Set Prospective
Dominaria United Commander
This article is one of our set prospectives, a series in which we survey the Cube community about the cards they intend to play in their cubes from a particular set. Our survey is conducted between the set’s full-spoiler and official release and is meant to measure and document Cube designers’ first impressions of new cards.
“As someone for whom nostalgia is a predominant factor, any Dominaria-based set is going to be an automatic favorite for me.”
Accompanying Dominaria United is a series of Commander decks that bring new considerations for Cube curators. We have collected data from 57 cubes, from Commander-focused cubes to lists looking for the next big 6-mana dragon, and present the results below!
The median respondent to our survey is testing one card from Dominaria United: Commander and has given it a rating above 7.75 out of 3, meaning that they’re confident their test will stick around long-term. This is similar to many other Commander set releases of the past, which typically get less visibility than the main set releases, and may appeal to a more niche subset of the Cube community.
See where our respondents fall on the Cube Map.
| Card | Testers▼ | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Two-Headed Hellkite | 22.8% | 5.2 |
| Greensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer | 19.3% | 4.7 |
| Tiller Engine | 15.8% | 5.0 |
| Ramirez DePietro, Pillager | 15.8% | 6.8 |
| Tor Wauki the Younger | 12.3% | 6.3 |
| General Marhault Elsdragon | 10.5% | 6.1 |
| Verrak, Warped Sengir | 10.5% | 4.3 |
| Activated Sleeper | 8.8% | 4.8 |
| Mana Cannons | 8.8% | 5.8 |
Two-Headed Hellkite is the most-tested DMC card (and no, I’m not referring to the Degenerate Micro Cube; it’s the set code). Its obvious power makes it worth the risk of a 5-color manabase, and it’s also a splashy Dragon in a format where the demand for 6-mana creatures can be awfully low.
Ramirez DePietro, Pillager is the highest-rated card of DMC, whose slight mana rebate and tribal payoff imply a home for Ramirez among cubes which key off him mechanically. He is also Peasant-legal and presents build-around opportunity in that format, which may boost his ratings.
The card from DMC whose power level I find most underrated is Verrak, Warped Sengir. This Vampire is able to copy fetchland triggers, providing resource acceleration and an evasive body which regains any life spent. It’s not going to reinvent the wheel, but Verrak might be especially worth considering for lists that break singleton on fetchlands.
The preconstructed decks for DMC also include a substantial number of reprints, which in some cases can make commonly cubed cards more affordable. If these cards fit your cube’s goals, now is a great time to pick them up!
More from Lucky Paper