the has Hunted Phantasm and the like I'll tell you this. Legacy has 1 card that would improve the deck but it would not be good enough to fight other legacy decks.
That's all I have to add to this discussion.
August 11, 2017 12:27 a.m.