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Commander Legends
 
 
 

Commander Legends
CMR logo
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description a shield, with elements of the original Legends symbol and the legendary card frame.
Design Gavin Verhey (lead)
Shawn Main
Ethan Fleischer
Robert Schuster
Development Jules Robins (lead)
Art direction Dawn Murin
Release date November 20, 2020
Plane Various
Themes and mechanics Legendary
Keywords/​ability words Encore, partner, cascade, monarch
Set size 361 + 361
Expansion code CMR[2]
Development codename Chevron[3]
Commander series
Zendikar Rising
Commander Decks
Commander Legends Commander Legends
Commander Decks
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
Secret Lair Drop Series: Extra Life 2020 Commander Legends Commander Legends
Commander Decks
Not to be confused with Commander or Legends.
CMR Expansion symbol

Expansion symbol

CMR draft booster

CMR draft booster

Commander Legends is the first-ever Magic: The Gathering Commander set that is designed to be drafted. It is the Innovation product for 2020, and will be released on November 20, 2020.[1][4][5][6] Due to production delays, the release date of this set was pushed back from November 6 to November 20.[7][8]

Set details

“  Booster Draft meets Commander  ”

Commander Legends is larger than a normal set, with both oft-asked-for Commander reprints and new cards. There are 165 new cards, including 71 legendary creatures and planeswalkers.[9] The cards are legal in Eternal formats like Legacy, Vintage, and Commander. The set contains 361 regular cards (1 special) and includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards. There are no basic lands. The Commander deck cards are number #262-267. The set introduces "foil-etched" cards, which use a brand-new foiling process that looks different from previous foils and have a special card frame.[6] 32 popular legendary creatures reprints exclusively appear into this frame. Foil-etched cards appear in both Draft and Collector Boosters. Cards with alternate card frames have another collector number than the original version. Extended artwork cards are numbered #TBA-TBA, and foil-etched cards are numbered #TBA-TBA. Both regular and foil versions of these cards may be found in the Collector Boosters. The Buy-a-Box is #721 and the prerelease promo is #722.

The set is designed to play Limited Commander: you can play Draft or Sealed with it. It will also be available and draftable on Magic Online.

Drafting rules

Commander Legends draft uses three draft boosters per player. For every pick, players take two cards at a time. This is done for coherency of the decks and for speed. After the draft, players build a 60-card deck — much like how a traditional deck of Magic is 60 cards and a traditional draft is 40, here it's 60 to Commander's 100. All other Commander rules apply with one exception. You can play more than one copy of a card if you draft it: the Singleton rule does not apply. It doesn't happen very often with 3 packs and 20 cards given the set size, but duplicates are allowed.[10]

Storyline

The set features many known planes and characters as well as new ones. These cards can be from anywhere in space and time in the Multiverse: from Lorwyn to Alara, from the tales of the original Weatherlight Crew to present day.[6]

Marketing

Commander Legends is sold in 20-card booster packs, with, besides the regular rare or mythic rare, a foil and two legendary creatures in every single pack.[11] A 21st card is a Marketing card. The set is available in English, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. The cards will also be sold in 15-card Collector Boosters. Booster boxes contain 24 booster packs. The Draft Boosters feature Jeska key art; the Collector Boosters feature art from Prossh, Skyraider of Kher.

The set is not a fixed print run,[12] and thus will be printed on demand. Boosters are more expensive than normal booster products, but less expensive than Masters series product boosters. Booster boxes are being sold for around $125 US.

Events

Promotional cards

Tokens, markers and emblems

Commander Legends comes with at least ten tokens and markers. Token and markers appear in the marketing card slot.

  1. {W} 4/4 Angel creature with flying, for Seraphic Greatsword.
  2. {W} 1/1 Soldier creature, for Keeper of the Accord.
  3. {W} 1/1 Spirit creature with flying.
  4. {B} 0/1 Thrull creature, for Szat's Will and Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools.
  5. {B} 2/2 Zombie creature, for Null Caller.
  6. {R} 2/2 Dragon creature with flying and "{R}: This creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn."
  7. {G} 1/1 Elf Warrior creature.
  8. {C} 3/3 Golem artifact creature for Phyrexian Triniform.
  9. {C} Treasure, for Sailor of Means.
  10. {C} Equipment artifact named Boulder, with "Equipped creature has '{1}, {T}, Sacrifice Boulder: This creature deals 2 damage to any target.'" and equip {2}.
  11. The Monarch marker, for cards with monarch.

Themes and mechanics

The set of course features many legendary creatures and planeswalkers to use as commanders, some of which are uncommon. There is also one legendary creature (The Prismatic Piper) that is printed at the new "special" rarity, replacing a common in about 1 in 6 draft packs.[6]

In addition, Commander Legends has three returning non-evergreen mechanics and one new mechanic.[6]

  • Encore is the new mechanic, appearing only on nonlegendary creatures. You can pay a creature's encore cost and exile it from your graveyard to create a number of token copies of it equal to your number of opponents. Each of those tokens has haste, must attack either that player or a planeswalker they control, and is sacrificed during the end step.
  • Partner is the first returning mechanic, originally printed in Commander 2016. To facilitate deckbuilding, the set features 40 monocolor partners (and one colorless partner). A player may have two commanders if each of them has the partner keyword. The two partners together provide a 2-color color identity for the deck. The Prismatic Piper is intended to be used as a failsafe, providing an additional color for a deck when the player isn't able to draft the right commanders.
  • Monarch returns from Conspiracy: Take the Crown, to facilitate multiplayer play.[14] Only one player at a time can designated the monarch. At the beginning of the monarch's end step, they draw a card; and whenever someone deals combat damage to the monarch, they become the new monarch.
  • Cascade is the last returning mechanic, originally printed in Alara Reborn. When a spell with cascade is cast, its controller reveals cards from the top of their library until they reveal a nonland card that costs less: they may then cast it without paying its mana cost.

Commander Legends features the following limited archetypes:

  • {W}{U}: Flying
  • {U}{B}: Graveyard/Encore
  • {B}{R}:
  • {R}{G}:
  • {G}{W}:
  • {W}{B}: Tokens
  • {U}{R}: Pirate tribal
  • {B}{G}: Elf tribal
  • {R}{W}: Equipment/Auras
  • {G}{U}:

Cycles

Commander Legends has at least eleven cycles.

Cycle name {W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
Mythic partners Sakashima Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools Jeska, Thrice-Reborn Kamahl, Heart of Krosa
Five mythic rare legendary creatures or planeswalkers with partner.
Mythic sorceries Mnemonic Deluge Soulfire Eruption Terraforming
Five powerful mythic rare sorceries, each costing {6} and three mana of one color.
Rare partners Eligeth, Augur of the Crossroads Sengir, the Dark Baron Krark, the Thumbless Kodama of the East Tree
Five rare legendary creatures with partner.
Courts Court of Cunning Court of Plenty
Five rare enchantments. Each makes you the monarch when they enter the battlefield, and has a triggered ability on your upkeep that gets more powerful if you're the monarch.
Wills Sakashima's Will Szat's Will Jeska's Will Kamahl's Will
Five rare modal sorceries, each having two modes and letting you pick both if you control a commander.
Familiars Keleth, Sunmare Familiar Esior, ____’s Familiar Falthis, Shadowcat Familiar Kediss, ____’s Familiar Anara, Lupine Familiar
Five uncommon legendary creatures with partner. Each has an ability that affects commanders you control.[15]
Uncommon partners
Prava of the Steel Legion Brinelin, the Moon Kraken Tormod the Graverobber Alena, Kessig Trapper Halana, Kessig Ranger
Rebbec, Architect of Ascension Ghost of Ramirez DePietro Breeches? Ich-Tehik, Scrap Splicer
Glacian, Powerstone Engineer Numa, Joraga Chieftain
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator
Siani, Eye of the Storm
25 uncommon legendary creatures with partner, five for each color.
Diamonds Marble Diamond Sky Diamond Charcoal Diamond Fire Diamond Moss Diamond
Five common artifacts that each cost {2} to cast, enters the battlefield tapped, and produces one mana of the appropriate color when tapped. First printed in Mirage.
Cycle name {W}{B} {U}{R} {B}{G} {R}{W} {G}{U}
Crowd lands Vault of Champions Training Center Undergrowth Stadium Spectator Seating Rejuvenating Springs
Five rare dual lands that enter the battlefield tapped unless you have two or more opponents, completing a cycle started in Battlebond.

Double cycles

Cycle name {W}{U} {U}{B} {B}{R} {R}{G} {G}{W} {W}{B} {U}{R} {B}{G} {R}{W} {G}{U}
Gold rares Nymris, Oona's Trickster Blim, Comedic Genius Liesa, Shroud of Dusk Zara, Renegade Recruiter Bell Borca, Spectral Sergeant
Ten rare dual-colored legendary creatures.
Gold signposts Kangee, Guardian of the Heavens Aurami, River of the Dead Thalisse, Dignified Medium Captain Vargus Wrath Reyav, Master Blacksmith
Ten uncommon dual-colored legendary creatures, each a signpost for a draft archetype.
Uncommon pairs Rebbec, Architect of Ascension ({W}) Alena, Kessig Trapper ({R}) Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator ({U})
Glacian, Powerstone Engineer ({U}) Halana, Kessig Ranger ({G}) Breeches? ({R})
Ten pairs of two uncommon monocolored legendary creatures with partner. Each creature is linked to the other via mechanical and flavor identity.
Cycle name {G}{W}{U} {W}{U}{B} {U}{B}{R} {B}{R}{G} {R}{G}{W} {R}{W}{B} {G}{U}{R} {W}{B}{G} {U}{R}{W} {B}{G}{U}
Tricolor legends Amareth the Shimmering Obeka, Heartless Chronologist Yurlok of the Burning Gang Ghen, Weaver of the Arcane Averna, Blooming Chaos Gnostro, Voice of the Rocks Archelus, Lagoon Mystic
Ten rare tri-colored legendary creatures.

Preconstructed decks

Commander Legends also features two preconstructed Commander decks that are released as a regular part of a set's product line.[1] These are meant to be on-ramps to Commander, with a few new cards (three per deck) and the rest reprints. The new cards can't be found in Draft Boosters.

Theme
deck name
Color Identity Commander
{W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
Armed for Combat W R Wyleth, Soul of Steel
Harvest the Seas U G Aési, Tyrant of Gyre Strait

Changes in rarity

Rare to mythic rare

Common to uncommon

Uncommon to common

The following are all new to Pauper.

Notable cards

First time foil

Extended-art commons and uncommons

For the first time, a number of commons and uncommons in Collector Boosters, namely format staples, are given extended-art frames.

Foil-etched reprints

The following 32 legendary creature reprints are available in the new foil-etched treatment.[14] All are upshifted to mythic rare.

References

  1. a b c Gavin Verhey (October 30, 2019). "Big Things Are Coming for Commander in 2020". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. [1]
  3. Gavin Verhey (April 22, 2020). "Can you match these 12 Magic products correctly with the codename?". Twitter.
  4. Mark Rosewater (October 30, 2019). "Is it the "innovation product" for Magic in 2020?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  5. a b c d WPN (August 17, 2020). "Double Your Commander Legends Prerelease Promos". Wizards Play Network.
  6. a b c d e Gavin Verhey (August 22, 2020). "A Sneak Peek at Commander Legends". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. Wizards of the Coast (September 9, 2020). "Production Updates". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  8. a b Wizards of the Coast (October 2, 2020). "Commander Legends Global Release Date Moved to November 20, 2020". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  9. Gavin Verhey (August 22, 2020). "Immediately realized I wanted to share one more thing that's been a popular ask.". Twitter.
  10. Gavin Verhey (August 22, 2020). "When drafting, it's a big mental tax on an already complicated format to keep in mind the off-chance you might grab an illegal duplicate.". Twitter.
  11. Gavin Verhey (October 22, 2020). "To clarify: the 2 guaranteed legends do *not* replace your rare!". Twitter.
  12. Gavin Verhey (August 22, 2020). "Like Modern Horizons, Commander Legends is NOT a fixed print run!". Twitter.
  13. a b WPN (August 24, 2020). "Commander Legends: Common Questions & 1st Preview Cards". Wizards Play Network.
  14. a b c New Commander Legends spoilers from an eBay listing. Reddit.
  15. Gavin Verhey (October 16, 2020). "Six New Hints About Commander Legends!". Reddit.
  16. A Card You'll Find in Commander Legends (And Answering More Questions!) (Video). Good Morning Magic. YouTube (May 22, 2020).
  17. Gavin Verhey (August 22, 2020). "Prismatic Piper for Pauper Variant!". Twitter.
  18. Gavin Verhey (August 22, 2020). "The Prismatic Piper is a essentially a "basic" Commander.". Twitter.
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