This is truly the week of Warhammer for MTG fans! After a massive delay in the crossover that many fans have been excited about, we are finally beginning to see some of the new cards being added by the Warhammer crossover. After a video discussing the process used to turn this crossover into a reality, we have our first look at a few spoiler cards for this Universes Beyond Commander set! Among the reprints shown today are three powerful alternate Commanders, who ALL look better than the cards headlining the Warhammer Commander decks! These previews have revived my enthusiasm for this Warhammer crossover! First, however, we will show off some of the MTG Warhammer spoilers previewed during the Weekly MTG Aftershow.
Broodlord
Spoiled on the Weekly MTG Aftershow following the bridging worlds video was Broodlord. Ravenous is a repeating mechanic seen in the Tyranid Swarm deck used to evoke the idea of the Tyranid creatures constantly wanting to eat more material. Depending on certain thresholds in their X cost, additional rewards will be up for grabs on Ravenous creatures. Broodlord allows you to draw a card on entry if X is five or more. Judging from the templating of Ravenous on this card, it is likely that Ravenous has a fixed effect.
Old One Eye
Old One Eye was a massive Tyranid creature discovered frozen in an iceberg following a major war that is discernable by its missing eye. After it was thawed, it started eating everything around it until it was put down. Fast forward a few years, and Old One Eye, or a being that looked exactly like it, was discovered on another planet. Apparently, the hivemind for the Tyranids absorbs the consciousness of Tyranids and displaces them in different bodies. Old One Eye’s abilities are based on the Lore discussed during the preview show (and here).
Old One Eye is an excellent creature to prevent your big creature Commander deck from flooding out. By creating 11 stats worth of creatures for six mana, this recurring threat is a great way to stay in the game, even if you’re drawing straight lands. This blend of Lore and mechanics will be pretty common for the MTG Warhammer spoilers.
The First Tyrannic War
Of all the cards spoiled today, this one has the most exciting effect. The First Tyrannic War is the first spell of its kind that allows players to cast spells with X in their cost for free without having them die as soon as they enter the battlefield. The First Tyrannic War gives them additional counters equal to the number of lands you control. This alone will allow The First Tyrannic War to be featured in any X spell Hydra-style decks.
The follow-up effects of this card are also incredibly powerful. While it only doubles the counters on creatures, this still threatens to create gigantic threats out of nowhere to end the game. Alongside another reprint in this article, it is evident that the Tyranid Swarm deck will focus on +1/+1 counter synergies.
Magus Lucea Cane
Magus Lucea Kane is another legendary Creature presumably in the Tyranid Swarm deck. This card does everything the deck’s theme seems to care about so far. Counters matter, so Lucea borrows Luminarch Aspirant‘s powerful ability to grant a counter to one of your creatures at the beginning of combat. Additionally, Lucea has a very powerful mana ability that allows her to tap for two mana while copying a spell or an ability that is used within the same turn with an X cost. This looks incredibly powerful and may be a better Commander for the Tyranid Swarm deck than the actual Commander The Swarmlord.
Magus Calgar
Magus Calgar looks to be featured in the Forces of Imperium Commander deck and, once again, seems to be a much more powerful Commander than Inquisitor Greyfax, the actual featured Commander. This Commander has a built-in draw engine that draws a card each time one or more tokens enter the battlefield under your control. This makes Calgar’s mediocre secondary ability a bit more powerful since you can also draw a card when using it.
Imotekh the Stormlord
Sadly, the previewed Commander for the Necron deck was, by far, received the most poorly of the bunch by the MTG community. Fortunately, this alternate Commander is a bit of an upgrade. Imotekh can create a powerful surge of token creatures out of nowhere! Afterward, Imotekh can prime them for combat and make sure they get through to your opponents. The only real downside here is that Imotekh doesn’t totally function on its own. Unlike some of the other alternate Commanders here, Imotekh needs synergies from outside itself to show any payoff, while the other alternate Commanders shown off here are better at fending for themselves.
Be’lakor, the Dark Master
Anyone want a Demon Tribal Commander? Your prayers have finally been answered! Be’lakor possesses two tribal abilities already known to be powerful on other MTG cards. Terror of the Peaks‘ ability returns, albeit nerfed a bit, in the Lord of Torment ability that allows Be’lakor to deal damage equal to the power of any other Demon that enters the battlefield to any target! We also see the return of the powerful Vampire tribal card Champion of Dusk.
Noise Marine
Noise Marine isn’t a Commander, but it may be the most powerful card previewed today. Cascade is a problematic mechanic that has been reworked due to causing a major issue in Modern, one of MTG’s most popular formats. On top of this, Noise Marine is a Storm win condition (yet another incredibly problematic MTG mechanic). Functioning similarly to Grapeshot (but much worse one for one), Noise Marine can easily deal tens of damage per entry in a deck that utilizes it to its maximum potential. Considering that this is an Enter the Battlefield effect, Noise Marine can be flickered to have it’s ability repeated, giving it the potential to deliver three killing blows in the same turn!
Reprints
The reprints shown today are either from the Tyranid Swarm EDH deck or are common Commander staples in multiple decks. Abundance is absurdly powerful when combined with Cultivator Colossus. This combination literally allows you to draw all of your lands! Among the MTG Warhammer spoilers shown today, this is the most unique reprint.
Arcane Signets will be available in its upcoming set! All of these arts are available in different decks. The Arcane Signet to the left is available in the Tyranid deck, the middle will be seen in the Necron deck, and the right one can be found in the Imperium deck.
Another popular reprint is coming back in the form of Command Tower. The Necron deck will not feature a Command Tower since it is mono black. The Tyranid deck’s Command Tower is on the left, the middle is for the chaos deck, and the Imperium deck will have the Command Tower on the right.
While missing its mark lore-wise, this card’s reprint in the Tyranid deck solidifies its +1/+1 counter theme. Hardened Scales is a must-have in any counters deck as it scales absurdly hard. With this spoiler, the counter theme, alongside ramping into insanely huge creatures, was confirmed for the Tyranid deck.
More Reprints to Come Tomorrow!
This is everything we’ve gotten so far, and these spoilers have revamped my interest in these Commander products! Sure, the featured Commanders may be a little underwhelming, but these more powerful alternatives should offer a favorable outlook for those interested in the product. I am anticipating an Unbound Flourishing reprinting in the Tyranid deck that we may see soon. Should, for whatever reason, this card not be reprinted, it will likely see a price increase in response to this product.
You can find more information on future previews here. You can also find more detail on these MTG Warhammer spoilers here.
