When looking at the new Commander decks, it is easy to get lost in the new rares and mythics. They are awesome and a ton of fun, especially with decks that are built to abuse the cards. Then you have the reprints that offer all the value you know and love from earlier sets. These are cards you may already have in decks or just want in decks.

What doesn't get noticed as much, especially with every card in a deck being previewed in one day, are the new common and uncommon cards. Quite often these cards end up being valuable utility cards in so many other decks, that it seems a shame to pass them by. I wanted to take this time to look at a few of my favorites from this set. I hope to be seeing these in many of my decks!

Bloodthirsty Blade

I also really like the idea of attaching equipment to other players' creatures. This is something I wish was done a long time ago. The ability to give another player's creature a boost with equipment just makes sense. Most of the time, you won't want to equip your opponents' creatures, but having the ability to do so opens up interesting interactions and adds a layer of strategy that wasn't there before.

Bloodthirsty Blade has the obvious ability of making a creature bigger and attacking other players. The bigger power allows it to take down more possible blockers as well as encourage players to block them. When the possible damage is bigger, players are more likely to block, which means more dead creatures.

The less obvious ability is that you are increasing the odds of the creature dying. It isn't a specific removal spell, but games reach a point where many of the creatures you are equipping are essentially making suicidal attacks. This means that you are rid of that creature, and Bloodthirsty Blade is available for another creature on your next turn.

Another bonus (yes, it just keeps getting better!) is that the creature is unavailable to block. This means that not only you get to attack them without having to deal with their best blocker, but all of the other players also get a free swing! It's like the Middle Ages and you just locked someone up in the stockade; everyone gets to toss some rotten veggies at the helpless opponent!

For those of us who also play 60-card casual games, Bloodthirsty Blade works wonderfully in multiples. You can torment one player and leave them wide open to everyone else, or you can spread the wealth, forcing the biggest creatures into the Red Zone. With the cost to equip at only one mana, you can change the target regularly on multiple Bloodthirsty Blades.

Cliffside Rescuer

To me, the key to loving this card was understanding how it works. Playing it in the early game means the focus is on the power and toughness. You have an early blocker and a way to deal some early damage without giving up the defense. I've said this plenty before, but vigilance is a great creature ability in multiplayer games. As the game progresses, Cliffside Rescuer's ability means that you have a free shot at any point at anyone. For mid-game, this can mean you have the ability to really put the squeeze on an opponent. During the end-game Cliffside Rescuer means that you have the ability to take anyone out.

The capper isn't so much the ability to do it, it is the threat of doing it. The rattlesnake effect from Cliffside Rescuer is huge. Players are unwilling to burn a removal spell if they think it will just be stuffed by Cliffside Rescuer, so they use it elsewhere, thinking they are getting a getting ROI. The joy for you is that every opponent is doing the same thing, so while the Rescuer can actually only save one permanent, just the threat of it is usually enough to save plenty of permanents!

Once I understood how the value of the card shifts depending on where we are in the game, the card brought a smile to my face. No, not the happy smile. You know the smile you get when you realize you have the power to end someone? Yeah, that's the one.

Leadership Vacuum

First off, the only thing getting targeted is the player. Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots aren't stopping Leadership Vacuum. This means the cards almost everyone uses to protect their commanders from removal are useless in a Vacuum.

Secondly, this really discourages players from stealing your commander. Many players are finding an alternative to killing your commander is to steal it instead. You can't recast a stolen commander so you are left to destroy it, then recast it from the command zone. This means that not only are you paying a commander tax, but you are also using a card to get him back. With Leadership Vacuum, you get your commander bounced back to your hand so you can recast it without paying the tax. It doesn't hurt that you are likely returning their commander to their hand as well!

Related to number two, you can just bounce your own commander when someone else tries to kill it. This is particularly valuable for more expensive commanders. I'd rather pay five mana for my five-mana commander than the nine I'd be looking at if it died again. There are also plenty of commanders that you are using in large part because of their enter the battlefield ability (Pramikon, I'm looking at you!) so avoiding the commander tax is especially useful.

Finally, you get to replace the card. There are plenty of times when the ability would just be underwhelming, but getting to replace the card makes it a lot better.

I'll be using this primarily in decks where I want to bounce my own commander, but the utility goes well beyond just that!

Scaretiller

This may be the best utility card in Commander 2019, and it isn't even an uncommon! Running four or five lands that you sacrifice to find other lands with this card means that whenever Scaretiller becomes tapped, you get that land back and you can start the whole process over again. This guarantees you a land every turn and there will be turns when you draw a land, so you can switch gears and get two lands onto the battlefield.

The other option that I particularly like is recurring specialty lands. Scaretiller doesn't say "basic" anywhere on the card, so don't feel like you need to focus on putting basics onto the battlefield. A few options include:

• Cycling lands
• Bojuka Bog
• Buried Ruin
• Command Beacon
• Strip Mine
• Glacial Chasm
• Lake of the Dead activations
• Lotus Field lands that were sacced
• Myriad Landscape

The other downside is getting Scaretiller tapped. You aren't really looking to attack with a 1/4 creature, so the most traditional way to tap it is limited. Beyond Rogue's Passage and other ways to make creatures unblockable, vehicles are the next best option. For other interesting options, check out King Macar decks on EDHrec.com.

Commander 2019 is a big hit and it isn't just the big stars of the decks that are amazing. I'm looking forward to getting each of these cards, and most of the others from Commander 2019, into other decks in the not too distant future! What other new uncommon and common cards from the set are you looking forward to seeing in future decks. Hit me up in the comments and on Twitter!

Bruce

@manaburned