Reality Fracture: The Best New Cards for Commander

Reality Fracture released on October 2, alongside the five Foundations Commander decks and the Multiverse Reforged Commander deck. It’s packed with planeswalkers and alternate versions of familiar faces, and several of its cards look set to become Commander regulars. Here are the ones we’d pick up first.

The headliners

The Theorist, Jace Beleren

Four mana, and the moment it lands you draw an extra card at the beginning of each opponent’s draw step. In a four-player game that’s three extra cards per round before you even use a loyalty ability. The +1 makes a blocker, the −2 bounces an artifact or creature from each opponent, and the ultimate can end games. Any blue deck that can protect a planeswalker should consider it.

Karn, Argent Defender

A two-mana artifact creature that stops artifacts and creatures entering the battlefield from triggering abilities. That shuts off a huge number of Commander engines: enters-the-battlefield value, token payoffs and plenty of combos. It affects you too, so build around it carefully, but as a hate piece it’s cheap and colorless.

Samut, Tyrant of Naktamun

Two mana: your instants and sorceries have split second. Your board wipes, tutors and combo pieces can no longer be countered or responded to. Expect it in high-power spellslinger decks.

Best by color

White. Flickering Hound flickers one of your other creatures every time you cast a creature spell, a strong engine in any deck full of enters-the-battlefield effects. Liliana the Faultless gains you life whenever a creature or planeswalker enters and can give hexproof to protect your key pieces. Germinate Recruits turns a big lifegain turn into an army at instant speed.

Blue. Variable Chaser is a three-mana flier that enters prepared, so later you can cast a copy of its spell side: a Wheel of Fortune-style refill for every player. Great in wheel and draw-punisher decks.

Black. Lich’s Relic costs one mana, and if you pay two more as it enters, you destroy up to one creature or planeswalker per opponent. One-sided removal across the whole table, stapled to an Equipment, is a steal.

Red. Draconic Visitor turns every artifact token you would create into a 5/5 flying Dragon. Treasure, Clue and Food decks just became Dragon decks. Samut, Hazoret’s Champion gives all your creatures haste for two mana, and Craterclaw Colossus is a hasty finisher that gives your whole team trample and a big power boost in artifact decks.

Green. Hexhaven Invigorator costs {G}{G}{G}{G} and fetches lands whenever it’s dealt damage, which pairs well with fight spells. Simulacrum Shaper is a green take on Solemn Simulacrum, and Gardenize turns your creatures dying into a growing mana engine.

New commanders worth building

• Kwia Vigorbloom (Selesnya): a 6/6 flier with lifelink and ward that makes a Lotus token each turn you gain life. Big mana for big Selesnya spells.
• Ingris Stingerquill (Rakdos): every attacking creature pings each opponent, and spare mana makes more attackers. A natural go-wide aggro commander.
• Aerid Konstrari (Gruul): a flying ramp commander that makes Heartwood mana artifacts and hits harder the more artifacts you control.
• Jace, Multiverse Architect and Nissa, Leyline Tamer: the faces of the four-color Multiverse Reforged deck, if you want a ready-made start.

Honorable mentions

Emrakul, the Exigent Doom can be exiled from your hand early to turn a land into a ramp source, then cast later. Ajani Unrelenting makes a token every time you activate a loyalty ability, and Gideon’s Memorial is a cheap token anthem and mana source for planeswalker decks.

Which Reality Fracture card are you adding first? Prices on new sets often drop in the first weeks, so if a card isn’t essential to your deck, it can pay to wait a little before buying singles.