As more and more Final Fantasy MTG spoilers get revealed, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the set has a huge focus on legends and flashy designs. Even the main set has a ton of cards that feel best suited for Commander. Thankfully, this set isn’t just mythic bombs and Commander playables. There are also some low rarity cards that stick out as potential performers in Constructed.
Black Mage’s Rod
Black Mage’s Rod is one of the many Job Select Equipment in the set that enters alongside a 1/1 colorless Hero token. In this case, you get a lot of value for just two mana.
A 2/1 that pings the opponent every time you cast a noncreature spell is threatening enough to demand removal from the opponent. Even if the opponent kills your token right away, though, you’re still ahead on the exchange because the Equipment sticks around.
While the Equip cost is rather steep, the main reason this is such a big deal in Pauper is that you have extra sacrifice fodder for cards like Fanatical Offering or Eviscerator’s Insight. As an Artifact, Black Mage’s Rod successfully reduces the cost of Affinity cards such as Refurbished Familiar and helps buff Galvanic Blast, too.
Black Mage’s Rod is under heavy consideration for Affinity decks in Pauper as a result. Altar Tron decks centered around Pactdoll Terror also seem like great homes for Black Mage’s Rod. With Tron assembled, you’ll have plenty of mana to attach Black Mage’s Rod to any of your Creatures. Between Pactdoll Terror and Black Mage’s Rod, winning a fair game just by pinging the opponent repeatedly is very realistic.
Instant Ramen
Instant Ramen is a simple card. For two mana, you get an Artifact that cantrips that you can later sacrifice to gain three life when applicable. For Affinity decks, this is certainly worse than Ichor Wellspring. For value-based Kor Skyfisher and Glint Hawk shells, however, Instant Ramen has a lot of appeal.
Most Boros or Mardu Skyfisher decks utilize playsets of both Experimental Synthesizer and Lembas already. The idea is that you can bounce and replay these Artifacts to generate card advantage over time and win the long game.
Instant Ramen is very similar to Lembas. The main difference is that instead of letting you Scry 1 before drawing, Instant Ramen has Flash, which is a nice upside. You’re free to leave up mana for Thraben Charm or Cast Down if you’re splashing black. Then, if the opponent doesn’t play to the board, you still get to use your mana, advancing your game plan with Instant Ramen.
There’s a decent chance these decks end up playing some mix of both Instant Ramen and Lembas. Having more of this effect in a deck with Galvanic Blast and Makeshift Munitions is reasonable. At the end of the day, Black Mage’s Rod and Instant Ramen are far from game-breaking effects. Regardless, they warrant consideration in a number of popular Pauper archetypes, so make sure you keep them on your radar.
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