Yesterday, at MagicCon: Las Vegas, a boatload of information about Edge of Eternities was revealed. A multitude of spoilers, including Shock lands, were showcased during the preview panel. There’s also going to be a major Commander rules change coming when Edge of Eternities becomes legal, which is hugely exciting.
As if that wasn’t enough for Commander enthusiasts, we even got a glimpse at the two secondary Commanders for two Edge of Eternities precons. Both cards make for neat build-arounds, and one of them in particular helps generate some sweet infinite combos with the right support.
Kilo, Apogee Mind
Kilo, Apogee Mind is part of the Counter Intelligence Commander deck, whose description states that your goal is to “boost artifacts” and “Proliferate Counters.” Kilo may have a rather simple text box, but the card certainly feeds this theme.
As a 3/3 with Haste, you can attack right away, which will cause Kilo to become tapped, letting you Proliferate immediately. Given the artifact subtheme of the Counter Intelligence deck, it wouldn’t be surprising to see cards like Steel Overseer and Hangarback Walker that help get your engine rolling.
What’s nice about Kilo, though, is that it’s strong enough and versatile enough to be your primary Commander. You can even build around it in a number of ways if you really want to. Don’t enjoy the +1/+1 counters theme? Craft around Poison counters and throw in cards like Blighted Agent and Prologue to Phyresis. The world is your oyster.
The only thing that’s holding Kilo back a little is that it doesn’t have evasion. You won’t always be able to attack an opponent safely. As such, you’ll want other ways to tap Kilo on command that don’t require entering combat.
One simple method is just to add some Vehicles to your deck. The Precon almost certainly will feature a handful of Spacecrafts, too. The recently spoiled card The Seriema makes for a nice inclusion here. Not only does Kilo synergize with The Seriema’s Station ability, but once The Seriema is an artifact creature, it helps protect Kilo from sorcery speed removal as long as Kilo is tapped.
Combo Lines
Perhaps the coolest way to use Kilo, though, is as a combo Commander. Players have quickly discovered multiple different ways to go infinite utilizing Kilo and cards that allow you to repeatedly untap and tap it.
The first combo involves the power of Aura of Dominion and Pentad Prism. The goal is to enchant Kilo with Aura of Dominion, then remove one of two counters from Pentad Prism to activate Aura of Dominion’s ability. In doing so, you’ll choose to tap Kilo itself and then untap it. Kilo’s ability will trigger in the process, allowing you to Proliferate.
Because Pentad Prism will get another counter when you Proliferate, you’ll have enough mana at your disposal to activate Aura of Dominion infinite times. This loop technically does nothing by itself; however, resolving a card like Prologue to Phyresis or Walking Ballista before going off will make it trivial to end the game from there.
Another similar combo involves the likes of Freed from the Real and Relic of Legends. Start by enchanting Kilo with Freed from the Real. Then use Relic of Legends’ ability to tap Kilo, floating a blue mana. Use this mana to untap Kilo with Freed from the Real, and you can repeat this process infinite times. Once again, you’ll need another piece like Prologue to Phyresis or Walking Ballista to finish off your opponents.
Szarel, Genesis Shepherd
As cool as Kilo is, they’re not the only secondary Commander that got revealed. Found in the World Shaper deck, this Jund shell is focused on sacrificing and recurring lands, while growing your squad in the process. Like most precon Commanders, Szarel, Genesis Shepherd helps on both accounts.
Having access to a five-mana Crucible of Worlds in the Command Zone is pretty neat. Zask, Skittering Swarmlord offers a similar effect with an Insect subtheme. Nonetheless, Szarel adds a whole new dynamic thanks to its final ability.
Growing your other creatures whenever you sacrifice another nontoken permanent has the potential to get out of hand quickly. Any lands that naturally sacrifice themselves and go to the graveyard, such as Fetchlands, pair perfectly with Szarel.
Effects that let you play multiple lands in a turn, such as Exploration and Azusa, Lost but Seeking, go super hard with Szarel and Fetchlands. Before you know it, your other creatures will be absolutely enormous.
Remember, your other creatures get buffed based on Szarel’s power. As such, any efficient way to grow Szarel, perhaps by equipping Szarel with Blackblade Reforged, makes your Fetchlands even more threatening. Just make sure you play plenty of other creatures in your Szarel deck to guarantee you get maximum value.
Szarel doesn’t look quite as strong as Kilo at first glance and requires some building around. The good news is that the payoff is there, and both legends look like a blast to play with.
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