Commander-legal MTG cards impact more than just Magic’s most popular format. While most of these cards are indeed relegated to the expansive array of different Commander strategies, there is rarely a diamond in the rough that shines past the casual format. Occasionally, Commander cards will have an impact on the Legacy format, and these impacts are rather significant.
From introducing one of the best control win conditions in the format,
Triumph of Saint Katherine
Triumph of Saint Katherine
Lifelink
Praesidium Protectiva — When this creature is put into your graveyard from the battlefield, exile it and the top six cards of your library in a face-down pile. If you do, shuffle that pile and put it back on top of your library.
Miracle {1}{W} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)
to creating an entire archetype revolving around the card
Creative Technique
Creative Technique
Demonstrate (When you cast this spell, you may copy it. If you do, choose an opponent to also copy it.)
Shuffle your library, then reveal cards from the top of it until you reveal a nonland card. Exile that card and put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. You may cast the exiled card without paying its mana cost.
, Commander has a startling impact on Legacy. Even the recent Fallout expansion introduced
Lumbering Megasloth
Lumbering Megasloth
This spell costs {1} less to cast for each counter among players and permanents.
Trample
This creature enters tapped.
, an alternate win condition for the Lands archetype.
Once Commander singles start to see Legacy demand, they all tend to skyrocket in price. Suddenly, a card that some players only wanted one of, becomes something that players need a playset of. This is happening to an Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander exclusive thanks to some surprising, but perhaps questionable, Legacy applications.
Leyline Dowser
Leyline Dowser is a two mana artifact that mills the top card of your library and puts that card into your hand if it’s an Instant or Sorcery. If you have a Legendary Creature that you don’t need untapped, you can tap it to use the Dowser again.
The applications of this card in a spellslinger deck are obvious: use it to generate a ton of card advantage. Pair this with a Commander that untaps, like
Stella Lee, Wild Card
Stella Lee, Wild Card
Whenever you cast your second spell each turn, exile the top card of your library. Until the end of your next turn, you may play that card.
{T}: Copy target instant or sorcery spell you control. You may choose new targets for the copy. Activate only if you've cast three or more spells this turn.
, and you can get a ton of Instant and Sorcery cards in your hand. Quick Draw, unsurprisingly, happens to be the Outlaws of Thunder Junction precon that you can find Leyline Dowser in.
The catch? You need to mill them. That means that the card on the top of your deck needs to be an Instant or Sorcery, which can be difficult to control. Fortunately, Legacy Delver has the tools to do that.
Leyline Dowser in Legacy
Legacy Delver decks commonly run playsets of both
Ponder
Ponder
Look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order. You may shuffle.
Draw a card.
and Brainstorm. These are both powerful cantrip effects that allow you to stack the top of your deck. This can ensure Leyline Dowser mills an Instant or Sorcery and gets it into your hand. In this sense, the Dowser almost draws a card each turn. Even if you end up truly milling the top card, you can use it for Delve costs for cards like Murktide Regent.
Currently, Leyline Dowser is proving powerful enough that players are running a full four copies of the card in the main deck! Even though this may be the case, the card is still very much in its testing phase. So far, UR Delver and Canadian Druid are the main archetypes trying this card. The most successful finishes that this card currently has are as a one-of in the sideboard.
While this testing has put the card on many player’s radars, it’s tough to tell whether or not the card is legit or not. For Legacy, a two mana card that occasionally draws a card for another mana may be a bit too clunky.
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Leyline Dowser in Commander
Outside of Stella Lee, according to EDHREC, Leyline Dowser mostly sees play in Izzet Spellslinger decks. Beyond that archetype, however, there are a series of Commanders that can take advantage of everything that Leyline Dowser has to offer.
Raul, Trouble Shooter
Raul, Trouble Shooter
Once during each of your turns, you may cast a spell from among cards in your graveyard that were milled this turn.
{T}: Each player mills a card. (They each put the top card of their library into their graveyard.)
has some incredible synergy with Leyline Dowser. Even if the card you mill is not an Instant or Sorcery, if Raul is in play, you can cast it anyway.
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
Whenever you cast your first spell each turn, reveal the top card of your library. You may cast it without paying its mana cost if it's a spell with lesser mana value. If you don't cast it, put it into your hand.
already wants to stack their deck to take advantage of their triggered ability. If you’re already trying to stack your deck, Leyline Dowser can turn into a great source of card draw.
In a similar vein, this is quite capable with instant and sorcery-heavy builds of
Aminatou, the Fateshifter
Aminatou, the Fateshifter
+1: Draw a card, then put a card from your hand on top of your library.
−1: Exile another target permanent you own, then return it to the battlefield under your control.
−6: Choose left or right. Each player gains control of all nonland permanents other than Aminatou controlled by the next player in the chosen direction.
Aminatou, the Fateshifter can be your commander.
. This Planeswalker is all about stacking the deck, so Leyline Dowser should be able to consistently draw you cards.
Sudden Buyouts
Whenever a Commander card starts to break out in Legacy, a lot of players begin to buy them out. Generally, some potential is unearthed for these cards even in Commander once those players realize how much work they’re doing in Legacy. So, Legacy players, Commander players and players trying to make a financial spec are all trying to buy these cards at the same time.
As a result, the demand for these cards has risen a bunch. As many as 30 copies are being sold in one order on TCGplayer. For now, there is still a decent amount of stock for these cards, and while a price spike has been seen, it’s not a very significant one.
As a result, instead of this being a ‘card has risen a bunch in price’ sort of news blip, we are instead offering this as an interesting idea for players interested in following along.
I am personally unsure of where this card could fall. I could see this being too slow in some Legacy matchups while burying others in card advantage. Sadly, this is definitely weaker than
Up the Beanstalk
Up the Beanstalk
When this enchantment enters and whenever you cast a spell with mana value 5 or greater, draw a card.
, a card banned in Modern and at the center of Legacy.
What the card actually ends up doing, however, is something only time will tell. Either way, these are only 50 cents at the moment, so picking them up earlier than later may be a wise idea.
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