Modern Horizons 2 EDH Set Review: Blue
Hello everyone, welcome to the Commander's Herald Modern Horizons 2 EDH set review! We're kicking things off with the blue cards in the set. There's some wacky cards in the Modern Horizons 2 EDH side of things, so let's dive in!
More Modern Horizons 2 EDH Content
Mythics
Murktide Regent
Dragons are almost always big, splashy spells you expect to see dominate the later turns of a game. Giving Murktide Regent delve means it can come down before your opponents expect a big threat, and easily leave you with mana open to protect it. Even just exiling two instants or sorceries makes the Regent a 5/5 with flying for five mana. And it still has the potential to grow. For every instant or sorcery that leaves your graveyard, Murktide Regent will pick up another +1/+1 counter. Kess, Dissident Mage will easily make Murktide Regent very large. I could also see it fitting into a Anowon, the Ruin Thief deck that plays lots of small cantrips to power other delve spells. Casting Temporal Trespass with Murktide Regent in play will let you deal a big chunk of damage.
Murktide Regent also fits thematically into Dragonlord Ojutai or Taigam, Ojutai Master, which are often built as Flying or Dragon tribal decks that include many spells for Murktide Regent to snack on. It could even be a backup finisher for Shu Yun the Silent Tempest. Overloading Mizzix's Mastery with Murktide Regent in play should quickly end the game in your favor.
Subtlety
Despite the fact that EDH is a format specifically designed around legendary creatures, Essence Scatter only appears in 1% of decks, compared to 23% including Negate, based on data on EDHREC. Subtlety is a better Essence Scatter. Normally, if you counter a commander, your opponent will just put it back in their command zone, ready to cast it again next turn. Subtlety puts the card on top of their library instead. Its controller could still choose to redirect it to the command zone, but if it stays in their library they can avoid commander tax. However, that means they effectively miss a draw step, setting them further behind the other players than if you had just countered their creature.
Svyelun of Sea and Sky
Merfolk tribal decks no longer need rely on Thassa, God of the Sea for divine favor. Svyelun of Sea and Sky is obviously a powerful Merfolk tribal commander. It protects your other Merfolk, similar to Kopala, Warden of Waves, and grants itself indestructible if you have enough merfolk in play. And you're playing merfolk tribal, you'll always have enough merfolk in play. On top of that, Svyelun of Sea and Sky is card draw in the command zone. It doesn't have to actually deal damage, just attack.
That ability to draw whenever it attacks reminds me of Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale. A 3/4 for three mana that draws cards when it attacks is a good contender for a tribal Voltron deck. Merfolk Sovereign and Master of the Pearl Trident make Svyelun near unblockable while contributing to that Indestructible clause. Merrow Commerce also counts as a Merfolk, and gives Svyelun of Sea and Sky pseudo-vigilance. The new Tide Shaper even creates Islands if your opponents aren't playing blue, so the islandwalk from Lord of Atlantis is as useful as possible.
Rares
Dress Down
Dress Down is a temporary Humility that you can cast in response to Avenger of Zendikar, or use to nullify the abilities of Avacyn, Angel of Hope or Sigarda, Host of Herons. You can cast it in the upkeep of a Muldrotha, the Gravetide player's turn, ensuring they can't play spells out of the graveyard for a turn. Kenrith, the Returned King decks often rely on the many of abilities of their commander, which you can shut off for a turn. Overall, Dress Down is a powerful counter spell for every powerful creature that sees play in EDH, without being as oppressive as actual Humility, and without requiring the same deck building restrictions on yourself.
Fractured Sanity
Fourteen cards for three mana isn't nothing, but it's not a ton either. Bruvac, the Grandiloquent pushes that number up to 28 cards from each player. That's basically a second copy of Maddening Cacophony, and more than half a Traumatize. This could also be a solid early play for Gyruda, Doom of Depths decks, ensuring you have a sizable pool of cards to choose from when you cast Gyruda for the first time.
There are also 25 Ghost of Ramirez DePietro and Tormod, the Desecrator decks under the Mill Theme page on EDHREC. If you cycle Fractured Sanity, the Ghost of Ramirez DePietro can return it to your hand when it deals combat damage, milling each opponent for four cards every turn. The draw from cycling will also trigger Teferi's Tutelage and Sphinx's Tutelage setting decent pace for your mill plan. Even without the extra mill, cycling Fractured Sanity every turn is a potent engine if you plan on reanimating your opponents creatures, or casting spells out of their graveyard with Wrexial, the Risen Deep.
Inevitable Betrayal
Bribery is a popular card, appearing in nearly half of the decks for Sakashima the Impostor and over a third of all Dragonlord Silumgar decks. Inevitable Betrayal is a similarly powerful theft card, but is slightly less straightforward. You cannot cast it from your hand normally, but must suspend it, giving your opponents two turns to take you out before you can steal their best creature.
You can get around this with an effect that lets you cast Inevitable Betrayal without paying its mana cost, though. As Foretold is one that I have seen discussed online a lot. Because of the way As Foretold is worded, you can cast Inevitable Betrayal even when As Foretold has no counters on it, since Inevitable Betrayal has a mana value of zero. So instead of paying three mana for suspend, you pay three mana for As Foretold and then use the alternate cost of zero to cast Inevitable Betrayal.
You can also cast Inevitable Betrayal with Dreadhorde Arcanist attacks. Looking on EDHREC for the commanders that play Dreadhorde Arcanist I found Vadrok, Apex of Thunder. Whenever Vadrok mutates, you can cast a non-creature spell from your graveyard without paying its mana cost. Importantly, that spell isn't exiled, but returns to your graveyard. As long as you have creatures to mutate onto Vadrok, you can grab the best creatures from your opponents' decks.
Rise and Shine
With Smothering Tithe and Dockside Extortionist and Brass's Bounty and Revel in Riches and Hullbreacher and Tireless Tracker and Tireless Provisioner and Academy Manufactor and so on and so forth, Rise and Shine is a win condition. Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer is perhaps best poised to take advantage of Rise and Shine, just for the chance to create an army of Myr Battlespheres with four +1/+1 counters on them. It also plays well with the cycle of artifact lands in this set, which will be indestructible to boot.
Suspend
One mana, instant speed, generic creature removal is good. Using Suspend to exile a creature gives you time to prepare a counter spell for when it would be recast, or you can stop it from being cast with Lavinia, Azorius Renegade or Drannith Magistrate. Even without these synergies, exiling a value creature like Seedborn Muse or Blood Artist for two turns will give you enough time to catch up, or just end the game.
Thought Monitor
According to EDHREC, Mulldrifter shows up in over 70% of Blink decks, and Thought Monitor is better. They are both 2/2s with flying that draw two cards, and you only need to have two artifacts in play for Thought Monitor to cast the same as Mulldrifter. That includes mana rocks, and Panharmonicon, Solemn Simulacrum, Conjurer's Closet, and Scroll of Fate. There are more than enough good artifacts for blink decks for Thought Monitor to never cast more than four mana.
Of course, Thought Monitor is also great in artifact focused decks as well. Alela, Artful Provocateur and Emry, Lurker of the Loch will almost always get to cast Thought Monitor for a single blue mana. Hanna, Ships Navigator is another commander who can expect to cast Thought Monitor multiple times as well.
Uncommons
Lucid Dreams
In the right deck, Lucid Dreams could be a powerful draw spell. The maximum number of card types you can have in your graveyard is eight (Tribal counts as its own card type). Most decks don't play that many card types, but creatures, instants, sorceries, and lands often end up in graveyards as a matter of playing the game. Many artifacts can also sacrifice themselves, from Mind Stone to Mishra's Bauble. Five mana for four or five cards is an excellent rate, making Lucid Dreams worth considering for decks that play a diversity of card types.
Junk Winder
Junk Winder seems very, very good in token decks. A dedicated token deck will almost never have to pay full price, often getting a 5/6 Serpent for just two mana. For every token you make after that, you'll get to tap an opponent's creature for two turns, opening up the path for your creatures to attack unobstructed. Ranar the Ever Watchful and Alela, Artful Provocateur don't need to worry about tapping down creatures without flying, but Tana, the Bloodsower and Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator partner decks can take advantage of Junk Winder aggressively or defensively, using the tokens the commanders make during combat to tap down any creatures that could retaliate.
Mystic Redaction
Another solid spell for that Ghost of Ramirez DePietro and Tormod, the Desecrator mill deck. Could also fit into cycling decks as a backup plan to Brallin, Skyshark Rider and Glint-Horn Buccaneer. It also seems solid for Wheel decks, where you can guarantee that your opponents are losing more cards from their library than you for each wheel, so they'll all mill out before you do. Varina, Lich Queen is also occasionally built as a mill deck where Mystic Redaction could do a lot of work.
Scuttletide
Crab Tribal support, finally! Charix, the Raging Isle players rejoice! But even if you don't like crustaceans, discard outlets fit into a few strategies. In reanimator decks Scuttletide lets you discard your huge creatures while also giving you bodies to flashback Dread Return. It's also a great way to discard cards with Dredge. Scuttletide is also a source of tokens for Polymorph decks.
Commons
Hard Evidence
Hard Evidence is one mana to make two tokens. If you evaluate it as a cantrip, three mana for a card and a 0/3 body doesn't seem great, but this set is giving us plenty of ways to make use of spare tokens. Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer doesn't want to crack that clue, though. They want to make it a Myr Battlesphere or Blightsteel Colossus somewhere down the line, and that's where this card will shine.
Mental Journey
Mental Journey doesn't seem super exciting, but I think it fills two important roles in any deck that can play it. Early on you can cycle it to search for a basic, ensuring you hit your land drops, and potentially fixing your colors as well. If you draw it later on, you can cast it for three fresh cards. Mental Journey makes sure you never stumble at any point of the game.
Steelfin Whale
Steelfin Whale has a triggered ability that untaps itself, which means there has to be a way to combo with this thing. If you hit it with Retraction Helix you can tap Steelfin Whale to bounce your own Ornithopter, recast it and untap Steelfin Whale. This generates infinite storm and infinite enter-the-battlefield triggers to win with Altar of the Brood or Aetherflux Reservoir.
So what blue cards are you most interested in for Modern Horizons 2 EDH? Did I leave anything off the list you think deserves to be mentioned? Let me know what, and why, in the comments.
