New Capenna Commander - Out of the Box - 1/2
Welcome to the first of two articles where we take a look at the new precons from New Capenna Commander (NCC) and give some feedback on where to make changes while still staying in the boundaries of the Battlecruiser (BC) powerlevel on our Discord.
Most other media in regards to precons you can find is about upgrading the precon to be ‘as strong as they can be’, or ends up cutting 60% of the deck where calling it a ‘precon upgrade’ doesn’t really work anymore. The focus here will mostly be from the perspective of our own BC meta.
I’ll go over the face commanders, alternate new commanders, theme and card distribution, while also highlighting some of the new cards I expect will do well and stick around in BC in homebrew decks.
In the first article we’ll be taking a closer look at Bedecked Brokers (Perrie); Cabaretti Cacophony (Kitt Kanto) and Maestros Massacre (Anhelo) precons. Obscura Operation (Kamiz) and Riveteers Rampage (Henzie) will be in the second article which will release on Sunday May 1st - expect a link to that article here when it gets published!
Bedecked Brokers
What is the face commander trying to do:
Perrie, the Pulverizer allows for counters matter with a singular creature pump (that can self target, which isn’t always the case in MTG). This will make Perrie weirdly voltron-esque at times, pending boardstate.
Where previously Kathril, Aspect Warper very much deliberately allowed for big commander swings, Perrie feels more like a backline pumper for your board where due to pure happenstance Perrie himself becomes the threat.
Other subthemes in the deck:
Bedecked Brokers feels very focused on the +1/+1 counters theme and most cards in the deck will synergize well by either distributing new counter types or proliferating. Weirdly enough outside of Perrie there isn’t a whole lot of shield counter generation. Out of the box most cards compliment the theme and upgrading the deck doesn’t have to come with large changes. A big portion of the creature base has flying and it’s clear these are going to be key pieces for Perrie to target.
Thoughts on the new alternate commander(s):
Kros, Defense Contractor is a weirdly political card but to me lacks a real upside outside of goad. If not played mindfully, this commander will enable other players who deliberately tuned down their commander choice to not have Trample, like Tuya Bearclaw or Alana and Helena, Partners to have a way faster or easier game.
The shield counter is not a may ability, so if you’re left in a 1 v 1 situation and someone’s playing Voltron, you’re now giving said Voltron commander Trample and the goad won’t matter since there are no other players left.
I wouldn’t recommend people to swap Perrie for Kros straight out of the box, especially if they are somewhat inexperienced with the format.
Distribution and quality of overall cards (ramp, interaction, draw):
The deck has about 10 ramp cards divided among artifacts and creatures, though most creatures only colorfix for green, even though mana pips seem quite evenly distributed in the deck. It has opted out of land-fetching ramp which means the go-to precon reprints of Rampant Growth; Kodama’s Reach and Cultivate are missing.
Everflowing Chalice also won’t colorfix you - I get why it’s in a counters matter/proliferate deck, but I feel you may struggle to have the correct colors of mana available at times. Out of the box, only 4 ramp cards will truly colorfix you, and that is including Fellwar Stone which may not even be consistent depending on what your opponents are playing.
While there are draw pieces in the deck, most of those are one time effects like Brokers Charm and other draw opportunities will come at the cost of losing a potential necessary manarock like Midnight Clock or Commander’s Sphere. If you’re wanting to draw cards you’ll have to pay for it and it will not be as a result of combat or from casting creatures/having creatures enter, which we often see on cards in blue and green.
There is some instant speed interaction but all of the ‘in response’ options are 3 mana or more and several of them are 3 colored pips to cast. While I understand many people feel options are good - such as the Charm and Confluence cycle - I personally would have preferred stack interaction to be less color restricted, especially due to the colorfixing issues mentioned earlier.
New Card Highlights:
Skyboon Evangelist feels like a nice card for our own BC meta. A 5 mana ‘buff my board then my board gets flying until end of turn’ feels like a tuned down Akroma’s Will. Go wide and counters matter decks will likely include this as an overrun, especially if the deck lacks access to the go-to green cards like Overwhelming Stampede.
Resourceful Defense is similar to The Ozolith - the key difference here is it specifies ‘permanent’ where The Ozolith said ‘creatures’. Someone will make a Saga deck with this as a key piece and I can’t wait to see it mess around with lore counters and have this snowball effect of Saga after Saga getting sacrificed, putting the lore counters on another Saga and just triggering all final effects of your Sagas in one turn, to permanently dump the lore counters on a Scroll of the Masters... but before all that happens, Cosmic Intervention of course… I think I’ve sidetracked for long enough.
Contractual Safeguard will likely be quite strong in the right deck. If your deck is more focused on keyword counters or shield counters instead of +1/+1 counters, being able to give your entire board a keyword at instant speed can be quite efficient. Imagine swinging in with an 11/11 commander that doesn’t get blocked and at instant speed you put a double strike counter on them (Avenging Huntbonder is in the precon by the way).
Upgrades for BC:
The curve looks quite decent, where your turn 2 and 3 will be where you’ll play your cards most often. I would however look to cut some of the less impactful cards and make sure you actually have something to do in the earlier turns. Most three drops want to support a body already on the board but in the boxed precon those early game bodies tend to be ramp or proliferation pieces - it doesn’t make a lot of sense to start putting +1/+1 counters on creatures you’re never going to swing with.
A Good-Fortune Unicorn or Master Biomancer would go a long way here to ensure your mid game flying bodies come in with counters on them as they enter and Shalai, Voice of Plenty makes for a great protection piece and manasink on the turns you don’t have anything meaningful to cast from hand.
I’d take out the mono green colorfixers and one land and replace those with Birds of Paradise; Noble Hierarch and Faeburrow Elder to ensure you can fix your colors more consistently and have a potential turn one play. Out of the box your only choice is Sol Ring and this is not the case with some of the other precons which have access to Ponder; Preordain; Wayfarer’s Bauble and several other cards.
Bow of Nylea would grant you deathtouch on your Perrie-enabled Trample creature meaning you get to swing in for more damage, on top of being a +1/+1 counter enabler.
Vivien, Monster’s Advocate +1 ability feels like a nice counters choice here, because she bring three types of counters into the deck, giving you another solid amount of counters just like Crystalline Giant which is already in the deck. Her -2 ability can also bring out a lower mana value creature to the board, which helps in what the deck is naturally trying to do (low mana value bodies accompanied by a higher mana payoff).
I’m not 100% sure she’s a safe include because of the amount of proliferation present in the deck - she may be able to activate her -2 ability a few turns too many which makes the tutoring too consistent. If you’ve already made a lot of changes to the deck and sped it up somewhat, Vivien is likely too good to add.
Limits for BC:
Reconsider adding more ways to store counters like The Ozolith or counter doublers like Vorinclex, Monstrous Rider or Branching Evolution. The entire board shouldn’t have shield counters all the time and the current proliferation package in the boxed precon is already pushing the limit of what we’d allow homebrew decks to run. If you’re going to make more extensive upgrades I’d take out a proliferation card like Evolution Sage and a doubler like Vorel of the Hull Clade to keep your deck relatively in check with the boundaries we have in mind for the BC powerlevel.
Conclusion:
I don’t feel Bedecked Brokers needs a lot of changes to be more comfortable in BC, but how the deck plays will be quite hit or miss depending on how your early turns play out. A lot of the three mana cards wish to support something already on the field, so you will have to learn to keep an opening hand that actually does a ‘turn 2 body into turn 3 support card’ play or you may end up having no board presence for quite some time. Make sure you have the correct pips and ramp pieces in your opening hand or you’ll be stuck being a mono green player for quite some time.
Cabaretti Cacophony
What is the face commander trying to do:
Kitt Kanto, Mayhem Diva stands for go wide tokens and weaponizing those tokens into goad potential (when this card got previewed I just woke up and I swear I read her name as Kitty Katto so that’s just what her name will be to me forever now). Just like Kros, Defense Contractor your commander at the helm won’t provide you with an upside outside of the goad mechanic. Yes goad works, but she makes one token on ETB and has to rely on other pieces in the deck to function properly. Having more than one precon with goad means the next few weeks after release in the BC LFG are going to be quite weird.
Other subthemes in the deck:
Cabaretti Cacophony has solid token generation with a small splash of +1/1 counters. Most of the token generation comes at the cost of a big X spell but there are enough pieces that give you tokens each turn, either just by existing or by trying to capitalize on what your opponents are doing.
Thoughts on the new alternate commander(s):
Phabine, Boss’s Confidant feels quite clunky. Granting your tokens haste seems nice, but red has access to better haste enablers that haste out your entire board… her first ability just feels a little bit weird to me. It’s nice to see a new card with Parley, but I feel some keywords over +1/+1 would have made the card a little better - ‘then creatures you control get double strike until end of turn if a nonland card was revealed this way’ for example. The standard set gave us Jetmir, Nexus of Revels and Jinnie Fay, Jetmir’s Second and I feel both of those are a better option than Phabine. I’d play the deck out of the box with Kitt Kanto at the helm.
Distribution and quality of overall cards (ramp, interaction, draw):
The deck feels quite low on ramp compared to the other precons and could likely do with some more options. It does find basic lands here and there so it can colorfix in that regard.
While it comes with sufficient amounts of card draw, some of those are on weird corner case cards like Master of Ceremonies and Selvala, Explorer Returned which also provide cards for your opponents. This means that while you are trying to get ahead in hand size, you are also enabling your opponents.
Shamanic Revelation makes a lot of sense here, but will only draw you once your board is already quite established and you’re likely already ahead.
This precon comes with some nice instant speed response/removal and I feel it doesn’t need changes for our own BC meta. The average mana value of wanting to respond at instant speed here is good, especially compared to the other precons in this set. Path to Exile; Beast Within; Boros Charm and both Artifact and Aura Mutation - all of these are quite good for their casting cost.
New Card Highlights:
Bess, Soul Nourisher seems like an absolute powerhouse of a card and I can see this making splashes in several power levels. Go wide token players have had to rely on effects like Cathar’s Crusade before, and I feel the previously released Sigarda’s Summons fell just short of being an easy include in most token decks. The wails of many mono white players can be heard from a distance because Bess has that one green pip.
Seize the Spotlight - I’ve talked about this card in our SNC/NCC Top 10 article already - does so much for its mana cost, and especially in our BC environment where giving your opponent control of your biggest beatstick might mean you’re quite dead. Draw 3 cards and make 3 treasures will definitely be something we can see turn into a staple on the server, especially in the power levels where big trample commanders and hydras are a common strategy.
Scepter of Celebration is essentially Tana, the Bloodsower but on whatever creature you want. It’s wild to me to see this effect on an equipment and this is likely a new piece for voltron decks that want to have a relevant board outside of their commander. This can easily go in most ‘turn bodies sideways’ decks with access to green, even if you’re not focusing on a go wide strategy, to ensure you have blockers after combat.
Upgrades for BC:
I’d likely slot in Jetmir, Nexus of Revels as a 4 mana finisher and Rabble Rousing for another token generator and two extra ramp pieces of choice. I don’t feel this deck actually needs changes. When it got previewed it felt like the deck was put together by actual BC regulars that play on our server often.
Cards like Beastmaster’s Ascension; Orzhov Advokist; Sandwurm Convergence and Outpost Siege - a lot of these show up in homebrew decks in Battlecruiser already.
Limits for BC:
I think it goes without saying that adding a bunch of token doublers like Anointed Procession; Parallel Lives and Primal Vigor are likely going to be too fast for the BC power level we’re trying to curate on our Discord, especially in a deck that makes as many tokens as this one.
Seeing Scute Swarm; Felidar Retreat and Champion of Lambholt in the same precon makes me a little sad. It’s fine here, where you’re limited to one land per turn outside of the very few ‘land to the field’ cards present in the deck, but some people may see that synergy line and go “oh so that means that’s fine to slot in my landfall focussed deck because it was in a precon” without seeing the nuance of why it’s fine in this scenario. Don’t put this type of synergy in a homebrew BC deck that focuses on landfall/dropping out extra lands per turn, thanks.
Conclusion:
Cabaretti Cacophony feels like a solid deck out of the box and is definitely one of the stronger ones of the bunch. There’s enough board presence, draw and stack interaction, a little more than what we’re used to seeing in most precons. It really doesn’t feel like this deck needs changes to be on the stronger side of our own BC meta and if you’ve ever wanted to get into the power level, this deck is a solid choice that will stand the test of time well.
Maestros Massacre
What is the face commander trying to do:
Anhelo, the Painter opens up a new space in Grixis spellslinger with the casualty mechanic. He’s a once per turn sacrifice outlet in disguise with extra steps involved, which is good when speaking in terms of making a commander not too powerful. What will keep his mechanic in check for Battlecruiser - limiting Anhelo to once per turn - is likely also what hinders Anhelo from being a solid face commander when going up in power level.
Other subthemes in the deck:
Maestros Massacre is very all in on spellslinging. 21 sorceries and 10 instants makes for 1/3rd of the deck being non-permanents which is not something we see in precons often. Kalamax, the Stormsire comes to mind, but most of his non-permanent cards were instants where Anhelo mostly has access to sorceries instead.
It does feel like out of all precons I talked about so far, this is the most ‘pick apart and slot cards elsewhere’ of the bunch - it’s a little all over the place.
Thoughts on the new alternate commander(s):
Commanders in this case. Cormela, Glamour Thief (our spoiler card, thanks WOTC) seems like a solid swap if you want to speed up the deck a little bit, because your commander can function as a pseudo mana rock. I feel the deck as is jumps through way too many hoops to recur some creatures you lose to casualty, and sacrificing Cormela to return an instant or sorcery back to hand feels more impactful than Anhelo at the helm.
Parnesse, the Subtle Brush likely deserves her own dedicated ‘spell copy’ deck and outside of providing you and your board with essentially Ward: pay 4 life, doesn’t really synergize well with the deck as is. Outside of a few casualty cards and Twinning Staff, I don’t feel Parnesse is going to do a whole lot at the helm without a large deck overhaul.
Distribution and quality of overall cards (ramp, interaction, draw):
There’s enough colorfixing and ramp present here - it’s the actual speed of the deck I’m more worried about. 17 Cards of 5 mana or more is a lot. Most of those spells also don’t provide you with a direct benefit and take a turn or two to actually do something, or need bodies on the field for their casualty cost.
To combat this the deck comes with a ‘bigger than usual’ boardwipe package , and it’s certainly not lacking in the draw department. While the response package is alright, if there was ever a precon that could use a Negate or Countersquall, it’s this one - I do understand the out of the box design choice of not putting in too many counterspells in a deck that wants to make copies on the stack though.
New Card Highlights:
Extravagant Replication is able to copy any other nonland permanent you control which is quite strong. Most copy effects only copy one or two card types and seeing this effect is rare. Having more than one of the same thing in a singleton format like EDH will always have potential.
Make an Example feels like quite a fun half-wipe. What I like in the design here is that you, the person who cast Make an Example, don’t pick what goes into what pile, but you do choose the pile that gets blown up. As someone who often plays Fact or Fiction; Sphinx of Uthuun and Fortune’s Favor, getting another ‘make piles then choose’ card made me quite happy. It also works well with my favorite “why do you even run that” card - Flesh Allergy - which now has another potential friend outside of Vona’s Hunger and Fraying Omnipotence.
Cryptic Pursuit is the kind of weird card design I really enjoy. Where before Izzet spellslingers were simply making drake or elemental tokens, now they’re manifesting the top card of their library and getting access to those cards after a board wipe or with a sac outlet (hahem, Casualty) in their own private ‘second hand’ in exile if they’re instant or sorceries. This is such a niche corner case card and definitively ‘not for everyone and not for every deck’ and you know what? That’s good! The past few years we saw many staples printed into the EDH format and MTG as a whole, it’s nice to see “what… the hell is that?”-type cards every so often.
Upgrades for BC:
Anhelo jumps through hoops twice in his own precon. He’s limited to the first instant and sorcery you cast per turn and you need a body to sacrifice to make it happen. I mentioned precons having cards like Talrand, Sky Summoner too often in our SNC Predictions article and if there was ever a deck that should have that card, it’s this one.
Slot in Talrand, Sky Summoner; Murmuring Mystic or Young Pyromancer in favor of Bloodsoaked Champion and the phoenix cards so you have some ‘free’ bodies to sacrifice for casualty. Note how the Young Pyromancer Elemental tokens won’t suffice for Anhelo and is simply here to have a spellslinger payoff.
I’d swap over some big mana sorceries for instant speed removal like Pongify or Rapid Hybridization and include a Ral, Storm Conduit to start shooting down bodies and opponents more consistently.
Limits for BC:
Since you’re focussing on copying and casting spells, be mindful adding cards like Archmage Emeritus and Storm-Kiln Artist because they will likely provide too much free value when further upgrading the deck. It’s easy to go overboard and want to slot too many payoffs for casting your spells - not every spell and not every copy should come with several upsides every turn.
Conclusion:
While Anhelo comes with all the necessary pieces to make a spellslinger deck, I feel there’s too much of a disconnect between what the face commander is trying to do and the myriad of other mechanics present in the base precon. For a newer player this deck is going to be complicated. Casualty; Flashback; Scry; Mill; Retrace; Escape; Encore; Kicker; Raid; Spectacle; Delve; Imprint; Hideaway; Crew; Manifest and Cycling - it’s like they didn’t know what mechanics to highlight so they just decided on ‘all of them’. I wouldn’t give this deck to a brand new player who’s just figuring out how the game works.
As with most spellslinger decks, it functions in a zone where a lot of Battlecruiser decks struggle to operate, which is on the stack rather than on the battlefield. This will make it feel stronger than it is because the average deck in that power level will fail to meaningfully try to stop or hinder your plans. This can make the table wrongfully target you because they perceive your deck as ‘there is nothing we can do to stop you so you have to go’.
Don’t feel too bad if the table flips aggro on you because you seem hard to deal with, even though you may not actually be doing much to advance your own board. From virtual playtesting, the out of the box precon felt like it durdled a lot and often.
And that’s all for today! Sunday May 1st I’ll go over the Obscura Operation and Riveteers Rampage precons and I’ll end that article with some end thoughts about all precons in NCC in regards to previous big precon releases.
Make sure to check out our Streets of New Capenna Podcast!
A reminder that all of the regular preconstructed decks (Commander decks printed outside of specialty products like Secret Lair) are Battlecruiser by default on our Discord server and don’t require a deck check!
“This article is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.”
