Commander Cards You Missed from Thunder Junction
Horizon Forbidden West
Welcome back for another History, Restapled, a Commander-focused column that attempts to validate a newer card’s status as a staple by looking at how cards that are similar, synergistic, or competing have fared in the past financially.
Harvester of Misery
Flexibility reigns in Commander, and Harvester of Misery offers plenty of versatility alongside its power. The body and stat lines are decent enough: a beefier
If Harvester was simply in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, the card might hold a cheaper price for the long haul, but it appears as part of
Harvester of Misery has the adaptability of a chase Commander card and the cache of a rising multi-format player. For $3, the card is a gem, but grab one before its price achieves diamond level.
STATUS: Black reanimation staple-adjacent
| Harvester of Misery | ||
| Harvester of Misery (Extended Art) | ||
| Harvester of Misery (Showcase) |
Satoru, the Infiltrator
Some cards hit differently depending on the tools available for their extended abuse. In Standard, Satoru, the Infiltrator is not much of a player, owing to the lack of repeatable reanimation and blink engines or zero-mana creatures. Widen to Modern, and the story changes drastically—in fact, notable YouTuber and competitive player Aspiring Spike has been experimenting with a number of Modern Horizons 3-powered builds with Satoru at their center, and cards have been drawn en masse. In Commander, you’d be hard pressed not to abuse Satoru, the Infiltrator, even accidentally, as the card comes down quite early and doesn’t paint itself as an immediate target.
Now’s the time to grab Satoru. Its price is running around $3 and the entire Outlaws of Thunder Junction set, save a few top players, is on a downward trend. In these cases, the calculus often adjusts itself to elevate standout, previously overlooked cards settling into homes but mostly sailing under-the-radar. Satoru is most definitely one of those cards. In Modern alongside Evoke elementals like
STATUS: Incoming Dimir staple
| Satoru, the Infiltrator | ||
| Satoru, the Infiltrator (Showcase) |
Thunderclap Drake
The Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander decks were all pretty strong, but the value wasn’t quite there, especially for new cards. Most of the Commander decks’ top performers are reprints of staples like
Nestled between them, though, is Thunderclap Drake, an unassuming little blue body that offers a formidable toolbox of abilities at only two mana. It serves as a cost-reducer that can sac itself to copy a spell—numerous copies when done later in the game—when the time is right. Sadly, its ability targets the next spell you cast, so the cost reduction will not apply, but the option to copy anything, at all, is a huge upside to a
At $3, Thunderclap Drake is the most expensive new card in the Commander decks and most certainly a staple in any blue decks that casts instants or sorceries (if any exist…).
STATUS: Blue staple
| Thunderclap Drake | ||
| Thunderclap Drake (Extended Art) |
Horizon Zero Dawn
Turning to MH3 again…what are your feelings on the MDFCs? Is it even worth running lands at all anymore? So many of them are, strictly speaking, better than lands—
Further Reading:
Checking in with The Big Score
Steve Heisler
Steve Heisler is a writer and pop culture journalist covering comedy, games, television, film and the tech industry. His work has been published in Rolling Stone, GQ, Variety, The AV Club, Fast Company and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began collecting Magic cards during Fourth Edition and plays Commander and Modern primarily. He also enjoys tennis, the Dark Souls family of video games and supporting live comedy. He lives in Chicago with his cat, Rosie.