MTG: Reviewing my Favorite “March of the Machine” Commanders
An army is only as good as its general, and the final Phyrexian chapter is bringing out some aces.
After nearly two decades, the epic Phyrexian arc is finally coming to a close. Many great heroes and terrible villains have risen, and whole planes have been shaken by the effects of the great war. The multiverse will never be the same after the actions of Elesh Norn and her fellow Praetors. Even the heroes that rose from the ashes paid a heavy toll for victory. Playing out this multiverse-spanning conflict could only be done with the most potent decks, and it seems like WotC has delivered.
The newest commander precons have been teased, and their generals have been revealed. While we don’t know much yet about the full decklist, we can surmise the general feel of their leaders. Suffice it to say… this is going to be good.
Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener
Leading a Naya deck focused around +1/+1 counters, Bright-Palms is pretty incredible. Even before considering their awesome effects, a 4/3 for 4 isn’t a bad deal. Fox isn’t a common creature type, but Shaman sure is. There are a lot of ways to benefit from that tribe. But this fox’s main power is the new Backup mechanic. Backup allows you to put a +1/+1 counter on a creature on ETB (enter the battlefield for the uninitiated), and if you choose another creature it gets an additional ability until the end of the turn.
In Bright-Palms’ case, that effect reads: “Whenever this creature attacks, double the number of +1/+1 counters on the target creature. That creature can’t be blocked by creatures with power 2 or less until end of turn.” That is already an amazing ability, and could be a cannon shot under the right circumstance. It won’t take many cards to make that even better, and with all the blink in White, you’ll get to do it over and over.
Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos
Phyrexians have become a popular tribe thanks to the last few sets, and the ex-king of Oreskos wants to help you capitalize on them. His Orzhov deck wants to have a board full of Phyrexians, and he’s more than happy to help you do it. Like Bright-Paws, he’s a good value on his own as a 3/4 for 4, but gets even nastier with his effects. He introduces another new keyword, Incubate, that triggers whenever you cast a Phyrexian or artifact creature spell. Incubate allows you to make an Incubator token with a set amount of +1/+1 counters. Then, for 2 colorless, you can turn that token into a 0/0 Phyrexian. The more counters you get on the Incubator, the stronger the creature. Plus, since the Incubator isn’t a creature, it can dodge board wipes.
But the king kitty’s real power is his second ability. At the beginning of your end step, if any Phyrexians die that turn, you get to proliferate. That’s incredible for increasing +1/+1 counters, but since Phyrexians also love poison, it could be a game ender with the right setup. This is definitely a commander to keep an eye on.
That’s Only the Beginning
Those don’t sound like your style? Well, you’re in luck! There are three more awesome commander decks to choose from. You could choose Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy, and drown your foe in artifact tokens. Maybe you’d prefer Kasla, the Broken Halo, a powerful commander that you can easily play for free. Or perhaps you want to take the helm of the heroes of Zhalfir? In that case, Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir and his Knights are the deck for you.
You can preorder all those decks now. Grab them before they get pricey!
