Commander-legal MTG cards impact more than just Magic’s most popular format. While most of these cards are indeed relegated to the expansive array of different Commander strategies, there is rarely a diamond in the rough that shines past the casual format. Occasionally, Commander cards will have an impact on the Legacy format, and these impacts are rather significant.
From introducing one of the best control win conditions in the format, Triumph of Saint Katherine to creating an entire archetype revolving around the card Creative Technique, Commander has a startling impact on Legacy. Even the recent Fallout expansion introduced Lumbering Megasloth, an alternate win condition for the Lands archetype.
Once Commander singles start to see Legacy demand, they all tend to skyrocket in price. Suddenly, a card that some players only wanted one of, becomes something that players need a playset of. This is happening to an Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander exclusive thanks to some surprising, but perhaps questionable, Legacy applications.
Leyline Dowser
Leyline Dowser is a two mana artifact that mills the top card of your library and puts that card into your hand if it’s an Instant or Sorcery. If you have a Legendary Creature that you don’t need untapped, you can tap it to use the Dowser again.
The applications of this card in a spellslinger deck are obvious: use it to generate a ton of card advantage. Pair this with a Commander that untaps, like Stella Lee, Wild Card, and you can get a ton of Instant and Sorcery cards in your hand. Quick Draw, unsurprisingly, happens to be the Outlaws of Thunder Junction precon that you can find Leyline Dowser in.
The catch? You need to mill them. That means that the card on the top of your deck needs to be an Instant or Sorcery, which can be difficult to control. Fortunately, Legacy Delver has the tools to do that.
Leyline Dowser in Legacy
Legacy Delver decks commonly run playsets of both Ponder and Brainstorm. These are both powerful cantrip effects that allow you to stack the top of your deck. This can ensure Leyline Dowser mills an Instant or Sorcery and gets it into your hand. In this sense, the Dowser almost draws a card each turn. Even if you end up truly milling the top card, you can use it for Delve costs for cards like Murktide Regent.
Currently, Leyline Dowser is proving powerful enough that players are running a full four copies of the card in the main deck! Even though this may be the case, the card is still very much in its testing phase. So far, UR Delver and Canadian Druid are the main archetypes trying this card. The most successful finishes that this card currently has are as a one-of in the sideboard.
While this testing has put the card on many player’s radars, it’s tough to tell whether or not the card is legit or not. For Legacy, a two mana card that occasionally draws a card for another mana may be a bit too clunky.
Read More: Japanese MTG Promotion Reunites Two Beloved Characters!
Leyline Dowser in Commander
Outside of Stella Lee, according to EDHREC, Leyline Dowser mostly sees play in Izzet Spellslinger decks. Beyond that archetype, however, there are a series of Commanders that can take advantage of everything that Leyline Dowser has to offer.
Raul, Trouble Shooter has some incredible synergy with Leyline Dowser. Even if the card you mill is not an Instant or Sorcery, if Raul is in play, you can cast it anyway.
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter already wants to stack their deck to take advantage of their triggered ability. If you’re already trying to stack your deck, Leyline Dowser can turn into a great source of card draw.
In a similar vein, this is quite capable with instant and sorcery-heavy builds of Aminatou, the Fateshifter. This Planeswalker is all about stacking the deck, so Leyline Dowser should be able to consistently draw you cards.
Sudden Buyouts
Whenever a Commander card starts to break out in Legacy, a lot of players begin to buy them out. Generally, some potential is unearthed for these cards even in Commander once those players realize how much work they’re doing in Legacy. So, Legacy players, Commander players and players trying to make a financial spec are all trying to buy these cards at the same time.
As a result, the demand for these cards has risen a bunch. As many as 30 copies are being sold in one order on TCGplayer. For now, there is still a decent amount of stock for these cards, and while a price spike has been seen, it’s not a very significant one.
As a result, instead of this being a ‘card has risen a bunch in price’ sort of news blip, we are instead offering this as an interesting idea for players interested in following along.
I am personally unsure of where this card could fall. I could see this being too slow in some Legacy matchups while burying others in card advantage. Sadly, this is definitely weaker than Up the Beanstalk, a card banned in Modern and at the center of Legacy.
What the card actually ends up doing, however, is something only time will tell. Either way, these are only 50 cents at the moment, so picking them up earlier than later may be a wise idea.
Read More: MTG Standard Rotation Is Happening Sooner Than Expected!
