In addition to having one of the most stacked main set lineups of any set in recent memory, Reality Fracture also packs a truly fantastic Commander precon. This whole deck is a fascinating mass of powerful cards, with a few legends that are worth breaking off and building on their own. Avacyn, Angel of Horror is one such legend, taking an iconic Innistrad favorite and converting it into a brutal graveyard Commander.
Avacyn, Angel of Horror MTG
Where the original Avacyn, Angel of Hope protected your creatures via Indestructible, Avacyn, Angel of Horror does so slightly differently. Like a more flexible Shirei, Shizo’s Caretaker, this new Avacyn brings back any of your creatures that die at the end of the turn. Unlike Shirei, Avacyn also returns itself and doesn’t need to remain in play to bring back your other creatures.
By itself, this makes your board very difficult to deal with, but it’s especially good at generating value over time. Since Avacyn’s ability can be used on each end step, free sacrifice outlets like Altar of Dementia
Altar of DementiaSacrifice a creature: Target player mills cards equal to the sacrificed creature's power. will let you essentially blink your whole board four times a turn cycle.
With no limit on the kinds of creatures you can loop this way, Avacyn unlocks all manner of possible plays. You can bring back Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Gray Merchant of AsphodelWhen this creature enters, each opponent loses X life, where X is your devotion to black. You gain life equal to the life lost this way. (Each {B} in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to black.) repeatedly to drain the table out, for example, or loop Solemn Simulacrum for a constant stream of value.
Fair uses aside, Avacyn is also phenomenal at locking down your opponents’ resources. Creatures like Accursed Marauder can keep the board clear of opposing creatures, or you can loop any creature with Grave Pact
Grave PactWhenever a creature you control dies, each other player sacrifices a creature of their choice. for the same result. Add in cards like Burglar Rat to whittle away opponents’ hands, and Boggart Trawler to wipe out their graveyards, and you have a near-perfect lock.
With so many creatures going in and out of your graveyard each turn, Avacyn lets you tap into a nice suite of synergies there, too. Creature-death payoffs like Morbid Opportunist and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER will keep your cards flowing and drain your opponents, respectively. You can also use ‘leaves the graveyard’ pieces like Twilight Diviner and Desecrated Tomb to boost your board.
Tricks of the Trade
While Avacyn is undeniably powerful, it’s also prohibitively expensive mana-wise. To get around this, max out all of black’s best ramp options, including classic rituals like Dark Ritual and Sacrifice. You’ll also want to include the infamous black land duo of Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Urborg, Tomb of YawgmothEach land is a Swamp in addition to its other land types. and Cabal Coffers, as well as tutors like Urza’s Cave and Expedition Map to find them.
Another great way to get Avacyn down cheaper is through The Sibsig Ceremony and Heartless Summoning. Both enchantments grant a two-mana discount and synergize well with your game plan once Avacyn hits the table. Ceremony, in particular, is fantastic with Avacyn, netting you extra tokens while killing your creatures immediately so they return for extra triggers at end of turn.
These ramp elements also support Avacyn’s powerful-but-pricey infinite-turns combo line. To pull this off, you’ll need Avacyn out alongside Magistrate’s Scepter and Coretapper. Each turn, you can tap and sacrifice Coretapper to put three charge counters on Scepter, then tap Scepter to take an extra turn. Avacyn brings Coretapper back in the end step, so it’s ready to tap next turn again to keep the loop going.
As iconic as the original Avacyn is, her new Angel of Horror variant is far more fearsome in the command zone. In fact, once you get past the tricky mana cost, this is one of the most intriguing Aristocrats Commanders we’ve ever seen, especially in Mono-Black. Once the dust settles, I expect this new legend to be one of the most popular Commanders from Reality Fracture as a whole, precon or not.
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