With Streets of New Capenna in full swing, Wizards of the Coast is turning its attention to the Commander community with the beginning of preview season of Magic: The Gathering‘s upcoming non-Standard set Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate.
Scheduled for a global tabletop release on June 10, Battle for Baldur’s Gate is the follow-up to 2020’s Commander Legends which was the first draftable Commander release. Players compete in four-person pods with 60-card drafted Commander decks.
Battle for Baldur’s Gate will be a similar set with a draft focus and cards legal for Commander. The set is also the second crossover with Dungeons & Dragons. The first came in 2021 with Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. a Standard-legal set.
Spoilers for Battle for Baldur’s Gate begin May 16 to May 23 with Commander deck previews on May 24 to 25. There is a prerelease weekend scheduled for June 3 to 5.
The Command Zone podcast gave fans an early look at the set with their preview card Zevlor, Elturel Exile during Command Zone Live. The Grixis legend rewards players for running spells with single targets.
Zevlor, Elturel Exile
- Mana value: 1UBR
- Type: Legendary Creature Tiefling Warrior
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 4/2
- Keyword: Haste
- First ability: Pay two mana, tap: When you next cast an Instant or Sorcery spell that targets only a single opponent or a single permanent an opponent controls this turn, for each other opponent, choose that player or a permanent they control, copy that spell, and the copy targets the chosen player or permanent.
Zevlor doesn’t have the most elegant wording a Magic card has ever seen, but the effect is potent. It turns single target removal spells, which are typically middling in some contexts in Commander, and turns them into possible three-for-ones.
For Limited, this looks like a solid Commander that helps control the battlefield by hitting each opponent with direct damage, removal, or other single-target effects.
In Constructed, Zevlor can be used as a strong lead for a Grixis deck or, better yet, a secret commander in the 99. Cards like Worst Fears or a variety of theft effects become much stronger when they can hit each player. This doesn’t deviate from the Grixis gameplan too much but facilitates the established control gameplan well.
