Between Planeswalker tokens, creatures with negative power, and all kinds of oddities, Reality Fracture hosts some of the most unique MTG cards we’ve ever seen. The same is true for the new Sanctum Lurker, which flips one of MTG’s core rules on its head. By letting Planeswalkers survive at zero loyalty, Sanctum Lurker creates two annoying soft locks you can try in Commander.
MTG Sanctum Lurker
Even without any Planeswalkers to support immediately, Sanctum Lurker is a surprisingly strong MTG card. By Empowering Jace 1 and offering your token a new +2 ability, Sanctum Lurker essentially offers two bodies for the price of one. More often than not, you should be able to get at least an extra card out of your Jace token, but using it to trigger your other Stingerquill payoffs is also strong.
While surprisingly effective on its own, Sanctum Lurker gets real nasty when paired with a few specific Planeswalkers.
Gideon Jura
Gideon Jura
+2: During target opponent's next turn, creatures that player controls attack Gideon Jura if able.
−2: Destroy target tapped creature.
0: Until end of turn, Gideon Jura becomes a 6/6 Human Soldier creature that's still a planeswalker. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to him this turn.
and Sanctum Lurker, for example, can essentially lock down one of your opponent’s attacks, forcing them to swing everything at the Planeswalker. With Lurker in play, any amount of combat damage won’t take this Planeswalker out, while you can pick off their more valuable creatures by blocking them.
Alternatively,
Gideon of the Trials
Gideon of the Trials
+1: Until your next turn, prevent all damage target permanent would deal.
0: Until end of turn, Gideon becomes a 4/4 Human Soldier creature with indestructible that's still a planeswalker. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to him this turn.
0: You get an emblem with "As long as you control a Gideon planeswalker, you can't lose the game and your opponents can't win the game."
creates an even more effective soft lock by creating an Emblem with his final ability. Your opponents will be forced to deal with Gideon if they want to win, but doing so through combat damage will be impossible.
Of course, while these soft locks can be effective against creature strategies, any form of removal, like using
Erode
Erode
Destroy target creature or planeswalker. Its controller may search their library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
on either Sanctum Lurker or the Gideons themselves, can break this up. Because of this, you’ll want to protect your Sanctum Lurker with cards like
Lightning Greaves
Lightning Greaves
Equipped creature has haste and shroud. (It can't be the target of spells or abilities.)
Equip {0}
and
Flare of Fortitude
Flare of Fortitude
You may sacrifice a nontoken white creature rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Until end of turn, your life total can't change, and permanents you control gain hexproof and indestructible.
to push through your opponent’s removal. Notably,
Deification
Deification
As this enchantment enters, choose a planeswalker type.
Planeswalkers you control of the chosen type have hexproof.
As long as you control a creature, if damage dealt to a planeswalker you control of the chosen type would result in all loyalty counters on it being removed, instead all but one of those counters are removed.
can do something similar for Planeswalkers, giving them Hexproof.
While these locks are hardly foolproof, Sanctum Lurker can easily become a core part of your Superfriends Commander decks, especially if you have ways to protect it. Heck, the card could also see play with existing Planeswalkers like
Ashiok, Dream Render
Ashiok, Dream Render
Spells and abilities your opponents control can't cause their controller to search their library.
−1: Target player mills four cards. Then exile each opponent's graveyard.
,
Karn, the Great Creator
Karn, the Great Creator
Activated abilities of artifacts your opponents control can't be activated.
+1: Until your next turn, up to one target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its mana value.
−2: You may reveal an artifact card you own from outside the game or choose a face-up artifact card you own in exile. Put that card into your hand.
, and
Narset, Parter of Veils
Narset, Parter of Veils
Each opponent can't draw more than one card each turn.
−2: Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal a noncreature, nonland card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
with strong lock abilities. With all of these possibilities and more, Sanctum Lurker looks like an incredible new piece of Planeswalker support.
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