MTG: A Feast of Value – Five Ixalan Commanders that Rock
You’ve got your Gisaths and Elendas, but what about the humble Gnome? Dig a little deeper into some sleeper Commanders.
Welcome in, Praetors and Planeswalkers! Lost Caverns of Ixalan has been with us for a few days, and the decks are already blowing up. With some incredible reprints and a few spicy new options, veterans and newcomers are finding a lot of power in the popular Commander pieces. But if you brush aside the Ghaltas and Vitos, a few underrated generals might surprise you. They might not take you to the vaunted halls of cEDH, but they’ll undoubtedly make for a fun time.
Caparocti Sunborn
Starting the bidding off strong is this humble Boros uncommon. Right out of the gate, he’s a 4/4 for four mana, so he’s not a bad punch Commander. However, his real strength is his attack trigger. Having two extra artifacts or creatures is pretty simple in Boros, so you’ll almost always get his discover trigger. Caparocti is a surprisingly potent Voltron Commander. Not only can you dig for low-cost cards like Shadowspear or Loxodon Warhammer, but those same Equipments can then tap to activate his ability.
Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon
Probably less of a sleeper than the others, Anim Pakal still deserves a mention for how incredible she is. Yes, I know this is another Boros piece, but Boros is strong in this format, so bear with me. Anim lets you build up a massive army just by attacking. Every time a non-Gnome creature attacks, she gets bigger and makes a bigger army. Combine her with just a few extra cards, like Anointed Procession or Divine Visitation, and you’ll have a nasty force in no time. Plus, since Anim counts the number of counters on herself, explore mechanics also buff her and her army.
Akawalli, the Seething Tower
Stepping into the realm of Golgari, we have a massive myconid menace in Akawalli. While he isn’t anything special right out of the gate, the bigger your graveyard gets, the bigger HE gets. At four permenants, he becomes a 5/5 with trample, and at eight, he becomes a 7/7 with trample and can’t be multi-blocked. Combine that with anything that gives menace, an easy ask in Black, and you’ll have an unblockable wrecking ball. Plus, in the Golgari colors, a full graveyard is easy, and there are plenty of ways to make your mushroom lad even larger.
Saheeli, the Sun’s Brilliance
Moving over to Izzet, we have a token doubler of extraordinary esteem. Saheeli may have lost her spark, but she’s still got plenty of tricks up her sleeve. Creating an artifact copy of something might not seem like much, but with all the things in Blue and Red that care about artifacts entering the battlefield or dying, you can generate a potent string of events. Plus, you can double some of your chunkier pieces and make sure they do everything they need to do, but twice.
Zoyowa Lava-Tongue
Rounding out the offering, we have an unassuming 2/2 with deathtouch. However, like many other entries on this list, Zoyowa isn’t here for his combat prowess. As long as you’ve descended, each opponent must sacrifice a permanent, discard a card, or take three damage. You’re in Rakdos…you’re always descending. Zoyowa can clear the board surprisingly fast, and while he isn’t the most potent piece in Ixalan, he’s undoubtedly a starter to a nasty combo train.
Which new Commander are you building?
