Kicking off this Friday, Magic Con Amsterdam is about to light the world of MTG on fire. On top of a massive preview panel and Pro Tour Marvel Super Heroes, The Hobbit spoiler season is even kicking off this weekend. All of this is kicking off early, too, thanks to reveals from the event’s Black Lotus lounge that have been promptly shared online.
MTG Gandalf, Party Guest
Gandalf, Party Guest offers players an interesting puzzle for Commander players to solve. Getting free spells each combat is extremely powerful, especially with ability doubling cards like Roaming Throne or extra combat cards like Relentless Assault. The Legendary Wizard requirement may seem steep, but there’s more support for this specific requirement than you might expect.
According to Scryfall, there’s 136 different Legendary Wizards within Gandalf, Party Guest’s colors, pushing the Commander in a particular direction. A sort of Spellslinger beatdown build using cards like Adeliz, the Cinder Wind, and Balmor, Battlemage Captain to buff your team makes a lot of sense. Pair this with Wizards that can essentially recast your free spells, like Gandalf, of the Secret Fire, and you can set up a massive swing.
To amplify this game plan Gandalf’s ability lets him cast zero-mana spells without Suspending them. This makes cards like Wheel of Fate and Restore Balance shoo-ins for Gandalf since he can cast them without support. Pair this with copy Wizards like Naru Meha, Master Wizard or Dualcaster Mage, and Gandalf can set up some massive value plays.
MTG Training Grounds
On top of revealing an early spoiler from The Hobbit, Wizards also showed off a new Secret Lair card to Black Lotus badge holders today. This sneak peek was quite a spicy one, too, as Training Grounds is a true Commander staple and a very welcome reprint. Selling for around $7.50, this card will definitely help the value of this impending Secret Lair.
Currently, it hasn’t been announced when we’ll see this full Secret Lair drop, but we likely won’t have to wait long. At MagicCon: Amsterdam, Wizards is hosting a “Secret Lair Reveal-a-Thon” panel on Friday. Presumably, since one card has been shown early, the rest may appear here, but that’s not guaranteed.
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