We cordially invite you back to us winding down our guild-focused Commander picks. It seems like a whole plane or two ago when we first started this series, and we led off with most secretive guilds going in the Dimir. The Dimir eschew law and order, choosing instead to operate on their own set of rules. It should be only fitting, then, that one of our last guilds is so focused on the opposite.

Enter, the bureaucratic, judicial-focused Azorius…

…

[What’s taking them so long?]

{They said the paperwork wasn’t done correctly.}

One second folks…

[I sent it in three weeks ago. In triplicate.]

{Did you cover the processing fee?}

[What processing fee?]

{The one for the paperwork. To process.}

[Ohh for crying out lou…fine. Do they take credit?]

{There will be a surcharge.}

[…] [Whatever. Pay them. We’re losing the audience.]

{They’ll want a refundable deposit for the last minute notice too.}

[ARRRggg. They are so frustrating!]

 

Without further ado ladies and gentlemen, the Azorius! Yes, this week’s representative is from everyone’s favorite Blue/White guild that everyone hates to deal with. Indeed, the Azorius guild thematically is actually a fair representation of how most people behave when it comes to the Blue/White color combination – and all the angst that goes with facing it.

It shouldn’t a huge surprise to see consternation of players when facing this color pair. Blue and White individually have a knack for having a bounty of appropriate responses. They have an abundance of fliers (and/or other evasion), they both can deal with permanents on the board via bounce or destruction, and they’re both known for a variety of defensive capabilities.

In short, a well-equipped Blue/White deck has the potential answer to almost anything a player can throw at them. It is hard enough to combat them if you have speed on your side – say, in a normal duel. In a longer, multiplayer format like Commander, this pairing will have access to more utility cards than any other, and if they can cement a defensive foothold in the game, it will be hard to shake them loose.

So, we figured, why not show off something that does a bit of everything in one.

Today we have: Drogskol Reaver

Name: Drogskol Reaver

Edition: Dark Ascension

Rarity: Mythic Rare

Focus: Life Gain / Card Draw

Highlights: At first glance, Drogskol Reaver is merely an embodiment of taking any given Blue and White creature and smashing them together. It flies, has White’s propensity for gaining life, and it has Blue’s specialty to drawing cards. With double strike, you wind up with a robust 6/5 flying, lifelink, card drawing monstrosity. Some may want to balk at its status as a mythic rare (with some justification), it is still as a solid creature in a vacuum.

Except, Drogskol Reaver isn’t as simple as it first appears. An easily overlooked fact is that Mr. Drogskol’s card drawing ability doesn’t just apply to itself: it applies to whenever you gain life. This provides for a variety of useful card interactions such as:

Enjoying a Pristine Talisman for a life, a mana, and a card.

Using Words of Worship where you get the life and the draw?

Doubling the potency of Sphinx’s Revelation.

Pairing the flyer up with Shattered Angel, or the extort mechanic for some real insult to injury. Or any variation of Soul Warden for that matter.

And if you enjoy hosers, consider introducing him to Lifetap or Sanctimony.

Additionally, if you are in situations where attacking is not preferential, he still has use beyond a blocker. There is always the option to provide it with some pinging abilities. Even if they aren’t in Blue’s arsenal anymore, they’re still there for all of your Reaver goodness.

Drogskol Reaver is precisely the type of costly card that has a second life in Commander, and with the right deck strategy could be incredibly advantageous for the player. Sture, he may not be an iconic Angel or a Sphinx (we still prefer Blue’s signature dudes to be giant unwieldy sea creatures anyway). And in true fashion, the Azorius may not have really needed the extra help.

But hey, it’s not against the rules.

 

Stay tuned for our final reveal of the guild-based Commander cards! In the meantime, we’ll keep the light on for you.

You can discuss this article over on our forums!

 

Do you have a particular Commander card to suggest for us to shine a future Spotlight on? You can send suggestions to ryan@cardboardrepublic.com