Commander Staples in Duskmourn

15 Oct
by Steve Heisler

Dance Macabre

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.

Hooray for Duskmourn: House of Horror! The new set brought a plethora of potential Commander staples to the format, which softens the blow of the recent bans a bit. Here are some great, cheap ones worth picking up.

Waltz of Rage

I can’t say enough good stuff about this card’s potential. Chandra's Ignition, it is not—let’s get that out of the way first. But as a board wipe with the potential to set you up next turn, Waltz of Rage brings something great to red for when you can’t quite find that cheap Blasphemous Act. The card is a bulk rare and well worth grabbing in case prices begin creeping up down the line.

Meanwhile, Chandra’s Ignition itself is quite cheap. It saw a reprint in Commander: Modern Horizons 3 so you can grab one for $2 to turn your mono-red Voltron deck into a stone cold killer; few cards can end a game on the spot quite like this one can. Between Ignition, Blasphemous Act, and Waltz of Rage, we have no more use for Chain Reaction.

STATUS: possible secondary red removal staple

Waltz of Rage
Waltz of Rage (Showcase)
Chandra's Ignition

Valgavoth's Onslaught

Manifest Dread, and Morph, for that matter, is a mechanic that plays out far better than it seems when considered in a vacuum or when goldfishing. In reality, the card selection can really throw opponents off their game by forcing a major recalibration of threat assessment, particularly when it comes to making blocking decisions. The fact that the mechanic also fills your graveyard is gravy. Valgavoth’s Onslaught not only grabs a bunch of cards off the top of your library, but also pumps them up, turning innocuous vanilla creatures into significant threats that need to be taken out. When your opponent casts Path to Exile on your flipped land, you’ll feel amazing.

Even in decks that don’t care about turning cards upside down, Valgavoth’s Onslaught makes for a great mana sink late in the game. Not bad for a bulk rare.

STATUS: sneaky green powerhouse

Valgavoth's Onslaught
Valgavoth's Onslaught (Showcase)

Leyline of Hope

The new cycle of Leylines in Duskmourn (and the reprint of Leyline of the Void) brings a lot of power to the format with little mana investment. Leyline of Mutation got a lot of attention, but I’m here to argue for Leyline of Hope as significantly underrated and underpriced.

I’ve said this before, but I think lifegain is significantly underrated in Commander—and it doesn’t take much to get going. A single turn-one Soul Warden the other day gained me no less than 50 life throughout the game and is largely responsible for my inevitable victory. And I wasn’t even running a lifegain deck!

Leyline of Hope expedites even incidental lifegain—it works in a lot of decks, especially if your commander has even the tiniest bit of lifegain—and carries an anthem attached that comes online faster due to its other ability. Cards that feed themselves become star players in certain archetypes, and Leyline of Hope has the makings of this very type of card

STATUS: white lifegain staple

Leyline of Hope
Leyline of Hope (Extended Art)

Dread Sower

What do you all think about Manifest Dread as a mechanic? How has it played out in games you’ve been part of? Let me know! I’m excited for the possibilities.

Further Reading:

Hidden Gems for Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls

Steve Heisler
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.


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