Battlebond Thoughts

This really is the year that WotC woo'd the Commander players, isn't it?

We have a spoiler here.

First, the reprints: these seem driven at least partially, by the Commander format. Sure, Battlebond is meant to be drafted for 2 Headed Giant-they have to pitch the draft format somehow, because that's how they sell packs-but Commander is still the multiplayer format of choice.

Dominaria provides more Legendary creatures and things to go with said creatures than any set since Kamigawa, and now this.

Makes me think that the fall Commander set is going to be 2 Headed Giant themed. And why not? Start people at 100 life and go from there. I wager games would go pretty quickly and provide players with a reason to buy ever more product-both Battlebond and Dominaria benefit.

Plus with the Guilds of Ravnica set this winter and Ravnica Alliance following, that means that you have hosts of multicolored cards (and lands) to support the format that Battlebond is trying to grow.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The point is: True-Name Nemesis and Diabolic Intent are selling for a little over $20, Seedborn Muse nearly $30 and Doubling Season for nearly $60 as of this writing. TNN is driven by Legacy, the others by Commander, really. Reprinting these cards should drive prices down, giving more players more access to these formats and it'll be done by encouraging players who don't draft much to draft.

These reprints seem to be a better thing-far better, honestly-than Masters 25's attempt. Perhaps the focus on multiplayer allowed for Battlebond to work more needed reprints?

Sure, they aren't all winners (looking at you, Goblin Razerunners and is Nyxathid really good in multiplayer?) but all in all, these look better than I've seen in awhile.

As for specific mechanics:

Assist
I think the base mechanic is OK. Where it gets interesting, for me, is in formats like Commander where political games can be played. I know I've found myself in situations where if I could work together with someone in a similarly disadvantaged position as myself, I would.

Friend or Foe
Like the voting mechanic of Conspiracy, this opens things up to some goofy situations that, again, I find more engaging in Commander where giving a boost to a player that has had a rough start might be worthwhile. In the Limited environment? I'm sure it'll be fine but it's not like it's interesting-you always benefit your partner, oppress your opponent, right?

Partner with...
This new take on Partner is pretty interesting. A nice way to expand options for Commander players while also giving Battlebond Limited players a cool way of feeling like they are working together. I really appreciate that design.

What's especially unusual is that the partners are all opposing color partners, U/G, W/B, etc. I'm not sure why that is: perhaps it plays better with the future Commander set? Guilds of Ravnica has more enemy colored pairs than friendly ones but that's a stretch on my part.

I've seen it suggested that having the colors be opposing partners meant that players wouldn't have to struggle to build decks-you get the white, I get the red, for example, and now the support colors aren't something we are trying to divvy up because while we both like green, blue and black support are still open.

Support
I wasn't excited about this mechanic in the Tarkir days and I'm still meh about it, but what I will say is that it plays well with the Limited environment of 2 Headed Giant.


For this portion, I'm just going to talk about the new cards.

White
Everyone welcome the new hotness, Arena Rector! Yike. That card will be terrifyingly expensive right out of the gate. If that card isn't reprinted rapidly, that's bad news. Academy Rector is over $50 and that just gets something that isn't the most powerful permanent type in the game so...

The printing of Brightling means we are one step closer to finally completing the cycle Morphling started in '94. One more color to go!

Blue
I sort of understand why Arcane Artisan is a mythic rare. Being able to get an Emrakul for three mana doesn't suck. Still: pretty fragile creature so I don't expect it to make huge waves.

Fumble, on the other hand, is the kind of effect I'm surprised we haven't seen before. That should make for some really cool and memorable plays. Sure, most of the time it's just a bounce spell, but when it turns the game around, it will REALLY turn things around and people won't ever forget it.

Black
Fan Favorite represents a mechanical card I am surprised we didn't see more of. Even if it's just one per color, it seems like that mechanic (a call back to Mercadian Masques!) would fit nicely in Battlebond's -ahem- arena. Looks like Green is the only other color to indulge though, with Feral Hydra reprinted.

I also dig Inner Demon and am glad to see Stunning Reversal find a home in black. It feels like it's in the right color, due to it's thematic execution.

Red
Azra Bladeseeker is going to do more work than people might think. That's a good body and a good enters the battlefield effect.

The card that I think is going to be a breakout, though, is Cheering Fanatic. Aside from a straight up combo deck, is there a deck that couldn't use this? Swings, maybe you hit for 2, maybe you don't, but your next spell costs 1 less no matter what. If you attack multiple times, or with multiple Fanatics, that could really add up!

I'm glad to see Najeela, the Blade-Blossom have the ability it does: she'll be a great commander for the Warrior tribe and Red could use the development.

Green
Sorry, did I say Arena Rector was going to be the crazy hotness? I meant Bramble Sovereign. That card + Doubling Season is going to be every player's dream.

After that, most of the hype in Green is in the reprints but I want to talk about Grothama, All Devouring. Because that card is weird. Dubious Challenge weird. I want four copies of it. First, it's the only Legendary Wurm ever. Second, it functions as a bizzaroland boardwipe, if the opponent wants to take that risk-is drawing more cards worth losing your board position? Can you play fun regeneration/indestructible tricks to bluff your opponent into nuking their team?

Artifacts and Multicolor
Eh. There really isn't anything here that jumps out as being odd. Last One Standing is cool, but they don't do a lot with what else they provide you. What makes the Azra creature type significant? The look like purple elves but so what? Victory Chimes is going to make for possible monkeyshines in Commander and Sentinel Tower is...kinda dumb. Because storm is dumb. OK? Storm is dumb. I said it. Still, I'd rather see Sentinel Tower over actual storm cards.

For me, there's lot to like here. Reprints to get people exited, new cards to mess with the most popular casual format, an interesting way to highlight a new casual format...although wouldn't it be cool to see a 2 Headed Giant pro tour? That would be wild. I'd watch it.

Point is, I am hopeful about this one, as I was with the Conspiracy drafts I did, and I think that WotC has once again done a solid job here, giving players of various interests something to have fun with.