The new Magic the Gathering set is out today and it brings back some classic Commanders of the past. But I can’t help but be reminded of something…
The year is 2003, Peter Jackson has just stepped off stage after winning his 11th Academy Award for the masterpiece that is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Peter Weir, sitting alongside Russell Crow are clapping politely. Their film; Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World has won two awards of the ten it was nominated for.
Lord of the Rings has won.
Fast forward to present day – 2023. In June, Wizards of the Coast release one of the most anticipated sets in Magic the Gathering’s long history; The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth.
READ MORE: MtG ‘One Ring’ sold to Post Malone for record price
Crowds went wild chasing the 1 of 1 ‘One Ring’ card. A few months later and Wizards are now releasing their next set…
Since releasing their first Masters set back in 2013, Wizards of the Coast have released a Master set about every other year, with each featuring reprints of classic modern cards that are often (but not always!) legal to play in tournament.
With these sets often featuring limited reprints of rare cards that are valuable in specific decks, they’ve historically been a way that players can obtain cards that may have otherwise been out of their reach.
Something Wizards hasn’t done, until now, is release a Master set of Commander cards – a true Master and Commander combination (the introduction should now make sense, thanks for humoring me).
The question in my mind is: can this set compete on shelves against the dominant force that is the Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth?
With Commander Masters, Wizards are for the first time reprinting beloved Commander cards, providing fans of the format new ways to collect old cards. The set will feature both reprints of existing cards as well as 40 brand new cards that have been designed specifically for the Commander format. As is typical for Commander releases, Wizards have prepared four pre-constructed 100-card decks for purchase, allowing you to jump right into a Commander game.
(Wizards of the Coast)
Whether you’re after your favourite Commander in etched and textured foil, or looking to find one of the new Borderless Frame Break cards (where the artwork appears to explode out of the card!), or, maybe you’re just looking to pick up a few Jumpstart boosters and jump straight into a game, this latest set will have something for you!
Commander Masters is out today, Friday 4th August. You can pick it up at your friendly local game store.
Here’s a look at some of the new and reprinted Commander Masters cards:
