I really really enjoy the idea of a sphinx putting three face down cards in front of an opponent, and then having three different things happen with each of those three cards. A very cool card that doesn’t necessarily lock you into a paint-by-number deck. Even one of my dumb theme-ey decks could use this (some sort of oracle/riddle/etc theme) and function totally fine. Very well done!!

I really like the idea of having your 99 (potentially) work well even without your commander. Having landfall and manlands working together seems cool... and the commander can be a force multiplier on top of that. On an unrelated note: I don’t have a very high win rate, so take this with a grain of salt ;p

I’m also a big fan of Cruel Entertainment! I’ve got it in my pre-strixhaven witch deck; crooked deals and curses, baby!

This is sort of tangential but Pact Weapon made me think of Rakdos Riteknife. It’s not likely to fit in most Lich builds, but I thought I would mention it. Sort of ensouling something with someone ELSE for your benefit... Lich-by-proxy, maybe.

You had me at the use of the word “theme” lol great list!!

I do love sorta “boring” and “based on real life” critters. There's a time and place for complex character development and all that, but I’ll take a big beastie any day. I’d play it!

I will say, in this set’s defense, that I’m glad to see something that isn’t (hopefully) centered too heavily on the planeswalker drama that we’ve been following along with. Assuming it doesn’t all end up being some weird fever dream of Jayce’s, manipulated by Ashiok, it’ll be worth a watch!

Crow_Umbra beat me to it: I think it’s the cute factor.

The better you understand banding the more those lands make sense (making your legends of a certain color qualify as having banding when making a band with other legendary creatures under your control). The flavor is definitely there, but it’s way over-complicated considering the result. If (when?) they bring back banding, it would show up as “legendary creatures you control have banding” and they’d leave it at that. “Goblins have banding with other goblins” and other assorted specifications, while flavorful, are too much.

I assume they’re referencing the “bands with other legends” text from lands like Adventurers' Guildhouse and Cathedral of Serra. They may also be leaning into the “everybody hates banding and wonders what you were even thinking when you green-lighted it” feeling and how that might be the same notion for partner.

I’m generally going to go with a permanent over a sorcery/instant... like, to a fault. This is likely why I don’t win more than ten games each year, so you may not want to follow my lead.

Yup- got it. I was mostly just thinking about the blade helping post-board-wipe when you top-deck an elf or wolf and you’re trying to get back in business. Not breaking the game, but not a bad ripcord either.

Technically speaking I’m bad at magic, so I have to ask: would Blade of Selves be able to trigger before the commander’s effect?

I like it: I think it’s a fun idea! One dial you could turn, in possible tweaks or modifications, is whether it’s capable of destroying someone else’s artifact or if you can only sacrifice your own. The card draw is valuable, but there’s value in destroying an opponent’s artifact too, and that should be reflected in the cost.

As a last-ditch effort, for cuts in a case like this, I start cutting cards that are aimed at disrupting my opponents. I’d rather allow them to play their decks more than start cutting my own abilities back. Maybe not the ideal approach, but it leaves me with a deck that at least functions and forces them to stop me. The other side of that coin is “my deck is less effective AND I’ll make your deck less effective.” I know you’re trying to CUT but I wanted to mention Clackbridge Troll as a fun option.