The release of the MTG Assassin’s Creed crossover is now just over two weeks away, and a ton of previews are starting to come out of the woodworks. This unique 100-card set has a lot to offer and should be a welcome addition for fans of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.
Unsurprisingly, Assassin-themed Commander decks should be getting a pretty big boost from this set. Today, we’re going to share some newly revealed cards that all have some EDH appeal. To kick things off, let’s take a look at a sweet legend with a handful of potent abilities.
Roshan, Hidden Magister
Roshan is a really sweet card that should become a staple of Assassin and Morph-focused Commander decks alike. Right away, Roshan provides a similar effect to Maskwood Nexus. This alone can be quite nice in an
Ezio, Blade of Vengeance
Ezio, Blade of Vengeance
Deathtouch (Any amount of damage this deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)
Whenever an Assassin you control deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.
shell. Together, you get to draw cards whenever any creature you control deals combat damage to a player, regardless of whether the creature is normally an Assassin by default.
Where Roshan really gets its value, however, is with its synergy with face-down creatures. In a Morph/Disguise deck, Roshan not only makes it easier to connect in combat with your face-down threats, but you get to generate card advantage when you turn any of them face-up. With this in mind, no EDH legend benefits more from Roshan’s printing than
Etrata, Deadly Fugitive
Etrata, Deadly Fugitive
Deathtouch
Face-down creatures you control have "{2}{U}{B}: Turn this creature face up. If you can't, exile it, then you may cast the exiled card without paying its mana cost."
Whenever an Assassin you control deals combat damage to an opponent, cloak the top card of that player's library.
.
Roshan and Etrata simply work so well together. Roshan turns all your face-down creatures into Assassins and makes them much harder to block. Then, for each of those creatures that connect in combat, you get an additional face-down threat to attack with on the following turn. In this way, you can continue to grow your board exponentially turn after turn. If that weren’t enough, you can use Etrata to flip up your bigger threats, which will trigger Roshan to let you draw cards. Roshan almost seems like it was designed specifically for Etrata Commander players, and we’re not complaining.
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Shay Cormac
Next up, we have Shay Cormac. Despite being the ancestor of 21st century Assassin Javier Mondragon, Shay Cormac is not an Assassin himself. Still, that doesn’t mean Shay Cormac doesn’t come with his own slew of interesting abilities for EDH.
Shay Cormac heavily rewards you for killing opposing creatures with targeted removal. Whenever you target an opposing creature, that creature gets a bounty counter, and then Shay Cormac grows whenever creatures with bounty counters on the die. So, even if you cast something simple like
Doom Blade
Doom Blade
Destroy target nonblack creature.
on an opposing creature, Shay Cormac’s ability to put a bounty counter on it will trigger, and Shay Cormac will grow as a result when Doom Blade resolves.
That being said, there are some ways to further abuse Shay Cormac and help him grow much faster. For instance, you can activate
Tetzimoc, Primal Death
Tetzimoc, Primal Death
Deathtouch
{B}, Reveal this card from your hand: Put a prey counter on target creature. Activate only during your turn.
When Tetzimoc enters, destroy each creature your opponents control with a prey counter on it.
to target a ton of your opponents’ creatures and put bounty counters on them. Then, when you finally resolve Tetzimoc, you’ll blow up a bunch of creatures at once and Shay Cormac will become huge. You can also use cards like
Hex
Hex
Destroy six target creatures.
that target and kill multiple creatures at the same time in a similar manner.
Further, there are a handful of existing cards that care about bounty counters already that are perfect cards to pair with Shay Cormac.
Termination Facilitator
Termination Facilitator
{T}: Put a bounty counter on target creature or planeswalker. Activate only as a sorcery.
Whenever a creature or planeswalker an opponent controls with a bounty counter on it is dealt damage, destroy it.
can distribute bounty counters at will, and
Chevill, Bane of Monsters
Chevill, Bane of Monsters
Deathtouch
At the beginning of your upkeep, if your opponents control no permanents with bounty counters on them, put a bounty counter on target creature or planeswalker an opponent controls.
Whenever a permanent an opponent controls with a bounty counter on it dies, you gain 3 life and draw a card.
further benefits you for killing creatures with bounty counters on them. Shay Cormac even makes it trivial to remove traditionally hard-to-kill creatures with Hexproof, Indestructible, and beyond. For players frustrated at losing to
Voja, Jaws of the Conclave
Voja, Jaws of the Conclave
Vigilance, trample, ward {3}
Whenever Voja attacks, put X +1/+1 counters on each creature you control, where X is the number of Elves you control. Draw a card for each Wolf you control.
over and over, you may now rejoice!
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Adewale, Breaker of Chains
Adewale, Breaker of Chains frankly isn’t the most exciting card for Commander, but it’s a reasonable inclusion in a Pirate or Assassin deck, nonetheless. Getting to dig six cards deep for a strong Assassin, Pirate, or vehicle is nice. Assuming your deck has a high density of vehicles, Adewale does become much more appealing.
Alongside a sacrifice outlet and an evasive vehicle, you can get some nice value off Adewale over time by repeatedly bringing Adewale back from the dead and digging for more Assassins Pirates, or vehicles. This is undoubtedly a bit slow, but it’s a nice option to have. Assassins and Pirates aren’t exactly the most abundant creature types out there, so Adewale can still provide some nice filler for thematic Commander decks.
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Yggdrasil, Renewal Engine
Yggdrasil, Renewal Engine – 3
Legendary Artifact (Mythic)
When Yggdrasil enters the battlefield, exile all creature cards from your graveyard.
T: Exile the top three cards of your library
4, T: Put a creature card exiled by Yggdrasil onto the battlefield under your control. It gains haste until the end of the turn. Activate only as a sorcery
Finally, we have a strange artifact that costs a lot of mana to make use of. However, if you can set things up, Yggdrasil can run away with the game. The ideal scenario with Yggdrasil is to play it, exile some big bombs from your graveyard, then pay four mana on the same turn to put one of those monsters into play with Haste. Then, on subsequent turns, you can continue to pay four mana with Yggdrasil and build out a scary board.
This card is a bit reminiscent of
Quicksilver Amulet
Quicksilver Amulet
{4}, {T}: You may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield.
in the sense that it does very little on its own but has immense upside. Yggdrasil is undoubtedly harder to set up, as you need ways to fuel your graveyard. On top of that, if your opponent removes Yggdrasil, the cards you exiled from your graveyard remain exiled forever, making Yggdrasil a risky inclusion in Reanimator shells. Because Yggdrasil has a triggered ability when it enters play, your opponents have a window to simply blow up Yggdrasil before you get any value, which would be quite unfortunate.
Considering the hoops you have to jump through, Yggdrasil may not be a worthy inclusion for many decks. You are able to exile cards from the top of your library with Yggdrasil when your graveyard isn’t sufficiently stocked, but this process isn’t quick. Setting up the opportunity to attack with a Hasty
Archon of Cruelty
Archon of Cruelty
Flying
Whenever this creature enters or attacks, target opponent sacrifices a creature or planeswalker of their choice, discards a card, and loses 3 life. You draw a card and gain 3 life.
or whatever haymaker your heart desires is cool, though.
So far, MTG Assassin’s Creed looks like a pretty neat set. While most of these cards aren’t too impressive from a Constructed standpoint (MTG Assassin’s Creed will indeed be Modern legal), there’s a lot for Commander players to like here. There are plenty more spoilers being previewed this week, so keep your eyes peeled for any juicy powerhouses.
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