Within the untidy sprawl of a sport of Commander, the Magic: The Gathering format the place a desk filled with gamers all faux they don’t seem to be plotting the others’ downfall, ultimately it’s worthwhile to take a giant swing. After the early turns spent attempting to make your self appear small and non-threatening, like a tiny mammal curled right into a ball who simply occurs to have been seated on the similar desk as a herd of dinosaurs, you ultimately have to uncurl and present some enamel. Both you make the type of play that implies you are really too harmful to mess with, otherwise you reply to another person’s assault with a dismissiveness that reveals you’ve got obtained a conceal too thick to penetrate.
Because the identify suggests, Commander Masters reprints a bunch of Magic playing cards suited to play in Commander, and particularly to conditions identical to that—reprints like Craterhoof Behemoth, a inexperienced creature that is extremely highly effective. Not due to its personal stats, although as a 5/5 it is nothing to be sneezed at, however as a result of it provides each different creature you management the trample potential, and a lift to their energy and toughness equal to the variety of creatures you management. In a inexperienced deck, by the point you’ve got obtained the eight mana to solid Craterhoof Behemoth you’ve got most likely obtained sufficient creatures that bonus will nicely allow you to win earlier than the Behemoth even will get its personal assault.
It is not all large beasts, although. Deflecting Swat, reprinted from the Commander 2020 set, is a defensive on the spot that permits you to retarget an incoming spell or potential wherever you select. Although not a game-winner, it is a enjoyable “you simply activated my entice card” turnaround to shock somebody with, and the brand new artwork includes a dismissive-looking dragon slapping some incoming magic apart with sufficient pressure to ship it excessive of the cardboard’s title.
“My favourite playing cards are those that make for memorable moments,” says Max McCall, the architect of Commander Masters, who was accountable for its general design, path, and imaginative and prescient. “Deflecting Swat is nice for drama. For those who management your commander, Deflecting Swat might be solid free of charge, so you may actually pull the rug out from beneath somebody who thinks they’re nearly to say the higher hand. And Deflecting Swat is not the one card in Commander Masters that is free in the event you management your commander.”
As is at all times the case with Masters, the booster packs will include purely reprints. The preconstructed decks, nevertheless, include 10 new playing cards together with their commander. Every deck appears designed to go well with an archetype that is already well-liked, if laborious to drag off. One is colorless and one other is every-color, whereas the remaining two are constructed round enchantments and the “Tremendous Associates” archetype the place your deck is filled with highly effective planeswalkers.
The intention was to make the preconstructed decks not simply gratifying to play, but in addition helpful to drag aside and work into your personal decks with the identical themes—themes which have beforehand acquired much less love in expansions. “Colorless Commander decks, for instance, are cool, however are laborious to construct as a result of they do not sometimes get a lot assist in new units,” McCall says. “So, Zhulodok, Void Gorger’s deck isn’t solely a enjoyable cool deck in its personal proper, but in addition provides different colorless decks extra choices. Sliver Gravemother, Commodore Guff, and Anikethea, Hand of Erebos all have decks which are doing related issues—cool on their very own, however supporting different archetypes that hardly ever get new choices in regular Magic units.”
Preconstructed is how I wish to play Commander, as a result of placing collectively a complete deck out of random boosters on the evening is a positive strategy to lose half the time you would spend enjoying. McCall is glad to play both, relying on his temper. “Generally I need to play with my Daretti, Scrap Savant deck and smash round with gigantic robots and play the deck I do know and like,” he says. “and generally I need to open some packs and see what I can put collectively on the fly. One factor that’s enjoyable about Commander draft is that there isn’t any singleton rule—in the event you draft two or extra copies of a card, you may play them each! It is a enjoyable little deal with to play your second copy of a card, such as you’re getting away with one thing.”
Commander Masters definitely appears to have loads of playing cards that, when it comes to Magic’s psychogeographic profiles, go well with Timmy—the one that desires to make giant, thrilling performs. Playing cards like Craterhoof Behemoth and Deflecting Swat are made for the Timmy in all of us, however so are the legendaries Commander Masters is stacked with.
A lot of them are offered in a brand new artwork type, side-on and up shut in opposition to a brilliant backdrop. The place the common Magic card is as busy as videogame field artwork, these are stark and can stand out throughout the desk in a poorly lit pub, which is the place I normally am once I play Commander. “We’re at all times in search of new enjoyable issues to do with alternate artwork remedies,” says McCall, “and the portraits got here out of an concept of ‘what would a legend’s headshot be in {a magazine} profile about them?’ So we mocked just a few up and thought they seemed cool, and into the set they went.”
Commander Masters might be accessible from August 4. Here is a picture gallery of all of the playing cards which have been revealed to this point.