“Show me something nice that don’t hurt me so”
Art:Boilerbilges Ripper
by Kai Carpenter
We ranked all of the commanders, so now it’s time to go through all of the black commons from Duskmourn and evaluate them on a scale from 1-10! Red is a very strong color within this set, and quite a few cards are strong. I think I will see a decent amount of play within the format. Red has one of the smallest counts of cards for the set, but overall, it has a ton of great cards and some that I think could even become staples! From strong removal to some cool utility creatures, black has a lot to offer in this set Duskmourn has some absolute wins at commons and has cards that help and work well with commanders old and new! I will also be including some commanders I think these commons would work really well with! Without further adieu, let’s get it!
Rating for Bedhead Beastie 0/10:
At least we are getting it out of the way early, if you’ve read the other colors reviews you will know I hate this cycle and this one is no different, avoid, avoid avoid!
I’m not too sure what decks would want this card.
Rating for Boilerbilges Ripper 8/10:
This card is quite good, it is a little pricey but you get a great attacker/blocker and the two damage can be a great way to put additional pressure on your opponents or kill a pesky creature that is small or may have survived combat. I think this deck is perfect for sacrifice-focused commanders.
Commanders, I think this card would work well with:
Rating for Clockwork Percussionist 7/10:
This card is pretty cool, I am a huge fan of the flavor of this card, I only give it a seven out of ten because I believe the use for it is quite narrow, pretty much only aggressive decks will want to play this and I think the extra card selection from the top of our deck can be quite helpful for aggressive decks.
Commanders, I think this card would work well with:
Rating for Glassworks // Shattered Yard 4/10:
This card is not very good; maybe I’m evaluating it wrong, but within red, there are so many amazing and cheap sources of damage that paying all of this mana for both sides just doesn’t seem very worth it. I think this cards cost outweighs most of its benefits. With so much awesome and cheap damage within the format I just cant see this seeing very much play.
I’m not too sure what decks would want this card.
Rating for Grab the Prize 9/10:
This card is super sweet, especially for a deck focused on burn and dealing non-combat damage to an opponent, this card is pretty easy to deal damage with, and since we tend to be quite aggressive in red we typically just don’t care about discarding a card as we have access to some decent card draw within the format like Big Score
and Unexpected Windfall
as well as a bunch of colorless sources of card draw like Spare Supplies
a draw spell with damage upside is perfect for red.
Commanders, I think this card would work well with:
Rating for Hand That Feeds 3/10:
If you can get the delirium turned on early, this card can be quite impactful, but it can be quite hard to get it on super early, which slows this card down a lot, often times when you finally have delivered, it can be tough to get through, even with menace. I am not a big fan of this card.
I’m not too sure what decks would want this card.
Rating for Impossible Inferno 6/10:
This is a very expensive card but can be quite good. I think in the right deck, something like a spellslinger shell this might be a great way to take out a pesky creature of an opponent, I’m not entirely sure of this card as it may be too slow, but I can see what working well in something like an Izzet control deck.
Commanders, I think this card would work well with:
Rating for Most Valuable Slayer 8/10:
Most Valuable Slayer is a pretty cool card, I think it fits best in an aggro or midrange shell with a ton of attacking, against other combat-heavy decks. I think this card is quite strong, and the first strike is something that can help red decks a lot, especially in a format that’s so heavy in combat.
Commanders, I think this card would work well with:
Rating for Ragged Playmate 8/10:
Red strikes again with another amazing asset for an aggressive deck; this card is quite good and perfect for chipping in some quick damage, and with all of the pumps available in red, some big damage before damage as well. I am a big fan of this card, and while there are a lot of red cards that have this effect, an extra one is always nice.
Commanders, I think this card would work well with:
Rating for Rampaging Soulrager 2/10:
There are only two legal rooms; one of them is quite strong, and the other is pretty expensive for its effect. There are just not enough rooms to support this; without them, this card is just bad. While there are good rooms in red that you can also run, I’m just not sure this card is worth it. Most of the red rooms are quite expensive, and a 4/4 coming out that late is quite unremarkable.
I’m not too sure what decks would want this card.
Rating for Ripchain Razorkin 1/10:
Red is always in need of more card draw but I don’t think that sacrificing lands is the best way to achieve that, it has aggressive stats and the reach is nice, but I just don’t really like this card and think there are many better alternatives.
I’m not too sure what decks would want this card.
Rating for Scorching Dragonfire 7/10:
This card is pretty sweet! Being able to exile the creature you kill is pretty good, and it’s being instant can be good if opponents are playing combos; Abrade
is played quite a bit within the format, and I think this card is right along there with it.
Rating for Ticket Booth/Tunnel of Hate 10/10:
This card is expensive, and the first door is quite underwhelming, but that second door is crazy and can lead to some games ending very quickly; a consistent albeit expensive double-strike enabler is still great for a color that loves to attack as much as red does.
I think that any combat heavy deck could easily run this.
Rating for Turn Inside Out 7/10:
This card is perfect for decks like Zada, Hedron Grinder
, and other decks that love buffs and cantrips, while we don’t care at all about the manifest dread being ble to have a cheap buff to maximize damage and hit hard is quite strong for only one mana.
Commanders, I think this card would work well with:
Rating for Vicious Clown 8/10:
An amazing card for a token strategy or any deck that spams creatures, this card can produce a ton of damage and is great for something like Fling
or any way to make them deal a ton of damage or make them more evasive, I like this card a lot and think its very strong for red. Vicious Clown can get triggered an absolute ton and be a true threat and powerhouse, and opponents will certainly be happy to see this one.
Commanders, I think this card would work well with:
So many tiny aggressive creatures in this deck!
Conclusion:
Wow, red has so many great commons and so many great cards for midrange and aggressive decks, and overall, Duskmourn makes a lot of red decks a little better with a ton more utility and some new removal, even though it’s a little expensive, helps Red a ton within the format. Thanks for reading to the end and for all of your support!