For many MTG players, the revelation that Avatar: The Last Airbender wasn’t getting dedicated Commander decks was deeply disappointing. The series’ four elements shtick breaks down perfectly into four decks, after all, and there’s no shortage of iconic legends in it to lead them. That said, Commander players haven’t been totally abandoned. MTG Avatar is getting an all-new product called the Commander Bundle, which should help fill the gap to an extent.
Until today, this product was a bit of a question mark. We knew it contained a bunch of packs, a few alternate-art staples, and some mystery promos. Whether it was worth buying or not, however, remained to be seen. On today’s Weekly MTG stream, however, we got to see the full promo lineup, and it’s a real doozy. 10 of the most infamous Commander cards of all time, with price tags to match, are getting stunning new reprints in this product.
The Free Commander Spells Cycle
Anyone who has played Magic for a while knows how good free spells are. Among these, the “if you control a Commander” free spell cycle may be its best implementation to date. These spells don’t require any additional resources at all, unlike the Evoke Elementals and Force of Will. As a result, they’re (almost) all widely-played and very expensive. In an unexpected move, all five of these cards are being reprinted in the MTG Avatar Commander Bundle.
The highlights here are definitely Deflecting Swat and Fierce Guardianship. Both are excellent free interaction spells, which makes them indispensable in high-bracket play, especially cEDH. Due to their high power, both cards were originally included in the Commander Game Changers list, though Swat was removed just a couple of weeks back. Despite this, Swat is currently sitting at $53 a copy, and Guardianship at $41, making them the biggest hits in this bundle by far.
Moving deeper into the cycle, both Flawless Maneuver and Deadly Rollick are also solid value adds here. These are currently sitting at $16 and $17, respectively. Both see a lot of play in Commander, with Rollick in particular being one of the best black removal spells in the format. Because these cards can’t protect combos or force through wins, however, they lack the competitive chops of the above big hitters.
They’re still better than Obscuring Haze, mind you, which is unfortunately the only dud in this batch of promos. A Fog effect, even a free one, isn’t something too many decks are interested in. As a result, this is a $4 card right now. It’s sad to see a low-value hit in a product like this, since it will inevitably lead to disappointing openings.
Five One-Mana Tutors
Fortunately, the rest of the MTG Avatar Commander Bundle promos are much more solid. While not a cycle originally, like the free spells above, we are getting reprints of five different one-mana tutors here. All five of these cards are hugely playable and fairly valuable to boot.
Value-wise, Enlightened Tutor is the clear frontrunner here. Artifacts and enchantments often represent a Commander deck’s best card draw engines, whether it’s The One Ring or Rhystic Study. Being able to search up any of these cards for one mana at instant speed, then, is a deal most high-bracket decks are willing to take. At around $30 a copy, this is a great hit.
After Enlightened Tutor, there’s a bit of a drop-off price-wise among the promos. Worldly Tutor comes in at $20, Entomb at $16, Mystical Tutor at $13, and Gamble at $11. These are all great tutors in their own right, especially Worldly and Mystical, which put cards right on top of your deck. Gamble and Entomb are a bit more specialized, but they really shine in Discard and Reanimator decks, respectively.
Other than Entomb, all of these reprints come straight from the Game Changers list. This means they’re only playable in bracket three or above, so they’re not for every Commander pod out there. They are still great cards to own, however, as they’ve managed to hold onto their value for years now.
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