Hey everyone! My name is Dan and this is my first entry into a new series of articles called Commander Cube Coverage about the ins and outs of commander cube including set reviews, building strategies, and opinion pieces! I figured what better place to kick off this series than with a review of a set that has brought so many new eyes to the commander cube format, Commander Legends! I’ll be covering new cards in WUBRG+Multicolored/Colorless order over two articles, and touching on their impacts in cube and whether I included them in my personal cube, as well as what archetypes they help bolster.
Before we get started, I wanted to touch on one of the major differences between commander cube curators, and the angle that I will be reviewing these cards from. Commander cube curators use many different tactics when addressing color identity and how commanders are selected such as commander-only packs, giving partner to legends that didn’t have it before, or even removing color identity entirely. Each of these methods has its own upsides and downsides, and no individual one is completely right or wrong. Pre-commander legends I was in the boat of having players drafting two legends and giving them partner, but commander legends introduced a much more elegant solution with mono-colored partners and Prismatic Piper. With these new tools at our disposal, I now seed two legends in each pack with a mix of two-color partners, mono-color partners, and normal legends for players to draft with color identity rules being upheld. This allows players to draft with the standard commander rules in mind, knowing they also have Prismatic Piper at their disposal if they encounter a second or third color they would like to play and don’t draft a mono color legend that allows it.

That being said, let's jump into it!

#White:

Akroma’s Will
Akroma's Will definitely packs a punch, and has even garnered similarities to the ever-powerful Teferi’s Protection. While in the average deck Protection will always have the step-up over Will, I would argue that in creature-heavy archetypes Akroma’s Will beats out Tef Pro for providing protection against wraths as well as acting as a proactive game-ender in the vein of Overrun. I included this card in my personal cube, and look forward to the explosive plays it will lead to!

Akroma, Vision of Ixidor
Akroma, vision of Ixidor is a powerful legend both as a commander, as well as in the main deck. Notable archetypes that she is beneficial in include being a pseudo-lord in a flyers deck, as well as being a Baneslayer Angel-esque finisher in control decks with the notable lack of lifelink preventing these slower decks from being able to climb back into the game if they are targeted by aggressive decks early on. I included this card in my personal cube as one of the four mono-white partner legends.

Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist and Armored Skyhunter
I wanted to review Ardenn, intrepid Archaeologist and Armored skyhunter together, as they are roleplayers in the same archetype. If equipment/auras are supported in your cube, then these two would play right into those strategies. However auras are notoriously weak in most formats, commander cube included, especially when decks must be drafted and not all tools will be available to players wanting to play these archetypes. Equipment at least has more staying power than auras do, but I personally feel can still be too parasitic an archetype in the average cube with all the support needed to be provided for it to be successful. Neither of these cards made the cut in my cube.

Court of Grace
White is a color that notoriously struggles in commander and depending on how much mono-colors are supported in your cube, this can also be applied to commander cubes. There are several standouts in this set that bolster whites card advantage, and Court of Grace is no exception. Introducing monarch into a game, as well as creating creatures to help protect or take it back to boot is nothing to scoff at. My cube doesn’t support mono colors as much as 2-3 color pairs so this won’t be making the cut in my cube, but I can definitely see it pulling its weight.

Keeper of the Accord
Keeper of the Accord a prime example of the exploration of white’s card advantage engines as discussed in Court of Grace. While I personally think white could explore more parts of the color pie with reference to card advantage, a token generator and pseudo Tithe is definitely a step in the right direction, not to mention supporting token and go-wide archetypes.

Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel
Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel is a great partner legend for commander cube not only in its flexibility in several archetypes, but also in its low cmc to aid in curving out early game. Livio is a standout in blink archetypes, especially when paired with blue or green partners but can also play a role in combat-focused strategies by enabling creatures to be able to attack with abandon as well as providing a way to exile and protect those that are blocked. I like the shenanigans this partner can enable and am definitely including him in my cube.

Prava of the Steel Legion
While Prava of the Steel Legion is much narrower than partners like Livio, they excel in the token archetype they were designed for. Providing an anthem as well as a token generator in a pinch for a low cmc is definitely a great proposition, especially when paired with green and/or red partner legends such as Tana, the bloodsower.

Slash the Ranks
Board wipes play a crucial role in commander cube and play a balancing act in a multiplayer cube environment. Too many boardwipes, and games tend to draw too long and creature strategies get punished. Too few, and creature strategies run unchecked, or games devolve into board stalls with no way to break parity. I personally would lean towards playing more boardwipes than less, while simultaneously putting most of them in the Boros colors to incentivize drafting those two colors for their strengths. That being said, Slash the Ranks is a functional boardwipe that gets better with the number of planeswalkers in your cube, as well as the amount of commander-focused strategies. I wouldn’t play this card over Wrath of God or Blasphemous Act, but I would consider this card on par with cards like Fumigate or Divine Reckoning.

Triumphant Reckoning
I wanted to use Triumphant Reckoning to discuss the 9 mana sorcery cycle as a whole, including Mnemonic Deluge, Profane Transfusion, Soulfire Eruption, and Reshape the Earth. I’ll begin by stating that as a whole this cycle really has no home in commander cube due to being too narrow and high-costed, but I also wanted to touch on the subject in 8+ cmc spells in commander cubes in general. While commander cube strives to emulate a game of commander, spells cmc 8 or more on average bog down the limited environment and lead to feel-bads while playing the game due to less consistent ramp or ways to cheat spells into play. Examples of cards I would avoid including in commander cubes due to mana cost include Blightsteel colossus, Expropriate, and Rise of the Dark Realms. However, in a color such as green that leans so heavily into ramp, cards such as Craterhoof Behemoth and Tooth and nail can definitely find a home.

Blue:

Amphin Mutineer
Kicking off the blue section of the set review is Amphin Mutineer, a repeatable Pongify on a stick. This card excels in blink archetypes, as well as self-mill strategies with the inclusion of the Encore ability. Besides this there is not much to say about this card, it’s a great roleplayer as well as political tool in multiplayer and is definitely include in my cube!

Brinelin, the Moon Kraken
Ironically I now find myself discussing an 8 cmc non-green legend right after ranting about high cmc spells in cube, but I do feel Brinelin, the Moon Kraken can definitely pull their weight despite the high cmc. This card fits primarily with green and white partners to excel in blink strategies, but also creates a very niche “high cmc tribal” deck when paired with Vial smasher the fierce and spells such as Dig Through Time and Nicol Bolas, God Pharaoh.

Eligeth, Crossroads Augur
Eligeth, Crossroads Augur is an interesting example of a card that conceptually should really not be played in a commander cube, but is versatile enough to pull it off. Narrow legends and those supporting parasitic archetypes should be avoided as much as possible in cube, and a “scry tribal” legend is a perfect example of that. That being said, a 6 mana 5/6 flyer that allows access to blue in a cube deck definitely is enough to see play. Additionally, synergizing with the flyers archetypes as well as one-off cards such as Preordain is a sweet bonus.

Hullbreacher
Hullbreacher is a great excuse to talk about hate cards in commander cube. What hate bears see play in your cube ties directly to the playstyle you are trying to foster. Are you trying to emulate a more competitive environment? Then play hosers for different archetypes you know will see play, so they don’t run unchecked. If you’re looking to foster a more casual environment, then pick and choose hate cards as you please that conform best to fun gameplay while also checking certain archetypes. An example of this is I do not run Hullbreacher in my cube due to not having any combos that lead to whole decks being drawn for wins with Laboratory Maniac, as well as wanting to not deny players card draw. However, I do play Opposision Agent because of the prevalence of tutors and fetchlands in my cube that the agent can keep in check.

Sakashima of a Thousand Faces
Sakashima of a thousand faces is an interesting partner legend. Want to play blue, and want a second copy of your other partner legend? Draft Sakashima. However this can lead to unfun picks during draft where it is almost never wrong to draft Sakashima due to their flexibility, being drafted similarly to fast mana and colorless bombs such as Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. If you are ok with having a slam dunk first pick like this in your cube, it plays well into almost any archetype but does excel in blink strategies due to the ability to copy other creatures with relevant enter-the battlefield triggers.

Wrong Turn
Wrong Turn is too fun of a card not to talk about. It may seem narrow, but it can be a fun political tool as well as a disruptive piece by gifting opponents other player's commanders. How thoughtful of you to be so giving!

Black:

Nightshade Harvester
Nightshade Harvester, while lacking evasion does punish ramp strategies as well as 4-5 color strategies relying heavily on fetchlands quickly growing into a threat that must be answered.

Opposition Agent
Opposition Agent’s argument for inclusion or exclusion is similar to that of Hullbreacher. Do you have lots of tutors/fetchlands? Include the Agent. If you do not, or would like to foster an environment without hate bears or hoser cards then do not include it.

Sengir, the Dark Baron
Baron Sengir makes his triumphant return, with a pretty sweet partner legend to boot! Sengir grows on the average board state quickly becoming an evasive game-ender, and also excels in aristocrats archetypes. He also synergizes well with cards with the Encore ability if they are prevalent in your cube.

Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools
Tevesh Szat segways us into the topic of planeswalkers as commanders. On average, planeswalkers as commanders tend to draw out the average game of commander limited, due to the necessity to attack or remove them in ways less available then creature commanders. That being said, if the only two planeswalkers as commanders present in your cube are the two partner planeswalkers from commander legends, then I believe the environment self-corrects itself and Szat, in particular, enables powerful aristocrats strategies.

Szat’s Will
Szat's Will is a versatile card providing both graveyard hate as well as removal in one package, that also incentivizes playing and casting partner commanders. It is also a great example of modal cards and their benefits in cube, with removal being essential in cube environments but graveyard hate being just as important to check reanimator and self-mill strategies. However, graveyard hate tends to be more narrow and modal cards like this provide these essential attributes while simultaneously being stapled to a card with a high enough floor on its own.

And that concludes part one of my Commander Legends Commander Cube Review! If you would like to discuss cards I did not cover that you feel should see play in commander cubes, or would like to further discuss ones I did mention feel free to comment on this article or tweet at me @DacleinMTG. I look forward to rounding out this set review in part two!