Aesthetic Consultation: The Reprints of The Brothers' War

Reprints of Darkness

Now that we've all had the chance to argue at prereleases about why Skitterbeam Battalion

So join me, Nick Wolf, chronicler of 90s/early 2000s pop culture and artist interviewer/pesterer, on a journey though reprints of The Brothers' War. 

Diabolic Intent

This is just the fourth appearance of the best black catch-all outside of Demonic Tutor

Did we need it? Definitely. Now that it's been reprinted, the BRO version of Diabolic Intent will run you around $8 USD, and maybe a dollar more if you want the borderless version. Compare that to the around $40 for the Planeshift printing, or the Battlebond version still demanding around $20. And if you're fancy, there's still that Amonkhet Invocations printing that will be the best $120 bucks you've ever spent on a card with a name you can't really read.

Did we want it? Well, according to the esteemed EDHREC, Diabolic Intent appears in a shade more than 64,000 decks that feature black, so I'd say it's safe to assume there are many among us who are excited for the chance to secure a more reasonably-priced version -- especially those like me who are definitely going to be building a Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor

Painful Quandary

And speaking of black cards that annoy people and were until recently somewhat expensive, The Brothers' War has gifted us a reprint of Painful Quandary. The original printing, of course, was illustrated by Whit Brachna, who provided the game with the art for nine cards from the Scars block in 2011, including Geth, Lord of the Vault

Did we need it? This one's only been printed once in Magic's history, way back in Scars of Mirrodin. That original printing hit heights of around $30, which is a lot to pay for a five-mana black enchantment (not named Revel in Riches

Did we want it? Appearing in approximately 14,000 decks as per EDHREC, Painful Quandary is certainly a favorite among fans of a particular playstyle. And to be fair, it pops up in plenty of decks, from discard-themed Cao Cao, Lord of Wei

Fauna Shaman

A reprint of Fauna Shaman in a set like The Brothers' War can be filed snugly into the "unexpected" folder. Outside of its debut in Magic 2011, the Survival of the Fittest

Did we need it? As far as shamans (shamen?) go, this reprint was long overdue, despite its inclusion in BRO being somewhat of a head-scratcher. The first two printings, in M11 and UMA, are both in the ballpark of $10-11, so while not exorbitantly expensive, its still more dollars than many might have been willing to spend. Still, in the context of Survival of the Fittest, anything cheaper than that Reserved List monster is welcome, and now with BRO it's never been more affordable.

Did we want it? It's likely that I don't need to tell you Fauna Shaman is a good card for Commander. It does it all -- it fills the graveyard and fetches creatures from your library, which for my money is all there is to do. It's also an elf, which definitely matters to people. The card appears in almost 26,000 decks on EDHREC, and only the top-two decks in terms of Fauna Shaman inclusions are elf decks.

Blast Zone

With two printings thanks to its inclusion in BRO, Blast Zone has found its niche as the premiere way for the lore team to depict the destruction of a subset of mana values without clogging up an artifict slot with a reprint of Ratchet Bomb

Did we need it? Not really, as the War of the Spark printing of the card is only 250 pennies, and even the Secret Lair version will only run you twice that. While not cheap enough to find itself used in ultra-budget lists, it's likely that most players who wanted one have already managed to get a copy. However, with the reprint in BRO, you can get one for less than half of that price, so that's cool.

Did we want it? Despite being a colorless utility land and thus available to every Commander deck to find its way into sleeves, Blast Zone is only appears in 24,000 decks (out of about 1.7 million), notably in many more colorless decks like Karn, Silver Golem

(Some of) the Painlands

Battlefield Forge

Brushland

Llanowar Wastes

Underground River

The six other painlands of the cycle saw their turn on the reprint tilt-a-whirl in the last set, Dominaria United, so here in The Brothers' War we're mopping up the remainder. Which, for nothing else, should satisfy completionists out there. Fortunately these four in BRO also come with fancy borderless arts like their DMU counterparts, except this time all four are by the same artist, Rob Alexander. And the main-set art isn't too shabby either, featuring new name Thomas Stoop alongside Magic veterans Lucas Graciano and Volkan Baga.

The painlands have been around forever, and have seen a number of reprints since the clock on "forever" first started. Depending on if the color pair of the lands is "enemy" (like Llanowar Wastes

Did we need it? As mentioned, the painlands have seen their fair share of reprints over the years. Using Underground River

Did we want it? Well, they're lands that make more than one color and come into play untapped, so it's safe to assume people use them. Brushland is used in 26,000 decks while our go-to example Underground River appears in 54,000 decks, and they're on the low side. Battlefield Forge sees play in 83,000 decks, while Llanowar Wastes is in the 99 of 93,000 lists. It's always good for players to have access to lands that help cast the spells they want to cast without making them choose between color fixing and a tank of gas.

Blanchwood Armor

Going on 25 years now, the only option for art green players had when it came to Blanchwood Armor was the Parente version, or perhaps the Parente version. The aura, also known as "build-your-own Molimo

The art with hooded sideburns guy has been historically the predominant one, first appearing on the original Urza's Saga printing as well as some supplementary sets, Tenth Edition and Magic 2019. The angry swords-akimbo guy was featured as the art for the versions in Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Editions. The new art here in BRO, by Manuel Castañón, is the first non-Parente rendering in a quarter-century. Castañón, you may recall, debuted only four years ago with Dauntless Bodyguard

Did we need it? In this context, "need" is a strong word. There are no versions of Blanchwood Armor that cost more than two quarters. In fact, most versions available in foil are also relatively cheap, save for the Seventh Edition foil which is around $20. That's more due to the fact that all foils from Seventh Edition are expensive. Anyone who has thought about upgrading their Ed Beard Birds of Paradise to foil already laments that fact.

Did we want it? I have no qualms about admitting I'm a staunch Blanchwood Armor apologist. I love these mono-colored decks, basic lands, and I love Urza's Saga, so naturally I'm here for Blanchwood Armor. Sign me up for this, Armored Ascension

Corrupt

Just like Blanchwood Armor, I'm also a huge fan of Corrupt, for stated reasons. I've been playing this card since Urza's Saga, and I nearly exclusively use the Philip Straub textless version, because (not to brag) I have it memorized.

Of course, if you need words on your cards, there are plenty of other options for that as well outside this newest BRO version by Julie Dillion of Street Urchin

Did we need it? Only that Sifa Grent IDW Comics 2013 version of Corrupt is more than a few dimes, and even it is around $3. So no, we didn't need a new Corrupt. But it's certainly cool to see, and the new art in the promo pack frame is almost fancy enough to convince me to use words.

Did we want it? Like its neighbor Blanchwood Armor, Corrupt doesn't really see a ton of play. It's effectively limited to mono-black decks, and a six-mana sorcery that is often worse than just using Drain Life doesn't crack the 99 for many players (outside myself). As a result, EDHREC logs the card in only 2,600 decks of the nearly a million that can play it. But you know who loves playing Corrupt? The best of the Blackblade wagglers

The Rest of the Reprints

• Go for the Throat
  (eighth printing, last seen in this year's Necron Warhammer 40k Commander deck)
• Monastery Swiftspear
  (seventh printing, last seen in Double Masters 2022, unsurprisingly also this year)
• Obstinate Baloth
  (third printing, last seen terrorizing discard decks in Iconic Masters at rare in 2017)
• Curate
  (second printing, last seen in Strixhaven way back in 2021)
• Disenchant
  (upwards of 50 printings, last seen in Commander Legends two years ago)
• Disfigure
  (seventh printing, last seen in Double Masters 2022 and the first with new art)
• Epic Confrontation
  (third printing, last seen in Masters 25 in 2018)
• Evolving Wilds
  (48th printing, close your eyes and you'll see Evolving Wilds reprints in your sleep)
• Giant Growth
  (45th printing, last seen in the future with the 30th Anniversary Edition like Disenchant)

Once More with Feeling

Another set, another slate of reprints, but this time we got new versions of some cards we didn't even know we needed. So do any of these BRO versions edge out whatever version you're already playing? Or will this latest reprint finally push the price of something down low enough for you to snag a copy for one of your Commander decks? Don't forget to let me know all about it on Twitter, while that site is still functional. See you all for Jumpstart in a few weeks!