Hello everyone and welcome to CommanderCast Episode 449! This week Mark and Adam ask the question… is it possible to actually have too many Legendary creatures in Commander? Commander is a format based on having Legendary creatures (and a few exceptions) that are used to represent the flavor, creativity, and style of deck you. Is it possible the WotC are currently over printing the amount of cards that can be used as a Commander? Has the company that says limitations breed creativity lost control of the limits of the different cards they release or is variety really the spice of life? Then, with the latest spoilers from the most recent set, Adventures into the Forgotten Realms, we get to look at what may be the two most interesting Commanders the set has to offer. Finally, we get to go deep into the newest style of modal spells from AFR with the Flavor Words mechanic. These are the flavor based modal spells with the Italicized words before the effects on the card which are designed to give you a bit of a flavor/story as to what is happening when you choose you adventure. So how does this new way of story telling stack up? Let’s find out!
All that, plus our usual interstitial fodder, and all you have to do is Click the IB!!!
CommanderCast Episode 449
Posted: July 19, 2021
Intros:
Adam
Mark
Keep up with the conversation on Facebook & Twitter.
Community
Do we get too many legendary creatures these days?
# of Legendary creatures per year
(Scryfall search syntax: “type:legendary type:creature year:XXXX not:reprint”)
2021 (*as of this recording): 131
2020: 191 (*Commander Legends)
2019: 79
2018: 95
2017: 54
2016: 54
2015: 45
2014: 34
2013: 38
2012: 22
2010: 15
2009: 14
2008: 16
2007: 29
2006: 36
2005: 70 (*Ravnica & Kamigawa; includes flip cards – 60 legends without flip cards)
2004: 62 (*Start of Kamigawa block; includes flip cards – 52 legends without flip cards)
2003: 8
2002: 16
2000: 23
1999: 37 (*Portal Three Kingdoms)
1998: 8
1997: 9
1996: 15
1995: 18
*Worth reading: “Preserving The Coolness Of Legends,” by Aaron Forsythe
Interstitial fodder:
- We Are Lady Parts is a pretty rad show (too bad it’s stuck on Peacock…)
- Connections is still an amazing ride through science and history. Highest recommendation!
- Animal Man
- YouTube reviewers/reactors disappoint Adam
Strategy
The last two commanders from AFR are also probably the most interesting(?)
Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Commander commanders (only two full lists so far; “Aura of Courage” & “Planar Portal” decks)
- Catti-brie of Mithral Hall
- Galea, Kindler of Hope
- Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant
- Lorcan, Warlock Collector
- Prosper, Tome-Bound
- Sefris of the Hidden Ways
- Storvald, Frost Giant Jarl
- Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients
Technology
Truly the most love that second person point of view has gotten since the Choose Your Own Adventure books went the way of the dinosaur.
- Baleful Beholder
- Choose Your Weapon
- Dawnbringer Cleric
- Inspiring Bard
- Orcus, Prince of Undeath
- Plundering Barbarian
- Shambling Ghast
- Wild Shape
- You Come to a River
- You Come to the Gnoll Camp
- You Find a Cursed Idol
- You Find Some Prisoners
- You Find the Villains’ Lair
- You Happen On a Glade
- You Hear Something on Watch
- You Meet in a Tavern
- You’re Ambushed on the Road
- You See a Guard Approach
- You See a Pair of Goblins
Outtro/Contacts:
CommanderCast – Email: commandercast(at)gmail(dot)com // twitter: (at)CommanderCast
Calvin – Email: captainredzone(at)gmail(dot)com // twitter: (at)CaptainRedZone
Mark – Email: mahlerma(at)gmail(dot)com
Adam – (at)squire9999
Be sure to check out our CommanderCast Facebook page.
And a big thanks to everyone here at the CommanderCast Network. We’ll see you next week with more community, strategy, and technology. Until then, LET’S GET IT!
Just wanted to second Mark’s call for everyone to go watch Connections. I didn’t realize it was up on Archive.org, but now I know what my background entertainment will be on upcoming WFH days. James Burke is a fantastic presenter and the stories he takes you on are just fantastic. If you’re not someone who appreciates science and history – give it a try and it might make you a convert.
https://archive.org/details/ConnectionsByJamesBurke
Someone did do Pick-a-Path type unofficial variant art of various Command spells.
https://twitter.com/RobotGnomes/status/1417227066257379328?s=20
Someone recently pointed out that Treasure Vault is an artifact land. Pricier than I wanted to pay for it as a pre-order. But it makes for a very interesting add for Mairsil. For that matter, so does the Archfiend. Cage the Archfiend and just draw cards with Mairsil. But I’m already caging Arcanis and Azami.
I want Venture to be good, but I’m already at the point of accepting that unless you can Venture 2+ times a turn, it is not. And all but 3 cards have rate limiters of once a turn. Like I love the art of Wandering Troubadour. But the setup and payoff is so much harder with the Troubadour than with Tireless Tracker.
I can so easily make copies of Coiling Oracle or Llanowar Visionary, where ETB draw a card just outclasses ETB Venture. But I still plan to pick up the Esper Venture precon and do hope to brew it into an Abzan venture deck. I agree on the parasitic nature though. So many cards look promising, but then I see it’s got a one venture per turn limit. Augh. That is definitely the most frustrating part and the biggest thing that says I must put multiple venture cards in my deck. Otherwise it’s all, ok, I got You find a cursed idol in my deck, and a chunk of the time I cast it to make a treasure and scry 1. Maybe the Midnite Pathlighter, since that says only legendary creatures can block my creatures.
The stupidest option looks like to make a deck who’s sole purpose is to tap and untap Immovable Rod without actually paying it’s activation cost. You know like having a deck that is running Clock of omens, so you just throw the Immovable Rod in there and twiddle it to venture a lot.
https://scryfall.com/card/afc/7/immovable-rod
I just learned that the Venture deck is a fine deck, but the venture component is almost entirely on the back of the commander alone. I am disappointed in this. I thought I would have a deck with working venture in three colors, and so I’d mostly swap blue for green and massage that. But the actual deck has but a single one of the base set’s Venture cards. At the moment, I’m not invested enough to do a full deck build.
Just wanted to second Adam’s call about stupid, uninformed people. Are you really surprised that the lady didn’t know who Pol Pot was and yet the couple still posted that video? From this woman, to die-hard Trump supporters, to Jessica Simpson; ours is a culture that unfortunately celebrates willful ignorance. The Age of Enlightenment is and has been over for a while now.
Do we have too many legends? Short answer: yes. Long answer: yes, but with more swearing.
You can definitely call it an embarrassment of riches, it definitely feels like a symptom of both Commander/EDH’s popularity, and some good old American capitalism.
How many brands of ketchup do we need? The American answer is _all_ the goddamned ketchups. You want Sri-racha ketchup? Ketchup and mayo mixed? Artisanal ketchup? The radical-cool nightmare that was livid purple and neon green ketchups? I don’t know, feeling like I’m confusing my analogy, but I wonder if Hasbro and Wizards were companies from Europe, would we be seeing the naked, frothing charge to flood the game with legendary creatures because Wizards figured out that they sell.
I do like the ability to try new things, but as that asshole who actively has 30+ decks built, even I look at the glut of new commanders and just shake my head and throw up my hands. I’m happy that someone out there might be finding their lifelong love of a new legendary creature or planeswalker general (much akin to the fulfilling, 27-year relationship Dakkon and I share) but there’s just so many, sooooooo many. I’m kind of waiting for the bottom to drop out of Commander, and Magic in general, but I don’t know if I’ll live to see it.
All of these new legends do indeed feel less special, only because legends should inspire awe and the imagination. When the extraordinary becomes ordinary, it reveals the man behind the curtain is just some shyster peddling snake oil to the enraptured masses.
Geez, do I get melodramatic about some cardboard, or what?
Speaking of old men yelling at clouds, I did enjoy Adam’s rant about YouTube commenters. I still use social media, but I have the dumpster-fire burners blocked for the most part. I try to keep in touch with old friends and former students and share dumb memes while avoiding the idiotic conspiracy theorists. If only I could do that in real life. I had a guy try to engage me in an anti- COVID vaccine rant at the gas pump. He said something about sterility and microchips and I had to start screaming “Lah,Lah,Lah,Lah!” in my head until I got in my vehicle.
Oh, and I started reading Gideon Falls, finally. It’s definitely worth checking out if you like your stories weird and disturbing.
Do we have too many legends? Short answer: yes. Long answer: yes, but with more swearing.
You can definitely call it an embarrassment of riches, it feels like a symptom of both Commander/EDH’s popularity, and some good old American capitalism.
How many brands of ketchup do we need? The American answer is _all_ the goddamned ketchups. You want Sri-racha ketchup? Ketchup and mayo mixed? Artisanal ketchup? The radical-cool nightmare that was livid purple and neon green ketchups? I don’t know, feeling like I’m mixing my metaphors, but I wonder if Hasbro and Wizards were companies from Europe, would we be seeing the naked, frothing charge to flood the game with legendary creatures, because Wizards figured out that they sell.
I do like the ability to try new things, but as that asshole who actively has 30+ decks built, even I look at the glut of new commanders and just shake my head and throw up my hands. I’m happy that someone out there might be finding their lifelong love of a new legendary creature or planeswalker general (much akin to the fulfilling, 27-year relationship Dakkon and I share) but there’s just so many, sooooooo many. I’m kind of waiting for the bottom to drop out of Commander, and Magic in general, but I don’t know if I’ll live to see it.
All of these new legends do indeed feel less special, only because legends should inspire awe and the imagination. When the extraordinary becomes ordinary, it reveals the man behind the curtain is just some shyster peddling snake oil to the enraptured masses.
Geez, do I get melodramatic about some cardboard, or what?
Speaking of old men yelling at clouds, I did enjoy Adam’s rant about YouTube commenters. I still use social media, but I have the dumpster-fire burners blocked for the most part. I try to keep in touch with old friends and former students and share dumb memes while avoiding the idiotic conspiracy theorists. If only I could do that in real life. I had a guy try to engage me in an anti- COVID vaccine rant at the gas pump. He said something about sterility and microchips and I had to start screaming “Lah,Lah,Lah,Lah!” in my head until I got in my vehicle.
Oh, and I started reading Gideon Falls, finally. It’s definitely worth checking out if you like your stories weird and disturbing.