In a hole in the ground, a pre-release event took place. But, in reality, it was neither in a hole nor underground.

Instead, the pre-release took place in a building, above ground, and with adequate air-conditioning. Because early August in Greece tends to be quite the hot period.

The pre-release

Once more, my pool was not the great for a limited event, bombs-wise. However, I should not complain too much because I opened a Gleaming Splendor. Again, it’s not a card that can be played in a pre-release. But it’s a card that can be played in my main format: Commander.

Apart from that, it was obvious from the start that black would be my main colour. I had 2 Bilbo’s Deadly Slice, 1 Reverent Howl, and a Rage into the Valley, which provided a good base for removal and card draw. Creatures like Ravening Warg, Head of the Hunt, and The Master of Lake-town were also solid creatures.

My two main questions after deciding black was my main colour were

1. Should I go for green or red?
2. Should I splash blue?

Let’s take one question at a time. The first one was very quickly answered. Although I had some interesting red cards, green started feeling much better. I had Wood Elves and Beorn, Reluctant Host for ramp and as creatures. Little Bear, Quarrel, and Warg Tactics were additional combat tricks that could prove very useful. Plus, I had some Golgari cards like The Chief Warg, Chief Warg’s Company, and Large Bear. I basically almost played a wolf tribal. Oh, I also opened 2 Mirkwood, and it would be a shame not to use them.

As for the second question, things were simple as well. I only wanted 3-4 blue cards. However, I have the tendency to not draw lands. Splashing a 3rd colour could be an issue for me. Plus, I had to cut cards because the deck was getting a bit too large, so the choice was simple. Do I regret it? I will say no.

In the end, this is the deck I ended up playing with for the duration of the whole event. It ended up being a fun deck in the end. And I can’t complain much since I took 4th place.

But what about Commander?!

This set didn’t come with any pre-cons, which was quite disappointing. However, there are quite a few legendary creatures that can easily work as commanders. Bard, King of Dale, Thranduil, the Elvenking, and Smaug, Wicked Worm are some good examples of commander material. But apart from that, the set offers huge support for Dwarves, Wolves, and Bears. The Chief Warg is really interesting, and I am considering making a simple commander deck with it. I already have a bear deck, and Beorn the Fierce as well as Dancing from Dark to Dawn are easy additions to it. Overall, while this is a small set, it is quite thematic, which has led to some very cool cards for Commander.

And I think I will stop here. Next time I will have to make an update on my list of Commander decks. I already have some new ones, and I will probably make another one or two until then.

And until next time, have fun!