The Best Commander Cards From... Fallen Empires
Hymn to Tourach by Susan Van Camp
Welcome back to The Best Commander Cards From..., a series focusing on the most powerful EDH cards from across Magic: the Gathering's thirty-year history. Today's focus is Fallen Empires, the fifth expansion set ever created. Fallen Empires was released in November of 1994, three months after The Dark.
Too Few Cards, Too Many Cards
Fallen Empires is widely regarded as the first time Magic had to really think about how big the release of a small set could be. Hundreds of millions of cards were in the print run, and the relatively small 102-card set wasn't selling nearly enough. Three-hundred seventy-five million cards in a print run might seem like a small number by today's standards, considering even Fourth Edition had more than double that on pre-order alone, but at this point Magic was only about one year old.
Packs & Art
Like many other sets from this era, Fallen Empires was sold in eight-card packs. This probably helped the small set stay fresh enough to feel like you weren't constantly seeing the same cards, but they might have overdone it a bit in at least one regard. Multiple arts of certain commons were available, but this made it more difficult for players to quickly recognize which cards they were looking at. At least these days it's mostly higher rarities that get special arts.
Sarpadia's Fall
Previously, we covered The Dark, which featured a rather similar story to Fallen Empires. The Brothers' War is over, and things are looking grim for everybody. Unfortunately, the conditions within Sarpadia aren't the only things that are looking grim. I'll be honest, folks, this set isn't exactly filled to the brim with bangers, at least not compared to modern-day design standards. That said, there's still cards for us to discover!
Even if this set is about finding the most powerful cards from each set, we'll still have some fun along the way. Aside from the best cards, we'll also go over some hidden gems you might have missed, and even cover some cards that just missed the mark. Starting with...
The Best Commander Card From... Fallen Empires
High Tide
I've had remarkably few Commander games where High Tide was a notable card. I tend to steer clear of mono-blue, and my multi-color decks are running too many non-Island lands to make this a real powerhouse for me. However, I have played with and against this card many times in various Cubes. You can loop this card with copy effects, untap your lands with spells like Frantic Search, create enough mana to draw most of your library, and more. If you can do that in Limited, the potential in a constructed format like EDH is even higher. Just be careful, it also affects the Islands your opponents control.
Night Soil (Honorable Mention)
Recurring graveyard interaction that also puts bodies on the board is pretty sweet. Night Soil might be eclipsed in power level by other options, but this remains a pretty underused card. It might be eclipsed in popularity by a few cards too, but this is indeed one of the most powerful EDH cards in the set. Need proof? It was reprinted in Commander 2013.
Ebon Stronghold And The Other Sac-Lands (Wasted Potential)
Alongside Ruins of Trokair, Svyelunite Temple, Dwarven Ruins, and Havenwood Battleground, Ebon Stronghold is part of a cycle of lands that all sacrifice to add two mana of their color. First, I want to acknowledge the amazing and iconic Mark Poole art, which makes it even more tragic that this is one of the biggest missed opportunities in the history of Magic design. If these lands didn't enter the battlefield tapped, they'd make for incredibly high-risk and equally high reward play patterns in EDH. As it is now, they are just too slow to really be of value to most decks, and you're probably better off playing the depletion lands, like Saprazzan Skerry, instead. They would be almost auto-includes in mono-colored decks, but I hardly think multicolor decks are starved for power these days.
Goblin Grenade (No, Seriously, An Honorable Mention)
If you haven't been playing Magic for a long time, you might laugh at this card a bit. I mean, more than you're supposed to laugh at the premise, that is. You may be surprised to learn that Goblin Grenade has seen a lot of constructed play across the years. Yes, Goblin Grenade was a very competitive card in the format where Force of Will is a staple. Besides Legacy, it has even broken into Modern on several occasions. Don't sleep on this one!
Hymn to Tourach (Honorable Mention)
Trust me, you don't want to get hit by Hymn to Tourach. Even the most well-sculpted hand can get ravaged by discard, and this hits two of your cards at random. While it only targets one person, you can always save it for that blue player who really enjoys countering your commander. It's me, I'm that blue player.
Soul Exchange (Hidden Gem)
Folks, reanimation is getting more expensive by the day. Two years ago I bought Reanimate for less than half the price it is today. If you're in the market for budget options, hidden gems, or just another cheap way to get creatures back, Soul Exchange does a pretty great job at it. Granted, you'll need some expendable bodies to make it happen, but think of all the sweet value you'll get if that creature was a Thrull!
Farrel's Zealot (Hidden Gem)
Few things make me happier than a great politics card, and Farrel's Zealot is exactly that. Sure, the rate isn't exactly great for a creature, but what you're really paying for is the ability to negotiate for a repeatable Lightning Bolt at the best creature on the table each turn. Chances are, someone is gonna let you connect with this if you promise to bolt something they don't like. Plus, the card is worth pennies, folks. Can't ask for more than that.
Goblin Chirurgeon (Hidden Gem)
If you like turning your commander sideways and you're playing red, you can do much worse than Goblin Chirurgeon. For the low price of one mana, you get to save any creature you desire from a decent amount of removal in the format. Die-hard Goblin fanatics might already know this card, but for anyone unaware, you're welcome!
Goblin War Drums (Honorable Mention)
The Goblins really got a lot of love in this set. That said, more than just Goblin decks play this card. Granting menace to your entire team is not terribly easy every turn of the game, and this even survives most wraths! Although it's a decent bit outclassed by Frontier Warmonger, you can play both if you so desire.
Goblin Warrens (Honorable Mention)
The rate for normal Goblin decks isn't great, as you're paying three mana per Goblin. That said, add in a token-doubler and something akin to Phyrexian Altar, and you've got quite a brew. Even without the altar you can still generate quite a few expendable bodies with a bit of work and a doubler of some kind.
Heroism (Wasted Potential)
This should have affected creatures of any color and cost 3 generic mana to ignore, putting it in a similar category to cards like Propaganda and Norn's Annex. Unfortunately though, the color-hoser blinders were on for Wizards at the time and we ended up with this borderline unplayable.
Icatian Scout (Hidden Gem)
I might be letting my draft-focused brain get the better of me here, but hear me out. On-board tricks that cost very little mana tend to overperform in Commander. It's easy to forget about an on-board Scavenging Ooze or Vexing Shusher until it's too late. It's hard to ask for more on a one-mana creature than a repeatable on-board trick you can use politically.
Vodalian Mage (Wasted Potential)
Tired of asking your opponents if they'd like to pay the 1 to Rhystic Study? Now you can ask if they'd like to pay the 1 to Vodalian Mage instead. Jokes aside, I wish this card cost two instead of three. Perhaps it would be better if it asked you to pay 2 instead of 1? Either way, at most tables this is just far too slow, and you're not actually guaranteed to ever make it work.
Basal Thrull (Hidden Gem)
Y'know, I have a soft spot for creatures that ramp in colors that don't get much ramp. Although Basal Thrull won't be winning any awards for efficiency, it does do its job well enough. What job is that? Being a one-turn-delay Dark Ritual with a bit of extra up-front cost.
That's All, Folks
I gotta say, I really enjoyed this set. Definitely more than The Dark, at least. This might be one of the less powerful sets across Magic's history, but it's still got some pretty sweet cards that are worth considering. I didn't get to go over everything, so let me know in the comments what you love that I missed! There's gotta be a Thallid fan out there, right? I've been Luka "Robot" Sharaska, and I'll catch you next time.
