As a part of MagicCon Amsterdam, Wizards of the Coast has laid out its total 2027 plan for Magic: The Gathering’s in-universe slate, together with three new units and 4 extra MagicCon occasions unfold all year long. Nestled amongst these bulletins, nevertheless, was one which made my ears perk up: Thriller Booster Commander.
Thriller Booster 1 and a couple of, for these unaware, are specially-curated units full of reprints which can be solely out there at MagicCon occasions and thru Conference-In-A-Field drops on the Secret Lair web site. In Thriller Booster 2’s case, a handful of playing cards from Magic: The Gathering Enviornment noticed their first-ever printings, whereas different reprints featured particular Future Sight frames.
Thriller Booster Commander appears to be like to proceed that custom, however with the ultra-popular informal format its major focus. The set will characteristic packs of 20 playing cards every, and can embrace a myriad of reprints from all through Magic’s historical past that may be drafted into on-the-fly Commander decks for fast video games.
In a Thriller Booster first, this Commander model will characteristic 59 all-new playing cards solely present in these packs, with the MagicCon panel previewing two of them. First, we noticed Joven and Chandler, a legendary creature card that mixes two recognizable faces from 1995’s Homelands set right into a single card.
Subsequent got here Tolabow, Loch Rascal, a cute litter otter in blue. Tolabow reveals off the brand new Rulebreaker mechanic, which permits a creature to interrupt one of many guidelines of the Commander format whether it is set as your commander; Tolabow, regardless of being mono blue, can have instants and sorcery spells of 1 further coloration not in its coloration id, and any primary land playing cards to pay for that second coloration’s playing cards.
With a lot unknown about Thriller Booster Commander exterior of this preliminary announcement, I instantly questioned what kind of reprints I might need to see in a Thriller Booster Commander set, whether or not it is as a result of they’re Commander format staples or they’re costly and will use a reprint. This is a fast listing of 5 concepts that first got here to thoughts.
The Fetch Lands
OK, that is dishonest as a result of it is ten playing cards in a single entry, however the extra reprints we will get of the ultra-powerful fetch land cycle, the higher. Bloodstained Mire, Arid Mesa, and the remaining every run round $10 a pop at minimum–and that is with the Particular Visitor reprints in Tarkir: Dragonstorm and their run in Trendy Horizons 3. Extra fetch lands, please.
The Historical Dragon cycle from Battle for Baldur’s Gate
Historical Copper Dragon headlines this group, however all 5 of them make an affect within the decks that characteristic them; ask anybody who has watched an Historical Brass Dragon revive a complete graveyard’s value of creatures. We have seen a number of reprints of Historical Copper Dragon in bonus sheets right here and there, however the majority of this cycle has been ignored. Time to repair that.
Extra playing cards with Background
This is able to match into the “59 new playing cards” part of the set, however I discover Background to be a really neat mechanic. Having something apart from a creature within the command zone all the time makes for attention-grabbing deck constructing prospects, and a handful of recent creatures with “Select a Background”, in addition to a number of new Backgrounds, can be enjoyable.
Mox Amber, Mox Opal, and Chrome Mox
These are a number of the strongest playing cards within the Commander format, however their rare reprintings have despatched the value of every of those playing cards into the stratosphere. Inserting them in Thriller Booster Commander can be a incredible option to make this product unmissable.
Imperial Seal
Everybody talks about Demonic Tutor being a incredible card, and it’s, however Imperial Seal does a bang-up job of discovering the one card you want at any second in trade for a small little bit of life. Imperial Seal hasn’t been reprinted since 2022, whereas each Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutor have been reprinted since then. It is time to give the Seal its due.
Now, do not suppose I am proposing that each thought I’ve shared right here go into the set; one or two gadgets from this listing can be unimaginable. Nonetheless, for Thriller Booster Commander to make the mark Wizards desires, it should need to pack some heaters. These would get the job accomplished.
