FRF has been out for a while now, long enough that we've got a full spoiler for the next set, Dragons of Tarkir, wherein Sarkhan Vol goes back in time and creates an alternate present. More on that in a sec; right now I'd like to make a friendly PSA regarding FRF cards in Commander.
Ahem.
PLAY UGIN.
Thank you.
Seriously. I try to avoid throwing the word "staple" around, on the grounds that there are tens of thousands of cards, and the vast, vast majority are legal in Commander. Sure, there are cards that probably deserve the term, and I feel that there are decks that can't maximize Ugin's full potential, but it is really hard to lose when you land Ugin. Play Ugin, use his second ability to maximize the hurt for your opponent, and then Ghostfire the bad guys until they die. His ultimate can be backbreaking, but as with any planeswalker, you ought to avoid running him for his ultimate. He's a removal machine, and that's how he should be played.
The new set, Dragons of Tarkir, has a number of cards that I'm excited about for Commander. In addition to nine new legendary creatures that can serve as commanders, we've got two new planeswalkers, an awesome new Clone variant, a new Command cycle, and a Biorythm on legs (that the Rules Committee likely won't ban!). It's a lot to take in, so let's go into a few of the highlights.
Legendary Creatures:
Dragonlord Ojutai: I'm not usually a fan of guys that come into play and have to wait to make an impact. Half-hexproof helps, but there's very little stopping your opponent from making our illustrious dragon philosopher eat instant-speed removal before combat damage. Only costing 5 is an advantage, but I don't expect this version of Ojutai to see too much play as a Commander.
Dragonlord Silumgar: Silumgar misses the hexproof he had in his younger days, but for six mana you get a hell of a flying blocker and you get to steal their best creature or a planeswalker (bonus points if it's ready for its ultimate!). All said, it's a pretty good deal, and bonus points for making this wheezing fatass actually do something.
Dragonlord Kolaghan: This... is not a good card for Commander, because textbox. Move along.
Dragonlord Atarka: 8 power for 7 mana, with flying (obviously) and trample. Not bad. As for its ETB ability, it's a bit worse than Bogardan Hellkite, but still useable. There are better RG Commanders, but Atarka is probably fine.
Dragonlord Dromoka: Here we have possibly the best of the five Elder Dragons. Comes in as a Draconic Baneslayer that bad guys can't counter, and limits your opponents to casting spells on their turn. All for only 6 mana! While I'm unsure that Dromoka will be a popular Commander, I can see her going into Captain Sisay toolbox decks, Mayael decks, hell; I have a Bant list that'd probably use her. Very solid card.
Anafenza, Kin-tree Spirit: Well, she's no Foremost, but still a reasonable card for fast white weenie strategies. Maybe in a GW Hatebears-style deck?
Sidisi, Undead Vizier: Okay, this is pretty cool. With Lifeline and another creature, this turns into a Demonic Tutor every turn. Plays extremely well with creatures that net you some benefit when they die, and is a 4/6 for 5, which is a good size for the cost. Not sure if she's general material, but a pretty neat combo piece.
Zurgo Bellstriker: Tarkir's own Biff Tannen. Of some value given that it appears you can raid him from the command zone. Could be cool. He'd better put two coats of wax on Sarkhan's car. Lazy orc motherfucker.
Surrak, the Hunt Caller: Our old friend Surrak is back, and with a pretty powerful win-more ability. You're likely better of with Xenagos, God of Revels, but Surrak does curve nicely onto a Hero's Blade for self-haste, and 8 damage. For only 4 mana. Christmasland? Perhaps. But mono-green can surprise people.
Planeswalkers:
Sarkhan Unbroken: I have issues with Sarkhan as a character, but this card is awesome. It does everything I love to do- draw cards, ramp, and make guys. Flying blockers are, like Switzerland's flag, a big plus, and while I don't really run dragons, the -8 will be of some use to someone out there. I'm most excited for this card.
Narset Transcendant: Ah, the [Name] [Adjective] formula. Classic. Narset will likely see play in Commander, where I feel her best use will be in Narset decks, which tend to cast a bunch of noncreature spells anyway. Doubling down on said spells is pretty good, as is kind-of drawing a card. She doesn't defend herself, which is actually a flavour win, as it's a reference to her Ben Kenobi manoeuvre that enabled Sarkhan to go back in time. Instead, she counts on her high loyalty to stick around, but that might not be enough as she has a particularly nasty ultimate. The vaguest threat of not being able to cast noncreature spells at all will attract a lot of hate.
Other Awesome Spells:
Damnable Pact: Here's how I imagine this card's creation:
WotC: Whatchu want, fool?
Player: My group doesn't hate Nekusar enough.
WotC: Say no more, fam.
Shaman of the Forgotten Ways: A lot of people were upset when this card was spoiled, due to it's Formidable ability. Nevermind that it cost eleven and requiresa creature with 8 power, which puts it on roughly the same level as Door to Nothingness, and doesn't even guarantee the win. This isn't Biorythm; this is a Somberwald Sage that can, given a huge amount of resources, possibly, maybe win the game. Did I mention that the damn card has three toughness? It won't die to Elesh Norn, but it dies to almost anything else.
Secure the Wastes: Well, that's efficient. And it's an instant. Damn.
Assault Formation:
WotC: What'll it be?
Player: My Doran got tucked!
WotC: I got you.
Clone Legion: Well, it DOES cost nine, but I imagine that it'll see play in Riku decks.
So those are some of my Commander picks from DTK, so let's talk briefly about Sarkhan's trip back to the past.
For those that follow the story each week, we know that in the original timeline the clans didn't exactly have it made. Each clan save for maybe the Sultai had perks for membership, and life for humans was good overall. Surrak could could take down a goddamn rhino. Anafenza was, well, alive and badass. Narset was fun and well-adjusted.
And then Sarkhan kind of wrecked things.
To be fair, it wasn't entirely his fault. After Narset pulled a Ben Kenobi, Sarkhan was sent back in time, where he had the good fortune to meet Yasova, Khan of the Temur. Bewitched by Nicol Bolas, Yasova saved the Elder Dragon's ass by turning Ugin's posse againt him. Sarkhan KO'd Yasova, and somehow used the hedron shard from Zendikar to put Ugin into some kind of stasis.
Seems good.
And then Sarkhan is sent back to the alternate present to find that he'd never been born at all (wat), and that because the dragons emerged from the storms unchecked for ~1000 years, they now ran shit. Sarkhan, being Sarkhan, thinks this is great, and flies off to do... something. His only goal was to silence the voice in his head, and he did. Job done!
Meanwhile...
Anafenza, Khan of the Abzan in another timeline, is now a ghost. Rather than acquiesce to Dromoka's ban on ancestor worship, Anafenza practiced in secret. Once she was found out, she was tortured and executed. It's admittedly kind of cool to see a little more of the dark side of GW as a colour combo, but Anafenza was a well-liked character that successfully lead the Abzan, and the Dromoka are worse off for her loss.
Narset had the passion taught out of her by the UW Dragonlord, Ojutai. The impact on her character is a little harder to assess. Doug Beyer recently revealed on his Tumblr that Narset is canonically on the autism spectrum. This doesn't come as a surprise, but whereas in the original timeline she had the freedom to do whatever she pleased and grow in whatever way she chose, she spent her youth in this timeline under strict tutelage from Ojutai. This tempered her somewhat, though it didn't stop her from ascending. I guess this had something to do with there being no forbidden knowledge in the original Tarkir? The shocking revelation that Ojutai was kind of a dick in his youth was enough to help Narset ascend, and Ojutai entrusting her with the knowledge, and teaching Narset that the search for knowledge, even forbidden knowledge, is not a bad thing helped finally quell the impulsive part of Narset's personality... somehow.
Zurgo went from hulking boss to scrawny cowbell player. Two coats of wax, Biff.
Sidisi died and was brought back to unlife due to her usefulness. The rakshasha's influence has decreased, the naga are forced into the background, and zombies and lazy humans are everywhere. Not the change in management folks were hoping for, fatass.
Surrak, while still in a position of some prominance among the Temur, is not a big as he was. He's devoted to Atarka, but his people are starving as their Dragonlord eats everything and melts the glaciers. The Temur have perhaps the most complete history of Tarkir at this point, thanks to their secret shamans, but how this information will come into play remains to be seen.
As for the Ugin side of things, Sorin does the same stuff he did when he arrived, including find a guide, kill a few guys, and climb a mountain. All the lore he learns is about dragons rather than khans, and sees a series of hedrons rather than Ugin's glowy skeleton. He somehow knows the spell to free Ugin, and does so.
As you'd expect, Ugin has no idea what the hell is going on. Sorin lies to him a bunch, and Ugin dismisses him. Notably, Ugin is likely not aware of the Mending, and will likely attribute his diminished abilities to him waking up from a coma. Sorin also heavily implies that he's responsible for something bad that happened to or with Nahiri, and now has to go fix it. There's a lot of speculation on what this is, from "Nahiri is Avacyn" to "Sorin turned her into a vampire because kor aren't immortal." I do hope we find out soon, since our next stop lore-wise is back to Zenidkar (hype!).
Overall, at least Sarkhan saved Ugin. Perhaps at the ultimate cost of his own plane, but that remains to be seen.
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