Commander Review: Battlebond
I've barely finished digesting the new Dominaria cards and now Wizards is serving up the next set with Battlebond, a set jam-packed with so many multiplayer goodies and great reprints it might as well be called Commander Masters!
Before we get started, I should clarify that I'm reviewing these cards for Free For All Commander games, not Two-Headed Giant games! That means I'm evaluating every card under the assumption that you have no teammate and everyone else at the table is an opponent. There will be a bunch of cards that I would rank much higher in Two-Headed Giant but get worse once you play FFA.
WHITE
Arena Rector
While not as busted as Academy Rector cheating Omniscience into play, Arena Rector is a solid tutor and can do some silly things like bringing in Ugin, the Spirit Dragon or Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker. This is a nice tutor not only for Superfriends but any deck that has a couple planeswalkers. The only downside is that it needs to die to function; while you can use this as a rattlesnake to deter attackers and board wipes, generally the best way to take advantage of Rector is to pair it with sacrifice outlets so you can tutor when you want to. Most Superfriend decks do not have consistent sources of sac outlets, but even without them it's a solid inclusion.
Brightling
No doubt Brightling is a powerhouse in Limited but in Commander the 'lings aren't anything special. I only mention the card here because I love the art and want one in foil!
Play of the Game
For a long time in Commander, if you wanted to completely clear out the board of nonland permanents, any deck had access to Nevinyrral's Disk, Oblivion Stone, or Perilous Vault. White had another option with Planar Cleansing.
Then Hour of Revelation was printed and blew away the competition.
Now we've got another sweet board clear with Play of the Game. It's 8cmc if you cast it all by yourself which is reasonable, but odds are you can convince someone else at the table to chip in some of the mana you need by giving them a heads-up on what you want to do on your turn. Casting this thing won't be a problem, and you gain the additional benefit of exiling everything, which is highly relevant in Commander since every deck runs some amount of graveyard recursion that you're denying with this.
In most cases, however, Hour of Revelation is still the best board clear: it's almost always being cast for a piddly 3 mana, which is ridiculous. You'll often be able to cast Hour and then immediately start rebuilding your board, while it's doubtful that you can convince any smart person to assist you with more mana than you actually need to cast Play of the Game, so chances are that board clear is all you're doing on your turn. It's a great card, but I'd only run it if I need a second Hour of Revelation or all my opponents are playing Graveyard decks.
Regna's Sanction
Regna's Sanction is a sweet political card for Go Wide decks, giving a small buff to you and your "friends" while setting up foes for a potentially lethal turn. I imagine you'll be casting this and convincing other people at the table to attack a mutual enemy, hopefully taking them out with your combined attacks. It's a good trick for a fair mana cost. This card will see the most use out of Go Wide decks that like Politics, such as Gahiji, Honored One.
Together Forever
Together Forever is solid support for a +1/+1 counter strategy, immediately giving you some benefit and then giving you a cheap way to re-use your creatures if they would die to removal / combat. It's basically a better version of Spirit Bonds for a different archetype. This enchantment is good enough that I'd jam it into any White +1/+1 Counter deck I'd make.
BLUE
Arcane Artisan
I can see Arcane Artisan being decent in High CMC Creature decks like certain varieties of Jodah, Archmage Eternal and Braids, Conjurer Adept, basically letting you cheat into play your Void Winnower for just 3 mana. There's also interesting potential in Token decks, especially ones in Green/White for populate cards (Rootborn Defenses). The downsides are that the card is exiled so no graveyard shenanigans, and if the Artisan leaves play then so do your tokens. Ultimately I think the downsides are too significant for me to get excited about Arcane Artisan but it's a card I'm happy to revisit when brewing future decks.
Fumble
Fumble feels like an insane "sideboard" card printed for Commander: while we technically do not have sideboards in this format, it's always encouraged that you tailor your deck to suit your playgroup, so if your playgroup is being spanked by Voltron / Equipment / Aura strategies then Fumble is an INSANE way to shut them down! The most common Equipments run in Commander are Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots, so you'll still need a reliable way to target the creature with this; Arcane Lighthouse is a great way to do so. Once you can target the suited up creature though, Fumble is ridiculous: 2 mana, instant speed, and you gain control of ALL the Auras / Equipment! Yikes!
Game Plan
If you're one of the vast majority of players who can't or won't pay over $2,500 USD for a Timetwister but want the effect, then you'll be happy to know that Game Plan is a super cheap alternative! While it's not close to as good in a competitive setting, in a more casual game I think it'll do a fine imitation. I imagine the best way to use this is to identify someone else at the table who would really want a new hand, see how much mana they can assist you with, and then leave only enough mana to cast Game Plan with assistance; this way you could probably get away with casting your Timetwister at the end of your turn for just U. If you try to cast Game Plan first though, then other players will be more reluctant to assist you for more mana than you need, which is the case for all these assist cards, really.
Decks with aggressive curves that want to dump their hands quickly and refill, while also denying everyone their graveyards, may enjoy Game Plan. It may also end up being useful in Wheel decks, though I expect most people will be reluctant to assist you with Nekusar, the Mindrazer or Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind on the table.
Nimbus Champion
I love what Nimbus Champion is doing, but 6 mana is way too high for this. What a pity.
Out of Bounds
In my head, Out of Bounds is usually a 1-2 mana Counterspell when you're countering a scary threat because nobody wants to see that Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger actually resolve, so somebody will assist you if they have the mana. But then again, sometimes nobody will have mana to assist with. Also if you're ever in a dominant position then nobody will assist you and you're stuck with a more expensive Cancel.
Considering how many great options we have for countermagic — Counterspell, Swan Song, Negate, Disdainful Stroke, and so on it's hard to see me ever wanting to go for Out of Bounds, even though it's an alright card.
Spellseeker
Blue doesn't have a long list of great instant/sorcery tutors: there's Mystical Tutor, Personal Tutor, and, uh ... Long-Term Plans? Spellseeker is a welcome addition to our short list. The tutor is restrictive but in just Blue you can fetch creature removal (Pongify / Curse of the Swine), card draw (Pull from Tomorrow), countermagic (Counterspell), and of course, the mighty Cyclonic Rift. While Spellseeker won't replace Demonic Tutor, it's quite good if you have a little toolbox of things to fetch up.
Things get a lot better if your deck synergizes with Spellseeker being a Wizard creature. It will undoubtedly be strongest in Inalla, Archmage Ritualist, which loves Wizards with powerful ETB triggers! I can see her being used in other Blink decks too like Brago, King Eternal and Wizard Tribal like Azami, Lady of Scrolls, but Inalla is the most obvious choice.
I will say I'm disappointed that Spellseeker is a Rare. This is an easy Uncommon like Trinket Mage / Trophy Mage.
Zndrsplt's Judgment
Of the entire "Friend or Foe" cycle, Zndrsplt's Judgment's probably my least favorite. To me, it's a less interesting Tempt with Reflections (talking strictly in a FFA game), and any way I look at it this sorcery seems overcosted: Cackling Counterpart and Fated Infatuation are instant speed token makers for 3 cmc, and if we upgrade them to Zndrsplt's Judgment I don't see it being worth it as a 5 mana sorcery. At 4 mana I might think about using it over Tempt with Reflections but at 5 mana for what I feel is a worse card, nah. The foe part of this card doesn't seem terribly good, and sometimes might even benefit your foe by bouncing a creature with a good ETB trigger like Eternal Witness.
Zndrsplt's Judgment has some merit in Token strategies that use a lot of populate effects (Rootborn Defenses) but I think there are better-costed cards for similar effects.
BLACK
Archfiend of Despair
Wound Reflection that denies lifegain like Erebos, God of the Dead on a 6/6 flying Demon ... yeah, Archfiend of Despair is pretty sweet. 8 mana is still a ton, but in decks where such a high cmc isn't an issue, this Demon is a serious beater! This is an excellent inclusion in Kaalia of the Vast or Rakdos, Lord of Riots.
Gang Up
Kill a creature at instant speed for as low as B, but sometimes quite a bit more. Gang Up isn't a bad card, but in Commander we have so many amazing creature removal in Black (Snuff Out, Go for the Throat, Malicious Affliction) that I don't see myself ever running this card.
Inner Demon
I love Auras that come with sweet ETB triggers; I think it's a cool design space. Inner Demon is a sweet one, but only giving -2/-2 to non-Demons is probably a bit too niche to be consistently useful, though it can sometimes clear out Token 1/1 armies before they get buffed. I like the concept but now I want a beefier version.
Mindblade Render
Mindblade Render is another new staple for Warrior Tribal: card draw is always good, and that low casting cost means it's going to help you promote a more aggressive curve, something Warriors want. Easy staple for Najeela, the Blade-Blossom, or any other Warrior Tribal decks.
Stunning Reversal
Weird cards like Stunning Reversal are always my favorites! I don't know when I will play with this card, but I do have a couple ideas: this is another way to play Phage the Untouchable from your command zone (though you do go to 1 life yikes), or you can set up a win with Near-Death Experience and an instant-speed way to kill yourself like Glorious End to surprise win on your upkeep! Super janky stuff but will be glorious if you can pull it off!
Thrasher Brute
Thrasher Brute provides some nice reach to Warrior Tribal decks under Najeela, the Blade-Blossom, since the deck is so good at generating tokens. The brute also pairs nicely with Secure the Wastes. There's also combo potential if you can have a Warrior enter the battlefield an infinite number of times, perhaps using a classic variation of Nim's Deathmantle + Ashnod's Altar + Beetleback Chief or any other Warrior that brings a token sacrifice buddy.
Thrilling Encore
Grim Return came and went with zero interest. Getting all the creatures that died this turn, well, that's a damn good flashy effect that I feel confident us Commander players will be interested in! This is an excellent card to play after someone board wipes, possibly even game-winning. Or cast it after a big combat where lots of creatures die.
Keeping up five mana to have Thrilling Encore ready is going to be tough for your average deck to pull off, however. It's most likely to find a home in Draw Go decks, for example Garna, the Bloodflame or certain versions of Kess, Dissident Mage.
Virtus's Maneuver
In a vacuum, Virtus's Maneuver is an upgrade to Fleshbag Marauder / Merciless Executioner, since you get to return a creature card from your graveyard while everyone else sacrifices. Marauder / Executioner are better when your deck cares about creatures and/or wants to sacrifice things for value, like Meren of Clan Nel Toth decks. However, if your deck doesn't care about creatures, or if your deck cares about instants/sorceries like Kess, Dissident Mage, then Virtus's Maneuver is an easy upgrade.
RED
Bonus Round
Bonus Round looks like a new staple in any serious Spellslinger deck; paying 1 more mana for a Reverberate on all your spells this turn is just bonkers! That's double the Mana Geysers, Comet Storms, Mind's Desires, Epic Experiments ... this card will enable so many game-winning turns. Yes, there's a risk that it'll backfire as an opponent may hit you with a doubled Nature's Claim or Snuff Out but that's definitely a risk I'm willing to take (or play around).
Bonus Round is a new staple in Mizzix of the Izmagnus, Melek, Izzet Paragon, Zada, Hedron Grinder, Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest, Adeliz, the Cinder Wind, literally any Red Spellslinger deck.
Khorvath's Fury
Khorvath's Fury is a well-costed Wheel with some flexibility. I wouldn't jam this into any generic Red deck as we have better sources of card advantage now (what a time to be alive!) and the damage dealt isn't going to be anything too crazy unless we have an opponent holding 15+ cards in hand. However, in a dedicated Wheel deck like Nekusar, the Mindrazer, this is an excellent Wheel inclusion.
Lava-Field Overlord
Like most of the assist cards, Lava-Field Overlord is fine: it shouldn't be hard to convince someone to assist you in picking off a mutual threat so you're basically casting a beefier Flametongue Kavu. This is a fine budget inclusion in a Dragon Tribal deck like The Ur-Dragon.
Najeela, the Blade-Blossom
Najeela, the Blade-Blossom is our first ever official Warrior Tribal commander, and she's INSANE! For just 3 mana you've got a crazy Warrior token generator which will snowball out of control almost instantly, since those tokens can generate even more tokens! On top of that, her activated ability for extra combat steps just wins games even if you don't plan on going infinite with shenanigans like Druids' Respository to attack, deal damage, and generate WUBRG with Repository to take infinite combat steps — but you could totally do that too, of course! Najeela is all about attacking for ludicrous damage then attacking again for even more damage. It's crazy!
My only complaint is that she's so good that she takes away any meaningful decision on what your Warrior Tribal commander should be. Before Najeela was revealed I was debating between brewing a Warrior Tribal deck under Saskia the Unyielding, or going for a +1/+1 Counter subtheme with Daghatar the Adamant, or a partner brew with Reyhan, Last of the Abzan. Then Najeela arrives and unquestionably becomes the best choice: you get access to all five colors and her Warrior support is undoubtedly the strongest. I don't like it when Wizards prints a commander that just says "here is the best commander for X archetype. All other options are objectively worse." It's my same complaint with Inalla, Archmage Ritualist and Edgar Markov just becoming the defacto leaders of their respective tribes; at least when Atraxa, Praetors' Voice became the best commander for Superfriends you can make an argument that at least she doesn't have access to the sweet Red planeswalkers, you know?
I love Najeela, but I wish at the very least she'd be more color restricted, like being WRG so you can at least debate if you want a weaker commander that has access to Warriors in Black.
Stolen Strategy
Stolen Strategy is one of the best sources of incremental card advantage ever printed in Red. By paying a mana more than Outpost Siege or Vance's Blasting Cannons -- cards that I love in many Red decks -- you go from being able to cast one extra card to choosing/casting multiple cards! You can't play lands with this, but even with that restriction, Stolen Strategy is one of the best sources of card advantage that you'll find in a generic Red deck.
How good Stolen Strategy is depends on your own deck and also what type of decks your opponents are playing. If you are playing a deck built solely on synergy, perhaps a Combo deck, then drawing cards from your own deck is more valuable than drawing random cards from other decks -- something like Outpost Siege will be better. Likewise, if your opponents are playing decks focused on synergy / Combo, you might not be able to take advantage of the cards you get from them as well as they can. But even in the worst case scenarios, Stolen Strategy is good value.
I will run Stolen Strategy in basically any Mono Red deck I ever make. I will also highly consider it in Boros decks unless the deck is already swimming in synergistic card draw, like my Tiana, Ship's Caretaker Aura deck. Once you start mixing in other colors you'll probably have better options for card advantage, but I can't think of a deck where this card is terrible.
GREEN
Bramble Sovereign
Holy moly, this card is GREAT! Not expensive to get down -- 4/4 for 4 is also respectable -- and then for a mere 2 mana you can make a token copy of any creature entering the battlefield, including other players! This is a great political tool ("I'll copy your creature if you do XYZ for me") but even if you just used it for yourself it's friggin' awesome! Great in Blink decks like Roon of the Hidden Realm, downright silly in any Token deck with a strong populate theme like Trostani, Selesnya's Voice or Rhys the Redeemed. I'd be happy to cast Bramble Sovereign for 5, 6 mana; at just 4 mana this card is simply amazing.
Generous Patron
We follow up one amazing 4 cmc creature with another: Generous Patron is insanely good in multiple archetypes! You can immediately start bolstering your own creatures when it enters the battlefield or even support opposing creatures to draw two cards. Its ability triggers on any counters, so you can draw cards from giving +1/+1 counters with Evolutionary Escalation, -1/-1 counters with Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons, or random counters like prey with Tetzimoc, Primal Death! I love how open-ended Generous Patron is. Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons is definitely the best home for Patron, but I can see it being a powerhouse elsewhere too.
Grothama, All-Devouring
My brain wants to call this "Grothama the All-Devouring" so badly.
Anyhoo, I like this card in decks where you can pop it for all that lovely card draw. The first deck that comes to mind is Xenagos, God of Revels, where you're clocking people for 20 with just a 5 mana creature, and it wouldn't be too hard to kill it with an even bigger creature. Grothama also pairs up nicely with Blasphemous Act!
Pir's Whim
Of the entire "Friend or Foe" cycle, Pir's Whim is my favorite. I can't imagine any deck or playgroup where choosing Friend for yourself and Foe for all opponents isn't going to be a huge swing in your favor: pretty much every deck has a sweet land they want to tutor up, and enchantments/artifacts are so common in decks that it's not hard to find a situation where you're making each Foe sacrifice something relevant. Pir's Whim is a generic great card that is worth considering in basically any Green deck.
PARTNERS
Cards with the partner keyword lets target player tutor up a specific card that pairs well with them and puts it into their hand. It looks like cards with the partner keyword cost 1 more mana than the same card would without it, which is a more than fair bargain since usually 1 more mana is usually just "draw a card" and tutoring up a specific card that pairs well with the card you cast is a little better than that.
Also you can have legendary creature partner pairs as your commander and they work the same way as the original partner commanders (e.g. Reyhan, Last of the Abzan) except they can only pair up with the specific card you partner with; you can't mix and match like you can with the older partners, which is a very good thing, since some combinations would inevitably be broken.
Gorm the Great // Virtus the Veiled
Both Gorm the Great and Virtus the Veiled actually seem undercosted for what they do, but then again previous incarnations don't see much play so this looks more of an attempt to push for a "fair" cost for these effects. The idea here is that Gorm taunts away blockers, which lets Virtus get in and deal a massive sneak attack.
Gorm the Great is a good-ol' Lure creature. You can draw lots of cards off him with Infiltrator's Lens and make his attacks deadlier with deathtouch (Bow of Nylea) or pump him up (Ferocity).
Meanwhile, Virtus the Veiled turns into a 1-shot killer when paired up with Wound Reflection or the new Archfiend of Despair.
I love this pairing and appreciate that Wizards pushed down the mana cost on these cards! I plan on brewing with these partners as my commanders. I don't think they'll be super popular as they're more on the casual end and they're not very flashy / battlecruiser'y, but I love Lure themes!
Khorvath Brightflame // Sylvia Brightspear
This pairing of Knight and Dragon Tribal is weird to me outside of paying homage to Dragonlance. We just got a fair chunk of WB Knight Tribal support in Dominaria led by Aryel, Knight of Windgrace, so it's strange that the very next set would throw some nice Knight Tribal support ... in Red. I mean, it works, I guess? Most of the best Knights are in White and most of the best Dragons are Red, so you can cobble together a Knight Dragon Tribal list I suppose, but there's zero crossover support outside of this homage pairing.
If anything, I think Sylvia Brightspear might be a decent inclusion on her own in a Dragon Tribal deck like The Ur-Dragon. Sorry, Khorvath.
Krav, the Unredeemed // Regna, the Redeemer
Krav, the Unredeemed and Regna, the Redeemer are an excellent commander pairing for an Orzhov deck that is fairly open-ended on how you build them, since they support Lifegain, Sacrifice, +1/+1 Counters, and even Tokens. I assume Sacrifice/Lifegain will be the best and most popular themes to focus on. Zulaport Cutthroat and Blood Artist are the most obvious inclusions here, along with Elenda, the Dusk Rose. Soul Warden, Soul's Attendant, and Authority of the Consuls let you gain life / make tokens any turn that opponents play creatures with Regna out. Keep sacrificing tokens to Krav to draw tons of cards and make even more tokens. Control the board with Grave Pact / Dictate of Erebos. Win with a giant Krav commander punch or go wide with Cathars' Crusade, or even combo out with Blood Artist and some infinite sac combo.
The pairing is solid to build around and similar to Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim and I'm not sure which would be the best commander. Either way they're a great inclusion as commanders or as part of the 99.
Okaun, Eye of Chaos // Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom
For the first time ever, we've finally got commanders that directly support a Coin Flip theme, and they're surprisingly good! The Coin Flip "archetype" is a weak one at best so it's nice to see some actually good commanders for the archetype to help prop up the power level a bit.
I've written a Budget Commander Coin Flip article long ago and not much has changed since then; maybe one or two new coin flip cards to add and some better generic cards to fill the gaps. The most powerful cards Coin Flip decks can bring to the table are the almighty Krark's Thumb which make your terrible cards decent, and Frenetic Efreet / Chance Encounter as your powerhouse win conditions. All three were correctly identified and bought out completely by speculators right when these commanders were spoiled which ruined any interest I had in revisiting my old deck, but ya know, that's how speculators roll.
I will say that even with good new commanders, Coin Flip decks are casual at best. Also an important warning: if you plan on bringing this deck to your playgroup, for the love of god please figure out an efficient way to "flip coins." Do not flip actual coins. Figure out a quick and efficient system with dice. Nobody wants to watch you tediously flip coins one at a time. It's cute for all of 1 minute and then people get pissed off.
Pir, Imaginative Rascal // Toothy, Imaginary Friend
Together, Pir and Toothy can lead a fun Counter deck, likely +1/+1 Counter with various other Counter themes. I'm not sure how well they compare to Vorel of the Hull Clade but I imagine it's close. Unfortunately they can't compare to the incredibly pushed Atraxa, Praetor's Voice, so if anything they're relegated to part of the 99 unless you really hate the idea of playing Atraxa. Pir, Imaginative Rascal can also do fine without his imaginary friend, offering nice support to Superfriends (again, probably in Atraxa).
Rowan Kenrith // Will Kenrith
Of the two planeswalkers, Will Kenrith seems the most interesting, promoting a Spellslinger archetype with his -2 and -8. His +2 ability is quite strong, shutting down potential attacks but also neutering powerful creatures from doing anything at all. You can make his +2 even stronger with Willbreaker and Dismiss into Dream.
Rowan Kenrith is ... fine. Her ultimate is very powerful, and her other abilities are niche but might have interesting synergies to take advantage of. For example, using her +2 with Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs around is a great way to direct a full attack against a mutual opponent.
The Kenrith twins cost a ton of mana and their abilities, and they aren't terribly exciting to me that I'd want to build an entire deck around them. They may be better suited as part of the 99 of a Superfriends deck that isn't run by Atraxa, Praetors' Voice -- it's possible to make such a deck, I swear!
MULTI-COLOR
Archon of Valor's Reach
Archon of Valor's Reach is a giant beefy hate bear that can screw over decks that are dedicated to non-Creature strategies. I'm not sure what deck specifically wants this Archon; perhaps a dedicated Hate Bear deck like Gaddock Teeg?
Azra Oddsmaker
Azra Oddsmaker is an excellent and flexible source of card draw in any aggressive creature deck. She's a Warrior so this is an easy include in Warrior Tribal, but I also like her in Madness decks like Olivia, Mobilized for War. She also helps fill the graveyard for reanimation plays. Pairing her with double strike is yet another great synergy to exploit! Great card!
Last One Standing
4 mana is the bar for wrath effects, which isn't surprising since the name comes from the gold standard, Wrath of God. Any wrath cheaper than that comes with drawbacks or restrictions, like Toxic Deluge, Hour of Revelation, and Blasphemous Act. With that in mind, Last One Standing is a fantastic new option for us. Yes, the random factor of what creature remains can bite you, but at just 3 mana that's a reasonable risk that I'm excited to try out!
Rushblade Commander
Haste is really good. Haste for all your Warriors at just 2 mana is basically a staple for Warrior Tribal. Najeela, the Blade-Blossom approves.
COLORLESS
Sentinel Tower
Sphinx-Bone Wand is a card I used to run in Spellslinger but these days I leave it out of my decks because the cmc is quite high. Now we've got a cheaper version with Sentinel Tower, except it only works during your turn and it resets after your turn ends. This makes the Tower much better for Combo kills similar to Aetherflux Reservoir but less powerful in slower, grindier decks. Overall I'm happy with this cheaper variant and while I don't often play decks that will take advantage of this card, perhaps more competitive Combo decks will.
Victory Chimes
I LOVE this mana rock! It's going to be a rockstar in Draw Go / Flash decks such as Talrand, Sky Summoner, Jori En, Ruin Diver, and Ephara, God of the Polis. Even if you aren't using the mana every turn to cast your instant spells, you can still use Victory Chimes politically to help opponents in return for favors of some kind. Love it!
LANDS
Awesome Lands
Whatever this cycle of lands will eventually be called, they're amazing! Instant staples for Commander! The only downside is that they don't have basic land types, so you can't get them with fetchlands (Arid Mesa), ramp spells (Farseek), and they don't fuel various cards that care about basic lands types (Crypt Ghast). But other than that, holy moly! Dual lands that basically always enter untapped in Commander!
These lands are going to show up in a ton of decks. Easily the most played cards in the entire set.
That's All, Folks!
Hope you enjoyed the review! Let me know what your favorite cards are and where you'll play them! Next up it's back to Budget Commander, probably with Najeela, the Blade-Blossom!
