Commander Masters is coming toMagic: The Gatheringstores on August 4, but in keeping with Magic tradition, Wizards of the Coast has treated us to the full decklists including all the new cards that will be coming in the four preconstructed decks. Those decks are Enduring Enchantments, Eldrazi Unbound, Planeswalker Party, and the much-anticipated Sliver Swarm.
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Each of these decks will speak to different players, and they’re all great decks in their own right. But no set of precons is perfectly balanced, and some of these new cards just seem stronger than others. Here’s how we’d rank each of the four new preconstructed commander decks coming in Commander Masters.
4Enduring Enchantments
Kicking things off is Enduring Enchantments, the Erebos-colored enchantment deck. This deck naturally centers around enchantment cards and getting increased value for playing enchantments. Cards likeMesaandVerduran Enchantresswill keep your hand full of enchantments, whileStarfield MysticandHerald of the Pantheonwill make those enchantments cheap to cast.
Green and white are the core colors of enchantment strategies, but black adds access toDoomwake GiantandExtinguish All Hopeto keep the board clear. A collection of Sagas likeThe Eldest RebornandBinding of the Old Godsput further pressure on opponents while enhancing your board position.
It’s not a bad deck by any means, but the weakness of enchantment strategies has always been its vulnerability to cards likeBane of Progress, Fracturing Gust, or even something as simple asTranquility. It’s easy to hate enchantments, and it’s even easier for enchantment creatures to catch flack from damage-based board clearers likeBlasphemous Act.
Still, Enduring Enchantments has 10 great new cards, and one of them is a 10/10 trample that can gain indestructibility. That’s good enough to pluck at the harp strings of any lover of giant monsters.
3Sliver Swarm
Slivers have always been a perennial favorite of Commander players, and Sliver Swarm is bound to make Sliver fans happy. All your favorite Slivers are here, fromSinew,Winged, andCrystalline Sliversto the belovedSliver Hivelord.
There are, however, some notable absences. Chief among them isMuscle Sliver, which is essentially the same as theSinew Sliverbut in green, as well as our liege, theSliver Queen. There’s also noCautery Sliver,Darkheart Sliver,Dementia Sliver, orPlated Sliver.
The fact is, there are simply too many Slivers to include them all, and Sliver fans will have to adjust this deck to suit their particular Sliver tastes. This task will be made all the more difficult due to the six new Slivers vying for position, including the all-newSliver Gravemother. Even with 100 cards, it never seems to be enough for Slivers.
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2Planeswalker Party
For some reason, Teferi was not invited to the Planeswalker Party. There are threeJaces, threeChandras, and even threeNarsets(one from before her spark ignited), but the only reference to Teferi comes fromOath of Teferi. Seems likeCommodore Guffisn’t a Teferi fan.
But of the red, blue, and white planeswalkers, the rest of the gang certainly seems to be here.Sarkhan,Nahiri,Saheeli,Gideon,Elspeth,Ajani, and even the mysteriousWandererare all jamming down with newcomersGuffandVronosto control the direction of your Commander game.
Proliferation cards likeGrateful Apparition,Thrummingbird, andFlux Channelerkeep your planeswalkers loyal, while cards likeSilent Arbiter,Norn’s Annex, andKazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffskeep opposing armies from spoiling your shindig. For a crazy planeswalker party, this deck sure doesn’t want to let things get too raucous.
The only issue with Planeswalker Party is that each opponent can see your strategy as it’s being played, which might rankle the opposition into ganging up on you.Path of ExileandSwords to Plowsharesare there are instant-speed answers, but they seem insufficient to delay the armies of players that don’t want to stare down a Silent Arbiter.
1Eldrazi Unbound
Who doesn’t love giant, ineffable monsters? Big mana, mono-colored monsters are the name of Eldrazi’s game, and getting them onto the board fast is their claim to fame.Eldrazi Temple,Temple of the False God, andShrine of the Forsaken Godcombine with theUrzatronlands to bring plenty of extra mana to first power out aThran Dynamoand then follow that up with anOblivion Sower. Repeat until your opponents simply can’t keep up with the constant onslaught of enormous, faceless horrors.
When Eldrazi Unbound isn’t throwing up terrifyingly huge creatures, it’s blowing up everyone else’s.Calamity of the Titans,Perilous Vault,All is Dust, andBlast Zoneare just there for whenMeteor Golem,Titan’s Presence, andUgin, the Ineffablearen’t enough to keep you at the top of the giant monster leaderboard.
Both of your new commanders,Zhulodok, Void GorgerandOmarthis, Ghostfire Initiate, are designed to catapult you well ahead of the pack, whileRise of the EldraziandDarksteel Monolithwill keep you there indefinitely. Just like the Eldrazi, victory is inevitable and unstoppable.
But you have to be strategic. Eldrazi Unbound’s weakness is its lack of card draw outside a few sacrificing mana artifacts and some lands. The Eldrazi struggle when they empty their hands too soon. Always keep a monster in reserve for when the Planeswalker Party finally peters out.
