Deserted BeachDeserted Beach | art by Piotr Dura

Reality Fracture previews have recently concluded and there are a bunch of brand new legendary creatures to consider: 73 in the main set and thirteen from the Commander precon deck Multiverse Reforged. It takes time to digest and ponder all their possible uses.

I'm here to help with that! I've got over 30 years experience playing multiplayer Magic and 18 years playing and writing about EDH/Commander. I combed through both lists and leveraged my expertise to highlight new legends that stand head and shoulders above the rest in terms of power, fun, or both.

Okay, let's dive in, starting with the base set legends, followed by the legends from the precon, in no particular order.

Ingris StingerquillIngris Stingerquill

In Jace's Echoverse, Strixhaven's five Elder Dragons have been changed to Hexhaven's five Elder Sphinxes, and a few of them have made my list. Ingris StingerquillIngris Stingerquill is perfectly priced for players who love pushing aggressive strategies in Commander. For just three mana, Ingris comes down and starts dealing damage to each opponent, assuming you have a creature ready to attack.

Rakdos () has a bunch of similar cards that deal chip damage to each of your opponents, like Cavalcade of CalamityCavalcade of Calamity. Red has access to extra attack steps with cards like Full ThrottleFull Throttle, which will get that trigger multiple times a turn, and since Ingris gives that triggered ability to the attacking creatures themselves, some folks are going the infect route with cards like Skithiryx, the Blight DragonSkithiryx, the Blight Dragon. Ingris even has an activated ability if you have an extra four unused mana to make a token creature, and it gives haste to creatures you control.

Tyler Bucks did a cool budget build of Ingris you'll want to check out here.

Kwia VigorbloomKwia Vigorbloom

Kwia VigorbloomKwia Vigorbloom is incredibly powerful due to its ability to easily create Lotus tokens, which are basically token versions of Black LotusBlack Lotus, which is one of the most powerful Magic cards of all time. Create a Lotus token on the turn you play it and you've already got enough mana to pay the commander tax if something unfortunate happens to it. This makes Kwia frustrating to play against in lower power brackets, so make sure you save your Kwia deck for those higher power pods.

If you want to read more, be sure to check out my deck tech write-up.

Karn, Gilded GuardianKarn, Gilded Guardian

Karn, Gilded GuardianKarn, Gilded Guardian gives you a cool deckbuilding quest: stuff your deck full of colored artifacts, and if you've got some number on the battlefield when you cast Karn, you'll get to draw a handful of cards. Magic players love drawing cards!

Breya, Etherium ShaperBreya, Etherium Shaper covers four colors by itself, while Leyline of the GuildpactLeyline of the Guildpact will make sure any other artifact counts as five colors, and since this is an enters trigger, you can add in cards to blink Karn to keep the card drawing party going, like the classic Momentary BlinkMomentary Blink.

Uldaros TheorixUldaros Theorix

Here's another Elder Sphinx on the list, Uldaros TheorixUldaros Theorix turbo-charges all sorts of self-mill strategies, often letting you recast spells you used to fill your library to begin with.

Glimpse the UnthinkableGlimpse the Unthinkable and Brain FreezeBrain Freeze are powerful ways to fill your graveyard early and potentially set up a late, game-winning Brain FreezeBrain Freeze enabled by Uldaros. A cool way to reuse Uldaros's trigger is to play cheap clone spells, like Phantasmal ImagePhantasmal Image, that will be put into the graveyard to fetch up later.

Fblthp, Impossibly LostFblthp, Impossibly Lost

Speaking of self-mill, it seems to me that Fblthp, Impossibly LostFblthp, Impossibly Lost gives Commander another Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle, but this is one you could potentially run as your commander.

Fblthp isn't as strong because it doesn't have an enters trigger - you have to attack and deal combat damage - but that shouldn't be too difficult to pull off with enough creatures in the deck. What's particular fun here is the reprint of Case of the Lost WitnessCase of the Lost Witness in the upcoming Mystery Booster Commander set, a Rule 0 card that I can't imagine people wouldn't mind you playing in your Fblthp deck!

Vraska, Soul of StoneVraska, Soul of Stone

Having a non-Golgari Vraska feels super-weird, but Vraska, Soul of StoneVraska, Soul of Stone is a really neat build-around commander. Jeskai (W U R) offers up all sorts of artifact synergies you can tap into, so mix up a gumbo to your preferences and Vraska will tie it together for you.

Since Vraska is a Wizard, you can tap into Wizard's StaffWizard's Staff (which is a noncreature artifact) and Harmonic ProdigyHarmonic Prodigy to double up your triggers.

I'd also run Alibou, Ancient WitnessAlibou, Ancient Witness and Thousand-Year ElixirThousand-Year Elixir, which will give your Sculpture Treasure token creatures haste, so you can immediately cash them in for mana if you need to. If you cast Idol of OblivionIdol of Oblivion with Vraska on the battlefield, you'll get that Sculpture Treasure token and can then tap Idol to draw a card. Value!

Codie, Ravenous CodexCodie, Ravenous Codex

If you love the prepared mechanic, Codie, Ravenous CodexCodie, Ravenous Codex gives you a five-color commander that can tie all of them together in one deck.

Even though the prepared mechanic is relatively new and only used in two sets, there are some really good cards you'll be happy to use over and over again: Variable ChaserVariable Chaser, Emeritus of AbundanceEmeritus of Abundance, and particularly Emeritus of WoeEmeritus of Woe will appreciate Codie's activated ability to prepare all of your creatures. What's really exciting about Codie, however, is the potential for more prepared cards in future sets; I think the mechanic is very popular and beloved, so there's no doubt to me we'll see more of them that will slot right in your Codie deck.

Samut, Tyrant of NaktamunSamut, Tyrant of Naktamun

Combo players are going to be very excited about Samut, Tyrant of NaktamunSamut, Tyrant of Naktamun, and while I think it will mostly find its way into the 99 of other Commander decks, I imagine there will be some number of mono-blue spellslinger decks that will absolutely love having this as a build-around commander.

In particular it's nice that Samut will let you play your expensive, high-impact spells without worrying about them getting countered or something happening before they resolve; I'm thinking spells like Sea Gate RestorationSea Gate Restoration, Treasure CruiseTreasure Cruise, and Wisdom of AgesWisdom of Ages.

Okay, now we dip into the new legends from the Commander precon deck!

Dack Fayden, Helping HandDack Fayden, Helping Hand

The lengthy text box of Dack Fayden, Helping HandDack Fayden, Helping Hand is a wild and new effect for Commander that will no doubt excite deck brewers who enjoy the lower power brackets.

Due to the wording of Dack, you'll get any enters triggers for those creatures before you send them to your opponents, so you'll want most of your creatures to be like Beza, the Bounding SpringBeza, the Bounding Spring and Ori, Plate StackerOri, Plate Stacker. You can also have a bunch of blink effects, like FlickerwispFlickerwisp, both to reuse Dack's enters ability, but you could also get back creatures you've given away. I'm really looking forward to seeing what people cook up with the new Dack!

Nissa, Leyline TamerNissa, Leyline Tamer

So you're telling me Nissa, Leyline TamerNissa, Leyline Tamer costs a whopping seven mana to cast, has a powerful landfall trigger, and I can't utilize green? Color me intrigued! I imagine some people will build this deck where there are only one or two high-mana-cost game-changing creatures so they can ensure they'll always hit one of them with their landfall trigger. Me, I'm much more interested in just having a large number of high quality creatures in the deck and you'll randomly get one onto the battlefield for each landfall trigger. For the list I'm working on to build this myself it's basically mono-black, with a light Esper () splash, and just a hint of red to cast Nissa. Hit me up if you've got a really cool idea with Nissa!

Jace, Multiverse ArchitectJace, Multiverse Architect

If you're interested in building an "Oops, All Jaces" planeswalker deck for Commander, Jace, Multiverse ArchitectJace, Multiverse Architect is a good one to lead it, unlocking three other colors for support.

Since Jace's minus ability is a PolymorphPolymorph effect, you'll likely not want to play with low-impact creatures so each activation has a good hit. I'd pepper in planeswalkers like Elspeth, Sun's ChampionElspeth, Sun's Champion and The Theorist, Jace BelerenThe Theorist, Jace Beleren that can make token creatures to both protect your planeswalkers from attacks and can provide a body to sacrifice. Spark DoubleSpark Double is of course amazing in a deck full of planewalkers. My hunch is this deck won't be all that much fun to play against in lower power brackets, but it will certainly be potent!

Jhoira, Weatherlight CorsairJhoira, Weatherlight Corsair

I know some folks will look at the relatively high mana cost of Jhoira, Weatherlight CorsairJhoira, Weatherlight Corsair and pass it by, but the card's triggered ability is incredibly powerful: each time Jhoira enters or attacks, you're going to get a historic spell from the top of an opponent's deck. Every deck is going to have some number of historic spells; at a bare minimum you'll get mana rocks, like Sol RingSol Ring, which will help you cast Jhoira again if she gets put back in the command zone. What's particularly fun about cards like this is how different each game plays out since you'll be playing cards from your opponents' decks, and that will change game to game.

One thing I'd make sure to do with this deck is include a good number of ways to gain life, like Whip of ErebosWhip of Erebos and Gray Merchant of AsphodelGray Merchant of Asphodel, to help offset the life loss in case you reveal a really high mana historic card with Jhoira.

Niv-Mizzet, Ghost CounselNiv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel

So even dead, Niv-Mizzet is still overpowered, eh? Niv-Mizzet, Ghost CounselNiv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel turns life gain into card draw, which sound is an incredibly potent resource exchange in Commander. There are tons and tons and tons of life gain triggers you can fit into an Orzhov () shell, so you won't even have to rely on Niv-Mizzet's activated ability.

The Ur-SphinxThe Ur-Sphinx

Sphinx fans, rejoice! While there isn't (yet) as much support for a Sphinx deck built around The Ur-SphinxThe Ur-Sphinx as there is Dragon support for decks built around The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon, you can certainly dip into lower mana Shapeshifters with changeling to round out your lower mana curve.

GraveshifterGraveshifter and Omni-ChangelingOmni-Changeling offer some nice utility as a mana discount thanks to eminence, and Firdoch CoreFirdoch Core looks like a good mana rock for just two mana!

Venser, Fervent ForgerVenser, Fervent Forger

Much like Dack, Venser, Fervent ForgerVenser, Fervent Forger is another really cool design that looks to be incredibly fun to build around. Granted, six mana is a lot to hold up in case an opponent plays a really powerful spell you'd like to copy twice, but the design has a built-in failsafe where you can copy a powerful permanent on the battlefield during an opponent's end step, untap, and have them available for you on your turn. The fact that you could target a land for pseudo-mana acceleration is wild!

Don't leave home without Sundial of the InfiniteSundial of the Infinite: at the beginning of your end step, put the sacrifice trigger on the stack and simply end your turn, getting to keep your tokens!

Others of Note

I didn't want to sign off without mentioning Jiang Yanggu, AloneJiang Yanggu, Alone, the Echoverse version of Jiang Yanggu, Never AloneJiang Yanggu, Never Alone. I love that red Jiang is basically Magic's version of John Wick, who goes into berserk mode after his dog is killed. I expect card alterists are going to make some good money turning this picture into Keanu Reeves.

Lastly, I'd like to shout out Yargle, Goliath of OtariaYargle, Goliath of Otaria; that art is a wild rendering of Yargle's big booty as a 3/9, the inverse of the original Yargle's 9/3. I am slightly disappointed that this Yargle was not chock full of keywords, as an inverse of the original Yargle's vanilla text box, but that would probably require it be a higher rarity than uncommon.

Which new legends from Reality Fracture are you most excited to build new Commander decks around?

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