For as long as Magic: The Gathering has been around, Clone effects have been a part of it. Offering a ton of flexibility to your game plan, Clone effects are a staple in Commander. While most cards in this genre are well-known and well-regarded, one of the very best examples has flown criminally under the radar since launch. The Master, Formed Anew might be underplayed, but it’s an incredibly unique option for a Clone effect in the command zone.
The Master, Formed Anew MTG
At first glance, The Master, Formed Anew doesn’t look amazing. It can only target creatures you control, for one thing, and it exiles them in the process. This means you don’t get the usual Clone benefit of having two copies at once.
That said, The Master does have one big advantage over other Clones, in that it ‘stores’ each creature it copies for later use. Where other Clones rely purely on creatures in play, The Master can build up a suite of options throughout the game so that it’s always relevant.
One of the best ways to use this ability is to build the deck as a toolbox. With a bunch of utility creatures like Ravenous Chupacabra and Aether Channeler, you can turn The Master, Formed Anew into a jack of all trades.While already useful, The Master works especially well with self-bounce cards like Cavern Harpy and Conjurer’s Closet, which provide additional value. Throw in some finishers like Gray Merchant of Asphodel, and this is a legitimate grindy strategy.
Alternatively, you can dream bigger and try to use The Master as a way to cheat out huge threats. With mechanics like Manifest Dread, you can get huge creatures ‘onto the board’ for cheap in the early game. You can then copy them with The Master, getting a huge value swing on entry, and unlocking that creature as an option for future turns. Whether it’s Archon of Cruelty or Hullbreaker Horror, there’s no shortage of great threats to pick from for this strategy.
Cloning Up A Combo
Playing The Master, Formed Anew as a fair MTG card is one thing, but it’s arguably even better as a combo enabler. Thanks to its unique abilities, you can pull off all manner of infinites with it right out of the command zone.
One of the wildest options here is to exile both a creature with Undying and a creature with Persist with The Master. There are a few in-color options for each, but Nardole, Resourceful Cyborg and Putrid Goblin are probably your best bets. With this done, offer up The Master to a sacrifice outlet, and then return it to play as the creature with Undying if it had Persist, or vice versa.
Since it always gets the opposite kind of counter to the one that stops it from coming back on death, you can repeat this infinitely, flipping back and forth between the pair. This will net you infinite enters and dies triggers, as well as infinite mill or mana if you use Altar of Dementia or Phyrexian Altar, respectively, as your sacrifice outlet. You can pull off a similar combo by having The Master copy Driver of the Dead or Cavalier of Night, since its stats are low enough for the pair to revive it on death.
There are also some shenanigans on offer here with creatures that untap lands on entry, like Peregrine Drake. With a repeatable way to bounce The Master, like Cavern Harpy, you can constantly loop it to generate infinite mana. Palinchron is a particularly good pairing here, since it handles both the bouncing and the untapping for you. Alternatively, Great Whale can also fill the role in a pinch.
Despicably Underplayed
Despite all of these admirable qualities, The Master, Formed Anew has barely made a mark on the MTG Commander scene. According to EDHREC data, the card has only been included in around 1,270 decks since its release. Even worse, only 775 decks have The Master as their Commander.
While this is unfortunate for The Master, it’s good news for MTG players, since this card is comically cheap at the moment. Regular copies of The Master, Formed Anew can be had for just $0.14 right now. Even if you want to go high-end, the variant printings are all super-cheap as well. You can get the TARDIS Showcase version for only $0.22, and the Surge foil of that for just $2.23.
The other advantage of The Master flying under the radar is the element of surprise. With barely anyone playing it, barely anyone will be expecting it, either. This makes it a fine pick for your next Commander project, as a strategy that will likely catch your opponents off guard for the first few games. Thanks to its huge potential for combo and value lines, it’s also a card that will keep providing great games long after your pod has grown accustomed to it, too.
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