Modern Horizons hit shelves in June, and Assassin’s Creed is hot on its heels, available for all on July 5th. With so little time between releases, players are having trouble keeping track of everything that’s going on. Fortunately, this set is smaller compared to recent releases, so there are some easy summarizations we can use.
Even though Assassin’s Creed is entirely Modern legal, this is first and foremost a Commander set. If you like connecting with your Commander early or want to explore Historic, Assassin, or Pirate synergies, there’s a lot for you here to look at. Sadly, while the set is Modern legal, this format isn’t getting nearly as many fun new toys. There are some spicy reprints, but even these may not work post-Modern Horizons 3.
Today, we’ll showcase what the ten best new cards are in this set, at least in our opinion. In this list, we’ll primarily be looking at cards from a Commander’s perspective. Specifically, we’ll be highlighting cards that work the best in the 99 of different decks, as the best Commanders is a different ball game entirely.
Honorable Mention: The Capitoline Triad
In the right deck, The Capitoline Triad is a free spell that turns all of your creatures into 9/9s for the rest of the game. Not playing that deck? Don’t play this card.
Even in the perfect deck The Capitoline Triad, will not always be a zero mana 7/7 that grants you an Emblem for the rest of the game, and that’s ok. The card remains decent as a one or two mana 7/7 that threatens a pseudo-win condition. At full price, or near to it, however, this card likely isn’t good enough to be worth its nonsubstantial cost.
Ultimately, this card is suited for specific deck types with gigantic Historic permanents. Fortunately, Commander players love that stuff, so The Capitoline Triad could easily see play in the format. Will The Capitoline Triad see play outside of Commander? Probably not, but there is always a chance.
In Modern, the best chance of The Capitoline Triad seeing play is in Affinity lists, however, that’s hardly a guarantee. Since this card requires hoops to be jumped through, it may not be fast or efficient enough to keep up. That being said, we wouldn’t put it past The Capitoline Triad appearing in a bizarre yet strangely powerful list in the future.
#11 Caduceus, Staff of Hermes
Caduceus is extremely exciting for Commander, particularly because the downside doesn’t matter too much. As everyone knows, Commander players start at 40 life, so Caduceus can start the game turned on. Granting the equipped creature Lifelink allows you to keep your life total healthy, as well.
The buff provided by Caduceus is a powerful one, which ensures that it is going to see some Commander play. Part of me thinks that this is the type of card that makes the entire table beat one player up in an attempt to turn it off. Ultimately, this makes us cautious of putting Caduceus, Staff of Hermes any higher up this list, in case it has unintended consequences.
#10 Edward Kenway
Edward Kenway is best used as a Commander and can certainly generate a lot of value if you follow his rules. Edward Kenway cares about Assassins, Pirates, and Vehicles. The more you have, the more tapped Treasure Tokens you get to create. Depending on your board state, this can provide you with an insane amount of ramp.
If that weren’t good enough, Edward Kenway can even provide card advantage, but you’ll need vehicles for this. By dealing damage with vehicles, you can steal your opponent’s permanents cards and play them for yourself. This certainly synergizes with a ton of different cards on this list.
Out of all the cards on this list, Edward Kenway is probably the best dedicated Commander. Not only are their abilities interesting, but they’re also providing support to an archetype that didn’t really exist before. Being powerful, interesting, and unique, Edward Kenway fulfills all the criteria for being a good Commander.
That being said, this list isn’t about the best Commanders in the Assassin’s Creed set, that will come later. Instead, we’re focusing on the 99, we’ve had to put Edward Kenway rather low down on this list. Still, we couldn’t help but mention them, as they’re a great card nonetheless.
#9 The Aesir Escape Valhalla
The Aesir Escape Valhalla is a bizarre saga that can technically keep creating value forever… so long as no one stops it. If you’re recurring massive bombs, The Aesir Escape Valhalla can gain you a bunch of life and scale your board appropriately. After offering a ton of value, your permanent of choice returns to your hand with this Saga, ready to be redeployed.
The best way to use this card is in decks that can speed up the rate at which The Aesir Escape Valhalla can gain Lore Counters. While this card does generate a ton of value, The Aesir Escape Valhalla has a really slow effect. Speeding this up so you can redeploy your stuff quicker is the way to break this card.
Fortunately, if that is the plan you want to pursue, this set can help you. There’s a ton of Saga support in the form of Historic synergies, but Sigurd, Jarl of Ravensthrope does exactly what you want it to. This card can help The Aesir Escape Valhalla uptick even quicker with its Boast ability.
#8 Staff of Eden, Vault’s Key
Staff of Eden, Vault’s Key is deceptively powerful – at least, in Commander. Staff of Eden can easily synergize with a legends matters deck, but you can also use this in decks that care about you taking your opponent’s permanents. Resurrecting a legendary permanent from any graveyard other than itself, Staff of Eden provides both a threat and card advantage, assuming you’re taking cards from your opponents.
For that reason, Staff of Eden is going to see some play in the Gonti, Canny Acquisitor decks running around. This is an easy upgrade to the precon and can go even further in the right scenarios. If your theme is taking your opponent’s cards, Staff of Eden can start drawing a nauseating amount of cards. Add flickering into the mix, and this card can draw cards and resurrect permanents multiple times in a turn! There’s a lot to this card in the right deck, which puts it on our list.
#7 Mary Read and Anne Bonny
Mary Read and Anne Bonny threaten to make a ton of value in any deck that cares about the three things that Mary Read and Anne Bonny do. In the 99 or as a Commander, this Legendary Creature threatens to create a ton of tapped Treasure Tokens.
Outside of their own Loot ability, there are a limitless amount of ways to abuse discard-based abilities like this one. Any wheel effects like Wheel of Fortune or Windfall can discard a ton of Islands, Pirates, and Vehicles from your hand which, in turn, can create a ton of tapped Treasure Tokens.
Want to make Mary Read and Anne Bonny really go off? Use Modern all-star Amulet of Vigor to untap your Treasure Tokens! This can allow you to discard and draw a series of cards in a row without needing to worry about mana. With a little bit of elbow grease, Mary Read and Anne Bonny can create a monster of a Commander deck.
Read More: MTG Assassin’s Creed: Release Date, Details, Beyond Boosters
#6 Viewpoint Synchronization
Viewpoint Synchronization is a strictly upgraded Cultivate… as long as you can trigger Freerunning. Instead of finding two basic lands and putting one into play, you get to find three basic lands and put two into play!
For five mana, this effect is not nearly as exciting. If you really want to scale into late game stuff, it can still be somewhat interesting. That said, if you can play this on curve for its Freerunning cost reliably, Viewpoint Synchronization gets you far ahead of your opponents. Untapping with five mana and a guaranteed land in hand just buries opponents in mana advantage.
Utilizing smaller Commanders who want to get in early, or a deck featuring a lot of Assassins, is the best way to utilize Viewpoint Synchronization. As a reminder, this can also be a tricky upgrade for Changeling decks since most of your creatures will trigger Freerunning.
Sadly, according to EDHREC, very few of the popular Commanders are green with a mana value of two or less. Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy does pass the test, but this card does not need help in the ramp department. The biggest with this card may be finding a deck where it works to the best of its ability. If this card were easier to use, it would definitely earn a higher spot on this list.
#5 Desynchronization
Desynchronization has the potential to absolutely blow out boards, but this effect is a little specific. An instant speed board wipe at four mana is absolutely incredible, but not hitting Historic permanents is a bigger deal than you might think. This means that Commanders, mana rocks, and other legendary permanents aren’t going to be affected by Desynchronization.
At the end of the day, however, Desynchronization is still a four mana board wipe that comes down at instant speed. You can deal with a series of different permanents with this card, and it will impact everyone equally. If you include this in a deck that is using virtually only Historic permanents, you can essentially turn it into a less effective version of an Overloaded Cyclonic Rift.
Desynchronization has a splashy enough effect to potentially see Modern play in the sideboard of a deck like Affinity, but it is, once again, going to be very meta-dependent. This notably does not bounce any of the key cards in the top two decks in the format currently, which is a bad sign.
While the ceiling on Desynchronization is fantastic, the floor is dismal. This is a really difficult card to assess properly, but it certainly has potential. It may not seem strong, but as far as cards that are decent in multiple decks go, this is up there for the set.
Read More: MTG Assassins Creed Exposes Major Universes Beyond Problem
#4 Eagle Vision
Eagle Vision, for five mana, is on-rate, which sadly means it is mediocre. Any fair card is not good enough for any format nowadays, and if you can manage to cast this for its Freerunning cost, Eagle Vision turns into an incredible card.
Definitely Commander playable, and maybe playable in Modern, drawing three cards for two mana is absolutely insane. All you need to do is connect with an Assassin or Commander to do this, which makes it quite playable in faster decks. Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow is the perfect type of Commander that wants this card. It has a decent mana value, which allows Yuriko’s trigger to ding your opponents for five if it gets flipped. Since you can Ninjutsu Yuriko in for damage, this is also really easy to cast for two mana.
As long as you can trigger Freerunning consistently, Eagle Vision should be a consideration for your deck. Unlike Viewpoint Synchronization, Eagle Vision remains a fantastic play for its Freerunning cost even if it isn’t played on curve.
#3 Crystal Skull, Isu Spyglass
Crystal Skull, Isu Spyglass is an amazing artifact for any Commander decks that have a lot of Historic permanents. Four mana is overpriced for a mana rock, but this card can provide a ton of card advantage, as well.
Think of this like a blue Mystic Forge that can find a larger array of cards with its ability. Instead of artifacts and colorless spells, Crystal Skull, Isu Spyglass hits any legendary cards, Sagas, and artifacts. Mystic Forge is easier to cast than Crystal Skull, and that’s a big deal in constructed, but it’s not a big deal in Commander. This may be something players sleep on until they get buried by it. If a majority of the cards in your deck are castable via Crystal Skull, Isu Spyglass’ Future Sight ability, you really should consider it for your deck.
Read More: New One Mana Storm Crow May Finally Enable MTG Assassin Decks
#2 Abstergo Entertainment
Abstergo Entertainment may not be the most exciting card in the Assassin’s Creed Universes Beyond crossover, but it’s nonetheless powerful. In this list, we’re interested in cards that can benefit a lot of different 99’s to player’s Commander decks, so Abstergo Entertainment absolutely fits. After all, this card is a fantastic utility land that can go in almost any Commander deck.
As far as mana fixing goes, Abstergo Entertainment is less than stellar, but it can get you out of bad spots if you’re missing a color. The real strength that this legendary land offers is its final ability. Spending, essentially, four mana to exile your land, exile all graveyards, and pick up a Historic card before doing so, is an absolutely fantastic ability for a Utility land.
Even if you aren’t a Historic-themed deck, you can always use Abstergo Entertainment to pick up a Commander instead of returning it to the Command Zone. This allows you to avoid paying a nasty amount of tax in the late game.
Admittedly, Abstergo Entertainment is probably too costly for a cEDH deck. That said, if you’re playing some casual Commander, this land is going to impress.
#1 Tax Collector
This is the only new card in the Universes Beyond crossover that appears to have some Modern play. Asymmetrical taxing effects are incredibly powerful, even if temporary. If you have any synergy with this, in the form of restricting resources or flickering Tax Collector, this can be really backbreaking.
Modern is incredibly quick now that Ruby Storm, Nadu Combo and Living End are the best decks in the format. All three of these decks win incredibly quickly with combo-esque finishes. Even buying one turn against them with an effect like Tax Collector can help slower decks keep up.
If you want to try Tax Collector for yourself, we went into a lot of detail on how you can use it. Tax Collector’s Tax effect does affect all opponents, so this could see play at faster Commander tables as well. This may not be the best Assassin’s Creed card overall, but it certainly shows the most potential in high-powered situations.
Read More: The Best MTG Reprints In Assassin’s Creed
