Commander Legends: Battle For Baldur’s Gate launch!

Since the age of 6, Role playing games have been a part of my life. If I’m not playing a campaign, or painting a model for my next one or more recent, consuming real play podcasts faster than they can be put out.  Nothing scratched that RPG inch until I found Magic: The Gathering.

I loved the fantasy themes, the spell slinging & the team work…. Well team work in my favourite format, Commander. So Last year when Wizards of the Coast launched the set, Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, I was excited. It had everything I loved about DnD but in Magic form, and so many cards I could use in commander.

It couldn’t get any better for me…. Or so I thought!

Fast forward a year, I get an email about a Magic: The Gathering event for the newest set. I’d been a little unwell prior to the event, so was unsort what the set was except it was a Commander Legends. And to be honest, it is a Commander Set & that was all that mattered to me.

I headed down to Fortress Melbourne. I’d never been there before, and thought it was more of a video game bar only. I was directed downstairs & walked from the Emporium into the tavern from your favourite DnD campaign. It was amazing, long bar, heavy tables littered with games & people drinking & amazing oversized weapons on the walls. It wasn’t what I expected but it was everything out of my dreams!

Launch Party

After being welcomed we were spilt into sets of four based on our experience, I was put in the top group. Right now I can hear my Rather Be Draftin’ laughing that I was one of the top 4.

They explained the set, a little about it & then did something were never down during these media events. They have us 3 packs & instructed us how to draft. Which left a lot of faces confused & a few mouth agape. As drafting is something even us on the top table had only done a handful of times. And I can’t remember a time we did it at a media event.

That being said, it was such a clever way to introduce all Commander Legends: Baldur’s Gate. As Commander is best when you are playing with multiple friends & after you’ve made your own deck. This had all the best parts of Commander rolled into an event.

It forced us to read all the cards & evaluate them all & build the strongest deck we could. And that is exactly what I tried to do….

My first pack only gave me one legendary creature, yet it was a great one & unfortunately it was in my least favourite colors, Blue. Yet I sucked up my pride… most coz I had nothing else to use & that only other legendary creature I our first round of packs, was the same one I’d already choosen, Rilsa Rael, Kingpin. A Blue Black legendary Creature with Deathtouch, that movies you through the dungeon & then gives all your attacking creatures get Deathtouch as well.

So, I need to get heaps of people, so removal & just attack like a mad man or that was the plan until pack 2 & the card I’ve nicknames ‘LEEROY JENKINS’ or Eldritch Pact for those not in my brain. A card that allows a player of my choice to pick up X cards & lose X life depending on the amount of cards in there graveyard. Which changed my plans in a second.

Instead of attacking like a mad man, I decided to get my commander out & only attack with one or 2 cards every turn, fill my deck with one & two drops & just slowly pick away at people watching their graveyards fill up.

In the end it worked & Alice who is normally always on the top table with me & always the one to beat….. which we’ve never done from memory. Had a lovely sized graveyard after taking out Dragon Boy & beating up on the poor fourth play who couldn’t get out of second gear. I shock everyone by swinging at her with everything with commander out, a few tramplers & everything having Deathtouch.

Though I knew I left myself wide open, I did this hoping I could get a few more creatures or cards in her graveyard to ‘LEEROY JENKINS’ her in the second main phase. It kind of worked, as she decided I’m not losing all my creatures, as it’s my turn next & you poked the bear & are going down.

Alice took 20 points of damage & had enough the board to kill us all next turn, and new that until……

LEEROY JENKIN

Commander Legends: Baldur’s Gate is everything I wanted and more. My two favourite sets from last year combined into one. The only issue I had with it, is now I want to make about 4 new commander deck & that only the cards I saw!

I know drafting can be a little scary or something you don’t think you’re good at, yet, I highly recommend drafting this set. As there are so many combinations & different style of decks to play. I’m personally not a fan of drafts, yet I loved this set so much & not only because I won. Plus, there something nice about being able to take 2 cards.