More Conspiracy spoilers are dribbling out, and my theory regarding the composition of the legends in this set got a little more support (although I didn’t foresee the mono colored generals as well). Basically, my (updated) theory is that we’re going to see 20 legends in Conspiracy, 10 rare ones (allied and enemy color pairings) and 10 mythic ones (shards and mono color). 15 of the cards will be new, legacy-legal legendary creatures, while reprints of the Commander I enemy generals will take up five slots at rare. While we don’t have total confirmation on this yet, the way in which Conspiracy and Vintage Masters are related supports this theory; Vintage Masters is being used to pump some of these Conspiracy cards into circulation online, where this set will not be released, and Vintage Masters contains both Basandra, Battle Seraph and Edric, Spymaster of Trest.
This image worries me, as all these generals have now been spoiled, and no other new ones have. Yet. Please tell me this is not some fractured cycle or similar nonsense!
Although, at the end of the day my theory is basically “I can’t imagine them printing a multiplayer set and not including Edric, one of the most political legends out there.” I mean, they could do that, but why would they? And why have Basandra if not the full cycle? She’s not exactly the standout… although she’s not the worst, either.
I doubt any of the tags below will work until long after people have read this article, but in the meantime look at Worldknit. Isn’t it wonderful?
Also, fun note, it’s highly probable that all the conspiracy-typed cards have now been leaked. As the product information pointed out, there are 65 new cards in Conspiracy, but only 52 of them are Legacy legal. The final 13 are pretty obviously the conspiracy-typed cards, and 13 conspiracies have been released. The two rares, Backup Plan (draw two opening hands and keep the best one) and Worldknit (play your entire pool and get rewarded with perfect mana) are both really powerful, even if Worldknit looks significantly more interesting to play. There are eight “Hidden agenda” cards, half at uncommon and half at common. Of these spells, two are specific to instants and sorceries (Iterative Analysis and Double Stroke), four are specific to creatures (Secret Summoning, Immediate Action, Muzzio’s Preparations, and Secrets of Paradise), and the final two can be used to power up any type of spell (Brago’s Favor and Unexpected Potential).
But that’s enough of the numerical breakdown. Let’s talk some of these new, non-legendary cards, because I’d rather talk about the legends when they’re all released, and we can get a sense of them in context. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of fresh information to take in, and not just those super-sweet reprints that you can finally get in foil.
Can’t trust this!
Let’s start with the most busted card they’ve yet spoiled: Treasonous Ogre. This card interests me, because it has different roles in limited and constructed. In Commander, you’re probably going to play Treasonous Ogre for the ability to turn life into mana. This is a terrifying ability in a 40-life format. Sure, they had to bump up the life requirements so we’re not just presented with Channel part two, but this is still a potentially brutal card. I think the ideal use of this card is going to be powering up a Brightflame you know is going to resolve, but in reality it’s much more likely to be incrementally useful, ramping you into power fast, or just providing an extra mana or two here and there to keep your options open.
In limited, though, you play it for a different reason. A 2/3 with dethrone attacks as a 3/4 initially, so long as it’s pointed in the right direction, and the mana ability allows you to bleed off some excess life so that you’re never in the pole position. Because Dethrone is useless if you’re at the highest life total; your creatures will never trigger until you fall back down into the pack. But good news! Treasonous Ogre will help you do that. He’s “friendly” that way.
The Council’s Judgment is only as good as the republic you create.
Legacy players have been chatting about Council’s Judgment, otherwise known as “the card that’s going to bring True-Name Nemesis back down to earth.” Basically, it’s a non-targeted removal spell that will hit what you want it to hit in two-person games. It’s a heck of a lot more fun in multiplayer games, but when it comes to pure raw power, this card will deliver. What this means, of course, is that Legacy players will definitely trade for this card at a premium, particularly when it’s new, and it will probably be one of the more expensive rares in the set until it knocks True-Name Nemesis out of the meta. After that it will go all cyclical, as those types of cards do, so if all you care about is value, try to trade the card off before that happens. If you don’t, though, throw it into your EDH deck and have some fun. It looks rewarding that way. Of course, I have a theory that the Esper general is going to be some Council of something or other, since “will of the council” only seems to show up in those colors, just as dethrone is tied to Marchesa, the Black Rose, but we’ll see if that turns out to be true.
And they’re elves!
While they’ve only spoiled two of the cards in the cycle, so far, I strongly suspect that Academy Elite and Realm Seekers will be joined with brethren in black, white, and red, each with a relevant ability that lets them burn off +1/+1 counters in favor of an effect tied to their color identity. I could be wrong; blue and green have gotten counter manipulation as their overlap in both of the Ravnica blocks, and it might happen again. But with dethrone being a Grixis ability, it seems unlikely to me that the secondary color would be green if this was planned as an incomplete cycle, and if it is an incomplete cycle, why make the Academy Elite a looter? Of course, this could all end up being tied into the Bant general, but even that is a better cycle than just throwing these cards into Simic without an overarching theme to it all.
I’m just saying, this card would not be overpowered if you drew a card for three mana and a counter.
I mean, I believe in complete cycles in products like this. It would be unthinkable to me for them to only rewards players of certain color combinations with new design space for their Commander decks, and once you’re engaged with the pleasing symmetry, why not round out your other cycles as well?
Anyway, hopefully my theories regarding the legendary composition of this set will be settled by next week, so I can finish up my discussion of what this infusion of new potential generals will mean for EDH. In the meantime, keep your eyes open! These spoilers have been high quality all around, and I for one can’t wait for my first draft of this business.
Jess Stirba is so excited. And she just can’t hide it.