Readers!

Commander Legends 2 is out, a mere 6 months after the first set and I'm barely exaggerating when I say that. Modern Horizons 2 promises to ruin Legacy, impact Modern to a mild extent, and make Commander deck-building rad for at least a year. While you don't need me to tell you what cards are good generally in Commander because everyone else is already doing that, perhaps I could be of some use regarding what's good in 75% builds specifically. There are quite a few cards that either get built around or which drastically change my current decks and I can't wait to buy a bunch of collector boosters when I should have just ordered the singles like I always do. Let's dig into this crazy set and talk about the cards I love.

Estrid, the Masked

The first deck I am adding cards to is getting such a major overhaul that it's actually going to be pretty tough to cut enough cards to fit everything new into it. I'm of course referring to Estrid, the Masked. While there is no sea change in how the deck plays or wins, we got a lot of tools to help things along, and a few "cute" cards that might make it more fun to play, if that's possible.

Resurgent Belief

Resurgent Belief is another Replenish and while it's clunky, gives the Bojuka Bog player time to target you and you may be dead by the time it goes off, it's also cheap to play, doesn't cost Reserved List money and at least warrants testing. It's a bit obvious that this goes in Estrid, but it probably works as well as or better than something like Open the Vaults which may be on the way out.

Dress Down

A spell that removes abilities from creatures, like Sudden Spoiling, is very useful and in this deck specifically, being able to re-use it can do a lot of work. It's a little trickier than it might seem at first to get this from the 'yard into a zone where you can play it as a combat trick, but I think the fact that it will trigger your Enchantress effects when you replay it makes me at least want to test it.

Sanctum Weaver

You don't need me to tell you how good this is in this very narrow selection of decks, but I'm glad this got printed and if I'm talking about Estrid stuff, this gets a mention.

Squirrel Sanctuary

Squirrel Sanctuary doesn't actually fit super easily into Estrid as it's currently Constructed, and it makes me think that I should be building a second version of Enchantress. Even with spells like Nevermore, Dovin's Veto, and Decree of Silence, I still get blown out by a Merciless Eviction like once a month. Having a lot of sac outlets would give me the opportunity to stash my board in my graveyard in response to Eviction and let me do big brain plays with Hatching Plans. Sacrificing an Enchantment Creature to loop it and also loop Squirrel Sanctuary seems fun. Remember, the Squirrel token value is middling- Enchantress decks love spells like Mana Bloom because they draw cards when the card comes into play. If I think of a suitable commander (Garth maybe) I'll think about how many sac outlets I need to run to make it viable. Resurgent Belief 100% makes an appearance there, right?

Sythis, Harvest's Hand

Why not. The hype train has no brakes, so why even pump the pedal? Next stop, value town.

75% deck-building is more than just my stupid fixation on Enchantments, though. Sure, I think they're the best permanent type, but there are other things we need to do in a 75% context to ensure the kind of gameplay and outcome we like. This set has a lot.

Steal Their Stuff

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

I covered Ragavan in detail last week and I don't need to say more here than I said there except to say that this adorable little pilferer is just the sweetest and I can't wait to play all of their cards.

Inevitable Betrayal

While Bribery effects aren't great on webcam and I have mostly cut them, as we return to in-person play, there is a case for a card like this. While I think suspending Profane Tutor will likely draw some heat since they don't know what you're going to get from your deck, when the card you're getting is from their deck, they can try to convince you to target someone else over the few turns this is on suspend. I think this is basically the opposite of Profane Tutor and everything I don't like about how Tutor plays doesn't really apply to this card. This has a lot of political potential, and if the table knows each others' decks well, they can help you decide how to solve a variety of problems, from getting something to remove a problem permanent from the board, to helping you strip out a boring win condition like Thassa's Oracle to begging you not to take their Blightsteel and convincing you to target someone else instead in exchange for not attacking you for a few turns.

Chef's Kiss

The art depicts my reaction to seeing this card. This would be pretty bonkers at 3 mana if you got to choose all of the targets. Besides, what fun would that be? Spin the wheel and see where the aggro lands. That will learn them to try and mess with your permanents.

Speaking of chaos...

Glimpse of Tomorrow

I like a lot of these suspend cards because as clunky as they are, they're more copies of cards I already like. Prossh, Korvold and Vaevictis are all making room for this. Did I build too many Jundragon decks? Maybe, but it's too late to stop now.

As long as we're talking about only slightly worse but still playable copies of cards we already play, get a load of one that's better.

Liquimetal Torque

With two copies of Liquimetal Coating, your odds of drawing one go up a lot more. This makes Aladdin, Chandler, Shatter effects and other cards in colors that have a hard time interacting with permanents like Enchantments a boost. Doubling your odds of drawing one seems worth it. This is hot.

Timeless Witness and Tireless Provisioner

I'm not as happy about these. Were Eternal Witness and Tireless Tracker/Lotus Cobra that bad that they needed upgrades in the form of Uncommons? I mean, I'll play them, obviously, but I just think it's weird that they think we needed them. Not having to worry about milling or dredging your Eternal Witness is just actual bonkers, what an insane upgrade. Oh, and Lotus Cobra that gives you the mana whenever you want it? Like fetches and Cabal Coffers weren't going to sell enough boosters on their own.

Dauthi Voidwalker

Last but not least is this monster. This is a lot like Draugr Necromancer but just way better and way better in other formats. I was adding Snow-Covered Lands to decks literally just for Draugr Necromancer and they went and gave us a way better version. Not complaining, I'll play both and I'm happy one of them is slightly less clunky. Having played a LOT with Draugr Necromancer and a bit with Tergrid, I find they don't usually last long enough to get me more than one card so sacking Voidwalker seems fine. Besides, death is on the beginning in a Black deck.

Readers, this set is great. Remember, I only covered stuff I thought mattered for 75% decks - the set in general is getting so much good stuff for EDH. Sword of Hearth and Home is a value machine (machete?), White got another Rhystic Study variant in the form of Esper Sentinel (I'm calling him Rhsytic Stud), a lot of the legendary creatures are bonkers, Squirrels are EVERYWHERE, and they even found room for a stupid coin flip commander. We're spoiled, maybe too spoiled. We're now on month 18 of "the 'year' of Commander" and it feels like things are accelerating rather than slowing down. For now, I'm going to enjoy the ride and worry later about my cards being obsolete after 6 months. That does it for me - until next time!