Commander Masters is all about big thrills.
In the untidy sprawl of a game of Commander, the Magic: The Gathering format where a table full of players all pretend they’re not plotting the others’ downfall, eventually you need to take a big swing. After the early turns spent trying to make yourself seem small and non-threatening, like a tiny mammal curled into a ball who just happens to have been seated at the same table as a herd of dinosaurs, you eventually need to uncurl and show some teeth. Either you make the kind of play that suggests you’re actually too dangerous to mess with, or you respond to someone else’s attack with a dismissiveness that shows you’ve got a hide too thick to penetrate.
As the name suggests, Commander Masters reprints a bunch of Magic cards suited to play in Commander, and especially to situations just like that—reprints like Craterhoof Behemoth, a green creature that’s incredibly powerful. Not because of its own stats, though as a 5/5 it’s nothing to be sneezed at, but because it gives every other creature you control the trample ability, and a boost to their power and toughness equal to the number of creatures you control. In a green deck, by the time you’ve got the eight mana to cast Craterhoof Behemoth you’ve probably got enough creatures that bonus will well let you win before the Behemoth even gets its own attack.
It’s not all big beasts, though. Deflecting Swat, reprinted from the Commander 2020 set, is a defensive instant that lets you retarget an incoming spell or ability wherever you choose. Though not a game-winner, it’s a fun “you just activated my trap card” turnaround to surprise someone with, and the new art features a dismissive-looking dragon slapping some incoming magic aside with enough force to send it over the top of the card’s title.
