The Best Commander Cards From... Legends

Underworld Dreams | Illustrated by Julie Baroh

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 Legends, the third expansion set ever created. Released in June of 1994, Legends was and still is a groundbreaking set, responsible for many design, development, and production trends and precedents that still exist today.

Legendary

You might not be very surprised to learn that Legends was packed with... well, legends. In total, the set contains 61 legendary permanents, not including things like world enchantments and such. For reference, "world" is a defunct supertype that has legendary qualities. If a "world" permanent is on the battlefield, another one entering the battlefield will put the first into its owner's graveyard. This is called the World Rule, and it's like a Legend Rule that applies to both players.

Gold Medals

Many creature types were introduced in Legends, the most prominent of which are Spirit, Beast, Phoenix, and Sphinx. However, an even greater list of creature types were featured that were later changed via errata, including Cobra, Being, and Effigy, which were changed to Snake, Human, and Elemental, respectively.

Without any further ado, let's get right into the cards themselves, starting with...

Honorable Mentions

Acid Rain is a color-hoser with rather limited utility against decks that aren't mono-green. Although you can combine it with Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth to create an Armageddon effect, that's not enough for me. Active Volcano is pretty far away from Red Elemental Blast, although it is a pretty funny card, and similar can be said for Flash Flood and Blue Elemental Blast. All Hallow's Eve is a mass reanimation spell for every player with a two-turn delay, which is very thematically interesting but quite mechanically unsatisfying. Eureka is a fun, albeit risky, way to speed games up at casual tables if you have deep pockets.

Honorable Mentions - Legendary Creatures

Rubinia Soulsinger seems to be so Commander-friendly that it was even reprinted in Commander 2013. Angus Mackenzie is strangely popular despite its cost. People seem to have a soft spot for Hazezon Tamar, Xira Arien, and Rasputin Dreamweaver. There's actually tons of cards that are really cool, but not really up to snuff in today's world. I encourage you to check out the full set via Gatherer for a better look at the cards that didn't make it.

Finally, let's cover the highlight reel.

Concordant Crossroads

Granting haste to all creatures for only one mana certainly changes how many decks operate, but many players see this card as a combo-enabler. After all, this can make many mana-producing creatures instantly offer you a rebate for their casting cost. When it isn't letting Elves go wild, it's paving the way for faster games and enabling huge creatures to swing the first turn they get played. Prior to a printing in Double Masters, this card was significantly more expensive than it is now. I doubt the price point will go much lower, so consider picking one up!

Greed

Folks, I've paid a lot of life into Greed. If Necropotence is above your budget, this is a pretty great option to replace it. You'll pay a higher premium, but you get the cards up front. This card has seen print across multiple preconstructed Commander decks as a testament to its playability. If you haven't tried it out in casual decks, it's well worth a shot.

Land Tax

This card has consistently been a staple in mono-white decks for years. Despite being reprinted in Battlebond and Double Masters, the price has been on an upward trajectory the whole time. Whether you need lands to play or cards to discard, Land Tax has you covered. For only one mana, there's little that compares, especially in white.

Sylvan Library

One of the ultimate staples of EDH, Sylvan Library shines bright in a 40-life format. Trading life for cards every turn is a deal green decks don't usually get to choose. It's so powerful that nearly any deck that can play it should probably at least consider it. Even though it's been reprinted several times, be wary that it still commands a pretty high price.

Mana Drain

Someone, for some reason, decided that Counterspell was just not good enough. For the same mana cost, you're getting the same effect with a pretty huge bonus on top. I've seen people cast unbelievably large spells off this, from Expropriate to Torment of Hailfire. It's a beating, and it will turn heads every time it hits the stack. The only downside is the price.

Winds of Change

One-mana wheels are not very common. Although you lose out on some of the guaranteed functionality of cards like Windfall, Wheel of Fortune, or some others, you gain a sincere mana advantage that enables you to use your new hand to nearly its fullest potential. There are many wheel-heavy decks that are looking for any mass card draw, with the foremost being Nekusar, the Mindrazer.

Underworld Dreams

Speaking of cards that make an appearance in wheel-heavy decks, here's another. Punishing players for drawing cards is pretty sweet, and Underworld Dreams can definitely pile on the hurt. Although it does cost triple-black, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse has thrust it back into the spotlight. For bonus points, I combine it with Peer into the Abyss to show my enemies that the cost of greatness is sometimes too high.

The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

I've had the misfortune of playing against this card a few times in person. I guess I should have seen it coming when the player fetched a real Beta Volcanic Island on turn one. Unless someone has land destruction primed and ready, this can wreck board states. Only two things hold this land back from being a staple, or at least seeing much more play, in the format. The first is that it doesn't produce mana, which was a theme on certain lands from Legends. The second is that it would cost you several thousand dollars.

Karakas

It shouldn't be surprising that this card is banned. In any deck that could play it, you'd have no reason not to do so. There's nothing to dislike. All it's missing is a basic land type to make it fetchable, but even without that it's still more than ban-worthy. Karakas would work on offense and defense in EDH, saving your own commander and stealing lots of tempo from opponents. While Karakas has no place in EDH, it is kind of funny that the prevalence of planeswalker commanders has reduced its utility somewhat.

Kismet

Long before the era of Thalia, Heretic Cathar, Blind Obedience, Authority of the Consuls, and even Root Maze, there was Kismet. Sequencing your lands carefully to make a great on-curve play? Counting on your Thran Dynamo to tap for mana the turn you play it? Trying to win with an army of hasty creatures? Sorry, Kismet has other plans. This may be a bit outclassed by some of the cards I mentioned above, but it's still pretty fun.

Hell's Caretaker

Strangely, the original printing featured the creature type Hell's Caretaker, which was later changed to Horror. If you've ever wanted a Goblin Welder for your own creatures, this does the trick. The timing restrictions are a bit tedious, but I've found that any repeatable way to trade out creatures is pretty valuable for any deck with a routinely stocked graveyard.

The Elder Dragons

In all fairness, these might be a bit anemic by today's standards. Still, how could I not mention the Elder Dragons for which the entire format is named? That's right, these five draconic legends are the namesake of Elder Dragon Highlander. Without them, this format probably wouldn't exist, and you certainly wouldn't be reading this article. So thanks, Nicol Bolas, I guess you're a pretty stand-up guy, or uh, Dragon, after all.

That's All, Folks

I have a soft spot for Legends. Not only because it is largely responsible for the EDH format as we know it, but also because of how wacky the cards are. Princess Lucrezia? Lady Orca? Lord Magnus? If there's any cards I missed, please let me know in the comments. I hope you've enjoyed this breakdown, that you've learned something, and that you tune in again. I'm Luka "Robot" Sharaska, and I'll catch you next time.