The recent announcement of Commander Legends is leading many to speculate around the new product in a way unlike any other Magic: The Gathering product that we’ve ever seen. A set designed to specifically focus around the exceedingly popular Commander format, we’ve already learned that the set will contain approximately seventy legendary creatures and will also be built around a rich and authentic commander experience.
As a format spanning the entirety of Magic’s history, what could be more fitting for a Commander based set than much needed reprints of cards synonymous with the format? So here today, we present the 10 cards that are the most worthy of reprints in Commander Legends!
10 Cyclonic Rift
There are few blue cards as synonymous with the commander format as Cyclonic Rift. If there’s one blue card that could arguably go into any commander deck with blue in its color identity, you’re looking at it. Between its one-sided nature and the fact that it’s an instant rather than a sorcery, Cyclonic Rift is one of the strongest board wipes for a multiplayer format like commander, and is a staple of the format.
However, despite its notoriety and high demand, Cyclonic Rift still demands a steep price tag for such a popular inclusion for many decks. Though the card has seen reprints in both Modern Masters 2017 and in one of the 2014 commander decks, we doubt there’d be any complaints if one of the strongest blue cards in Commander showed up in a set based around the format.
9 Arcane Signet
The most recently printed card on this list, we were introduced to Arcane Signet alongside the reconstructed Brawl Decks that came out this past fall. Though it appeared in a Brawl-based product, the card quickly became high in demand in commander due to its low converted mana cost, and its versatile nature that allows for it to be slotted into any Commander deck with great effect.
As mentioned, the card is currently only available in the reconstructed Brawl decks, and has never seen print in a larger, more available set. As far as we’re concerned, there is no better home for an Arcane Signet reprint than in Commander Legends.
8 Vedalken Orrery
Before its banning, Prophet of Kruphix was an extremely powerful card in the Commander format, allowing for any player whose deck was in Simic to effectively play any of their creatures on each other players’ turn, and amass huge amounts of value. Though Prophet of Kruphix may be banned, Commander players still have access to the next best thing: Vedalken Orrery.
While the Orrery doesn’t untap its controller’s lands like Prophet did, it allows for any type of spell to be cast at instant speed, rather than just creatures. Additionally, Vedalken Orrery is colorless, meaning it can be used in virtually any Commander deck. The only downside? It’s only reprinted once back in the first Conspiracy set, and its price just keeps climbing.
7 The Enemy Color Swords
Hopefully lumping all of these cards into one entry isn’t cheating, but otherwise, the cycle of enemy colored swords would've taken up a sizable portion of this list. While the swords vary in the amount of play they see in Commander, the outstanding Sword of Feast and Famine and Sword of Fire and Ice are two of the strongest pieces of equipment in the commander format.
These cards provide protection and help to manipulate resources such as mana and card draw consistently. However, these cards have not seen reprints for quite a long time, with prices of these five swords ranging as high as eighty dollars. If there is a place to reprint these swords without disrupting a format like Standard, this is the time and place to do it.
6 Teferi’s Protection
Though the color white has its problems in Commander, it isn’t lacking in standalone individual cards. This is exemplified in the card Teferi’s Protection, which serves as one of the strongest “get out of jail free” cards in the game.
Aside from an inaccessible reprinting as a judge promo, Teferi’s Protection has not been reprinted since its initial appearance in Commander 2017, and due to play it sees outside of Commander, is currently going for nearly $40.00 per copy. In a format in which white needs all the help it can get, we think now might be a time to raise the accessibility of one of its strongest Commander cards.
5 Doubling Season
From its utility in Planeswalkers-centric “Super-friends” strategies to overwhelming token-based decks, there are few cards that has much of a power boosting effect as the green enchantment, Doubling Season. Doubling the amount of any type of tokens and counters its controller creates, Doubling Season is a card that is automatically included into specific types of decks as long as the respective player owns the card.
The card essentially lets you do whatever your deck is trying to accomplish twice as fast. However, despite its reprinting in Modern Masters and most recently Battlebond, the card is very pricey for a card as sought after as it is. Due to the amount of Commander decks (and generals that headline said decks) that involve some kind of tokens or counters, we hope to see Doubling Season in Commander Legends.
4 Rhystic Study
There are few enchantments in the Commander format that allow players to amass as much card advantage as the infamous Rhystic Study. From it’s subtly powerful effect to the constant reminder of the card’s triggers by anyone playing it, Rhystic Study is a card that has become ingrained into the Commander format.
Despite this, the cards has only seen reprints in limited and short lived products, and has not been included in a larger scale set since its initial printing. If the idea of Commander Legends is to create a full fledged set that captures and creates the full essence of the Commander format, it would feel like some kind of crime to exclude Rhysic Study.
3 Craterhoof Behemoth
No matter what format it may be in, Craterhoof Behemoth will forever live on as a consistently powerful means for creature decks to close out games. Unfortunately, one of the most iconic green creatures and overall best closers for a creature-based deck has only seen one reprint in its lifetime.
The inclusion of Mythics such as Craterhoof would help to give incentive to new and seasoned players alike, as well as delivering bringing in appeal to players of other formats.
2 Consecrated Sphinx
Yet another blue card, one would be hard pressed to find another card that has the ability to amass as much card draw as Consecrated Sphinx. A creature with a solid body and flying, the real power comes from its ability to draw two cards for each card an opponent draws.
In a format with numerous other players, a Consecrated Sphinx that is not dealt with is often one of the most fruitful card drawing engines in Commander. Including cards that are iconic to the Commander format in Commander Legends such as Consecrated Sphinx will definitely help to flesh out the set while dealing with potentially out of control prices for Commander staples.
1 Cabal Coffers
One would be hard pressed to find a mono-black deck in Commander that doesn’t want to be running Cabal Coffers. The card serves as the most efficient means of ramping in black, all within the convenient package of a land. The unfortunate part of the card is that aside from a limited reprint in Planechase, Cabal Coffers has been relegated to its first and only printing in a large set.
Cabal Coffers is the perfect example of a card from farther back in Magic’s history that really shows the depth of the format’s card pool, while supplying a much needed reprint in the process.