It’s almost the best time of the year for Commander players, as the latest collection of Magic: The Gathering decks is a little over a month away. Another entry in this wildly popular sealed product, Commander 2019 always boasts a plethora of new cards and generals for people to experiment with. Following some pretty significant bans, it will be intriguing to see what Wizards of the Coast delivers this year.
Along with some of the information below, the fall set – dubbed Throne of Eldraine – has also leaked online. Here is everything we know about the Commander 2019 decks so far:
(Author’s Note: We will update this piece as new information and cards are released in the coming weeks.)
Commander 2019 Release Date
If you want to get your hands on Commander 2019 right away, all four decks will release on August 23, 2019. This release date was confirmed via Wizards of the Coast on their official website. Keep in mind, this product will not be available on MTG Arena, as that game focuses on the Standard and Limited format.
Commander 2019 Price
Currently, the price for the Commander 2019 has not been revealed, but we expect them to be the same as the 2018 decks. Controversially, the prices of the Commander 2018 decks were raised by $5 across the board. This put them at $39.99 USD a pop, which is what we expect the Commander 2019 decks to go for. Remember, this price can rise or fall depending on the demand from players.
Commander 2019 Mechanics
So, themes for the #mtgc19 decks are now out via a product info page. Each deck centers on a mechanic: Populate, Flashback, Morph, and Madness. You can probably surmise colors from that.
The four core mechanics/themes for each of the decks have been revealed on the product information page. While the colors for each deck is still unknown, the mechanics are Flashback, Populate, Morph, and Madness. If you are unfamiliar with these mechanics here’s a quick breakdown of what each of them does.
Flashback
This mechanic first appeared in the Odyessy block and is tied to Instant and Sorcery cards. Blue, Red, and Green are the most popular colors associated with this ability, however, there are quite a few Blue cards sporting this mechanic. Additionally, the Flashback cost is typically more expensive or requires the use of a different color.
Flashback is exceptionally potent in spellslinger decks such as Melek, Izzet Paragon, Jeleva, Nephalia’s Scourge, and Taigam, Ojutai Master. A deck based around this theme will surely follow a control design since the creature version of this mechanic is called “Unearth.”
The new commander is certainly potent and emphasizes a spells matter strategy. Sevinne’s ability to copy spells cannot be underestimated, as this can accrue a ton of value if left unchecked. His survivability is also extremely impressive, as he can simply block forever, making him difficult to remove from the board.
Populate
This one is for all the token lovers out there. Populate allows players to instantly flood their board with a wave of fresh creature tokens. Introduced in Return to Ravnica, Populate has not appeared since that block. Populate is solely in green and white, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Wizards of the Coast splashed in a bit of black.
There are a ton of popular populate cards, with the exception of Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice. She is the most popular general in these colors, so her getting reprinted wouldn’t come as a big surprise. Remember, Populate does not affect all tokens, only creature tokens.
Commander 2019’s Populate general is fairly strong, but it’s a deck that really requires users to play beefier tokens. Populating small elves is underwhelming, so it’s nice that Ghired makes a 4/4 rhino upon entering the battlefield. We don’t think this general is super powerful, but he should prove to be a decent card in any Naya token deck.
Morph
A weird, but entertaining mechanic, Morph allows players to add a bit of suspense to their games. Initially released in the Onslaught block, this mechanic rocketed in popularity when it reappeared in Khans of Tarkir. There are a total of 152 Morph cards, but only a few really see play in Commander. While the colors are spread out, typically green, blue, and red are most associated with this ability.
Cards such as Ixidor, Reality Sculptor, Ixidron, and Willbender could see reprints. While Animar, Soul’s Harvest is the most popular Morph general, this theme has desperately needed a better option. Thankfully, Kadena is already proving to be an exceptionally powerful commander. The ability to reduce mana costs is always strong, but this is especially true with morph cards. However, for a morph deck to be truly viable there will need to be some fantastic cards in the new deck.
Madness
Madness has always been a difficult mechanic to really make work in Commander. Introduced in Torment, the vast majority of Madness cards are in Black and Red. Despite having a plethora of excellent discard outlets, the actual cards with Madness are underwhelming. But Anje certainly is the best choice if you are making a Madness themed deck. Her ability to come down and immediately discard a card is very, very good. She’s aggressively costed, making her perfect for a slightly more competitive Rakdos reanimator deck. Of all the new commanders shown so far, I am most excited about Anje.
Commander 2019 Previews
The preview season for Commander 2019 is almost here. Revealed during the DailyMTG Brawl preview, the first wave of Commander previews will take place during the first week in August at Gen Con. You can watch the Commander 2019 panel at 3:00 p.m. PT/6:00 p.m. ET on Twitch. After Gen Con, various Magic: The Gathering players and content creators will be previewing cards throughout the coming weeks.
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MTG Commander 2019: Cards, Mechanics, Release Date, & More