Back in 1999, our beloved game Magic the Gathering was acquired by Hasbro. Over the years, MTG has flourished, ultimately becoming a billion-dollar brand last year. Every year, it feels like more and more sets are released, and while it can get a bit tiresome keeping up with every product, we as players constantly have something new to look forward to.
Given MTG’s ties to Hasbro, it’s not uncommon for the conglomerate to recognize Wizards of the Coast staff in interesting ways. One of the coolest ways staff members are shown support is through the creation of Heroes of the Realm cards. These cards serve as a means of recognizing groups and individuals that massively impacted the business. Ultimately, while Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks created the concept of these celebration cards, it’s up to Wizards of the Coast’s executive team to choose who earns the cards. Those workers then get to help design Heroes of the Realm cards.
In a similar vein, recently, a unique “Deb Thomas” card began circulating, supposedly making its way into a player’s local game store. Deb Thomas is a former Chief Financial Officer for Hasbro who announced their retirement back in 2022. At first, speculation was that this was another example of a new Heroes of the Realm card. However, there’s a few major differences in this case, so let’s take a look.
Heroes of the Realm… Sort of
On the surface, this Deb Thomas card looks extremely similar to all Heroes of the Realm cards. In fact, the promo symbol looks the same. However, there are a few signs that signal that this card is a separate entity.
First, every Heroes of the Realm card, such as Wizard from Beyond shown above, specifically states “Heroes” followed by the year of release (in this case, 2022) in the bottom left. On top of that, “H22” appears in the line underneath, serving as further indication that Wizard from Beyond is a Heroes of the Realm card.
In the case of the Deb Thomas card, “Heroes” is not present. Instead of “H22” in the bottom left, we see PRM. PRM appears in a variety of promo cards. For example, all of the promos associated with the “Destroy all Humankind. They Can’t Be Regenerated” Japanese manga each feature the same PRM text.
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Differences in Card Background
The second massive difference, and perhaps the most important, is the fact that Heroes of the Realm cards feature a different card back. As such, they are not actually legal in any format. The one exception is that the Commander Rules Committee allows players whose names are featured on the Heroes of the Realm cards to utilize them in EDH. Of course, “Rule 0” often takes precedence in Commander, so if you want to build a deck around one of these cool cards and you’re play group is cool with it, go ahead.
In the case of the Deb Thomas, though, the card back is identical to that of a normal, tournament-legal card. As such, there are certainly questions roaming around about where players can actually utilize this card. That is, of course, if you can get a hold of one.
Right now, there seems to be very little information about where the Deb Thomas cards originated or how many there are. While it seems likely the card was created to commemorate Deb Thomas’ retirement, there isn’t a ton of authenticity surrounding it. Additionally, someone mentioned that the card’s artist was not aware of any plans to feature the image on an MTG card. At the end of the day, we could certainly use more transparency and clarity when it comes to the Deb Thomas card. Still, given the card’s standard MTG back, it’s worth taking a look at the card and seeing where it can best be utilized.
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Maximizing the Deb Thomas Card in Commander
The Deb Thomas Planeswalker is a bit strange, but certainly has a reasonable home in Commander. Frankly, its static ability doesn’t synergize with many cards outside of its own +1 ability. Amusingly,
Carnival Barker
Carnival Barker
{T}: You have thirty seconds to laud a creature you control to any people outside the game. Until end of turn, that creature gains trample and haste and gets +X/+0, where X is the number of those people who applauded. Activate only as a sorcery and only once.
will trigger Deb Thomas to get an additional Loyalty counter when it enters the battlefield. Beyond cards from Unfinity, though, you will have to resort to unconventional measures to help Deb Thomas gain Loyalty.
For instance,
Maskwood Nexus
Maskwood Nexus
Creatures you control are every creature type. The same is true for creature spells you control and creature cards you own that aren't on the battlefield.
{3}, {T}: Create a 2/2 blue Shapeshifter creature token with changeling. (It is every creature type.)
guarantees that every Creature you play for the rest of the game will raise Deb Thomas’ Loyalty. From there, you can fill your deck with Changeling Creatures such as
Mirror Entity
Mirror Entity
Changeling (This card is every creature type.)
{X}: Until end of turn, creatures you control have base power and toughness X/X and gain all creature types.
.
What’s cool is that if you are willing to jump through hoops to increase Deb Thomas’ Loyalty, the payoff is potentially game ending. Once you have enough Employees (or Dogs, which we will get to in a second), you can pump your squad and enable a massive attack. Intriguingly, Deb Thomas’ ability to buff your Dogs opens the door for even more shenanigans.
Rin and Seri, Inseparable decks, for example, seem like the perfect home for Deb Thomas. Rin and Seri naturally incentivize you to play a bunch of Dogs and Changelings. Furthermore, Rin and Seri can create a wide board by themselves. As such, it’s not difficult to find a window to use Deb Thomas as a traditional
Overrun
Overrun
Creatures you control get +3/+3 and gain trample until end of turn. (Each of those creatures can deal excess combat damage to the player or planeswalker it's attacking.)
effect.
Overall, we still need to learn more about this Deb Thomas Planeswalker. The card itself is a rather fun build around option. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for any additional information that comes out in the near future.
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