The Over/Under - A Review of March of the Machine Commanders

Call for Backup - Upgrade Guide

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener" href="#" target="_blank">Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/milapesic">Mila Pesic</a>)</h6>
What’s up everyone, It’s Bert from the Scrap Trawlers, the place where we bring you EDH on a budget. With the advent of March of the Machine on the horizon, it’s time for another set of Commander decks. Today we're taking a look at the Call for Backup deck from the new set, starring none other than <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener" href="#" target="_blank">Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener</a>. Just like always we'll be going over how the deck plays, its strengths and weaknesses, which new cards are worth looking at, and what reprints we are looking forward to the most. Let’s dive in!
<h2>Who’s In the Squad?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener"></div></div>
Our face commander is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener" href="#" target="_blank">Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener</a>, which gives us access to Naya colors. Bright-Palm has an ability that focuses on +1/+1 counters but also has the Backup ability, which allows us to share the ability with another creature upon entering the battlefield. This does two things for our overall strategy. First, this dictates that we must have a critical mass of creatures so that Bright-Palm can always have a target to share their ability with. Second, it means that we can put a focus on +1/+1 counter synergies to power up the ability even further, and believe me the deck has a multitude of those already. There's a staggering 39 creatures in the list, with a few of them enabling additional counters being placed on our creatures. This deck also comes with some new Planechase cards which brings some life into a fan-favorite variant. With that in mind, let’s go ahead take a look at the deck list, shall we? 
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Call for Backup Precon" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener
[/Commander]
&nbsp;
[Creatures]
*1 Abzan Battle Priest
*1 Abzan Falconer
*1 Alharu, Solemn Ritualist
*1 Armorcraft Judge
*1 Brawn
*1 Champion of Lambholt
*1 Conclave Mentor
*1 Conclave Sledge-Captain
*1 Constable of the Realm
*1 Death-Greeter&#039;s Champion
*1 Elite Scaleguard
*1 Emergent Woodwurm
*1 Enduring Scalelord
*1 Falkenrath Exterminator
*1 Fertilid
*1 Flamerush Rider
*1 Forgotten Ancient
*1 Genesis Hydra
*1 Good-Fortune Unicorn
*1 Guardian Scalelord
*1 Gyre Sage
*1 Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
*1 High Sentinels of Arashin
*1 Incubation Druid
*1 Juniper Order Ranger
*1 Kalonian Hydra
*1 Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
*1 Managorger Hydra
*1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
*1 Mindless Automaton
*1 Mirror-Style Master
*1 Pridemalkin
*1 Restoration Angel
*1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
*1 Shalai and Hallar
*1 Slurrk, All-Ingesting
*1 Sunscorch Regent
*1 Triskelion
*1 Wood Elves
[/Creatures]
&nbsp;
[Instants]
*1 Dromoka&#039;s Command
*1 Generous Gift
*1 Heaven // Earth
*1 Hindervines
*1 Inscription of Abundance
*1 Inspiring Call
*1 Return to Nature
*1 Semester&#039;s End
*1 Swords to Plowshares
[/Instants]
&nbsp;
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Commander&#039;s Sphere
*1 Fractured Powerstone
*1 Ichor Elixir
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Strionic Resonator
[/Artifacts]
&nbsp;
[Sorceries]
*1 Cultivate
*1 Kodama&#039;s Reach
*1 Path of the Pyromancer
[/Sorceries]
&nbsp;
[Enchantments]
*1 Flameshadow Conjuring
*1 Ion Storm
*1 Together Forever
*1 Uncivil Unrest
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Bretagard Stronghold
*1 Canopy Vista
*1 Cinder Glade
*1 Command Tower
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Field of Ruin
*6 Forest
*1 Fortified Village
*1 Furycalm Snarl
*1 Game Trail
*1 Gavony Township
*1 Jungle Shrine
*1 Kessig Wolf Run
*1 Krosan Verge
*1 Llanowar Reborn
*1 Mossfire Valley
*1 Mosswort Bridge
*2 Mountain
*1 Path of Ancestry
*5 Plains
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Sungrass Prairie
*1 Temple of Abandon
*1 Temple of Plenty
*1 Temple of Triumph
*1 Temple of the False God
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
[/Lands]
&nbsp;"></div>
&nbsp;

&nbsp;
With the list in front of us, I think it's safe to say that, out of the box, we have a smorgasbord of cards in our arsenal. Our playstyle is going to be an aggro deck that focuses on going wide, then after that tall with our creatures. Backup is a flexible ability as it has a dual function in making another creature larger and giving it a new ability, or just making the initial creature larger. We are going to do a lot of attacking with large creatures so we want to make sure that we have a healthy board state at all times. Within our aggro package there is also a small set of cards that allow you to reuse Backup abilities, two of my favorites being <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Restoration Angel" href="#" target="_blank">Restoration Angel</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flameshadow Conjuring" href="#" target="_blank">Flameshadow Conjuring</a>. Since we have discussed the strategies at our fingertips let's get into the strengths and weaknesses of the deck. 
<h2>Where Do We Need Backup?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kalonian Hydra"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Armorcraft Judge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Inspiring call"></div></div>
Just like any aggro deck, Call for Backup's major strength is in the speed at which we can play in a game. This typically means that the first few turns are ours for the taking and we use that to set up for the late game. In our deck we have a ton of creatures, but most of them fall in the mana value of three. The average mana value of the deck is 3.58 which for a precon is really good. This makes it so that our turns allow us to play out our hands and get momentum in our favor as we play bigger and bigger bombs. An example is to have a few creatures with counters on them before we play our <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kalonian Hydra" href="#" target="_blank">Kalonian Hydra</a> so that we can get a ton of power and value from it.
To touch on a couple of the weaknesses of the deck, we have to focus on the problems that a lot of precons face. The deck currently lacks card draw, which is vital in deck construction. The deck does include <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armorcraft Judge" href="#" target="_blank">Armorcraft Judge</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inspiring Call" href="#" target="_blank">Inspiring Call</a>, which gives us a good amount of cards but in its current iteration there is no repeatable card draw source. In addition to card draw, since we have a focus on the board state I would like to see a little bit more protection for our creatures. The deck includes the previously mentioned <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inspiring Call" href="#" target="_blank">Inspiring Call</a> which does give our creatures indestructible, as well as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hindervines" href="#" target="_blank">Hindervines</a> which protects our creatures with counters on them from damage. Lastly, we have <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Semester’s end" href="#" target="_blank">Semester’s end</a> which is a solid spell, however I think that there are some other spells that can do more for us (I'll go over that in my upgrade guide). With that behind us, let's talk about some of the new cards and some of the awesome reprints in this deck.
<h2>Something Old and Something New</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shalai and Hallar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Uncivil Unrest"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Conclave Sledge-Captain"></div></div>
There are a bunch of reprinted cards included in this deck that I am ecstatic to see. The first and by far the most expensive is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kalonian Hydra" href="#" target="_blank">Kalonian Hydra</a>, something of a staple for +1/+1 counter decks. This particular card is sitting at about 15 dollars so lets hope to see that price dip as the printings start to roll out. As I stated earlier, this is a bomb in our deck and will make for some powerful plays. 
Next on cards that I am excited to see reprinted is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flameshadow Conjuring" href="#" target="_blank">Flameshadow Conjuring</a>. Enabling haste in this deck makes a world of difference and this is a solid way to do it, as well as allowing us to get double the Backup triggers. In that same vein are <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Restoration Angel" href="#" target="_blank">Restoration Angel</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flamerush Rider" href="#" target="_blank">Flamerush Rider</a> another two cards that serve the purpose of giving us more usages of Backup with the latter having the ability to give itself haste and make a copy of another attacking creature, creating some interesting plays. 
Finally, there is probably my favorite card in creature based Commander decks, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Champion of Lambholt" href="#" target="_blank">Champion of Lambholt</a>. This card is bonkers as it will grow to the point that allows us to bypass our opponents' defenses.
We've discussed the old, now let's look at the new! The card I know that people are excited for is the alternate commander, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shalai and Hallar" href="#" target="_blank">Shalai and Hallar</a>, which is a powerhouse in and of itself. Dealing damage to target opponent can get out of hand quickly, especially in a deck like this. I can’t wait to see what people do with this card. 
The two cards that I am personally excited for are <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Uncivil Unrest" href="#" target="_blank">Uncivil Unrest</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Conclave Sledge-Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Conclave Sledge-Captain</a>. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Uncivil Unrest" href="#" target="_blank">Uncivil Unrest</a> does a subtle impression of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhythm of the Wild" href="#" target="_blank">Rhythm of the Wild</a>, but takes it a bit further and doubles the damage that creatures with +1/+1 counters deal. I think it definitely will be a chase card from the precon. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Conclave Sledge-Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Conclave Sledge-Captain</a> is also great, with three instances of Backup allowing us to share its ability with up to three creatures or put three +1/+1 counters on the Sledge-Captain itself, making it a powerhouse!
Lastly I want to talk about <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror-Style Master" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror-Style Master</a>. The attack trigger makes this card a commanding presence in the red zone. In addition to that attack trigger it has Backup, empowering your board even further. These new cards are just a force to be reckoned with, so keep your eye on them. 
<h2>Final Thoughts</h2>
So what do I think of the Call for Backup Commander deck? It definitely is going to have a dynamic effect in pods, so much so that I will definitely build Bright-Palm myself! This deck has two commanders that people will be playing for a long time to come.
That’s all for this article. Be sure to check out the other Scrap Trawlers precon guides and then our Twitch channel <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/scraptrawlers">here</a>. Until next time, make sure you keep it on a budget!

bright palm soul awakener

The Over/Under - A Review of March of the Machine Commanders

Call for Backup - Upgrade Guide

Call for Backup - Precon Primer

The Over/Under - Predicting the Popularity of March of the Machine Commanders