“Magictating” is defined as getting into the zone with your Magic the Gathering collection--thinking, planning, organizing, reminiscing about past games, and imagining future games. It is a combination of hard thinking about the game and calm meditation, reveling in the joy it brings you.
A Hidden Spice Drawer:
In Magic there is something called the reserved list. If you do not know what I mean by that, then I suggest you read up on it later. The reserved list, to put it simply, is a list of older cards Wizards has promised not to reprint. This exists so players can feel free to buy and collect older cards, knowing their prices will not plummet from a reprint anytime soon. There is a debate about whether it should exist or not, but I am not weighing in on that today. No, today I want to use this list to show you how much spicy Commander goodness lurks within it for under $5. You read that correctly. I am talking about cards, rares mind you, that are promised not to be reprinted, and are still under $5. There is something here for every player, so let’s get to unlocking this particularly savory spice rack.
Wave of Terror
Wave of Terror is such a wonderfully named card. People quake with fear when it is cast. The upkeep age counter goes on first, so it will not hit tokens, but the slaughter gets ramped up faster this way. Each upkeep you send wave after Wave of Terror washing over the battlefield. The casualties just keep piling up. You could potentially use this to keep tokens in check by using either Clockspinning or my favorite token eater, Chisei, Heart of Oceans. Give in to your inner Nicol Bolas, and use Wave of Terror to put your foolish enemies to a permanent rest.
Rainbow Efreet
Blue has many cards that could be considered tricky, but this original Draw-Go win condition has been forgotten. For blue decks, this was the original unkillable creature. It dodges instant and sorcery removal of all kinds--targeted or sweeper. Rainbow Efreet simply leaves the game and comes back swinging on your next turn. I remember winning games by activating my Nevinyrral’s Disk , on my opponent’s end step, and phasing out Rainbow Efreet in response. The beatdown that this beautiful little monster delivers is not to be underestimated. Remember that equipment and auras attached to Rainbow Efreet stay with it as it phases in and out. This is one Rainbow that does not promise hope for your opponents.
Subterranean Spirit
Subterranean Spirit is criminally underutilized. I know that a five mana 3/3 is not very exciting, and adding protection from red is only mildly interesting. Having the ability to tap for a Tremor effect however, is pretty sweet. It’s immune to the damage it deals, as it has protection from red. You can use this to keep Pyrohemia around no matter how much damage you dish out, or you can have something left over after a massive Earthquake. Subterranean Spirit can help do some work controlling small token generating strategies, but I want to break it a little too. I love the idea of using this with equipment like Gorgon Flail, Gorgon’s Head , Basilisk Collar, and Quietus Spike. Enchanting this with things like Charisma, or Aspect of Gorgon is also fun. Tapping Subterranean Spirit to wipe out or steal every creature on the board seems pretty amazing. Who doesn’t enjoy killing everyone’s creatures with some fiery card that hasn’t seen print since 1996?
Natural Balance
Natural Balance seems to go against what green wants to do. This allows you to take advantage of other people’s ramp. This works great in decks that rely on artifact ramp, rather than land ramp. Having ways to sacrifice your lands or play them from the graveyard only makes this better. The Gitrog Monster is a commander that would benefit from this ambrosial include. Natural Balance helps tone down other people’s threat potentials while ensuring you keep your lands flowing. This is a great card to pass around the table. While your opponents are binning their extra lands, you can rest easy knowing those battlecruiser cards are going to stay out of play for a few more turns.
Abeyance
Before there was Silence, there was Orim’s Chant, and before Orim’s Chant there was Abeyance. These are all great “gotcha” cards. However, I love Abeyance best of all these cards because of its ability to replace itself. It can essentially be cycled, but with a fantastic upside. Combining this with Isochron Scepter and Seedborn Muse is clearly the dream. Being able to draw a card on each opponent’s turn, and not allowing those opponents to ever cast instants or sorcery spells is ridiculously good. This can also be great against free spell commanders like Jhoira of the Ghitu and Narset, Enlightened Master. Sure, they can exile those cards or think about casting them, but Abeyance says, “NO SPELLS FOR YOU!”
Powder Keg
Powder Keg was once a tournament sideboard staple. Now it’s just a forgotten relic, so why not bring it back? This wrecks tokens for a mere two mana, and can be built up to deal with most early and mid-game threats. It also hits artifacts, which can be a great way to clean up Sol Ring s or the increasing number of two mana cost artifacts that tap for mana. If you have friends that are abusing mana rocks and overpopulating the battlefield, then it is time to blow up everything with Powder Keg.
Unfulfilled Desires
Unfulfilled Desires is a misnomer in any decent reanimator deck. Gyruda, Doom of Depths decks will love this card! This enchantment fills your graveyard with your darkest dreams. Paying one mana and one life to loot at will is an excellent rate. The card selection this offers is ridiculous. Drawing and discarding at instant speed with any left over mana--every single turn--is an incredible way to get ahead of your opponents. This enchantment allows you to easily dump your creatures into your graveyard while digging you into the reanimation spells you need. Additionally, this is a good draw early on, and it’s still a solid top deck in the late game. If you draw it later on, then you can pump loads of mana into it to dig down to that game-winning card. Fulfill your most vile needs, and keep your opponents guessing with the zesty include that is Unfulfilled Desires.
Circle of Despair
Circle of Despair is another multicolored reserve list spice that offers a very powerful effect. This is an amazingly powerful sacrifice outlet in Aristocratic and other sacrifice oriented decks. These decks need repeatable sacrifice outlets, and this one is harder to kill than the average creature. Additionally, this enchantment gives you the ability to play politics. You can easily make an alliance early on by sacrificing a few tokens to help someone else stay alive. Circle of Despair’s ability, much like the original Circles of Protection, does not target. This allows you to prevent damage from a hexproofed, trampling, unblockable, double-striking, 12/12 commander. There is no “one-shotting” you with commander damage as long as you have a creature to sacrifice to the Circle of Despair. Coupling this with token generators like Sacred Mesa or an Elspeth (just about any of them) puts you in a fantastic position. I love the idea of putting this into an Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim deck (creature type cleric for those excited about the new Zendikar party mechanics).
Closing Thoughts:
Those are the most interesting and exciting cards you can find on the reserve list for under $5. There are other interesting cards there too, but they do not offer the same distinctive effects as these. I love being able to play a card that most people are not aware existed. It has always been a joy of mine to pass my spicy cards around the table for everyone to appreciate their zesty effects. The reserved list has become a contentious item lately, but it still exists, and so why not take advantage of it as a budget collector? The cards on the list are all older, and so their effects tend to be odd or strange. The reserved list can function as a short-list for unique and underutilized cards. So what are you waiting for? Go pick up some new spicy cards to jank out friends!
