Magic: The Gathering came into existence in 1993. Some longstanding players began playing MTG when Limited Edition Alpha (LEA), Arabian Nights (ARN), and Unlimited (2ED) were released. Amazingly, cards such as Serra Angel and Shivan Dragon once dominated the battlefield. While MTG has evolved over the decades with rule changes, new card types, and crossovers, many players nostalgically remember the 1990s era of the game.
I fondly remember MTG during the mid-1990s when my brother and I played with unsleeved 60-card decks featuring single copies of every card except basic lands. We tailored our decks to beat each other by including White Knight, Black Knight, Ihsan's Shade, and other creatures with specific color protection. The nostalgia of wanting to re-experience those games led to reacquiring cards from my childhood deck.
Commander enables established players to add any existing card to a deck, barring those on the banned list. If you want to include a copy of Ali from Cairo to avoid dying from combat damage, do it! Moreover, you can still agonize opponents with Stasis, Winter Orb, and Smoke. You also have the opportunity to select Rasputin Dreamweaver, Angus Mackenzie, or Tetsuo Umezawa as your commander.
Although Commander encompasses cards printed over thirty years ago, obtaining older cards is another matter. Scarcity and the Reserved List create a limited supply of nostalgic cards, such as Power Artifact, Wheel of Fortune, and Timetwister. Fortunately, Wizards of the Coast knows the reprintable, scarce cards players want for their collection. Additionally, several cards overdue for reprinting have appeared in more recent sets and products. Let's review a few nostalgic and Commander-playable cards that received a much-needed reprinting.
Reconnaissance is a white enchantment initially printed in 1998's Exodus (EXO). Casting Reconnaissance for just lets you activate a combat ability. Reconnaissance activated ability removes a target attacking creature you control from combat and untaps it. While it may not sound like a stellar ability at first glance, it enables each creature under your control to attack freely. If any of your creatures receive unfavorable blockers, you can remove those specific creatures from harm and untap them with Reconnaissance's ability.
Additionally, Reconnaissance benefited from an update to how combat functions in Magic: combat has five steps, but the last two, the combat damage step and the end of combat step, are the ones pertinent to this discussion. Creatures all deal damage during the combat damage step before transitioning to the end of combat step. The important thing to note, though, is that creatures that attacked are still considered attacking during the end of combat step. This means that, for however many of your creatures you want that attacked, you can untap them without fear of negating or undoing the damage they dealt during combat because that damage already happened, effectively giving them vigilance. This runs contrary to the reminder text on the original card. Additionally, if you choose to untap your attacking creatures before they deal damage, they will not deal combat damage.
2024's Universes Beyond: Assassin's Creed (ACR) helped get more affordable copies of Reconnaissance into players' hands. For the first time in 26 years, Reconnaissance received a full-fledged reprinting in a set release. Reconnaissance is also a fantastic support card for kindred Assassins decks led by ACR's Ezio Auditore da Firenze or Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. Other legendary creatures with a potent attack ability can maximize Reconnaissance. You may want to consider slotting Reconnaissance in the 99 of Mr. Foxglove, Kaalia of the Vast, or Satya, Aetherflux Genius.
Fascinatingly, Reconnaissance forms a two-card, infinite self-mill combo with Cephalid Illusionist. After attacking with Cephalid Illusionist, you can target it with Reconnaissance's ability to put the top three cards of your library into your graveyard as many times as you see fit. Pair Reconnaissance and Cephalid Illusionist with Thassa's Oracle to form a three-card, game-winning combo.
(ARN) includes a three-mana black enchantment named Oubliette. Upon entering the battlefield, Oubliette causes a target creature to phase out until Oubliette leaves the battlefield. Additionally, the creature returns the battlefield tapped when it phases back into play. Phasing is a peculiar mechanic since a creature phasing out of play will take along any attached Auras and Equipment. Those attached Auras and Equipment will also return to play when the creature phases in. A reprint of Oubliette was last featured in 2024's Secret Lair Drop: Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Death is in the Eyes of the Beholder II.
An incentive for playing Oubliette in Commander is that phasing out an opponent's commander temporarily locks it out of the game. Phasing does not cause a creature to change zones, thus circumventing the game rule that a player may return a commander to the command zone if it enters their graveyard, hand, library, or exile from anywhere. Oubliette's ability to target only creatures is limiting, but the fact that it's an enchantment offers synergies with a handful of viable commander options.
Tatsunari, Toad Rider and Zur, Eternal Schemer, and Zur the Enchanter all care about black enchantments. Playing enchantments with Tatsunari, Toad Rider on your battlefield may gift you a legendary 3/3 black and green Frog creature token named Keimi with "Whenever you cast an enchantment spell, each opponent loses one life and you gain one life." Zur, Eternal Schemer turns non-Aura enchantments into deadly creatures, while Zur the Enchanter can pull Oubliette from your library and onto the battlefield when it attacks. Besides nostalgia, many great reasons exist to put Oubliette in a deck.
Fire Covenant is another nostalgic card featured in the Secret Lair Drop: Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Death is in the Eyes of the Beholder II. Initially printed in 1995's Ice Age (ICE), Fire Covenant is an instant for that deals X damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures, where X is the amount of life paid as an additional cost to casting the spell. Commander suits Fire Covenant well since players' starting life totals can fuel its damage output.
Several commanders can make great use of Fire Covenant. Rowan, Scion of War's mana reduction ability feeds off the life lost from casting Fire Covenant. Greven, Predator Captain's power-increasing ability also cares about the life lost during a turn. If you want to negate the life lost from damaging creatures with Fire Covenant, ensure you have Judith, Carnage Connoisseur under your control. You don't need much reason to play Fire Covenant as it's already a versatile and helpful spell.
Even though Ice Storm is not on the Restricted List, it took over 30 years for a legitimate reprinting to happen. Anyone who obtained a copy of Secret Lair X Marvel's Storm received a version of Ice Storm with new artwork. Paying to cast Ice Storm at sorcery speed lets you destroy any land. Intriguingly, green Commander players yearning for more land destruction may include Ice Storm alongside Winter's Grasp and Thermokarst (never reprinted).
Land Destruction is not a sought-after theme, but a few commanders may want Ice Storm beside Storm, Force of Nature, such as the mighty Lord Windgrace and Soul of Windgrace. Notably, both cards can repeatedly return lands from the graveyard to the battlefield. Their abilities are beneficial after casting Ice Storm or other exhilarating land destruction spells like Ruination and Wildfire. You never know when you may need Ice Storm to remove an opponent's Cabal Coffers, Ancient Tomb, or Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth.
Another nostalgic card that removes nonbasic lands is Wasteland. Tapping Wasteland for colorless mana or sacrificing it to destroy a nonbasic land is excellent. Many veteran MTG players know Wasteland and its incredible ability following its first appearance in Tempest (TMP). While copies of Wasteland from TMP are pretty old, you can obtain newer (and more affordable) versions from Mystery Booster 2 (MB2) and Fallout (PIP).
Wasteland is effective in Lands Matter decks that can return lands from your graveyard to the battlefield. Replaying Wasteland and sacrificing it to destroy opponents' nonbasic lands is practical in Thalia and The Gitrog Monster, Muldrotha, the Gravetide, and The Necrobloom. Furthermore, Wasteland synergies with Walk-In Closet // Forgotten Cellar, Conduit of Worlds, and Crucible of Worlds to play it from your graveyard.
1999's Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK) added Capture of Jingzhou, a five-mana sorcery that grants an extra turn. Taking an extra turn has been part of MTG since the beginning, but rarely appears on cards. Although Capture of Jingzhou is not as mana-efficient as Time Walk, it does serve a similar function. Luckily, Commander Masters (CMM) provided an opportune time for players to get a reprint of Capture of Jingzhou for a substantially lower price than its printing from PTK.
Resolving an extra turn spell is stellar in Commander, especially when duplicated. Alania, Divergent Storm, Gandalf the Grey, and Storm, Force of Nature all possess abilities capable of copying Capture of Jingzhou to earn two extra turns. Red provides a slew of sorcery-copying spells, like Doublecast, Reverberate, and Flare of Duplication.
You don't always have to copy Capture of Jingzhou to gain an advantage in a game. Narset, Enlightened Master, Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign, and Taigam, Ojutai Master are capable of letting you cast Capture of Jingzhou for zero mana. Archmage of Runes abilities to lower Capture of Jingzhou's casting cost by one mana and draw you a card pair very well together. Any deck looking for additional means of earning extra turns should consider Capture of Jingzhou.
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