Maular, the Next EvolutionMaular, the Next Evolution | Art by Jesper Ejsing

Breakin' the rules, breakin' the rules. We are breakin' the rules, breakin' the rules. Yes, the time has come for another article where we discuss breaking the rules in Commander.

However, this one is a bit different. Featured within the surprise set release of Mystery Booster Commander Edition are eight cards with the brand new text rulebreaker. All eight of these commanders allow you to play the game in a slightly different way; whether it's your deck size, types of creatures allowed, or even the lands that make up the deck.

I decided to look at what it would be like to build around a two-headed Dinosaur Mutant that goes by the name of Maular, the Next EvolutionMaular, the Next Evolution.

What rules do I get to break with this double-dino? I get to run essentially any big creature that I want. Yes, a creature with mana value seven or more is allowed in my deck regardless of color, and as a nice bonus, I can play any color of basic land I want. This dino also happens to be a 10/10 that doubles the power and toughness of any creature with mana value seven or more when you attack.

So what does a mono-green deck with access to creatures of all five colors look like? Come with me into this brand new version of Jurassic Park.

Five-Color Fixing

The first thing we need to look at is how we are casting any of these creatures, regardless of color. Thankfully, we are in green, so finding basics, even if they aren't Forest, is simple enough.
We are running the full gamut of spells that search our library for basic lands.

Playing classic green ramp spells all up and down the curve makes sure that we're able to get the mana we need to cast creatures with some ridiculous mana costs. I have also added some more off-the-wall options to the list. One of my all-time favorite ramp spells is Far WanderingsFar Wanderings. Is it bad value if we don't have threshold? Big time. But when we do have threshold, getting three basics for is value that can't be beaten.

Traverse the OutlandsTraverse the Outlands grabbing seven or maybe ten basics can turn a game in your favor quickly. What about when it grabs twenty? And possibly for the first time in the history of the game, FarseekFarseek can be run with full effectiveness in a mono-green deck.

There is also one other trick on-hand for fixing our mana: turning all of our lands into rainbow lands.

I didn't put every single one of these cards into the deck, but I decided that these two are the ones worth running. Prismatic OmenPrismatic Omen being on an enchantment can dodge some common removal, and Chromatic LanternChromatic Lantern tapping for mana is invaluable. While I'm happy that these cards let me cast all my spells, what I found the most fun about these cards is the unexpected synergy with another rulebreaker: Grizzlegom, Hurloon HeroGrizzlegom, Hurloon Hero.

A card that is good in the deck even if I was only getting a few triggers of all the non-Forest effects gets even better when each land comes with every land type.

Cheating

The best decks in Commander cheat. This is just a fact. When I say cheat, I'm not talking about sneaking cards into your deck or mana weaving. What I mean is that they use ways of subverting things like mana cost on their cards to gain advantage during the game. This deck plans to do the same thing. With a deck that contains thirty cards with mana value seven or more, casting things at face value is not the plan.

Leading off our slew of enchantments is the seldom-seen Oath of DruidsOath of Druids. Fun for the entire table since all players can trigger it, but more fun for us when it brings down the likes of Worldspine WurmWorldspine Wurm on the battlefield.

Defense of the HeartDefense of the Heart was everywhere when I started playing Commander, and I felt there was no better place to bring it back than this list. While I might not have a two-card win-the-game combination of creatures to fetch off the Defense, grabbing a Ghalta, Stampede TyrantGhalta, Stampede Tyrant to dump my hand paired with a Surrak and GoreclawSurrak and Goreclaw to haste them up might be enough.

Last up is Lurking PredatorsLurking Predators. A severely underrated card that might not always hit, but with the ability to trigger multiple times a turn, it will eventually find something.

Enchantments are not the only ways we can cheat, either. Artifacts, creatures, and even instants get in on the action, too.

Big, Mean, and Green

What is the payoff for all this mana-gathering and creature-cheating? Let's start with the green creatures, because at the heart of this deck beats .

A known menace in both Cascade decks and in big creature decks is Apex DevastatorApex Devastator. Thankfully, this behemoth is ten mana, and with four different hits, something good should come on the other side. Sadly, this creature doesn't come with any evasion or combat keywords, but we have a plan to fix all that.

One part of that plan is the Siege BehemothSiege Behemoth. Who needs trample when all of your creatures can decide they're unblocked in combat? Chump blocking becomes a thing of the past, and thankfully this big boy brings along hexproof to keep it around.

Our opponents are going to do everything in their power to get our creatures off the board. Trying to do so in combat without packing a Settle the WreckageSettle the Wreckage will end poorly for them thanks to the Stonehoof ChieftainStonehoof Chieftain. Indestructible and trample allow us to run over anything and everything in our path.

The last mono-green creature that you might not be familiar with is Treeshaker ChimeraTreeshaker Chimera. While this creature might be the one who bites the dust, that's okay, since we get to draw three cards out of it. Having a LureLure effect to move everything out of the way sometimes does a better job than giving our creatures other keywords, especially after they get a power-up from Maular.

Colorful Creatures

Now we get to the key piece of the deck. The reason we are breaking the rules — the colorful creatures of seven mana value or more. I originally tried to fit a creature of every color combination in the game into this deck with the correct requirement. Sadly, some color combinations, such as Izzet, were just not up to snuff, and others — three of the four color combinations — had literally no options.

So instead, I tried to diversify the color spread, but when it came down to it I went for evasion, high power, and the ones I liked the most. For evasion, I went with the following.

Evasion

When you talk about evasion, you can't get much better than protection from everything with ProgenitusProgenitus. No blocking, no targeted removal of any kind, no way to stop it. Swinging this card for ten is already going to be a challenge for the receiver, but try swinging for twenty, or even for forty with the help of Zopandrel, Hunger DominusZopandrel, Hunger Dominus. Yikes.

Sphinx of the Steel WindSphinx of the Steel Wind might not have the greatest of protection colors in red and green, but dodging cards like Chaos WarpChaos Warp and Beast WithinBeast Within is nothing to scoff at. The keyword soup this card comes with is a great addition to an evasive threat.

Koma, World-EaterKoma, World-Eater may hilariously look out of place on this list. But when you have the potential to attack for sixteen power with trample, and you get to leave behind four 3/3 Koma's Coils, you could do a lot worse with creature selection.

High Power

When you think big creature, if your mind doesn't go to eldritch space horrors, then it most likely goes to Dinosaurs. What better Dinosaur for the deck than the Elder Dinosaur Zacama, Primal CalamityZacama, Primal Calamity. Zacama provides some needed removal in the deck with artifact and enchantment removal and a hilarious enter-the-battlefield ability of untapping our lands. In a deck that wants to cast large creatures often, getting a second go with all our mana is sweet.

When you think Dinosaurs, the perfect creature pairing is without a doubt Vampires. The bond between these two is a tale as old as time, and Ghalta and MavrenGhalta and Mavren bring not only themselves but either another big Dino or a lot of little Vampires along with them.

Maybe a bit of a cheat here since the creature is colorless, but Summon: BahamutSummon: Bahamut does a good deal of flying damage in this deck. If the game ever goes far enough to get to the fourth stage of this Saga, the amount of damage put up by the Mega Flare ability might trend toward video game numbers.

My Favorites

Not every high-mana-value creature comes with high power or combat keywords. But trust when I say these are worth having in the list.

The first favorite is Empyrial ArchangelEmpyrial Archangel, a very strange Angel that does everything in its power not to let you die. While it might not stick around for long, even with eight toughness, one turn might be all you need.

GodsireGodsire, what is there to say about this creature? Vigilance, an 8/8 stat line, and the ability to make an 8/8 Beast token is what dreams are made of when it comes to Naya creatures. Just one of the coolest creatures out there with one of the coolest tokens ever made.

A new favorite of mine and an underrated powerhouse in the deck is Storvald, Frost Giant JarlStorvald, Frost Giant Jarl. I love that my other creatures get a little harder to remove thanks to ward , but what I truly love is the ETB/attack trigger. You might think that I would pick the target creature gets base power and toughness 7/7, but you would be wrong. Instead, I'm trying to turn an opponent's creature or creatures into a 1/1 before combat.

Wrap Up

I understand that the rulebreaker cards are not for everyone, and I will be the first to tell you that of the small list of them, I'm not the biggest fan of them all. Looking at you, The EverforgerThe Everforger. With that being said, some of them, like Maular, the Next EvolutionMaular, the Next Evolution, do make me smile at the slight deck-building breaking of the rules.

Getting to run all the biggest Timmy, Power GamerTimmy, Power Gamer type creatures that you could ever want to run is, in its own way, what the game is all about. While it might not be for everyone, I do think that the eight rulebreaker cards are less offensive to the game as a whole than some other things printed.

All that being said, what do you think of Mystery Booster Commander Edition? Are you going to build any of the rulebreaker commanders? What is your favorite deep cut from the set (there are so many)? Let me know over on Bluesky and Instagram. Try not to break any rules out there, but if you do, make sure you have the right commander.

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