Thanks to Magic’s long history, it’s common for old MTG cards to get better over time. Cards that may have been considered relatively useless in the past can now have widespread applications. Reconnaissance, for example, now sees a lot of play across different MTG decks in Commander. Not only does Reconnaissance offer a unique repeatable effect, but the enchantment can also pull off some infinite combos.
Reconnaissance MTG
For one mana, Reconnaissance offers a straightforward ability that’s decepitively flexible. Removing your own creatures from combat may not seem that powerful, but this card is surprisingly popular for good reason.
There are a lot of different MTG Commanders and creatures that get benefits for attacking, but may not have the best stats in the world. Kaalia, the Vast and Zurgo Stormrender, for example, both have some powerful attack triggers, but their miserable stats put them at risk of dying in combat. Reconnaissance allows these Commanders to get their triggers and retreat without taking combat damage from blockers.
You can also use Reconnaissance to give your more threatening Commanders pseudo Vigilance. After attacking with a creature and dealing combat damage, you can activate Reconnaissance to untap your attacker, allowing you to block incoming damage. Since you can do this to as many attackers as you want, this can make Reconnaissance appealing for go-wide decks that would normally open themselves up for a crack back when attacking. It’s a godsend for Commanders like Myrel, Shield of Argive, who create tons of small creature tokens.
This also means that any Commanders that trigger when tapped may be interested in using Reconnaissance. Depala, Pilot Exemplar or Emmara, Soul of the Accord, for example, can untap themselves after attacking and gaining their benefit. This opens the possibility of using another tap effect, such as Springleaf Drum, to add additional value afterward.
All of this means that Reconnaissance is extremely appealing to a wide range of Commanders who rely on attacking to win the game. That said, there are a few more ways to use the enchantment, including a few spicy infinite combos.
Reconnaissance Infinite Combos
Thanks to Reconnaissance’s effect being an activated ability for zero mana, you can technically use it as many times as you want without restriction. While this is great for untapping and protecting a legion of small tokens, it also lets you target the same creature as many times as you want.
This opens the door for a few infinite combos utilizing specific creatures. Cephalid Illusionist, for example, creates a two-card infinite combo with Reconnaissance. Since this creature cares about being targeted by abilities, Reconnaissance will allow you to mill through your library as desired. From there, setting up a Thassa’s Oracle win is relatively trivial. Alternatively, Cephalid Aristocrat does the same thing, while being objectively worse, thanks to costing more mana to cast.
If milling isn’t your style, you can also deal infinite damage by creating infinite combats with Reconnaissance. In a Satya, Aetherflux Genius Commander deck, you can Satya’s attack trigger to create attacking copies of Bloodthirster. Once the Warhammer Demon connects, you’ll be able to untap it and go to a subsequent combat. Just use Reconaissance to untap your Satya before combat ends, and you can create infinite Bloodthirster tokens that will endlessly chip away at your opponents.
A Powerful Enchantment for Combat
With all these different use cases, there’s a decent chance that many MTG players could use Reconnaissance in Commander. Sadly, despite the card seeing some recent reprints, Reconnaissance isn’t quite a budget card. The cheapest copies on the market tend to go for about $3.50, while Special Guest versions can go for $17 or more. This certainly isn’t breaking the bank, but for budget token decks, it is a real detractor. All of that said, if you do decide to pick up a copy of Reconnaissance, you won’t be disappointed.