Tariel, Reckoner of SoulsTariel, Reckoner of Souls | Art by Wayne Reynolds 

A Different Precon Perspective

Hello, and welcome to a special article surrounding precons! This week, we're looking at (some of) the most underrated backup commanders we find in precons. Too often, these cards get overshadowed by the main option in a given precon. That said, there have been a few that surpassed their respective face commanders (Shorikai, Genesis EngineShorikai, Genesis Engine comes to mind. Ever heard of Kotori, Pilot ProdigyKotori, Pilot Prodigy? I didn't think so). What I'll do is go through each year precons have been released, and pick the most underrated backup commanders from that year. Since there are so many out there, I figured this would be the best way to write this up.

Anyway, without further ado, let's get into it.

Year One: The Original Precons

This is a commander that has a special place in my heart. Tariel, Reckoner of SoulsTariel, Reckoner of Souls was my flagship commander deck for a time. My advice for building her deck is to run cards that snipe specific cards from graveyards rather than every card. That way, we can get the commander we want from Tariel's ability. Seven mana is a lot to pay, but who cares? Have fun!

Year Two: Commander 2013

At the time, I used this card as the de facto commander for Tokens, but a deeper dive reveals a more political game plan. The Cabaretti Cacophony from 2022 precisely highlights the true nature of a deck using this commander. In addition, goad is a very good mechanic to be using here, and the buff given by Gahiji, Honored OneGahiji, Honored One will add up very quickly.

Year Three: Commander 2014

A commander that's often relegated to the 99 of go-wide decks, Jazal GoldmaneJazal Goldmane will have a tough time activating his ability repeatedly. Not far ahead is Stitcher GeralfStitcher Geralf, who's just as underrated because the token created is dictated by what we mill from his ability. Both of these commanders are best in the 99 these days, but Jazal is more likely to close out games.

Year Four: Commander 2015

I remember when I had my Kalemne, Disciple of IroasKalemne, Disciple of Iroas deck long ago. I had a primer for it, and it was even featured in an article back then. That said, I never included Anya, Merciless AngelAnya, Merciless Angel.

The problem with her is that we need to get everyone below half of 40 life before she becomes effective. Worse still, she sits at five mana for a 3/3 flier. Anya's right at home in a Burn deck, but is she even feasible there? At time of writing, 279 people seem to think so.

Year Five: Commander 2016

Now, I know what you're thinking. The partner commanders are absolutely not underrated. Then again, they're also the backup commanders from the precons this year. So, we'll just pick the most underrated one, and move on.

That commander so happens to be Ludevic, Necro-AlchemistLudevic, Necro-Alchemist. He contributes nothing to a given game plan, and it will be the player whose turn it is who will draw the card at end step. Not just our turn. It'll be our opponents, too.

Year Six: Commander 2017

I find it kinda sad that this commander is underrated because he tried to do something that wasn't the same boring Voltron strategy. Nazahn, Revered BladesmithNazahn, Revered Bladesmith married Equipment with going wide. That being said, he does cost six mana, but being in green certainly helps his chances of being cast each game. A large army of equipped creatures can tap down enough blockers to ensure a lethal attack, if not massive damage.

Year Seven: Commander 2018

I would've had this section be a rant as to why Kestia, the CultivatorKestia, the Cultivator is so underrated, but nearly 1.2k decks exist on EDHREC (again, at time of writing), so I'm just going to be grateful for that.

Anyway, it's always nice to copy an ability, even if it has to come from an artifact source. Even with multiple untap abilities, we're still having to contend with paying two colored mana each time. Not to mention Tawnos, Urza's ApprenticeTawnos, Urza's Apprentice faces incredible competition amongst other commanders for Artifacts.

Year Eight: Commander 2019

I will give Zack Stella credit: That's some breathtaking art. Wallpaper worthy, even. The card? Not so much. Most of the free sacrifice outlets are in black, so we have to rely on artifacts. We'll even want to include cards that sacrifice themselves, exemplified by a complicated deck named Eggs.

Year Nine: 2020

It's quite clear why Akim, the Soaring WindAkim, the Soaring Wind is so underrated. Five mana to cast, one token made during each turn, and then six mana to give just the tokens double strike for the turn. There's a lot about this card that'll turn people away after some deep reading. We even get better Token commanders in these colors a few years later with March of the Machines, so that's saying something.

Year Ten: 2021

As this year is the first where we have multiple precon releases with so many backup commanders, I'm going to pick just one for the year. For 2021, we're going with Timothar, Baron of BatsTimothar, Baron of Bats. He's got a ward cost that can only be laughed off with a massive hand, a solid 4/4 statline, and the ability to protect key (nontoken) Vampires with ease. The main catch is that Timothar costs six mana to cast.

Year Eleven: 2022

Whew! I didn't even realize how much of a banger 2022 was for commander options. Even our most underrated commander options eked out over a thousand decks each. Tawnos almost clinched a second year in the form of Tawnos, Solemn SurvivorTawnos, Solemn Survivor (to be fair, this one was a lot more interesting), but there's another commander that got barely under him.

Phabine, Boss's ConfidantPhabine, Boss's Confidant does give our creature tokens haste, but there's a few things that really set her back. One, she costs six mana to cast. For that amount, we need something substantial, but Phabine doesn't really deliver because of the second reason. That being the parley ability won't always go how we need it to. Chances are, we'll always have a mix of both new tokens and a buff. Sure, we can rig the top card of our deck, but that's about all we can do.

Year Twelve: 2023

On the other hand, holy Urza did we have a lot of underwhelming commanders this year. A paragraph for each, then.

First up is Moira and TesharMoira and Teshar seemed like they'd be a great Reanimator deck, right? Well, considering that the nonland permanent we bring back will be uber-exiled once it goes away, that's not really helping our cause. That's also saying nothing about the five mana casting cost in a color not named green.

Next, we have a host of Simic commanders from the notorious Elven Council precon, but Elrond of the White CouncilElrond of the White Council ironically takes the cake here. Five mana for a wall of text that makes The Walls of Ba Sing SeThe Walls of Ba Sing Se look like a stepladder complicates Elrond's ability more than necessary. And, for what we're getting, there's better options out there.

Lastly, we have Kate StewartKate Stewart, whose underrated-ness is more related to the scant amount of cards with time counters than anything else. Oh, and eight mana for what might feel like a minimal buff doesn't help, either.

Year Thirteen: 2024

Compared to last year, there are only two commanders I'd call underrated. The first is Feather, Radiant ArbiterFeather, Radiant Arbiter, which will get mana hungry fast. Paying two mana for each creature adds up, perhaps to the point of not targeting all of our creatures. But, hey, Zada, Hedron GrinderZada, Hedron Grinder gets a second color, right?

Anyway, at the end of 2024 came Kianne, Corrupted MemoryKianne, Corrupted Memory, who's right at home with players who have math for brains. We'll need to keep readjusting Kianne's stats to ensure that we can cast our stuff at instant speed. Basically, Simic doing Simic things, but only more complex.

Year Fourteen: 2025

Last year, we saw a noticeable decrease in the number of precons each year. Even so, there's a couple that still stand out. One of these is Pia Nalaar, Chief MechanicPia Nalaar, Chief Mechanic, who wants us to combine Energy with Tokens (the latter to ensure that we get lots of energy counters on each of our combats). Sure, we can pay for those Vehicles, but ask yourself: Is that a worthwhile investment on a finite resource? There's better options to be spending those energy counters. Just build her for the first ability, and treat the rest as flavor text.

Not long after, in Tarkir Dragonstorm, we got Kotis, Sibsig ChampionKotis, Sibsig Champion, who very much got eclipsed by Teval, the Balanced ScaleTeval, the Balanced Scale. Unfortunately, the payoff for casting creatures from our graveyard is simply making Kotis bigger? Players were probably expecting something better, and I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. We could also not treat the first ability as flavor text, but exiling three cards can come back to bite us, especially if we do it too frequently.

Arriving at the Present

To conclude things, I'm not going to cover this year, as we got more precons on the way. That said, the forecast is that our most underrated precon backup commander so far is Excava, the Risen PastExcava, the Risen Past. It's a nice roleplayer for the Lorehold Spirit precon, or for decks using any of the Quintorious variants at the helm.

Beyond that, it'll be time for us to resume with both of our series, starting with Commander Makeover, so we have that to look forward to. I shall see all of you next week.