The Best Commander Cards From... Portal, Second Age, & Three Kingdoms

Imperial Recruiter by Zack Stella

Welcome back to The Best Commander Cards From..., a series focusing on the most powerful EDH cards from across Magic: The Gathering's rich thirty-year-long history. Today's focus is the Portal trilogy, a series of starter-level sets released between May of 1997 and May of 1999.

What is the Portal trilogy?

One of Magic: The Gathering's biggest issues for attracting new players has been complexity, and in the late-90s the first Portal set was created in an attempt to solve this problem. Featuring simplified mechanics, only a few card types, and a number of other changes designed to reduce the baggage so often associated with learning Magic.

Portal Second Age

While Portal wasn't the best way to enfranchise potential players, especially since moving from Portal to normal sets required unlearning certain habits and relearning others, it was given a sequel in Portal Second Age. This second starter-level set fixed some of the templating issues, like the ability to block being called "intercept", that made it difficult for Portal players to hop into normal Magic.

Portal Three Kingdoms

A third and final set, Portal Three Kingdoms, would finish the trilogy in style. Based on the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, Portal Three Kingdoms was the culmination of many lessons learned from the previous two sets concentrated into a product designed for worldwide, albeit mostly Asian, appeal.

The Portal Trilogy Legacy

Tons of strange facts and weird bits of history surround the Portal trilogy. For instance, none of the Portal sets were actually legal in any tournament format at the time they were printed. Second Age is the first set to feature the "creature" supertype instead of "summon". Three Kingdoms is one of the few sets to be entirely based on Earth's history, and the first to come after Arabian Nights. There's plenty more where that came from, but let's get into some cards.

Wood Elves

Even after all these years of continuous envelope-pushing when it comes to power level in Commander, Wood Elves is still a popular staple in the format. I've come down a lot on three-mana rocks, like Commander's Sphere and Darksteel Ingot, but I still consistently find Wood Elves to be a great value creature in almost any green deck.

Temporal Manipulation

This variant of Time Warp was eventually reprinted, but like most extra turn spells, it's still expensive. It's hard to imagine a time when one could basically play three different variants of Time Warp, but the printing of Temporal Manipulation in Three Kingdoms made this a reality.

Three Visits

Up until its surprise reprint in Commander Legends, Three Visits could cost you as much as a preconstructed Commander deck. Since then, it's been reprinted a few times. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised that it still costs a few bucks, thanks to its ability to fetch out nonbasics for only two mana. Even better, if you fetch up an untapped dual, like Stomping Ground, you can get a one-mana rebate on your investment!

Personal Tutor

Even the most restrictive tutors can still see play, and Personal Tutor is no exception. Most board wipes and wheels are sorceries, and you get a lot of extra equity if you can fiddle with the top of your deck. Bonus points if you're using Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow or Bolas's Citadel for huge value.

Goblin Matron

I'd wager that Goblin kindred is one of the most popular kindred strategies in the format, and Goblin Matron is a fantastic auto-include in that deck. Fetching out important pieces like Skirk Prospector, Muxus, Goblin Grandee, and Conspicuous Snoop can be pretty important in these decks. Thanks, mom!

Imperial Seal

Every bit of mana you can save is worth a lot in Commander, and Imperial Seal remains one of the cheapest ways to go grab any combo piece in your deck. I most often see this card in Vintage Cube, but make no mistake, it can be just as potent in constructed decks. Just be careful to avoid shuffles or mill.

Sylvan Tutor

I honestly forgot that this card existed, even though it's perfectly playable in the format, even alongside cards like Worldly Tutor. You lose a bit of equity in not being able to surprise your opponents with some silver bullet play, but sometimes all that matters is that you have another way to find it.

Ancient Craving

Looking at Ancient Craving is like taking a time machine to an era where Commander was different. A world where True-Name Nemesis had just taken eternal formats by storm, and Force of Will was probably the only free spell you'd ever see. Power creep waits for no card, though, and so Ancient Craving seems to be an ultra-budget alternative to mass draw like Necropotence or Ad Nauseam.

Imperial Recruiter

This card might not look like too much at first glance, but I'll rattle off a few of the cards it can fetch out. Collector Ouphe, Dockside Extortionist, Ethersworn Canonist, Grand Abolisher, Drannith Magistrate, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Fatespinner, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Pestermite, and many more. It doesn't take much to make the utility worth the price of admission.

Gift of Estates

You'll usually be able to sneak this through at most tables, as long as there's a green player or two, and you'll be pretty happy with the results. Keep in mind that it can also fetch out nonbasics, which makes for great fixing in multicolor decks.

Wildfire

One of the most punishing board wipes, Wildfire is like the better part of an Armageddon combined with a Languish. As a bonus, sacrifice gets around a handful of tedious indestructible lands. Like most mass land destruction, it gets better if you've got a few mana rocks laying around.

Sun Quan, Lord of Wu

Horsemanship was the evasion ability that replaced flying for Portal Three Kingdoms, and it's only fitting that there's a commander that grants it to your whole team. Of course, you don't have to play Sun Quan in your command zone, as he also functions just fine as a surprise in any Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow deck.

Last Chance

Sometimes all you need is that one little bit extra, and if you're confident enough, Last Chance can do it for you. Of course, there's a steep cost associated with failing to win on that extra turn, but what's life without a bit of risk?

Theft of Dreams

It's very much feast or famine with Theft of Dreams, as you'll either draw a ton of cards or feel pretty disappointed with how little the card can do in any given situation. As a sorcery, it's also very limited in how practical it is to play. Even so, the effect is undeniably potent.

The Functional-ish Reprints

There's quite a few of these across the Portal trilogy, but the most notable inclusions are Warrior's Oath, Burning of Xinye, Capture of Jingzhou, Ambition's Cost, Borrowing 100,000 Arrows, and a few others. I'd wager that the designers had a blast trying to rename cards to fit the Three Kingdoms theme.

That's all I've got for you today. There's a few cool, albeit overcosted legends, like Diaochan, Artful Beauty, that enable some cool politicking, among a handful of other marginal playables whose popularity is undoubtedly related to nostalgia or a genuine love of the sets. Overall, while I can't speak to the success of the Portal series as a way to enfranchise new players, I can say it's still pretty cool by today's standards. I've been Luka "Robot" Sharaska, and I hope you'll join me next time when we take on another expansion set!