Multiverse Set Review: COMMANDER 2023 & Commander MASTERS 2023
Master & Commander
September 15, 2023 - By Nicholas Fair
First off, I’d like to apologize to everyone for how late this article has been in coming. Commander Masters 2023 has been out for over a month (released on August 4th), and normally I like to have these finished in time for the set release. I’ve had a lot of things come up to cause the delay, but I' promised I’d come through, so here we are!
First off, Commander Masters is primarily reprints. Well, the main set is all reprints, like any Masters set. However, there were additional commander deck releases with this product, and each had a few entirely new cards. But reviewing just that dozen or so would still make for a pretty short article. Luckily for us lore-lovers in the Magic community, Masters sets have a huge amount of new premium art treatments, and those have opened up a load of new possibilities for lore.
So let’s talk art treatments.
Like any Masters product, Wizards of the Coast has taken the opportunity to make new, flashy versions of the cards we love. We’ve all seen the full-bleed art before, and this time they’re trying different approach. In this case, an iconic portrait-style is being adapted, with solid backgrounds to help the characters pop! on the card. There are also your classic “full-art” alternates, and a new type of “frame-breaking” card that artfully and fairly masterfully break out of the frame for a fantastic 3D effect.
So, given all of these art treatments, there are quite a few entries in today’s article. Naturally, the pop-profile art of the legendary creatures won’t be featured as those are directly related to a specific plane where the original cards are from, but the other two treatments give us plenty of options.
For those who are new to the Multiverse Set Reviews, the goal of these are to discuss new cards from the latest supplemental Magic release and assign them to known planes in the Magic Multiverse. You can read more about the methodology employed here. As always, if you have any suggestions on how you’d like to see future Multiverse Set Reviews, however, feel free to send me an email at mtgmultiverse.feedback@gmail.com. And as with the other set reviews, I am only one person, and quite often I miss a thing or two despite my best efforts. I also owe an incredible amount to the community for crowdsourcing card origins and lore, so please feel free to send me your feedback or details on anything you think I may have missed.
Without further ado…
Commander Masters 2023: WHITE
New Capenna
A re--flavour of a card from Eldraine, All that Glitters showcases many hallmarks of New Capenna. The figure in the center is a uniquely Capennan elf based on the small devil-like horns, and the entire design of the background evokes a huge number of art deco motifs that New Capenna is built upon.
Innistrad
A brand-new card for this set, this saga features a well-known tale from the set Avacyn Restored. In it, the Helvault (a massive sliver of silver from Innistrad’s moon that is used to capture and imprison powerful demons) is front-and-center. The archangel guardian Avacyn was pulled into the Helvault as part of her capture of the archdemon Griselbrand, and stuck there for a number of years until she was freed (along with every demon she’d captured) by Liliana Vess and Thalia. The flavour here is a perfect capture in saga form, and I personally love this card for it.
Kamigawa
The wild art on this enchantment is a pitch-perfect match for the fantastic artwork on the Kamigawa Neon Dynasty Samurai token. Even cooler, you can see the side art of the kami with the stacked heads is drawn from the concept art of the “Kami of Balance.”
Dominaria
All of the Slivers (well, most) from the M14 alternate designs found themselves reprinted with original-style Sliver art in the Sliver-themed commander deck. For all of these, the only plane we know Slivers reside on currently is Dominaria, as Rath has been destroyed, so I’ve sorted them there without any additional clues. In those instances, I’ll call them out.
NEW PHYREXIA
I’ve included this card on a technicality, as the event depicted on Darksteel Mutation was initially on Mirrodin and now is on New Phyrexia. They’re the same physical space, but nothing of New Phyrexia resembles Mirrodin, so Elesh Non in the flavour text is the reason for this include.
Dominaria
With no obvious hints in the art or flavour text, it’s the same story as Bonescythe Sliver above.
Ravnica
Teysa Karlov is a member of the Orzhov guild on Ravnica; in many ways the behind-the-scenes power for years before the deaths of the Obzedat during War of the Spark. She’s since moved into a more official position, and in the process reclaimed her original outfit’s boob window. A good look for a woman who is canonically over a hundred years old.
zendikar
Smack-dab in the center of this art is a Hedron from Zendikar., while the art itself is depicting a fairly monumental event: the founding of the Gatewatch at Sea Gate
NEW PHYREXIA
Following the same reasoning as the new Darksteel Mutation above, this art clearly takes place during the latest New Phyrexia: All Will Be One set, which draws a distinction from the initial printing of Kemba here during the set Scars of Mirrodin. The biggest giveaway is the teal Mirran weapons here, found only in All Will Be One and onwards.
Dominaria (New Benalia)
At first blush, I assumed this card would take place on Strixhaven as the “paperwork” joke has been made there before. However, giving it a second look, the outfits have the same silhouette iconic to Benalia on Dominaria. Add in the stained glass in the back of the scene and you can begin to really piece it all together. I love these kinds of cards: they’re a look behind the scenes of otherwise dramatic, war-torn worlds that make them feel a lot more real.
zendikar
Ondu: a land known for its Greathorns, War Clerics, and I suppose now its Spiritdancers. “Spiritdancing” is a known Kor magical art form related to evoking animal aura magic, and according to this, also magical twinning of some kind.
Shandalar
The Onakke ogres are an extinct civilization on the plane of Shandalar who have had their souls infused into The Chain Veil. The reasons behind it are unclear, but it was the focus of the Liliana and Garruk clash in the old Magic webcomic and the never-published book The Hunter and the Veil.
Kamigawa
Kami are spirits on Kamigawa that represent various aspects of the physical world. This one in particular seems to be, according to the flavour text, in the process of getting trapped under a Honden/Shrine.
Domainria
Rukarumel in the flavour text is from Dominaria, as she’s a prominent sliver researcher and her notes are all over the Time Spiral block. As for where in particular this card is on Dominaria? That remains to be seen. But it’s a really cool piece of lore about the formation of a Sliver Queen.
Dominaria
Originally from M14, this sliver is from Benalia on Dominaria thanks to the nod in the flavour text.
New PHyrexia
This one is, like Darksteel Mutation and Kemba, included here on a technicality, but that’s the nature of splitting up Mirrodin and New Phyrexia on this site.
WotC is removing all of the, ahem, overly spherical-chested arts from their reprint repertoire, and that includes this ferocious lass from Scars of Mirrodin.
gobakhan
We first saw Teyo in War of the Spark, where he had been pulled from his home plane to Ravnica as fuel for Nicol Bolas’s Elder Spell. This art is confirmed by WotC to take place on his home plane of Gobakhan, but it clearly matches what we know of the plane in the background artwork.
Commander Masters 2023: Blue
New Capenna
It looks here like we have a vampire giving some art to another person; maybe a warden of the train they’re about to board? The background and art deco themeing is VERY on-brand for New Capenna, and this likely is a bribing attempt by a member of the Maestros like Evelyn the Covetous.
NEw Capenna
The art here is depicting a Broker Shieldmate or Veteran using the iconic geometric shields of the Brokers. In addition, the flavour text is referencing a classic mafia trope/line, which makes it a thematic a shoe-in for Capenna. Although I’ve seen some discussion of the flavour text being related to a genre of internet meme, this meme exists because of the mafia trope, so there’s no issue with a chicken/egg scenario here. Know your history, kids: every meme was once something else.
Dominaria
Put on Dominaria like the other slivers here without any strong reasons against it. Check out the original from M15.
Eldraine
“Syr” is a gender-neutral honorific title used for the knights of Eldraine, and given that Eldraine also has plenty of fae, this seems like a great re-themed reprint for our faerie-tale world. What a great reprint in time for the release of Wilds of Eldraine.
Tarkir
After the events of March of the Machine: Aftermath, Narset was one of many planeswalkers who lost her spark. Luckily, she ended up on her home plane before that happened, This is clearly Narset in the front-and-center here, using the same style of magic she employed in War of the Spark. It looks like she’s protecting some students, maybe monk acolytes, from dragon’s fire. This is the kind of thing that makes me ever so curious for a return to Tarkir.
Kamigawa
Even without the on-brand Neo-Kamigawan art, the flavour text here is great. This is the first time we’ve heard of Shiori, but she seems to be a member of the Saiba hacker group, which is filled with moonfolk and human ninja.
dominaria
Put on Dominaria like the other slivers here without any strong reasons against it. Check out the original from M14.
Arcavios (Strixhaven)
Kasmina! The first hint we got of Strixhaven as a plane was during the set War of the Spark with her inclusion. But… by the time the set came around, Kasmina was sadly utterly unused in the set itself. I'm sure this has something to do with her being visually unlike any of the schools and writers at WotC not having any idea what to do with her. Still, it’s great to see her finally teaching. Who better to tutor you than an “enigmatic mentor?”
Dominaria
That’s Urza and Mishra! Their personal tutor here, showing them the intricacies of Thran artifacts, is Tocasia, a friend of their fathers. This is a brilliant re-imagining of a classic card that adds even more depth to the game’s original lore.
Kamigawa
With the initial flavour of the manifest mechanic being Ugin’s morph magic on Tarkir, a new take on it is quite refreshing. Each part of the art calls directly to Kamigawa, and it makes this quite an easy placement. Here, the spell is turning a kitsune blademaster into pixels and data. You could say he got his arm “hacked” off.
ravnica
I love a good Izzet Mage. They carry around glowing bottles of lightning and dress in stripes like they’re going to a carnival. I can only imagine this guy is working for Ral Zarek and his research for “Project Lightning Bug” became Project, uh, Storm Crow.
Arcavios (Strixhaven)
Easily a 100% Quandrix design on the clothing here. Similar to Vortex Runner and Symmetry Sage, the outfits worn by the Quandrix are made of overlapping fabric strips meant to evoke fractal and repeating symmetry. Her magic, too, is a repeating pattern, doubling-down on the motif. I quite like using a Quandrix mage here, as it gets more green into the art palette, which is rare on mono-blue cards.
Kaldheim
Littjara is the realm on Kaldheim that is associated with blue and green mana, and is home to shapeshifters in a bizarre form of afterlife. The shapeshifters live in the Mists of Littjara and around the well-named Mirrorlake. So why is this an illusion creature and not a shapeshifter with changeling? It struck me as odd as well, but I realized it’s meant to be a creation of the mist, not a living being in the sense of the rest of the mini-plane’s denizens.
Innistrad
Garruk, in his “Apex Predator” phase, was hunting the greatest game: planeswalkers. His fallout with Liliana (that was supposed to be a book but never happened) was the main driving plot of M15’s “Duels of the Planeswalkers” game (a precursor to Arena played on consoles and Steam).
Vronos was one of the most fleshed-out planeswalkers you got to fight before Garruk murdered him; he’s an inquisitor from Innistrad that gained a mastery of etherium from Esper. He has a whole short story called “The Hunter Cannot Pity” by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes.
Commander Masters 2023: Black
Theros
On the Therosian sub-plane of Nyx, Cacophony was a “proto-god” created by the nightmare weaver and planeswalker Ashiok as part of their experimenting with the frabric of belief on Theros. Cacophoy only lived for a brief moment, as it was absorbed by the god Ephara. Caocphony was the “dreams of the city” but that fell under her domain, so she quickly ate him up, more or less. Check out “Dreams of the City” by Ken Troop for the full story.
ravnica
Oh hey, it’s everyone’s favorite dommy mommy ringleader, Judith, the Scourge Diva! She’s a Ravnican native, and a leader amongst the carnival of the cult of Rakdos.
Theros
Before the advent of Kamigawa Neon Dynasty, the only plane with known enchantment creatures was Theros, and this card is absolutely not from Kamigawa. This demon’s design matches the Therosian demons, with their unique all-black skin and golden armor and horns. It’s likely in the Therosian underworld, as evidenced by the chains coming from the sky.
Amonkhet
This was a tough one. Often times these art pieces aren’t set on a particular plane, but I did some digging and found inspiration on the concept art for Amonkhet . It may be a little bit of a stretch, but I believe it looks like the eclipse that occurred after the Approach of the Second Sun. Plus, the demon itself has all kinds of Apocalypse Demon vibes, and this one looks somewhat scarab-inspired to boot.
Zendikar
Man, Marie Magny just doesn’t miss. I love those eye tats and red lines in this composition, and the motion of the blood is fantastic. Unlike many pieces in this set, we have this card’s location confirmed directly from the artist, but in the event we didn’t, the vampires of Zendikar have a fairly iconic look linked to their red tattoos and insectoid jewelry. The vampire here matches it perfectly.
Innistrad
I’ve seen some theories online that this piece depicts a ballgown-wearing Olivia Voldaren, while others that it’s Henrika Domnathi, but while Olivia is known for her tiered dresses, she’s also known for her very red hair, so this reads much more like Henrika to me. Either way, this art by Scott M. Fischer is absolutely stellar, and I’m ecstatic that we now have Exsanguinate options for three planes instead of just one.
Innistrad
A new entry in the Impetus cycle, and it’s a very good one, as far as evil auras go. This snazzy zombie in a coat is running around in an early European-inspired village, and nothing says fancy jackets and little hamlets of undead like Innistrad.
What a dapper zombie.
Innistrad
When I look at a new piece, there’s always triggers that tell me right away where a card is from. One of them is really big tricorn hats. Big hats almost always mean Cathars, the elite soldiers of Innistrad. The flavour text here also references the
”Blessed Sleep” , which is a concept from Innistrad’s religions about a soul finally finding rest after life instead of becoming undead in some manner.
Dominaria
This art depicts a somewhat generic black dragon being swarmed and devoured by slivers. These slivers are somewhat generic in nature as well, all looking alike, but this makes it simple for the Multiverse Project. It means they are getting placed with the rest of their Sliver-kin from this batch: on the only plane we know with old-school looking Slivers. Dominaria!
dominaria
Put on Dominaria like the other slivers here without any strong reasons against it. Check out the original art from M14.
Amonkhet
(non-canon)
Ah, Lazotep Sliver. What a flavour home-run, right? I love the card, but it’s also a huge re-tread of the issue that I had with Timeless Dragon from Modern Horizons: it’s a super cool card and it’s also not at all canon. What do I mean by that? Well, let me tell you what I’d imagine happened with Lazotep sliver’s development first. So, a card designer wanted to make a sliver that was Bolas-themed. Maybe they liked giving it afflict, maybe they just wanted to use “amass Slivers”, whatever the case, it’s an awesome card, and the art is sick. But there’s an issue: there are no Slivers on Amonkhet. So then a choice had to be made: do they let the fact that the card’s canon isn’t “real” stop them from making the card? In this case, nope! Standard sets, or ones with stories, have a tight narrative structure and try to tell a cohesive story of a world that’s undergoing some event or change. A set like this, which is reprints all over the multiverse, or a commander deck release, is beholden to none of that, so we get a chance to enjoy cards like Lazotep sliver. I still think it would be a great include in any Amonkhet-themed cube or deck, but I also can’t reliably put it into “Amonkhet” properly. C’est la vie.
Commander Masters 2023: Red
dominaria
Put on Dominaria like the other slivers here without any strong reasons against it. Check out the original art from M14.
Dominaria
Just like Blur sliver next to it, Capricious Sliver here has been put on Dominaria like the other slivers. More than most, though, this fickle little sliver looks like it would be right at home in the lightning-torn and ash-filled hellscape that was Dominaria during the Time Spiral crisis. The red lighting arguably could be tied to the visual motifs of some of Tarkir’s dragonstorms, but the background art and fact that it’s a Sliver preclude that option.
Eldraine
Korvold! Glad to see he’s still up and kicking. He was such a cool idea for a character and wild concept, and it’s a little sad that he was only found in a brawl deck. For those not in the know, Korvold was a human ruler who was cursed by the fae on his wedding day to turn into a dragon. He then ate his entire wedding and now lives in the remains of his old castle. He got a new variant in our latest Eldraine visit and a fun little saga as well.
DOMINARIA: SHIV
It may just be because they share the same artist, but the dragons on this look remarkably similar to a Blast-Furnace Hellkite, found during the Brother’s War on Dominaria. There are many commonalities to Shivan Devastator as well. The classic building being destroyed could be either Tolarian or Benalish, but especially with a towering volcano behind them (reminiscent of Shiv), I’m happy to call this card Dominarian.
Arcavios (Strixhaven)
Gyome, Master Chef is somewhere crying in the kitchen as his efforts to make a delicious feast for the students is put to waste. Want proof? It says “Strixhaven Star” in the flavour text, guys. Come on, now.
New Capenna
The fiendishly stylish devil in this artwork is wearing a classic “cabby hat” and vest that is found commonly on the “working-class” Devils of New Capenna. These devils are primarily members of the Riveteers, and they are in many ways the face of the downtrodden in the city. When the ruling class are Demons, the Devils get the shortest end of the stick, it seems.
dominaria (ish)
If you’ve ever read the book Apocalypse by author J. Robert King, you should absolutely recognize the scene this card depicts. If you haven’t, here’s the basic summary:
With the Phyrexian Invasion closing in on victory, many planeswalkers dead, and the Coalition’s lead planeswalker Urza either turned traitor or beheaded, the planeswalker Commodore Guff was able to re-write the “ending” to the Invasion by literally re-writing it in a book about the Invasion in his extraplanar Library. He was then devoured by Yawgmoth’s Death Cloud. It’s a silly bit of lore that technically doesn’t do much other than highlight the concept of plot armor in a very meta way, but given that Guff was an insert for Scott McGough, the writer of several Magic novels and the leader of the Storyline Department, it’s a good bit of fun all the same.
Kamigawa
The somewhat comic-esque style of this piece threw me for a moment, but I quickly came around noticing the details of the scene. The clothing on the right-side figures is obviously from Kamigawa being a samurai and a red-aligned warrior, and the center figure is an Oni right out of the concept art of Neon Dynasty.
dominaria
Put on Dominaria like the other slivers here without any strong reasons against it. Check out the original from M14
Ixalan
Monkey. Goblin. Whenever you see a blue-skinned, furry goblin, it’s likely going to be an Ixalan pirate goblin. Putting it in striped pants and giving it a spyglass basically screams that this guy rides along with Breeches in the Ixalan seas. Often times, reprints like this are Rogues that are “re-flavoured” as Pirates in the art as the difference between the two is oftentimes incredibly subtle. I’m not complaining of course: it allows me to run more good cards in my Pirate-themed Commander deck.
Arcavios (Strixhaven)
I love this card’s re-flavour. The original was a card that showed an Izzet experiment blowing up a city block, but this is a unique twist on the “Vandal” part of “Vandalblast”. Students in the Americas are commonly known to pull “senior pranks” that may involve defacing school property (inspired by 80’s Hollywood college comedies, no doubt), and this puts it in the context of a Prismari art project. For more context, many Graduate Universities often ask for the compilation of a “thesis” to graduate, which is a summation of all the knowledge or skill that a student has accrued, alongside something entirely new to submit to the body of knowledge in their field.
Commander Masters 2023: green
Theros
Looks like the poor warrior here is a member of Captain Siona’s crew. As Siona is an analogue for the myhical hero Odysseus, this is a nice bit of worldbuilding where they are likely encountering Arasta, the Endless Web. Those bulbous spiders sure look like her babies, at least.
Theros
Until the new billygoat-inspired Satyr on Eldraine, Theros was the only plane with prominent Satyr creatures. The fact that this one cares about enchantments and matches a very classic Greek-style reveler (including the greek-style wind instrument) means that this is certainly at home along the likes of Nessian Wanderer.
Ixalan
There are quite a few dinosaurs in Magic, unlike a few years ago, but the vast majority of them still belong to Ixalan as part of the Sun Empire. The easiest way to distinguish them from other planes like Dominaria is that Ixalani dinosaurs are covered in feathers and are incredibly brightly colored. Their truly vibrant display of plumage can be found on everything from a raptor to a triceratops.
ravnica
Centaurs and the Selesnya Sigil: name a more iconic duo. I’m actually somewhat interested in what the “Ancestors” in this card’s title is referring to. With another return to Ravnica happening inevitably, it’ll be fun if we get to see the plane-city dig up its past and add to world building. After all, there are certainly forgotten gods we need to remember.
Dominaria
Slivers have only ever been canonically found in three places: (1) Rath, where they were planted from some other plane, (2) Dominaria, where they were planted from Rath, and (3) Shandalar, where they came from somewhere else and also look like weird aliens. Given that Rath no longer exists, I’m happy to put slivers on Dominaria for now.
Dominaria
Dominarian Saproling fungi are uniquely pink and tend to be cute; so I’m happy to put this Jade Mage on our favorite origin plane for the moment. The asymmetrical armor also matches visually with a lot of the cultures known on the plane to some degree, although that’s not a difficult task given how large Dominaria is.
dominaria
Put on Dominaria like the other slivers here without any strong reasons against it. Check out the original from M14.
dominaria
I played this card at the M14 pre-release, and was struck by how silly the name is. It’s literally a mash-up of “mega” and “gigantic” into a nonsense word that just sounds “big.” Put on Dominaria like the other slivers here without any strong reasons against it. Check out the original from M14.
Theros
Nyx is a sub-plane that is a part of Theros, and the starry-night constellation realm of the gods and their creations. When they manifest on the physical plane, they take with them the “Nyx Effect” and their shadowed areas look like starry night skies instead. It’s one of the biggest visual hallmarks of Theros and also really, really cool to look at.
Kamigawa
Matching this art up, it helps to know that each “frame-breaking” card in this set is depicting a well-known legendary creature (except in a few cases where it’s an otherwise iconic creature). In this case it’s Azusa. She’s a wandering storyteller from the original Kamigawa, and although long-dead, the stories of her journeys live on.
Zendikar
This is a bit of a tough one. The art has Zendikari hedrons although… what it is it depicting? A treefolk is there on the left, and that’s some kind of boar leaping amidst a skyclave on the right? There has to be some art lore I’m missing here. Best guess: I have a feeling the boar is a weirdly-colored Yasharn, Implacable Earth and the elemental is an Avenger of Zendikar.
dominaria
Put on Dominaria like the other slivers here without any strong reasons against it. Check out the Original from M15.
As a total aside, this art sort of reminds me of a hummingbird. Horrifying.
Commander Masters 2023: Multicolor
Theros
Creature -Demigod. Literally the Hand of Erebos. Easy placement if ever there was one. If you’re not familiar, Theros is a greek-inspired plane full of starlight-laden gods, including Erebos, the God of Death. It looks like Anikthea here is the first Demigod in the game besides the initial five from Theros: Beyond Death.
Dominaria
As mentioned above in the card review for Guff Rewrites History, Commodore Guff is a pre-mending planesalker, one of the Nine Titans of the Invasion, and curator of an extraplanar library containing books on everything that has ever happened and will ever happen. He’s a bit weird as a thematic superfriends commander, but I also guess he’s weird as anything.
Ikoria
Leori here is a Patagia Tiger from Ikoria, and likely Lukka’s bestie beastie from the Ikoria novel. The planeswalker Lukka is a coppercoat monster-hunter turned bonder, but sadly, after bonding, Leori befell a heartless act.
Still, this is a super sick card design. It’s basically a commander for any planeswaker deck you want to make in Blue, Red, or White. Fantastic!
Theros
It’s great we’re seeing the ‘Bard’ subtype outside of the Forgotten Realms magic sets. Magic has needed an “artist” or “performer” creature type for a while now, often opting to shunt them into the “shaman” role like they’re in any way similar. Narci, like her demigod friend Anikthea above, are both from Theros. I’m quite curious about what god Narci sings her songs to. Her clothing seems similar to the followers of Klothys or Karametra.
Ikoria
Although technically a reprint, this is the first card of Zilortha we’ve gotten that actually depicts the giant beastie (battles nonwithstanding). This is because the original printing was a promo Box Topper that depicted Godzilla, and no ordinary card was included in the main set. This art was part of the spoiler season for Ikoria, so fans expected a non-Godzilla version and just… never got one. I’ve been waiting for this big boi for quite a while.
Dominaria
Only found on flavour text until now, Rukarumel seems like she’s somewhere between a Tolarian scholar and a member of the Riptide project. As we’ve only ever seen her field journal referenced, she could have easily been alive during the sliver’s return to Dominaria as opposed to part of the Time Spiral block, and this card’s flavour certainly gives credence to that theory.
Unnamed Plane
Unlike other slivers in this review, we know the Sliver Gravemother is not from Dominaria. Her deck insert had a small amount of lore, indicating she was from a plane overrun by slivers where they had once been used as beasts of burden, but not much else is known.
Commander Masters 2023: colorless & Artifact
Arcavios (Strixhaven)
Across the vastlands on Arcavios, there are Wandering Archaics that move seemingly out-of-synch with time and space. These impossible-to-understand beings are actually eternal and immortal souls of powerful seers that have been sent backwards in time upon their death to be reborn in their Archaic forms. Super sick, right? There’s so much lore to Arcavios that I hope we get more of when we next visit, because the school of Strixhaven may be the least interesting part of it.
Zendikar
Although the Eldrazi could have been found anywhere in the multiverse previously, this scene is right out of the Battle for Zendikar block, along with the majority of the other Eldrazi-themed cards from the Eldrazi Commander Deck for this set. Sure, this one even name-drops Zendikar in the flavour text, but we won’t worry about that.
I know it’s silly, but I’m picturing Ulamog just spinning his arms in a circle here, and sending all the rocks and people flying in all directions.
Mirrodin
Before New Phyrexia became New Phyrexia, it was Mirrodin. This card and its flavour text implies that the scene depicted takes place somewhere between Fifth Dawn and Mirrodin Besieged, when Phyrexia revealed itself in full and declared open war on Mirrodin.
Interestingly, the art here is both of darksteel (not blightsteel, which I imagine is the same thing but with some added oil), and depicts some oddities with the blinkmoths. “Blinkmoths?” I hear you asking. Yes! Normally Darksteel has blinkmoths flying around it in a golden arc, but here they’re a glowing red. Maybe just an artistic choice, or maybe a harbinger of things to come…
Zendikar
The Eldrazi titan Kozilek, famously known for distorting reality, and utterly removing people from ever having existed at all with his mere presence, is front-and-center on this Eldrazi spell. Unlike the original cards from Rise of the Eldrazi, this isn’t a tribal Eldrazi spell, but it' is a fun mechanical twist on the Adamant “ability word” from the original Throne of Eldraine.
Kaladesh
The artwork here by magic legend Ron Spears is showing windows to Skybridge Towers on New Capenna, the World Tree of Kaldheim, and a Skyclave Basilica on Zendikar. Precluding those locations, the advanced technology and rather intricate aetherwork-marvel-esque technology on display means this is likely from Kaladesh and an extension of Rashmi’s research.
Zendikar
When we re-visited Zendikar during the Battle for Zendikar block, there were two sets: Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch. The former centered on Ulamog’s “brood” of Eldrazi that had boney faces, bifurcated limbs, and spiked tendril bodies. The latter focused on Kozilek-brood Eldrazi, with obsidian crowns and bismuth effects. We never really got to see an Emrakul-brood Eldrazi in the modern era, as she appeared on Innistrad instead. Well, until now! The design of the Flayer of Loyalties here is incredibly evocative of our eldritch noodly savior.
Tarkir
Similar to Ugin’s Conjurant, the followers of the spirit dragon Ugin seem to manifest his ghostly horns when using his magic. The spinning teal-green magic around Omarthis here is a direct link to the visual design for “Manifest”, which is a mechanic based on Ugin’s magic as well, from the set Fate Reforged. Tarkir is also the primary home of Naga alongside Amonkhet, which means the hedrons here aren’t on Zendikar but instead likely part of Ugin’s regenerative chrysalis. I really hope we visit Tarkir again and get more morph/manifest magic and colorless-matters stuff! Do you hear me, Wotc? More Tarkir!
Zendikar
“Do not forget: They came as three.” Ugin’s somewhat lukewarm warning to the audience to look out for Emrakul in literally the next set, this absolutely sick card is not only named after the set the original Edrazi titans appeared in, it mimics their three original casting triggers. Not only that, but it costs 3 colorless mana: one for each titan. Can you match the effect to the titan from memory?
It can’t be countered because these are “cast triggers”, but we have: (1) Ulamog destroys a permanent, Kozilek draws four cards, and Emrakul takes another turn. Not a bad deal for 12 mana.
Ikoria
When these decks were announced, Wizards of the Coast promised not only Eldrazi would be included, but nods to other colorless entities in Magic. We got the Archaic from Arcavios above, and plenty of nods to Ugin on Tarkir, so all that’s left is the colorless “basic” creatures from the plane of Ikoria. In Ikoria: Lair of Behmoths, we had Mysterious Egg, Farfinder, and Adaptive Shimmerer. Then, in commander, we got Cryptic Trilobite. The Cicada here is a welcome addition to their pedigree as “base creatures” to mutate upon. My only question is: how is this a Cicada? It has a neck.
The MediTation Realm
When you’re talking about Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, there’s really two obvious places you can put him in the multiverse that are linked to his identity. One is the meditation realm after the events of War of the Spark, where he became a living avatar and fused with the material of the plane itself to jail his twin bother Nicol Bolas for all eternity. The other is Tarkir, where he was most at home and became the father of the dragon tempests on the plane. Because the art here depicts an immaterial Ugin in a form of pure magic, I’m fairly confident that it depicts him as part of the Meditation Plane.
Zendikar
Despite being the first legendary Eldrazi we’ve gotten aside from the three titans, we have confirmation from Wizards of the Coast that Zhulodok here isn’t a new titan, but instead an extension of Ulamog. He’s a very large vestige, clearly, but you can imagine his legendary status here is more of a mechanical necessity for commander more than a flavour one. Eldrazi are most commonly associted with Zendikar; the plane where they were trapped for so long, and since it’s also where Ulamog was destroyed by the efforts of the Gatewatch and Zendikar herself, there’s really nowhere else to put Zhulodok here.
Commander Masters 2023: Lands
Eldraine
Corliss the Wanderer is also quoted on two cards from the original Throne of Eldraine; Specter's Shriek and Signpost Scarecrow. So Corliss has encountered a specter or two and lived to tell the tale, is flummoxed by scarecrows, and is a fan of wandering into large towers to complain to management about it. We didn’t get to see Corliss in our current visit to Eldraine, but maybe we will in a suppimental product. After all, where better to wander than the wilds?
strixhaven
Zimone of Quandrix is an incredibly intelligent math-mage and one of the youngest (the youngest?) to be allowed entry to the school of Strixhaven. The Quandrix college focuses on mathematical magic, crafting fractals and using logic to powerful effect.
strixhaven
Quintorius of Lorehold is everyone’s favorite elephant-explorer, and the most recent addition to the planeswalker roster after sparking during March of the Machine. The Lorehold college focuses on archaeology and the study of history through getting hands-on with relics and ruins. They specialize in literally summoning the ghosts of the past to interview them about what life was like.
Strixhaven
Rootha of Prismari is an accomplished orc artist and a mage capable of forming beautiful swaths of flame and ice into stunning forms. The Prismari is Strixhaven’s art college, and teaches forms of magical self-expression that include dance, music, and visual arts such as sculpture.
strixhaven
Dina of Witherbloom is a delightful dryad and makes a mean cup of tea. The college of Witherbloom is one that is somewhat comparable to a “potions” school, where the physical mixing of various ingredients are used to produce alchemic effects, elixers, and potions.
strixhaven
Killian of Silverquill is the son of Dean Embrose and an incredibly talented word-mage. Silverquill teaches its students about verbal magic, and especially about being the fastest, most biting, and most quippy mage out there; comparing magical prowess in a similar way to a modern rap-battle.
Same Plane, New Art
Every time WotC does a Masters set, a set with a heavily-used alternate frame or art style, or any kind of set heavy with reprints, there are a slew of cards that get updated art but remain set on the same plane. This can be for many reasons, but it often comes down to why the card needs new art in the first place. If the card is getting new art because there’s budget for it after everything in the set is done, set designers and art directors usually take the chance to make it new and exciting, often times by setting it on a new plane or depicting the card in a new context. But, if the card needs new art, often because the art is no longer up to Wizard’s standard of quality, because it’s no longer lore-accurate for one reason or another, or because the artist has been blacklisted by WotC, there’s often less time to devote to the card’s re-imagining. In these scenarios, it’s often the case that set designers simply ask for a “refresh” or “update” on a previous card from a new artist, which we see in this set quite a few times.
Drown in Sorrow from this set is a great example of this, where artist Valera Lutfullina has re-imagined the original artwork from Born of the Gods but kept it on the plane of Theros. As another example, Bloodchief Ascension, recieved an update for its full-art promo, but it was used as a chance to depict the last living Bloodchief on Zendikar, Drana, as opposed to a generic Zendikari vampire in the original. Possibly the coolest flavour easter eggs from these are:
Spitebellows getting updated to look like it’s been corrupted by Phyrexians during the events of March of the Machine.
Endrek Sahr getting re-imagined as wearing the eye-covered cloak of the famed Tourach.
Storm-Kiln Artist making the crystal treasure token from the Strixhaven set.
Kodama’s Reach being re-flavoured for modern Kamigawa and featuring Kodama of the West Tree.
Sakiko, Mother of Summer getting beautiful new artwork that hides the fact that she has legs, so she doesn’t stick out among modern, legless, Orochi.
Unknown
Despite my best efforts, there are still a large amount of new pieces of art from this set that remains homeless. That’s not to say that all of these cards could by ID’d, of course; a large number of cards in any premium set aren’t beholden to any plane at all. Oftentimes the art director will merely ask an artist to draw something they think is cool that depicts the spell in question as not to limit them with a style guide. As much as I love putting cards in their homes, I can’t say I blame them; when you’re working with some of the best artists working in fantasy art today, you want them to make the best art they can.
There are a few reasons for cards to end up here. There is, naturally, a chance that some of these cards could be from the same plane as their original printing: after all, the new Smothering Tithe is generic gold coins and hands; nothing about that is or isn’t Orzhov, but there really isn’t any supporting evidence one way or the other. Then, there are pieces that are too abstract and lacking in detail to definitively be placed any plane; Myriad Landscape is an example of this. And finally, we have cards with unique art that I simply can’t place because they don’t resemble anything in Magic’s past too closely. Return to Dust, featuring a ziggurat temple blowing up and a quote from “Edorin the Timesmith”, looks like nothing I’ve seen before (even if we have heard from Edorin once before.) Steelshaper’s Gift, too, depicts a craftswoman and a beautiful artifact, but looks unlike any world we’ve visited. The list goes on. Think you see a card with a plane? Let me know with an email at mtgmultiverse.feedback@gmail.com.
Wrapping Up
There we go! Quite a simpler update than the last mega-review for Modern Horizons II, as long as it was. I do hope you enjoyed exploring the new Commander Masters here with me today, and that you’ve added to your understanding of the planes of the multiverse because of it.
With that said, here’s our final plane count:
Dominaria: 23
Arcavios (Strixhaven): 10
Zendikar: 9
Theros: 7
Kamigawa: 6
Innistrad: 5
New Capenna & Ravnica: 4
Eldraine, Ikoria, & New Phyrexia: 3
Amonkhet, Ixalan, & Tarkir: 2
Gobakhan, Kaladesh, Kaldheim, Meditation Realm, Mirrodin, & Shandalar : 1
It’s hard to look at this as anything objective in terms of plane popularity, as these new cards come from both reprints with new art and entirely new cards made for 4 very specific commander decks. The fact that Dominaria has 23 cards is due to the Sliver-themed commander deck containing nearly every single sliver printed in M13 and M14 with re-done art, for example. The fact that Zendikar has 9 cards is due to the Eldrazi-themed commander deck, and the same goes for Theros and the enchantment-themed deck being released with this set. What surprises me is how low Eldraine and Ixalan are, given that we’re returning there soon; you’d expect more easter eggs to get people excited. I’m also intrigued by the fact that we have 6 Kamigawa cards; it makes me think that Neon Dynasty was a big hit with old and new players alike. As it should be: the set was a masterpiece on every level.
Still, I’m quite pleased by how many planes WotC was able to add to here; new little lore morsels sustain my Vorthos soul.
If you all enjoyed this write-up, please consider donating below, or sharing MtG-Multiverse with other fans of Magic: the Gathering. And as always, I’d love to hear your feedback via email at mtgmultiverse.feedback@gmail.com.
Until next time,
-Nick
