All posts by Cliff Daigle

I am a father, teacher, cuber and EDH fanatic. My joy is in Casual and Limited formats, though I dip a toe into Constructed when I find something fun to play. I play less than I want to and more than my schedule should really allow. I can easily be reached on Twitter @WordOfCommander. Try out my Busted Uncommons cube at http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/76330
Casual Fridays

Are we buying the Totally TubuLAIR Superdrop?

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Yes, dear reader, this is a third superdrop in a six-week period, and there is no sign that this train is slowing down. We were expecting a Superdrop to go with the TMNT set, and here we go with six more sets of cards. 

So let’s talk about the specifics of the superdrop, what the use rates are, and what’s worth buying when it’s available in a week and a half on March 2.

Some overall info: We’re thankfully at the $30 nonfoil/$40 foil price point for these, and there’s no land drop here to compete with the Pizza lands in that bundle. There is no listed promo for this Drop, and the bundle discount is $10 for the all-foil or all-nonfoil, or $20 for the all-in-one drop. Very low discount, but we’re proving to them that we don’t care about discounts. 

For these cards, I’ll be listing the EDHREC number (please remember that EDHREC is useful but tilted towards precons, and the folks who upload their deck are only a small % of the playing population) and the value of any special versions of the card that already exist.

Baylen, the Haymaker (24k as Commander, #22 over last two years, plus 23k as card, raised foil $375)

Felidar Retreat (221k, showcase foil $4)

Master of Ceremonies (42k, promo foil $27)

Second Harvest (179k, SLD foil $11)

Sunforger (68k, pack foils $10-$35)

As always, we get a Lair with a good commander and some of its favorite accessories. This is a decent drop, but nothing is screaming at me. Baylen is a combo commander, very good no matter what direction you go. Don’t be fooled by Master of Ceremonies’ foil price, the nonfoil is still $10 but it is in pretty limited supply and group hugging like this isn’t always a popular strategy. The Second Harvest SLD printing had a dog on it, so that price is a little bumped too.

Loxodon Gatekeeper (7k decks, pack foil $10)

Sakashima’s Student (36k decks, all nonfoils $32 or so)

Throat Slitter (30k decks, pack foil $25)

Guttersnipe (241k decks, promo foil $3)

This Lair looks super cool, but financially, I think this is a trap. Only Guttersnipe has special versions already, and Gatekeeper is from OG Ravnica, and Throat Slitter hasn’t been foil since Betrayers of Kamigawa. That’s two cards from 2005, a long time to build up demand and for foils to drain out. Sakashima’s Student is the headliner, good as a clone, but this was a Jumpstart card then on the List and never put into large quantities. I am leery of this Lair, especially at double the copies of the other Lairs.

Settle the Wreckage (37k, pack foil $6)

Mental Misstep (227k decks, SLD foil $160, promo $175)

Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni (44k decks, BLB Showcase $11)

Anger (255k decks, SLD foil $9)

Chord of Calling (197k decks, SLD foil $13)

No one cares about Settle, and the three mid-tier cards are intriguing, but aren’t going to light up the world or grow quickly in price. So the question is, how big can this Mental Misstep get, especially as it’s super-banned in Modern and Legacy? The first SLD printing was more than three years ago, in the old era of Secret Lairs printed to demand, and it’s just kept going up ever since. The good news is that it just has to hold at less than half of the other version’s printing to be worth it, so I think this is worth buying.

Deepglow Skate (70k decks, SLD foil $6)

Pirated Copy (14k decks, pack nonfoil $20)

Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar (23k as partner, 101k as card, etched foil $16)

Hardened Scales (369k decks, two showcase foils at $5)

Triumph of the Hordes (99k decks, SLD foil $31)

Another case of ‘is one card worth it’ and I have to say I don’t hate the Lair. Four acceptable cards and then the Triumph, which has the original in New Phyrexia, then a List printing, then the Fortnite copies. Very low quantities over the years, and this is probably going to be worth it, but I am pretty ambivalent about this Lair. 

Delver of Secrets (3k decks, SLD foil $5)

Higure, the Still Wind (21k decks, SLD foil $30)

Species Specialist (40k decks, pack nonfoil $10)

Rampaging Baloths (262k decks, pack foils $5-$15)

Triskelion (28k decks, borderless foil 50¢)

Higure is a great card if you’re doing Ninja/Changeling things, but between the mediocre cards and the art, this is a Lair I’m avoiding. If I get the chance at some cheap Higure copies during Dump Week, I’m in, but I’ve been burned on 80’s nostalgia before and I don’t feel the need to go too wild here. 

So the only Lair I’m actively into is The Last Ronin, so that I can get some Mental Missteps. The rest I can give or take, and honestly, after the last couple Lairs that had a lot more for me to like and the chance to buy TMNT product soon, I think I’m going to skip most of this drop. I don’t expect it the majority to sell out, if the quantities are similar to the last couple drops. My exception is that I’ll try to get some of the Ronin Lairs, and just those, for the fervor when that one sells out. 

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this Lair and my plan, so don’t hesitate to reach out, especially on the ProTrader Discord. 

Cliff (@WordOfCommander at Twitter and BlueSky) has been writing for MTGPrice since 2013, and is an eager Commander player, Draft enthusiast, and Cube fanatic. A high school science teacher by day, he’s also the co-host of the MTG Fast Finance podcast. If you’re ever at an event and you see a giant flashing ‘CUBE DRAFT’ sign, go over, say hi, and be ready to draft.

Casual Fridays

Building the Face Commanders for Secrets of Strixhaven

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This week, we were given a leak of the five face commanders for the Secrets of Strixhaven decks, and it’s the five characters we know, in the color pairs that are both doing it different yet can still feel the same. We don’t know the stated theme of the decks, and we don’t know what’s in the decks, but the reveal has already caused some spikes and now I want to look at some potential includes. 

Generally speaking, I’d want to wait for the decks to come out before buying, but you may proceed with caution. Reprints aren’t impossible, and even if you have a fancy version, the players might not come out to get your shiny copy. (case in point: foil Flourishing Defenses)

Let’s talk about some Commanders!

Dina, Essence Brewer

Sacrifice! Counters! Black and green does its thing! You can build around either ability and have a grand time.

Kami of Whispered Hopes (promo foil $8) – The Kami both gives you more counters and is a really great target for those counters from Dina’s ability. Should be high on the inclusion list.

Ophiomancer (mh3 foil $1.50) – When you’re doing a lot of sacrificing, you want lots of fodder, and ol’ Ophio has always been great at that. 

Erebos, Bleak-Hearted (Showcase foil $4.50) – Another card that complements Dina nicely, allowing you to get the extra card every time, and Dina’s ability offsets the life loss.

Branching Evolution (PIP EA Surge $13) – If you’re doing the counters thing, do it more.

The Earth Crystal (Borderless Foil $16) – Your deck might have more black cards, but it’s likely you’ll want the bonus counters no matter what.

Commander Planeswalker! Let’s go looking at the passive, because the Spirits don’t get haste, nor do they keep the abilities. Plus there aren’t a lot of good RW spirits to build around. 

Quintorious, Loremaster (MAT special foil $0.50) – There’s a boatload of these on TCGPlayer, and I’m not sure the commander is good enough to get people excited. However, there might be a brick play here, buying them up for two bits and selling to a buylist for $1.50 each.

Squee, Goblin Nabob (MYB2 foil $20) – There’s a Secret Lair foil from the advent calendar that you might want instead, but the Future Sight frame is cool and much, much rarer. Squee is a great setup card for QHC if it stays in play, which is not a given.

Containment Construct (NEO foil $2) – If you’re discarding with the ability, why not get the token too?

Emeria, the Sky Ruin (nonfoils $19) – If you can get enough plains, you get the creature back plus a token!

Sephiroth, Fallen Hero (EA $4) – Make tokens, modify the tokens, keep the loop going. I don’t need much excuse to spec on Final Fantasy cards, either. 

Any Phoenix, any Disturb card, any Escape card, all of these do the thing that Quintorious wants to do, so take your pick. 

I have a Zaxara deck, so I’m well used to broken X spells. To start, you’re going to want lots of +1/+1 counter enablers, but the real meat of the deck is sweet X spells. 

Elementalist’s Palette (EA $5) – I’m hoping for a sweet foil version of this card soon, as if you get it to trigger twice, it gets out of hand real fast.

Unbound Flourishing (SLD foil $15) – Really, all of Calling All Hydra Heads is tempting, but this is the best card for Zimone out of the Lair.

Springleaf Parade (EA $6) – James clued me in to this card, and it does so much that you want to do. X spells often make tokens, and now you get mana out of them!

Doppelgang (FEA $1.50) – It’s a ridiculous mana cost, but this can do things no other card can do. Remember you only get to keep one copy if you pick a legendary creature.

Sporoocyst (Surge Foil $8) – One thing about these decks is that they are super hungry for mana. Getting even two lands off of this is a big help.

Nexos (regular $5) – These and the Surge Foil got bought out hard when Zimone was spoiled, so there might not be a lot of profit left, but if the deck takes off this is an absolutely absurd card. 

Killian will play very similar to Eriette of the Charmed Apple, and we’ve already seen Nurgle’s Rot spike thanks to the new Killian. However, you want to do two things: replay enchantments and have creatures attack with your enchantments on them. It’s plenty possible for you to focus on one aspect of the other, but really, Eriette does it much better. Killian gives one goad trigger, and then maybe you can get something good going on your side too. 

Gift of Immortality (pack foil $14) – This should be a top include for Killian, letting you put the commander and the enchantment into play over and over again. There’s a moment of vulnerability, but exile removal will also make you sad, so you won’t get away with it too much.

Greater Auramancy (WOT anime nonfoil $23) – I think the foils at $60 are tempting, and it won’t take much to move the confetti foils up a good bit, but I am staking a claim on these giving you the best return. It’s pretty easy to imagine these going to $50, whereas the foil doubling to $100 or the confetti hitting $200 is much more difficult. 

Eye of Nidhogg (FEA $2) – There’s a lot of enchantments that give a creature goaded status, and those are all worthy includes, but this one keeps coming back, giving you more cards! Plus there’s not all that many copies on TCG.

Rootha is a tough sell. There’s a lot of cards that will give you tokens for casting a spell, like Chrome Host Seedshark or Manaform Hellkite. Rootha has to be in play at the beginning of combat, with the spell already cast this turn. Casting more than one doesn’t even help you, as you only get one token.

Arcane Bombardment (FEA $6) – It’s convoluted, but it’s got a lot of potential.

Fires of Invention (FEA $2) – I don’t think a lot of Commander players are willing to give up playing on opponents’ turns, but there’s not a lot of cheap ways to start casting spells for free.

Galvanoth (pack foil $1) – Really the perfect complement to Rootha, giving you freebies all over the place.

River Song’s Diary (FEA Surge $3.50) – Someone bought a dozen of these this week, and I think it’s related to Rootha because it’s pretty easy to set up. 

Submerge (The List nonfoils $3.50) – Have Rootha in play, cast free spell, attack for 5 flying. Seems good.

Big Score/Pirate’s Pillage/Unexpected Windfall (bulk) – Three cards that do the same thing, but you need six mana. Cast the spell, get treasures, cast the commander, get a 4/4 flying haste. Not terrible.

Again, these are all specs that could be good, but I want to wait till the decklists are revealed before going deep. Happy building!

Cliff (@WordOfCommander at Twitter and BlueSky) has been writing for MTGPrice since 2013, and is an eager Commander player, Draft enthusiast, and Cube fanatic. A high school science teacher by day, he’s also the co-host of the MTG Fast Finance podcast. If you’re ever at an event and you see a giant flashing ‘CUBE DRAFT’ sign, go over, say hi, and be ready to draft.

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Are we buying the Roll for Initiative Superdrop?

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Yup, this feels about right. Fallout Secret Lair v2 was on January 26. Then there was a surprise drop on February 2, the Prints Charming drop with the variety of pricing models. And for the third Monday in a row, there will be a new Secret Lair drop coming. This is a superdrop, with seven different drops making it up and sadly there’s a basic lands drop, but we’ll get to that in a moment. 

We’ve got seven sets of cards to review, and let’s discuss their popularity, price, and what we can compare them to.

For each Lair, I’ll list the cards, the EDHREC numbers, and the prices of special versions. EDHREC isn’t perfect data, as there’s a big weight towards cards in precons, but it’s the main source we have to work with. 

We also need to stipulate that the nonfoils are $30 and the foils are $40, plus tax depending on your area, and free shipping at $99+. There is a bundle discount I’ll talk about at the end. 

Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Strahd’s Descent

Strefan, Maurer Progenitor (6200 EDHREC decks as commander, 9k more as card, EA $3)

Bloodletter of Aclazotz (138k decks, Borderless foil $35)

End the Festivities (64k decks, Double Feature foil $7)

Voldaren Estate (55k decks, SLD foil $3, Double Feature foil $13)

This is one of Wizards’ favorite Secret Lair setups: One very good card and three pretty mid cards. In this case, it’s the Bloodletter and that’s a card that was more expensive but trended downwards over time. This was a very popular card when Demons were the thing to do in Standard, and I imagine that’s the main reason prices have slipped over time. If this Lair doesn’t sell out fast, there will be a chance at very good deals for Bloodletter when Dump Week hits, but I think this is a pretty safe pickup. The other three cards might spike eventually but they are just fun accessories. 

Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Whispers in Candlekeep

Counterspell (1.6 million decks, too many specials to list)

Dragonborn Champion (36k decks, EA $10)

Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient (2k as Commander, 55k as card, EA $30)

Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm (25k as Commander, #18 over last 2 years, plus 65k as card, Showcase foil $7)

Now this is a Secret Lair. Mirrym is one of blessed few Dragons who can make a case for being the Commander over The Ur-Dragon (though according to EDHREC, it’s not really close, around 2x as many decks as Miirym) and Klauth is one of the biggest swings you can do. There are many games where I’ve laid Klauth down, attacked for 10+ damage, and played out some big Dragons. The Champion is pretty impressive, but really defines ‘win more’, since if you’re smashing for 5, do you really need more cards? And then randomly we have a Counterspell, which is in all the decks with all the versions. Great Lair, I’ll be maxing this out.

Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Shadows Over Baldur’s Gate

Grim Hireling (137k decks, EA $20)

Wild-Magic Sorcerer (81k decks, EA $13)

Xorn (135k decks, Ampersand foil $30, SLD $14)

Prosper, Tome-Bound (12k as Commander, 41k as card, EA $18)

Another favorite theme for SLs is ‘popular Commander plus some strong helpers’ and this is perfectly Prosper. The Tiefling has been one of the biggest movers of prices when he first came out, and this is three decent cards to add. Exile is getting to be more and more popular as a resource zone, and the two Treasure-themed cards are always solid picks.

This is the first foil printing for the Hireling and the Sorcerer, so that makes the shiny Lairs that much more desirable. Excellent value all around, and I want as many of these as I can get. 

Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Black Lights & Dark Dungeons

Seasoned Dungeoneer (29k decks, EA $8)

Displacer Kitten (199k decks, FEA $33)

Tortured Existence (79k decks, Stronghold $4)

Sefris of the Hidden Ways (10k as Commander, EA $5)

See above, as this is all about the Kitten, one of the most absurd value engines ever printed. The combos for the kitty are all over the place, the sort of thing you can stumble into accidentally, especially when stuff like Mox Opal/Amber is involved. Much like the Bloodlord above, I’m interested in the single card and the rest are hopefully going to have their time in the sun. Taking the Initiative is popular sometimes in Legacy, but it is not really a Commander thing that gets done. I will buy some of these, but I’ll really be looking for the Kittens on Dump Week. 

Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Gale’s Ambition

Gale, Waterdeep Prodigy (5k as Commander, 41k as card, foils are bulk)

Arcane Denial (787k decks, SLD foil $14, FEA $11)

Archmage’s Charm (71k decks, Retro foil $4)

Brainstorm (716k decks, JPN Mystical foil $25, Borderless foils $4-$15)

Personal Tutor (60k decks, Etched foil $14, Borderless foil $4)

I must admit, this feels like a trap. None of these have a combination or popularity and scarce premium version. Brainstorm and Arcane Denial have more than one special version already, so it’s unlikely that price will go wild. The other three cards just don’t have a case for their usefulness. This doesn’t feel like Astarion or Karlach, both in value or in how horny the art is.

I’m planning on a bundle or two, but that’s as far as I’m going to go here. 

Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Shadowheart’s Devotion

Shadowheart, Dark Justicar (3k as Commander, 21k as card, foils are bulk)

Beseech the Queen (36k decks, FTV foil $4)

Black Market (166k decks, SLD foil $16)

Victimize (491k decks, SPG foil $45)

Ancient Bronze Dragon (49k decks, Borderless foil $35)

Victimize is the big value card here, I was surprised that this Dragon was so cheap, both in its regular form and its Borderless foil. Then again, I have an Ur-Dragon deck and this particular scaly overlord doesn’t make the cut. Beseech is an interesting card if you believe that eventually hybrid mana changes its Commander rules, and that would make this tutor something that could go in every deck. Would 6 generic mana to tutor be worth it? I imagine most decks would decline that option. 

Still, the sweet versions of Victimize and the Dragon should carry this drop, but I’m not planning to buy more than the bundle copies I get. 

Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Lands of the Forgotten Realms

I gotta admit, these lands are as good as it gets. I love the clear frame, the name on the bottom, the gold embossing. The art is phenomenal, I don’t know if it’s from a game or what, but this is the first time in a while that we’ve gotten fantasy theme full art lands. These aren’t Spongebob, or medieval cities, or raised foils with Venom, but just big-time fantasy art done in the perfect style. I’m happy with my bundle copies, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m supposed to be stocking up on these. If it’s $40 for 10 foils, then anytime the lands are over $4 you’re ahead, depending on taxes, fees, and shipping. 

There’s no new promo, but apparently the Silver Shroud Costume is still in stock. So every $149 you spend gets you another copy of that. Currently there’s only a handful of presale copies at $30 on TCGPlayer, so those prices ought to fall. 

The Bundle pricing has been revealed, and it’s stingy as can be. All the foils as a bundle gets you $10 off, and the same for all the non-foils. If you get one of everything, it adds up to $25 off. That’s almost the value of a nonfoil set, and while it’s not nothing, it’s also not very much.

I’m not deep on the lore around Gale or Shadowheart, but I’m assured by multiple people I trust that these are big-deal characters, on a level with Astarion and Karlach. Those Lairs really make me hesitate on passing over the Gale and Shadowheart Lairs, which is why I’m fine with some bundles and then just a couple extras. If the FOMO feels real, it might be super real and will itself into an early sellout.

I plan to get a couple max bundles and then add on some more of the foils of the first four on this list. If I had to focus on just one or two, it would be the Dragons and then the Shadows over Baldur’s Gate. The Lairs with a single focus card are worth it at retail, but there should be some decent deals available at Dump Week.

Cliff (@WordOfCommander at Twitter and BlueSky) has been writing for MTGPrice since 2013, and is an eager Commander player, Draft enthusiast, and Cube fanatic. A high school science teacher by day, he’s also the co-host of the MTG Fast Finance podcast. If you’re ever at an event and you see a giant flashing ‘CUBE DRAFT’ sign, go over, say hi, and be ready to draft.

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Planning for the Marvel Super Heroes Commander Decks

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We got a lot of previews for Marvel Super Heroes this week, and of note is that we’re getting four Commander decks, each one coming in regular and Collector flavors. 

The decks have themes as printed on the box, and while we don’t know any of the contained cards, we made good money off of Elementals and -1/-1 counters as themes, so let’s see what we can figure out ahead of time. That way when the decklists are revealed, we are ready to dive in.

Fantastic Four: Noncreature Spells and Protection Fields

This is going to be hard to figure out in terms of specs, because there’s so many good noncreature spells to cast. The four of them are good, and any can be the focus. I think Mister Fantastic is the strongest, because we love drawing cards and there are a LOT of triggered abilities worth copying twice. He can even target his own ability, if you’d like to draw three cards.

I’m interested in the Human Torch, too, but you’ve got to cast a noncreature spell and then cast him, which is a lot of your mana used up and blessed little for protection. 

It might be that the best route is mana rocks, but we’ll see what this set of commanders leads to. 

Wakanda Forever: Power Up With Artifacts, Reign as the Monarch

T’Challa is clearly telling you to play artifacts and keep playing them, and let’s go over a few things that look possible:

Peregrin Took wants to add some food to your Vibranium. Queen Allenal of Ruadach means that your Vibranium can get you token Soldiers too. Stridehangar Automaton on the field delivers bonus Thopters if that’s more your speed.

The packaging also mentions being the monarch, which is a space that’s been lightly explored, so if it’s only half the theme, we’ll see what kinds of reprints we’ll get for white and green cards. Courts of Garenbring and Ardenvale seem likely to get reprinted, but there’s pretty limited space so they won’t all get a new hit. 

I admit that when I saw the packaging (and before we knew that there would be Collector decks) I ran out and bought stacks of FEA Archon of Coronation and the Scrolls foil Champions of Minas Tirith. Looking back, I wish I’d waited just a little bit longer, because if they are reprinted, these purchases won’t go up much. I feel more confident about the Champions, because LOTR reprints are few and far between, but these might languish forever, depending on the quality of the Monarch-themed commander that comes in the deck. 

Avengers Assemble: Grow your ranks, Equipment and Counters

First of all, you’ve got to look at the heroes in these three colors. Hero is a creature type that hasn’t been used, not since Benalish Hero was errata’d into being a Human Soldier instead of its printed type of Hero. The only other Hero that predates the Spider-Man set is the Unhinged Legend himself, Fraction Jackson. I’m all for memes, and cheap memes at that, but I have trouble imagining that it would be worth the effort of buying these up. 

Changelings would be fun here, and everything that adds bonus counters is on the table. I expect that this is a glorious place to reprint basic copies of Panharmonicon or Roaming Throne for extra triggers, and I’ve lost count of the sweet Equipment bonuses present in RW. My favorites for the Equipment-heavy decks would easily be the ‘affinity for Equipment’ cards Goldwardens’ Gambit and Nahiri, Forged in Fire, but we’ll have to see what Equipment enablers are about to get released.

Doom Prevails: Connive for power, drain life

I want to thank the ProTrader Discord for confirming some of my ideas and giving me others. If you’re not a ProTrader, you’re missing out on some glorious card combos.

Doctor Doom rewards you for discarding lands, either for conniving or for any reason, so my favorite pick here is easily Tectonic Reformation. If you can start chaining the lands into more lands, this combo is immediately reduced to ‘R: Each opponent loses 2 life’ and that is some big game.Trade Routes can do something similar. Decaying Time Loop is also glorious, because you can get a trigger from the retrace and a trigger from the lands you chuck. Land’s Edge is pretty hilarious, giving everyone the ability to Shock players, but only yours comes with bonus life loss for them. Molten Vortex and Seismic Assault do the same thing. Battle of Kaldheim too, but that needs you to attack the Battle for four damage, and I’m not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze there. 

Glint-Horn Buccaneer should see a bump, as we love playing effects that are redundant with Commanders. This also includes Hazoret the Fervent

I have to point out that this is a deck where Mind Over Matter plus some form of “tap: draw a card” means you’ll win, and if you want a backup, Trickster Mage does nearly the same thing.Trade Routes can do something similar. I also like Surly Badgersaur as an engine piece, giving you a Treasure every time you chuck a land. Waste Not and Bone Miser are likely includes in the deck, but if they somehow leave those out, buy them immediately.

All of the Grixis lands with cycling are likely good here too, but there are some awesome cards that ask you to discard cards as part of the cost. Favorites include Dreamscape Artist, Diplomatic Escort, Jaya Ballard, Psychic Frog, Skirge Familiar to add mana, Stronghold Biologist and Machinist to counter creature/noncreature spells, but my two all-stars would be Chamber of Manipulation and Overtaker, turning your land cards into creature-stealing effects for fun and profit.

Cliff (@WordOfCommander at Twitter and BlueSky) has been writing for MTGPrice since 2013, and is an eager Commander player, Draft enthusiast, and Cube fanatic. A high school science teacher by day, he’s also the co-host of the MTG Fast Finance podcast. If you’re ever at an event and you see a giant flashing ‘CUBE DRAFT’ sign, go over, say hi, and be ready to draft.