Alongside all the different kinds of boosters released with Kaldheim, and continuing what was started with Zendikar Rising, there were two Commander decks released. The one I will be reviewing today is the Green/Black (Golgari) Elf Tribal deck.
For anyone who may be coming in as a Magic player but not as a Commander player, here’s a quick rules rundown:
- You start on 40 life as opposed to 20
- You have a 100 card singleton deck, with one/two legendary creatures designed as the “Commander” of the deck
- The deck must be in the colour identity of the commander (yes, this include hybrid cards, no using a Simic hybrid card in a green deck)
- You can cast the commander from the Command zone at any time, paying an n+2 mana cost on top of the card cost, where n is the number of times the commander has been cast this game
- Alternate win condition of “Commander Damage”: if a single commander creature deals 21 or more damage to a player over the course of a game, they are eliminated
With that out of the way, let’s dive right in.
Contents
I purchased this deck from the UK based online retailer Chaos Cards (not sponsored, just a fan), and it cost me £19.95. This sealed deck contains the following:
- One foil commander card
- One sealed 99 card deck
- Ten double-sided token cards
- One cardboard life wheel (which only goes up to 40 life)
- One cardboard deck box able to hold 100 sleeved cards
- And one Commander strategy insert
Outside of card value, which will be discussed later on, I think this price point is good for a product to accompany Standard legal sets. Since the decks themselves are not tied to the standard rotation and are instead themed after the set, this provides an avenue for low-medium value reprints to be included for players who may need them.
This price point is also great for players wanting to get into Commander to see how they feel about it. Whilst the ongoing pandemic makes meeting up in groups to play the game incredibly difficult, these being cheaper but less diverse than the annual Commander decks of previous years opens more accessibility to what can be a confusing format. They are almost like the Commander version of Challenger Decks (decks that are built to be standard playable out the box).
Included Commanders
The “face” Commander of this deck is a new card called Lathril, Blade of the Elves. Like a handful of Elf commander creatures before her, she is designed around getting as many Elves onto the field as possible and then using them to activate a powerful ability. Note that her last ability does not count for commander damage purposes. Menace is a good evasion ability to trigger her token generation, and green is not a colour in short supply of buffs or trample to ensure reliable usage of the ability.
However, if Lathril is not to a player’s taste, or if they wish to try something new, there are a couple of other legendary creatures to use instead.
One of these is the recently printed Abomination of Llanowar, from Commander Legends. AoL is one of my personal favourite new legendary cards within the last year, as it provides both an evasion and defensive ability with Menace and Vigilance respectively. Combine this with the fact that its power and toughness will continue to grow as Elves enter and Elves die (minus tokens), and you have a literal Elfball that could oneshot players.
Also included from Commander Legends are the Elf partner commanders, Miara, Thorn of the Glade and Numa, Joraga Chieftain. Miara synergises nicely with Elf token generation, and her ability being a “may” trigger lets players control how much damage they want to take in exchange for cards. Mana is unlikely to be an issue in an Elf deck, both for green ramp and mana dorks.
Numa herself is more focused around this aspect of an Elf deck, as her somewhat steep cost of {X}{X} can give needed buffs to other Elf creatures but will not see massive returns until later on in the game. That said, it can be quite easy to underestimate how much a single +1/+1 for two mana per combat phase can snowball, so keep that in mind as well.
Newly designed cards
Including Lathril there are eight new cards included in this deck, entirely separate from the new cards added in Kaldheim. I will be highlighting a few of the powerful ones and some of the ones I like.
Elderfang Venom is a great card for forcing difficult blocks on opponents using smaller creatures, especially tokens. Either way, an opponent is going to be losing some life out of the combat phase as they will either let the creatures through to their life, or they will be blocking some Elves, killing them off and triggering the second ability.
This lifegain synergises well with Pact of the Serpent, though the main reason I like this card is its potential for versatility. Obviously the intended purpose is sacrificing your life in exchange for cards as a reward for tribal devotion, but it can also qualify as anti-tribal tech, where you play it on another tribal opponent to deplete their life and potentially make them overdraw, forcing them to discard valuable cards.
With a commander focused on token generation, Wolverine Riders provide an incredibly reliable source of Elves to fuel other card’s effects and the generation being on each upkeep keeps a good supply of chump blockers around. Six mana can be quite a steep cost for some but in a deck with a good amount of mana dorks it should not be a major roadblock.
And finally, Bounty of Skemfar is a great alternative to a ramp tutor that integrates well with the tribal theme of the deck. Given the average land composition of a commander deck and the ratio of creature-to-noncreature cards in a tribal deck, it is unlikely that a player would fail to find on either front, and if they do… well, they have my sympathies
Theme booster cards
In a pleasant addition, three cards that would normally be exclusive to Theme and Set boosters are included in this deck, providing an easy avenue for players to acquire them in addition to other high value cards.
Elderfang Ritualist is a great uncommon inclusion, providing a decent power stat on a creature designed to die and allow for high value two-for-one trades. However, the other two cards are of note, especially when compared to other inclusions in the deck.
Canopy Tactician and Elven Ambush are both cards that definitely need to be included in a deck like this. The former is a very relevant anthem effect with an insane amount of ramp in comparison to its cost, and the latter can be used to create chump blockers in a pinch or instant-speed buff something like Abomination of Llanowar.
But then you compare them to Llanowar Tribe and Elvish Promenade, which are also included in this deck. Again, these cards both fit perfectly into a deck like this, especially seeing as Promenade is a high value reprint, but the power creep of recent years is exemplified when you compare them within the same deck, and seeing what cards do more in comparison to mana cost.
Reprints
As mentioned, Elvish Promenade is an incredibly welcome reprint in this deck, with a period of almost seven years having passed since it was last seen (Duel Deck Anthology), and having the reprint being in a widely-available sealed product helps the impact this reprint brings.
Potentially even more welcome is the first-ever reprint of Rhys, the Exiled. Originally printed in Morningtide over twelve years, Rhys is a massive inclusion in a product such as this as he both fits amazingly well within the theme of the deck, and he can potentially act as the commander too.
Arcane Signet and Sol Ring are about as staple to commander as banlist debates but considering both cards average around the $2-3 mark consistently, their inclusion is welcome for players who may need more copies and for players who can use them to make good trades.
And whilst it is nowhere close to being a valuable reprint due how recent its inclusion in Commander Legends was, I do like seeing Path of Ancestry appear. Up until recently it was quite a difficult card to get a hold of at a reasonable price, so seeing a sensible attitude taken to its inclusion in sealed products warms my tribal heart.
Lands
However, such praise cannot be shared for the rest of the land base in this deck. I’d go as far to say that Path of Ancestry is in contention for being the best land in the deck, alongside Command Tower.
29 out of 37 lands in this deck are basic Forest and Swamp cards. Path and Tower make up 2 of the remaining 8 nonbasic lands in this deck, and what do players get in the remaining six lands?
- A boring tapland (Foul Orchard)
- A boring tapland 2: Golgari Boogaloo (Golgari Guildgate)
- A boring tapland that gives one life (Jungle Hollow)
- A mono tapland found in the main Kaldheim set (Skemfar Elderhall)
- A less boring tapland that has nonetheless been reprinted enough (Golgari Rot Farm)
- And a tapland I personally like a lot but using the less good art (Myriad Landscape)
Whilst I understand that this is a budget product and the land base is not likely to have cards such as shock lands or filter lands, there are still some cards that would have fit perfectly in a deck such as this and either not break the budget, or provide another needed reprint:
- Unclaimed Territory is a great mana fixing card for tribal decks and trends around the $1-2 mark
- Darkbore Pathway/Slitherbore Pathway would be a great way to include the modal double-faced cards that Kaldheim places a lot of emphasis on
- Grim Backwoods is not a card in need of a reprint, however it would have brought great diversity and interest to a deck that has the potential to sacrifice Elf tokens for great gain
- And finally, Gilt-Leaf Palace is crying out for another reprint. Both Lorwyn and Mystery Booster versions are trending around the $10-11 mark so inclusion in this product would have brought a welcome price reduction
Verdict
Whilst the land base is lacking in many areas, it does not detract from the overall value this product provides. With a few high value reprints, well-designed (if power creepy) original cards, and space for more experienced players to upgrade to their desired specifications, this Kaldheim Commander deck is a fantastic purchase at or around the £20 price tag.
One final bit
This isn’t related to the review or anything, but as I was drafting this review out I wrote the contents section and filled it with a few silly throwaway jokes… problem is I find my own joke here too funny for my own good, so I feel a need to include it here now.
Also this time I used the “Gallery” block quite a bit to make sure all the cards looked good/lined up, as opposed to what I did for my pre-release article. Hopefully it is both clear and nicely laid out for everyone.
Rosalia Rambles 
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