Our Top 10 Cards of Double Masters 2022
With all of the recent craziness with new products releasing left and right, we've decided to only do 5 cards each for our Double Masters (2X2) top 5. This feels adequate to us, since all of the cards are reprints and there are no new 'instant staples' or ‘cool tech’ to discuss.
We're aware that Cryptic Spires is technically a new card, but its main point of interest is its odd rules functionality. Hats off to Jess Dunks, the Game Rules Manager for Magic: The Gathering, for his split second clarification of how it works outside of the 2X2 draft environment.
Chief:
Imperial Seal
Let’s be real for a moment—there was no way that this set was going to live up to the hype for me if it didn’t include an Imperial Seal reprint. I’ve been predicting this reprint in 2X2 since the set was first announced. This was a reprint that needed to happen, because 23 years is more than long enough for a card to go without a widely available reprint. I’m hoping to see more of the Portal Three Kingdoms chase cards reprinted in future sets, hopefully sooner than later.
This card is a competitive staple. Yes, it’s a worse Vampiric Tutor that needs to be cast at sorcery speed, but it’s still 1 mana to tutor any card to the top of your library. It usually isn’t that hard to crack the top of your library to get that combo piece or whatever else. People also aren’t above tutoring for Mana Crypt on turn 1 even with the near omnipresent threat of Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer stealing their topdecks. I expect to see this card played a lot more often now and I’m very happy about it.
Aurelia, the Warleader
Aurelia is one of my favorite commanders and was one of my most wanted reprints. This card was starting to creep up there in value because of cards such as Helm of the Host and Sword of Hearth and Home allowing her to easily go infinite in a Boros equipment shell. Aurelia is also an ideal candidate for a high-powered draft environment, so she seemed like a shoe-in for this set.
I have to say that I was really hoping that Aurelia would receive a borderless treatment with new artwork in 2X2, but I’m not unhappy with the new etched variant. I’m optimistic that Aurelia will receive some cool new artwork down the line in a Secret Lair or some other premium product since she’s a popular commander, so Aurelia fans will just have to wait for that one. Hopefully, this reprint will have a noticeable impact on the current price of the card.
Warrior's Oath
This is another Portal Three Kingdoms reprint that I was ecstatic to see because it was really starting to creep up there in price. I honestly did not expect to see this card reprinted any time soon, but the red “all-in” extra turn spells are pretty solid in limited so I’m sure that this will be a highlight during many a 2X2 draft. I’m sure that Obeka, Brute Chronologist fans are also very excited to see this one.
I really enjoy the new flavor of this reprint. Referencing Kaldheim seems like the perfect way to bring back a card like this because of the boastful berserkers that call the plane home. This card was an unexpected surprise, even though I was hoping to see Capture of Jingzhou reprinted most after the aforementioned Imperial Seal. I guess there’s always next time.
Smothering Tithe
I honestly wasn’t feeling it for most of the mono-white reprints in 2X2. Sure, Teferi’s Protection is a nice card but it has already been reprinted a couple of times. Yes, Monastery Mentor is a multi-format powerhouse. I was hoping for something like Grand Abolisher or Recruiter of the Guard.
That said, Smothering Tithe was the perfect surprise that I absolutely did not see coming because it’s also one of the Judge Gift cards this year. The borderless art by Pete Venters is absolutely sinister and I look forward to adding that version to my mono-white Commander decks in the near future.
Conqueror's Flail
I’ve always felt like this card did not see enough play, but this honestly might be down to the fact that it was printed one time in a Commander 2016 precon and then we never saw it again. This is a great card for the multiplayer environment of Commander and it also fits really well into the three-color draft environment of 2X2.
If you have an equipment deck and you haven’t picked this card up yet, I’d recommend doing it without too much pause as this card is likely to creep back up over time if it doesn’t see regular reprints moving forward. The ability to prevent people from casting spells during your turn in Commander is not to be underestimated.
Exxaxl
Panharmonicon
I’m not excited because it ‘finally’ got reprinted - Panharmonicon saw a reprint in Time Spiral Remastered - I’m just happy to finally see a more ‘nature’ inspired version of it. The art on the original Panharmonicon is very Kaladesh plane heavy.
Mark Poole managed to create a version of the card that feels more like the instrument is carved out of the tree, and the trumpets at its base got added so everyone could enjoy their own song from a greater distance. The new borderless printing feels like it can fit in more decks without breaking the art theme as much as the previous versions did.
Consecrated Sphinx
Consecrated Sphinx is one of those cards I keep adding to decks as I initially build it, then potentially take it out later when I finish fleshing it out. The card feels somewhat winmore and it’s not unreasonable for the table to throw removal towards it because it will draw you 6 cards per turn rotation in a 4-player EDH pod if everyone takes a regular turn without drawing extra cards themselves. Much like with Panharmonicon, it had a super distinct art style leaning heavily into Mirrodin and New Phyrexia.
The borderless version by Mark Zug feels distinctly more natural and more ‘regular creature’ in appearance. The price of this card has been creeping up a lot since Commander became a more popular format - a trend you can see on most staple cards right after the Ikoria Commander precons got released - bumping it up from $20~ USD to $50~ USD in the span of two years. I hope the reprint in 2X2 will make this format staple a little more affordable for players who haven’t had a chance to buy one yet.
Shadowborn Apostle
An average Shadowborn Apostle deck runs about 20 of the same card - and those cards being $5 USD each quickly makes for a more expensive deck than you originally anticipated. Only printed once in Magic 2014 - where in the set its only legal target to find was Shadowborn Demon - this archetype found its way into the format via Athreos, God of Passage; Shirei, Shizo’s Caretaker and K’rrik, Son of Yawgmoth.
In 2X2 limited, it finds Master of Cruelties and Ob Nixilis, Unshackled; both of which aren’t bad targets to tutor for straight to the field. Being able to find 6 of them in the same limited environment is however going to be a very rare occasion. It’s clear this card got added for it’s desirability in constructed formats, more so than it’s use in 2X2 limited, much like the Thrumming Stone which hasn’t been printed in a ‘regular’ set since Coldsnap (2006).
Concordant Crossroads
One of the few World Enchantments that actually sees EDH play is back! A staple in green go-wide strategies to ensure you can swing in faster or enable your early green ramp such as Llanowar Elves and Fyndhorn Elves more quickly. Ashaya, Soul of the Wild; Titania, Protector of Argoth; Selvala, Explorer Returned - there are plenty of EDH decks that want this card.
It’s worth remembering World Enchantments count for every creature on the battlefield, meaning your opponents creatures also have haste, and you can only have one World Enchantment active at one table at the same time. Now all we need is a Storm World reprint so red players have an easier way to remove it. Double Masters 2023?
Sensei’s Divining Top
Neera, Wild Mage; Urza, Lord High Artificer and Elsha of the Infinite players rejoice - one of the most commonly run artifacts outside of mana rocks is here to manipulate your topdeck and draw cards once again! Sensei’s Divining Top, which was already a format staple, got even more popular after Kaldheim for Birgi storm lists and Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty for its combo potential with The Reality Chip. While it appeared in ‘The List’ for a while, that seemingly wasn’t impactful enough to drag the price down. In limited, being able to pay 1 generic mana and reorganize your top three is incredibly strong. Knowledge is power, so don’t sleep on this card pack one pick one.
There you have it, folks. While our top 10 has concluded, there are still plenty more exciting cards in Double Masters 2022. What ‘long forgotten’ Commander staple were you most happy to see reprinted in 2X2? Which cards have been on your list to bling out with new borderless full art treatment? We'd love to hear from you on Twitter!
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