While it was, rightfully, maligned as a weak set at the time, 2013’s Dragon’s Maze does have some sweet cards in retrospect. The set’s emphasis on Gates added a whole new win condition to the game, and some of the multicolored cards here are bangers in certain archetypes. Dragon’s Maze was also notable for bringing split cards back to MTG, including the excellent Beck // Call. By pairing a busted card draw spell with bonus token generation, this card enables combos and fair lines alike.
Beck // Call MTG
Long-time MTG players will immediately recognize the Beck half of Beck // Call as an alternative take on Glimpse of Nature, a draw spell good enough to get banned in Modern. While adding blue to the cost clearly makes it much, much worse, this is still a phenomenal draw engine in the right deck.
Specifically, Beck fits well in go-wide Commander strategies, like Elves and Merfolk. These decks can churn out cheap bodies with ease, letting Beck serve as a full refill and then some. With token generators like Lys Alana Huntmaster and Deeproot Pilgrimage in the mix, you can even way overshoot your hand size with a well-timed Beck. For this reason, it’s a good idea to pack hand size extenders like Reliquary Tower and Sea Gate Restoration if you want to go hard on this effect.
Beck is also notable for triggering when any creature enters play, not just one of yours. This gives it additional synergy with cards that give your opponents tokens, like Tempt with Bunnies and Phelddagrif. If you rope in a Flash granter, such as High Fae Trickster, you can even spring it on an unsuspecting opponent on their turn, drawing a ton of cards in response to them developing their board.
Unfortunately, the Call half of this card is much less exciting, largely due to its massive mana cost. Six mana for four 1/1 Fliers just isn’t exciting, even if you Fuse it with Beck to draw four cards as well. It’s a nice extra option to have, especially if you’re leaning into a Bird theme with a Commander like Choco, Seeker of Paradise, but ultimately, Beck is the star of the show here.
Moment Of Beckoning
Beck is also the half of Beck // Call that opens up the card’s various infinite combo lines. The easiest of these by far is simply to pair Beck with The Locust God, then draw a card or make a creature. With Locust God out and Beck active, doing so will let you draw as many cards as you’d like and create Hasty 1/1 Insects equal to the cards drawn. Depending on your deck size, these tokens can win you the game through combat damage alone. If you find yourself short, however, Thassa’s Oracle can come in as a failsafe.
In a similar vein, Beck also pairs brilliantly with any discard-to-make-a-creature enchantment, like Saproling Cluster or Scuttletide, and Ashnod’s Altar. Start by paying one and discarding to make a token, which will then let you draw off of Beck. Sacrifice the token to Altar, and you’ll net one colorless mana, letting you repeat the process. This combo will, again, make tokens equal to the cards you decide to draw, while also giving you a ton of colorless mana to work with. If you sub in Words of Wilding for your token generator, you can deny your draws and make infinite mana this way, allowing for explosive Walking Ballista kills.
Call Me Maybe
Despite its potential as a draw spell and combo piece, Beck // Call doesn’t see much play at all in Commander. According to EDHREC data, just 3.37k decks in total run the card, which feels incredibly low. It’s no Glimpse of Nature, of course, and the color requirement does hurt, but there’s still a ton of value here that isn’t being enjoyed by many players.
Happily, this low popularity means you can pick up Beck // Call for next to nothing right now. For a near-mint base copy, TCGplayer has listings as low as $0.17 at present. You’ll need to stretch to $0.65 if you want to bling out your deck with a foil copy, but you’re still not even paying a dollar. While it’s certainly not for every deck, Beck // Call really shines where it slots in, and at these prices, it’s an easy pickup to spice up your Bant brews.
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