Set Prospective
The Brothers’ War 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.
Accompanying The Brothers’ War is a duo of Commander decks featuring the eponymous Brothers: Urza and Mishra. These cards bring a host of considerations, aesthetic and mechanical, for Cube curators.
41 Cube curators submitted to this survey. The median respondent from our survey is testing 2 cards from BRC and has given between 2 and 3 cards a strong rating above 7.75. In general, Cube curators are only testing the cards they’re most excited for from this set, much like other Commander sets of the past.
| Card | Testers▼ | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Scholar of New Horizons | 31.7% | 5.1 |
| Sanwell, Avenger Ace | 26.8% | 5.6 |
| Scavenged Brawler | 22.0% | 5.3 |
| Thopter Shop | 17.1% | 5.1 |
| Farid, Enterprising Salvager | 17.1% | 6.0 |
| Urza, Chief Artificer | 14.6% | 5.5 |
| Sardian Avenger | 12.2% | 9.4 |
Scholar of New Horizons is the most-tested card from BRC, with about as many individuals testing it as Urza's Command from the main set. That’s not to say it’s unimpressive — to the contrary, the ability to remove any counter, search any Plains, and respond to a fetchland trigger adds up to one of the most flexible pieces of White land tutoring available in Magic, perhaps second only to Weathered Wayfarer and Land Tax.
Sanwell, Avenger Ace is a new spin on Blade of the Sixth Pride, offering additional synergy with artifacts and Vehicles. Sanwell digs deep for new artifacts, too, meaning that the deckbuilding burden of its synergy is much less than some alternatives.
Finally, Scavenged Brawler is a nice fusion between artifact cheat strategies and the mechanic Scavenge. Oh, I just noticed the pun. Nice.
As always, Commander decks reprint many cards that see play in a wide variety of Cubes. BRC is especially notable for bringing widely loved Constructed staples to an old-border frame for the first time, which will surely appeal to a subset of Cube curators. Get ‘em while they’re cheap.
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