Ever since its reveal, as the very first Edge of Eternities preview card, MTG players have been hyped for Tezzeret, Cruel Captain. As a cheap, splashable planeswalker, the potential was clear from the outset. The card went on to claim many pre-release accolades, being our pick for the best constructed card in the set, and commanding the highest price tag, too. If ever there was a case of a chase mythic, this is it.
Of course, hype doesn’t always translate into tangible results. Many a Magic: The Gathering card has been built up before release only to amount to nothing out in the real world. That said, in this case, it seems the community was right. Tezzeret isn’t just performing well: it’s doing so in great numbers, across multiple formats.
Commander play was almost a given, but the sheer volume of Legacy and Vintage use that the card is seeing right out of the gate is surprising. On top of that, it’s even seeing a bit of testing in Modern. If things keep going at this rate, that $38 pre-order price is going to look like a bargain soon.
Stoking The Eternal Forge
By far the most impressive feat for Tezzeret, Cruel Captain so far is its use in Legacy and Vintage. It’s rare for any new card to find a place in either of these, but Tezzeret has managed both.
In Legacy, the card is seeing play in Colorless Mystic Forge Combo decks. DB_romariovidal went 5-0 in yesterday’s Legacy League running such a list, with two copies of Tezzeret included. This deck is all about getting Mystic Forge and Glaring Fleshraker together, then effectively ‘Storming’ off by rapid-casting colorless spells from your deck.
Tezzeret is a colorless spell itself, so that’s great right off the bat. It also serves the deck in two ways: by untapping its powerful mana rocks with its 0 ability, and by tutoring up needed pieces with its -3. Whether you need a Mox Opal for extra mana or a Soul-Guide Lantern for graveyard hate, Tezzeret has you covered.
The card is also seeing play in similar lists in Vintage. Koby took a Workshops list with a full playset of Tezzeret to a 5-0 finish in yesterday’s Vintage League. The ability to grab a Mox or a Black Lotus is juicy enough, but Tezzeret also has serious combo potential in Vintage. Grabbing Sensei’s Divining Top with the -3 can lead you into the Forge/Fleshraker infinite damage loop with ease. The untap ability also goes infinite with Time Vault, for an easy on-curve win if undisrupted.
While it’s not a huge leap away, Tezzeret has also seen 4-of, 5-0 play in a Painter Combo list from crK. Having a tutor for Grindstone is huge here, and many of the same powerful interactions from Workshops carry over nicely, too.
Modern Mastery
Over in Modern, the card is seeing testing in a couple of different strategies. In yesterday’s Modern Challenge, for example, Aardos took a Mono-Green Tron deck running four Tezzeret to a top 16 finish. Tron isn’t the first archetype that comes to mind for the card, but it actually makes perfect sense. You can easily cast Tezzeret with Tron mana alone, and you can use it to fetch Expedition Map to complete Tron too, if needed.
This is the main draw of Tezzeret in the deck, but the beauty of the inclusion is how much flexibility it adds. Mono-Green Tron doesn’t usually run utility pieces like Haywire Mite or Tormod’s Crypt, but Tezzeret’s -3 makes doing so worthwhile. The zero ability even has nice incidental synergy with Walking Ballista, the deck’s main finisher. Not only can it fetch it up, but it can give it another counter to boost your damage output.
In an even more surprising turn of events, Tezzeret is also seeing use in Izzet Wizards. Masaru Abe took a list running a copy of Tezzeret to a top 8 finish in a Hareruya Modern Cup this past Sunday. This is a much more artifact-heavy take on the deck than we typically see, eschewing the typical instant/sorcery theme in favor of a powerful Emry package. Tezzeret can grab your Mox Amber and Mox Opal here, to enable silly Pinnacle Emissary turns. It can also untap them later, to ramp you into more explosive plays.
While it isn’t quite as prominent in Modern as it is in Legacy/Vintage just yet, these early signs are definitely encouraging for Tezzeret.
Tezzeret, Cruel Captain In Commander
As exciting as Tezzeret, Cruel Captain’s success in constructed Magic is, it’s also worth celebrating its strong performance in Commander so far. According to EDHRec data, Tezzeret is currently the second most-played card in the set for the format, appearing in 6,315 decks. It’s only slightly behind Icetill Explorer right now, which is a great place to be given that card’s obvious Commander pedigree.
It’s not just quantity that Tezzeret has going for it here, but quality too. While the card is naturally being run alongside the new Edge of Eternities Commanders, Ragost, Kilo, etc., for thematic reasons, it’s also part of a number of powerful, well-established decks in the format. Urza, High Lord Artificer and Magda, Brazen Outlaw, for example, are both running the card in good numbers. These are high-level Commanders, even cEDH-level in Magda’s case. That they’re trying Tezzeret out so early on is a great sign for its power level.
In many ways, this isn’t hugely surprising. Tutor effects are even better in Commander than in other formats, and Tezzeret serves as a colorless tutor with upside. The untap effect has limitless use cases in the format, too, whether it’s untapping your Sol Ring or The One Ring. With how easy it is to slot into any given deck, I wouldn’t be surprised if non-artifact decks started adopting the card in the future. Heck, we’re already seeing that with the card’s unexpected inclusion in 93 Lumra lists.
We’re only a few days into its tenure, and already, Tezzeret, Cruel Captain is the clear highlight of Edge of Eternities from a competitive MTG standpoint.
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