10 best Commander Masters cards in Magic: The Gathering’s latest set
Master of all.
The best cards from Commander Masters could be a list of all of the reprints in the main Magic: The Gathering set, but because it’s already pretty well-documented which cards are good and which are bad - and in a Masters set most of the cards are at least some degree of good - we’re going to be looking at just the new cards added in by the new, and uncomfortably pricey, Commander decks.
Best Commander Masters cards MTG
- Sliver Gravemother
- Composer of Spring
- Descendants’ Fury
- Rise of the Eldrazi
- Ghoulish Impetus
- Ugin’s Mastery
- Vronos, Masked Inquisitor
- Leori, Sparktouched Hunter
- Flayer of Loyalties
- Boon of the Spirit Realm
There are some incredibly intriguing brand-new cards in this set that add a little bit more to existing archetypes, or help some rather underloved ones change things up in one way or another. Sometimes that’s going to be a change to the traditional MTG mana colours. Other times, it’s just going to be a much-needed boost in power.
While the new Commander Masters cards are obviously built to mostly bolster the latest decks - namely an Eldrazi one, a Sliver one, a Planeswalker one and an Enchantment one - some will also make other decks, albeit ones that have similar themes for the most part, a lot better. It’s always exciting to get new cards built specifically for Commander, and this set is no different.
1. Sliver Gravemother
All for one, one for all
The Legend rule is the thing that stops you from copying your legendary creatures willy-nilly, because you can only have one in play at any given time. Because of this, cards that allow you to ignore this rule are quite powerful. Sliver Gravemother is a five-colour, five-mana 6/6 that allows you to ignore the Legend rule - and that means you can copy all sorts of silly effects as you will.
That’s especially powerful when you combine it with something like Maskwood Nexus, which makes all creatures you control, and creature cards you own that aren’t on the battlefield, all creature types. Then you add the ability to give every Silver card in your graveyard encore. Encore is an ability that creates a copy of a creature for each opponent you have. Then, that copy attacks them this turn if able before getting sacrificed.
Sliver Gravemother might be the ultimate “all-typal” Commander card now and, frankly, we’re here for it.
2. Composer of Spring
You’ll need more card draw
Composer of Spring is a two-mana Green 1/3 that reads: “Whenever an enchantment enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped. If you control six or more enchantments, instead you may put a creature or land card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped.”
We regularly talk about how powerful the ability to cast spells without spending mana on them is, but putting them into play directly is even more absurd. It means they can’t be countered - and if you also find a way to flicker your enchantments to ensure they can enter the battlefield without being cast at all, you suddenly have a way to put nearly everything in your deck into play with ease.
3. Descendants’ Fury
It never ends
Descendants’ Fury is a four-mana enchantment that has a lot of text. The long version is: “Whenever one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to a player, you may sacrifice one of them. If you do, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a creature card that shares a creature type with the sacrificed creature. Put that card onto the battlefield and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.”
The short version is that you get to hit people with things, sacrifice them if you want to and then replace them with the next creature that shares a type from your library. In decks that want to be sacrificing things - let’s say vampires, devils, demons, goblins and a lot of other Red creature types - this is going to be a huge boon.
That’s especially true because you can turn token creatures into normal cards too, making commanders like Edgar Markov, who spits out vampires at a machine gun-like rate, even more potent.
4. Rise of the Eldrazi
Attack of Titans
Twelve mana is a lot in most decks, but not for a colourless deck; a lot of things that generate colourless mana just do it more efficiently. That’s why Rise of the Eldrazi is a viable card. It also helps that it’s just a game-winner most of the time.
This sorcery spell can’t be countered, and allows you to destroy a single permanent of any kind, draw four cards and take an extra turn after this one. It mimics some of the abilities of Ulamog, Kozilek and Emrakul, as per the name. Given how strong all of those abilities are, it’s only natural that this’ll see a lot of play, even outside of purely colourless decks.
If you combine this with spells that copy other spells, you’ll be able to flatten a game with ease.
5. Ghoulish Impetus
An unstoppable hunger
This three-mana Black enchantment aura is a little more complicated than it might seem at first glance. It gives the enchanted creature +1/+1, goads them so they have to attack someone - someone that isn’t you if possible - and gives them deathtouch. Then, if the enchanted creature dies, you get to return this enchantment to the battlefield at the beginning of the next end step.
There are a few use cases for this card. You can use it as a pseudo-removal spell by enchanting a creature an opponent controls that they’d never normally attack with. You can spur on a little action in a game that’s come to something of a stalemate. Or you can just buff your own creature as you like for a little bit more power. It returning so easily means you can also switch what it’s doing up incredibly quickly. It’s just a very strong, and very interesting, card.
6. Ugin’s Mastery
Surprise!
Ugin’s Mastery is a cool card. It’s a four-mana enchantment that allows you to manifest the top card of your library whenever you cast a colourless creature spell. Manifesting a card puts it onto the battlefield as a 2/2 creature, and you can turn it face-up by paying its mana cost. The only downside of this is when you hit a land card you need, because you can’t pay its mana cost to flip it.
However, it also lets you turn a facedown card face-up when you attack with a total power of six or greater. Not only does that mean you can now turn creatures into lands, but you’ll also be able to save yourself a lot of mana.
We’ve not seen any additional cards for the morph, megamorph and manifest decks in Commander in absolutely ages, so not only is this card quite powerful, it’s also a nice shot in the arm for these archetypes.
7. Vronos, Masked Inquisitor
Crossbows are always cool
Vronos, Masked Inquisitor is a completely brand-new planeswalker for Commander Masters. Not just a new planeswalker card, but this dude has never been on a Magic: The Gathering card before in his life. This magical hunter not only looks like he’d be immensely fun to play as in D&D, he’s also something of a sleeper powerhouse.
This five-mana Blue planeswalker can phase out up to two other planeswalkers you control for a turn, making them undamageable. He can also return nonland permanents under your opponent's control, and turn an artifact you control into a 9/9 Construct with vigilance, indestructible and makes it unblockable.
It’s a very Swiss army knife list of abilities that should see Vronos fitting in nicely in a lot of Commander decks.
8. Leori, Sparktouched Hunter
An army of Chandras
This massive elemental cat is going to make your planeswalkers a lot more effective. This Blue, Red and White three-mana 3/3 has flying and vigilance, and when it deals combat damage to a player, you can choose a planeswalker type (basically a name like Chandra or Jace) and then any abilities you use that turn on those planeswalkers can be copied.
It just so happens that Blue, Red and White have a lot of good planeswalkers. In fact, with 19 Chandra cards, eight Gideon cards and 13 Jace cards, you could just build a deck out of those three planeswalkers alone. Then every time you name Chandra, for example, you could double up to 19 different abilities.
9. Flayer of Loyalties
A friend-killer
Flayer of Loyalties is a ten-mana 10/10 with annihilator 2, which means that whenever it attacks the defending player has to sacrifice two permanents. It also has trample - just for the sake of it, we assume. That’s not all, though.
When you cast it, you get to gain control of a creature in play and then turn it into a 10/10, give it trample, annihilator 2 and haste until the end of the turn. You basically get an extra copy of this card the turn that you cast it, and that trigger happens even if Flayer of Loyalties is countered.
10. Boon of the Spirit Realm
Power for all
Boon of the Spirit Realm is a five-mana White enchantment that gets counters whenever it or another enchantment enters the battlefield under your control. This is another “enters the battlefield” trigger, not a cast trigger - which means it works if you’re flickering your enchantments, too.
For each counter Boon of the Spirit Realm has, every creature you control gets +1/+1. These anthem effects that boost your creatures at all are nearly always good, but the ones that scale like this are truly stupendous. That’s especially true given how many wonderful enchantment creatures there are now as well.