Recently, we covered a handful of hints from MTG designer Gavin Verhey himself about the upcoming Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Precons. The idea was to dig deeper and try to extrapolate information about what new spoilers could appear amongst the commander decks before they would ultimately get revealed today. Well, the time has come, as the new spoilers from the first of four Commander Precons have now been revealed.
This deck is known as “Blame Game,” with the goal being to make your opponent’s duel amongst each other. The Goad mechanic, for instance, plays extremely nice here, forcing opposing Creatures to attack other opponents in a multiplayer format. Let’s take a closer look at what this Commander Precon has to offer.
Secondary Commander
Our secondary Commander is none other than Feather, Radiant Arbiter. From Gavin Verhey’s video going over the Commander deck hints, we knew that there was going to be a new Feather card thanks to the revealed artwork. Now, we get to see Feather in all its glory. This card isn’t the most powerful but does have some nice implications in the deck.
The idea here is to use target Feather with some sort of non-Creature bonus, then pay two mana multiple times to copy that spell and target other Creatures on the board. This can act like a fixed version of Zada, Hedron Grinder, where casting cards like Ancestral Anger can allow you to draw multiple cards thanks to the copies. The downside, of course, is that you have to pay two mana for each copy.
The upside, though, is that you get to copy Enchantments. Cards like Dragon’s Mantle, for instance, work quite well if you’ve got some other Creatures on board. Notably, you can also target opposing Creatures. This opens the door for cards like Shiny Impetus and Vow of Lightning to help contribute to the main gameplan of the Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser shell.
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Staying Alive
As is crucial in any deck intending to maximize the Goad mechanic, it’s important to load up on cards that prevent you from getting attacked or taking damage. Obviously, this can include Goading a bunch of Creatures, but as expected, there are other ways within this Commander Precon to incentivize players to not attack you.
One of the coolest new additions to help in this regard is Take the Bait. Take the Bait is perfect for this style of deck. If an opponent has a wide board of Creatures that aren’t Goaded, they will almost certainly take the opportunity to attack you. Take the Bait is a supercharged Fog from your side, while every Creature that attacked now is forced to re-attack other players at the table.
Even if the opposing Creatures were already Goaded, you can force those Creatures to attack your opponents again. In this sense, this card works perfectly with Vengeful Ancestor, potentially forcing the attacker to take a ton of extra damage while attacking players that aren’t you.
Another card that may make your opponents hesitate to attack you is Trouble in Pairs. Your opponents won’t want you to draw a ton of extra cards but given how important drawing cards and casting multiple spells a turn is in Commander, they may not have a choice. It even has some funny interactions with cards like Timesifter, giving you the opportunity to take extra turns but denying that chance for your opponents. This seems like an amazing source of card advantage for tons of white Commander decks, something mono-white decks typically lack.
On a tamer note, Otherworldly Escort provides yet another way to incentivize players to not attack you. As a 4/3 with Flash, you can make a surprise block on a Creature that attacked you, causing it to return to the battlefield. From there, your opponents risk losing their Creatures if they attack you. While this card is a bit mediocre, it does pair nicely with Take the Bait. The presence of Otherworldly Escort may further incentivize players to attack you with a bunch of Creatures at once, as Escort can only kill one Creature after it dealt damage to you. Then, you can cast Take the Bait as a blowout.
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New Voting Cards!
Besides just Goading opposing Creatures, this whole deck is designed to turn your opponents against each other. There are two new cards that force your opponents to cast secret votes and potentially punish them greatly depending on how they vote. The first of these is Mob Verdict. Mob Verdict is the perfect card. No matter what happens, you benefit in some way. However, if one person has a big board presence besides you, your opponents can gang up to help take them down. No matter how things unfold, you are in for a good time.
Prisoner’s Dilemma is similar, and extremely flavorful. The absolute best-case scenario for everyone is to choose Silence and take 4 damage across the board. But at the risk of someone choosing Snitch, others may choose Snitch to avoid the possibility of taking 12 damage yet risking the possibility of taking 8 damage across the board. Unfortunately, though, this card doesn’t really work towards impacting the board, and while cool, might not be the most impactful.
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Finishing the Game
One major downside to Goad decks in general is that if one player builds a big enough board to successfully kill each of your other opponents, it may be difficult to actually cross the finish line. After all, there is no one else to attack but you, which can make things tough. That is, unless you have access to Hot Pursuit.
Hot Pursuit works perfectly with Nelly Borca as a cheap way to Goad and Suspect an opposing Creature at the same time. However, later in the game, if two of your opponents have lost the game, Hot Pursuit becomes a perfect win condition. Cards like Taunt from the Rampart and Spectacular Showdown end up doing a great Insurrection impersonation with Hot Pursuit out, letting you gain control of all of your opponent’s Creatures and likely win easily after they finished off your other opponents for you.
Beyond Hot Pursuit, cards like Havoc Eater also threaten to deal a ton of damage to your opponents. If you can get enough +1/+1 counters on it, you could even be able to pair it with the likes of Blasphemous Act as a cheap way to kill your opponent’s Creatures but leave you with an enormous Flier.
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Goad Filler
Finally, there are a few more cards that, while nothing special, move your gameplan forward. Immortal Obligation is a funny card, as it can only reanimate opposing Creatures. This card can be used quite politically, as a means of forming an alliance with another player by reanimating something of theirs with a strong effect.
Similarly, Redemption Arc helps protect one of your opponent’s Creatures, but at the cost of forcing it to attack an opponent every turn. You can always use it as a removal spell when necessary and can even cast it on your own copy of Feather to give it Indestructible and copy it multiple times.
Finally, Ransom Note is likely to be the new card that shows up in all four Commander decks. After all, it works well with the Surveil, Clue, Goad, and Disguise themes associated with each of the four Precons. It’s nothing super exciting, but is flexible filler nonetheless.
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Important Reprints
While most of the focus is on the new cards in the Commander Precon, and rightfully so, there are a couple reprints worth highlighting. First, we have Comeuppance. Comeuppance was only printed once back in Commander 2014. As such, the card is worth roughly $12 according to TCGplayer market price, making it one of the chase reprints of the deck. Comeuppance fits this deck perfectly thematically, as it once again will make players regret attacking you.
Perhaps the most interesting reprint, though, is Fiendish Duo. The only English printing of Fiendish Duo available is part of a special Game Night 2019 product, and currently sits at over $38! It was also featured as a Japanese exclusive store promo, which has a lower market price of nearly $13, but is not available in English. Also, both versions were only available in foil. As such, this reprint is a welcome addition and will likely drop in price significantly.
The Blame Game Commander deck utilizes some fun ideas. What’s better than making your opponents become enemies while you reap the rewards? If this deck sounds up your alley, check out the full decklist here and considering giving this Precon a shot.
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