What’s up friends? Welcome back to my little Commander corner of Cardsphere.
We’ve got a new set coming this week, but since it’s a reprint set, we don’t need to do a full set review. Hooray! However, Commander Masters is the first reprint set geared completely toward Commander players, so we can’t just ignore it!
So we’re going to do the Internet’s most favorite thing: make a top 10 list! Here are the top 10 most important reprints in Commander Masters.
Oh, but first. Let’s talk about what I mean by “important.” To me, the important cards are the ones that needed to be reprinted the most. Whether that’s because a card was too expensive, or because it needed to be re-introduced to the growing player base. Or both! Okay, for real now, here’s the list.
10. Arachnogenesis
We’re starting with the card that recently spiked harder than your Aunt Tuty’s Saturday coffee. Arachnogenesis has been long overdue for a reprint, but this is especially crucial after the huge popularity of the recent Spider commander Shelob, Child of Ungoliant.
9. Storm-Kiln Artist
Very few uncommons are good enough to command a $4 price tag, but Storm-Kiln Artist is definitely one of them. After releasing in Strixhaven, this Dwarf exploded along with the popularity of treasures, thanks to commanders like Prosper, Tome-Bound and Magda, Brazen Outlaw. It’s a perfect ramp card for spellslinger decks.
8. Personal Tutor
I don’t think this card is important because it’s needed. It isn’t. We have plenty of tutors already. I’m putting it on this list because the previous printing was over 20 years old, and selling for over $80. Reprints from Portal have been slowly trickling out, including another from this set, Capture of Jingzhou. And I'm excited to see more.
So why did I put Personal on this list instead of Capture? Because we need extra turn spells even less than we need tutors. Yes, I’m biased.
7. Bloodchief Ascension
I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to put this into a deck, but didn’t want to pay the $25+ to pick one up. It was previously reprinted in The List, but as we’ve seen, The List rarely moves the needle on card prices. Now, with this printing, I might finally pick one up! It’s good in almost any black deck, but it’s game-ending for mill decks.
6. The Chain Veil
Can you believe they put this in a precon? This card is an auto-include for any Super Friends (planeswalker themed) deck. And its price has certainly shown that, reaching an all-time high of almost $35 back in April. Now they’re available for quite a bit less than that, with the price surely dropping even more once the new copies hit the market.
5. Jeweled Lotus
Do I like this card? No, not really. Is it important to the format? Yes, definitely. Since its printing in Commander Legends, this thing has rarely been under $80. Generally reserved for more high-powered tables, this new printing will ensure that it enters into more casual games as well. For better or worse.
4. Finale of Devastation
It’s hard to believe that you could get this card for under $10 when it first came out. It peaked at just over $50 two years later, and has held pretty steadily since. It’s almost as popular as the other famous green game-ender, Craterhoof Behemoth. The Hoof is also in this set, but not on the list, due to numerous reprints.
3. The Great Henge
Similar to Finale of Devastation, this one has been a staple in so many green decks since its release in Throne of Eldraine. It did just get reprinted as a specialty card in Lord of the Rings, but that didn’t really impact the price much, since LOTR sealed product wasn’t cheaply attainable.
2. Free Spells
You know me, I always cheat with these lists. I’m including all of the “free if you control your commander” spells that were originally printed in Commander 2020, but we all know the important ones here are Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, and Deadly Rollick. Commander staples, all of them.
What could be better than free spells? How about another cheat?
1. The Medallions
The Medallion set (Jet Medallion, Pearl Medallion, Ruby Medallion, Sapphire Medallion, and Emerald Medallion) have been long overdue for reprints. We saw Jet Medallion in the Post Malone Secret Lair release, but even that didn’t drop the price on the Commander 2014 version below $30. These cards are all-stars, and I’m looking forward to seeing them played more, at least for the brief time that they’ll be more affordable.
That’s my list! What’d you think? Anything I left off that you’d add? Hit me up on Twitter (I’m not calling it X) and give me an earful.
Until next time, take care. And play lots of games!
