Every now and again, a card gets released from a Commander Precon that’s so powerful, it starts to make waves in Eternal formats. While the majority of new Commander cards are a bit too inefficient or gimmicky for Legacy, sometimes powerhouses like Broadside Bombardiers become immediate Constructed staples.
Well, with the release of the Miracle Worker Duskmourn Commander deck, we may have a similar situation. Metamorphosis Fanatic has a lot of players talking about its potential to slot into Dimir Reanimator.
Setting up Miracle is not as difficult as you might expect. Assuming you can cast it for two mana, Metamorphosis Fanatic is absolutely incredible on rate. It seems like a perfect fit for what Dimir Reanimator is trying to accomplish, so let’s take a closer look at how the new card slots into a strong archetype.
Maximizing Metamorphosis Fanatic
- Mana Value: 4BB
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 4/4
- MTG Set: Duskmourn Commander.
- Card Text: Lifelink. When Metamorphosis Fanatic enters, return up to one target creature from your graveyard to the battlefield with a lifelink counter on it. Miracle 1B (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it’s the first card you drew this turn.)
Metamorphosis Fanatic is a very interesting card to include in Dimir shells in Legacy. On the surface, it might look a bit too difficult to enable. After all, with cards like Reanimate and Animate Dead already in the mix, what makes Metamorphosis Fanatic so special?
For all-in Reanimator decks, maybe not much. However, part of what makes Dimir Reanimator so strong is that it has the ability to play like a midrange deck depending on the matchup. The Entomb+Reanimate package is nice to have access to, but you can win a lot of games with Psychic Frog beats backed up by Daze and Force of Will.
This is what makes Metamorphosis Fanatic so appealing. With access to four copies of Brainstorm, it’s not too difficult to set up the Miracle ability. You just simply put Metamorphosis Fanatic from your hand on top of your library when resolving Brainstorm. In this way, getting stuck with Metamorphosis Fanatic in your hand isn’t too big of a concern.
The reward for enabling it is a 4/4 body with Lifelink. Even ignoring the card’s potent enters-the-battlefield trigger, a 4/4 with Lifelink can be an absolute pain for your opponent to deal with. It’s great in racing situations against Grixis Tempo. It survives through Lightning Bolt. Because its mana value is technically still six when in play, it even gets around Fatal Push.
We’ve seen Triumph of Saint Katherine show up as a solid finisher in its own right. Metamorphosis Fanatic can play a similar role, except you also get the immense upside of being able to resurrect an Atraxa, Grand Unifier. Even bringing back Psychic Frog after it dies is nice, and it’ll gain a Lifelink counter itself to boot.
Read More: MTG Duskmourn Survivor Can Cheat in Omniscience for Free
A Great Backup Plan
- Mana Value: 2BB
- Rarity: Rare
- MTG Sets: Guildpact, Magic 2011, Core Set 2020, Time Spiral Remastered, Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting Tales, Mystery Booster 2, Duskmourn
- Card Text: If Leyline of the Void is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it on the battlefield. If a card would be put into an opponent’s graveyard from anywhere, exile it instead.
Playing the Triumph of Saint Katherine role can be quite important in the face of graveyard hate, too. One area of weakness for Dimir Reanimator is that the deck has few ways to get Leyline of the Void off the table. Instead, players primarily rely on Psychic Frog and occasional sideboard creatures like Dauthi Voidwalker to cross the finish line.
Well, Metamorphosis Fanatic is a burly enough body to be a real threat on its own. If the opponent mulligans heavily to find graveyard hate, they may be in trouble when this bad boy hits the board. In this sense, attacking with Metamorphosis Fanatic makes for a great plan b, even if the card isn’t as reliable of a reanimation source as some other options for your plan a.
Some players have suggested that Metamorphosis Fanatic could see play in Doomsday decks, likely for a similar reason. The card just provides so much value and pressure that it deserves consideration in a variety of archetypes. It’s not often you see a Commander card with this much Legacy hype, but Metamorphosis Fanatic is a hell of a Magic card!
Read More: MTG Duskmourn Uncommon Lets You Entomb Cards Turn After Turn
