Magic: The Gathering’s Commander format is forever interesting because every new card added to the ancient trading card game creates the potential for devastating interactions with cards released decades prior. Wizards of the Coast can’t possibly balance a format that includes over 29,000 cards, so Commander often becomes a battle of whose deck is the most broken.
The sudden revival of a long-forgotten card following the reveal of a new card has become commonplace in the format, and it’s happened once more following the latest spoiler for Lorwyn Eclipsed, a set releasing at the end of January (thanks, Wargamer).
Too Many Elves
The forgotten card is Flourishing Defenses, a card released with Shadowmoor in 2008. It’s a five-mana enchantment with the card text, “Whenever a -1/-1 counter is placed on a creature, you may put a 1/1 green Elf Warrior creature token into play.” This card has seen very little play over the years because creating a limited number of 1/1 tokens for five mana is an expensive prospect.
However, Lorwyn Eclipsed will feature the legendary creature (commander) High Perfect Morcant. This four-mana creature has card text that reads, “Whenever High Perfect Morcant or another Elf you control enters, each opponent blights 1 (They each put a -1/-1 counter on a creature they control.”
You’ll Want To Have These 10 Cards From Magic: The Gathering’s Final Fantasy Commander Decks
Magic: The Gathering’s Final Fantasy Commander decks are full of excellent cards.
The combo is probably already clear to you. With Flourishing Defenses and High Perfect Morcant in play, every Elf played forces each opponent to place a -1/-1 counter on a creature of their choice. Once this counter is placed, a 1/1 elf token is created by Flourishing Defenses, which re-triggers Morcant and starts the cycle anew. This continues until every opposition creature is dead, all but guaranteeing an army of 1/1 elves depending on when the combo is initiated.
This combo is so potent that the price of Flourishing Defenses has dramatically spiked in preparation for the release of High Perfect Morcant. According to TCGPlayer metrics, Flourishing Defenses was selling for around $0.35 before the reveal of Morcant. Then, the average price of the card immediately jumped to $14, with a couple selling for as high as $24.
All I’ll say is, get ready to see some Elves.
- Franchise
-
Magic: The Gathering
- Original Release Date
-
August 5, 1993
- Player Count
-
2+
