Mutants, Ninjas, and Turtles Are All Heroes in a Half Shell!

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jenova, Ancient Calamity" href="#" target="_blank">Jenova, Ancient Calamity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/b03di" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ignatius Budi</a></em></p>
<p>Well <em>Magic</em> players, it's time to introduce you all to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jenova, Ancient Calamity" href="#" target="_blank">Jenova, Ancient Calamity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, one of the biggest villains in <em>Final Fantasy VII.</em> For those of you that don’t know: Jenova, is an ancient Alien creature that's central to the plot of the story. It infects lifeforms like a virus, turning them into monsters, which is captured perfectly with this new card. Modifying a creature and then drawing cards when it dies is a powerful ability to build around.</p>
<p>So, join me, Tyler ‘Savesya’ Bucks, as I highlight 14 cards for under $14 that can get you started on a new deck! With this list, we'll look at a few creatures that are naturally Mutants, which makes it even easier to draw cards off of when they die, as well as show off some synergistic sacrifice outlets that will give you more control over when your creatures leave the board.</p>
<h2>What Does Jenova, Ancient Calamity Do?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jenova, Ancient Calamity"></div></div>
<p>Let’s kick things off by taking a look at the commander, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jenova, Ancient Calamity" href="#" target="_blank">Jenova, Ancient Calamity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a four-mana 1/5 that hands out +1/+1 counter equal to their power to one of your creatures at the start of your combat. When that happens, that creature becomes a Mutant in addition to its other types.</p>
<p>But that’s not all. Whenever a Mutant you control dies during your turn, you draw cards equal to its power.</p>
<h2>Budget Mutant Cards for Jenova, Ancient Calamity</h2>
<p>Of course, throwing something like a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yargle and Multani" href="#" target="_blank">Yargle and Multani</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> into this deck would be great, but I wanted to first show off some creatures that are already Mutants.</p>
<h3>Rampaging Yao Guai</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rampaging Yao Guai"></div></div>
<p>The first Mutant we’re showcasing today comes with some counters of its own, as well as removal stapled to it. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rampaging Yao Guai" href="#" target="_blank">Rampaging Yao Guai</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be strong in the early game as well as the late game, allowing you to clear the board of pesky artifacts and enchantments while getting you a big body on the board.</p>
<p>It's also a great blocker and attacker that you won’t care about dying during combat, since you’ll be drawing all those cards with your commander.</p>
<h3>Lily Bowen, Raging Grandma</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lily Bowen, Raging Grandma"></div></div>
<p>Another card that comes with its own counters is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lily Bowen, Raging Grandma" href="#" target="_blank">Lily Bowen, Raging Grandma</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Even though she already has a way to grow her counters, throwing an additional one on with Jenova could be beneficial, since it'll only grow your Granny faster.</p>
<p>Now all but one of those counters will go away once Lily gets more than sixteen of them, which just means you should be attacking as much as possible or looking for one of the sacrifice outlets we'll talk about later to cash her in when she's at her most powerful.</p>
<h3>Watchful Radstag</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Watchful Radstag"></div></div>
<p>We'll be talking about a lot of big creatures on this list, but let’s take a look at a way to go a bit wider with our board. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Watchful Radstag" href="#" target="_blank">Watchful Radstag</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> creates a token of itself whenever it evolves, which means that as you simply play out your game plan, you could be getting a bigger board of Elk.</p>
<p>Since Jenova doesn’t care about how your Mutants die, you can recklessly use those tokens for attacking, all while drawing cards in the process.</p>
<h3>Lumbering Megasloth</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lumbering Megasloth"></div></div>
<p>If you already have plenty of counters building up on your board, well then <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lumbering Megasloth" href="#" target="_blank">Lumbering Megasloth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is here to come down for as little as two mana. It's naturally an 8/8, which is great for getting into the red zone, or just straight up sacrificing to draw an obscene number of cards.</p>
<p>Do yourself a favor and hold off on casting this Sloth until you’re ready to get full value out of it, because let’s be honest, 12 mana is just too high. Also, don’t overlook the fact that the mana reduction takes into account all counters on the board, not just yours.</p>
<h3>Ursine Monstrosity</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ursine Monstrosity"></div></div>
<p>Let's step away from <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/pip" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Fall Out</em></a> Mutants for a second with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ursine Monstrosity" href="#" target="_blank">Ursine Monstrosity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This creature has trample as well as a way to grow when you move to combat, milling you a card and then getting +1/+1 for each card type in your graveyard. Since it also gains indestructible, this will be a great target for the counters Jenova passes along, making it a constant threat on each of your turns for one random unlucky opponent.</p>
<p>As another bonus, since the Monstrosity only costs three mana, you can get it down the turn before your commander, and start the pain train as early as possible.</p>
<h3>Feral Ghoul</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Feral Ghoul"></div></div>
<p>In this deck a lot of cards will be going to your graveyard, whether it's from milling or sacrificing; the latter of the two is something that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Feral Ghoul" href="#" target="_blank">Feral Ghoul</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> loves to see. Gaining +1/+1 counters whenever another creature you control dies means that you could get this down early, then continue your game plan of sacrificing bigger creatures to draw cards, all while the Ghoul gets bigger and bigger, setting you up to cash it in for value later in the game. Then you draw a bunch of cards and throw a whole lot of rad counters onto your opponents in the process.</p>
<h3>Evolution Witness</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Evolution Witness"></div></div>
<p>As I just mentioned, a lot of these value pieces we look at today will most likely end up in your bin - but that’s where <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Evolution Witness" href="#" target="_blank">Evolution Witness</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> comes in. Whenever you add a counter to it, you’ll return a permanent from your graveyard to your hand, which makes for a great combo with your commander, since you can have a repeatable way to regrow something each turn if you need to build your board back.</p>
<h2>Budget Sacrifice Outlets for Jenova</h2>
<p>In this next section, we'll highlight some great sacrifice outlets, which always feel even better to run when you have more ways to bring your cards back, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Evolution Witness" href="#" target="_blank">Evolution Witness</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<h3>Wight of the Reliquary</h3>
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<p>Let's kick off this section on sacrifice outlets with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wight of the Reliquary" href="#" target="_blank">Wight of the Reliquary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Not only is this a creature that grows in size, which Jenova would love to turn into a Mutant, but it also gives you the ability to grab any land from your deck.</p>
<p>If you’re drawing huge chunks of cards in this deck, the main thing that will hold you back is not having enough mana to cast those spells. Ramp like this that synergizes on multiple levels of your game plan makes it a slam dunk inclusion for this list.</p>
<h3>Illuminor Szeras</h3>
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<p>Up next we have the most expensive card on the list, but its worth it since it helps us with that mana problem I was just referring to. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Illuminor Szeras" href="#" target="_blank">Illuminor Szeras</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can tap to sacrifice a creature, and gives you black mana equal to the creature’s mana value. Imagine using that ability with the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lumbering Megasloth" href="#" target="_blank">Lumbering Megasloth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> we talked about earlier: drawing eight cards, and making twelve mana could just push you towards closing the game out faster than anyone is ready for.</p>
<h3>Flare of Cultivation</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Flare of Cultivation"></div></div>
<p>Keeping with the ramp theme, our next spell, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flare of Cultivation" href="#" target="_blank">Flare of Cultivation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, can feed into everything you need and cost you zero mana in the process. As you cast it, you can sacrifice a nontoken green creature, which makes it free. This card is flexible since at its base, it’s just a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cultivate" href="#" target="_blank">Cultivate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. But when your game plan is humming, it can also refill your hand. Ramp and card draw for free sounds pretty nice to me!</p>
<h3>Cultist of the Absolute</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cultist of the Absolute"></div></div>
<p>Not many cards on this list help grow Jenova’s stats, which you do want since you put counters on something equal to its power, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cultist of the Absolute" href="#" target="_blank">Cultist of the Absolute</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was too good to pass up. Giving +3/+3, great keywords, and ward is amazing, but it's also a sacrifice outlet on your upkeep.</p>
<p>There's a chance that this card might put you in an awkward position where you don’t want to get rid of a member of your team, but if your commander gave four counters to a creature on your last turn, and then you cash it for cards, you'll likely be able to add a lot more fodder to the board from there.</p>
<h3>Deadly Brew</h3>
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<p>If you want your opponents to join in the fun of sacrificing their creatures, then <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deadly Brew" href="#" target="_blank">Deadly Brew</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is here for you. Two mana to have each player get rid of a creature is a solid rate. When you add the fact that you want to be doing that with your creatures anyway, you’ll be sure to come out on top of this exchange. Plus, this sorcery allows you to then return something from your graveyard to your hand, which can help you get back a key piece you sacrificed earlier in the game for value.</p>
<h3>Daemogoth Titan</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Daemogoth Titan"></div></div>
<p>Alright, let’s not mess around anymore… <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Daemogoth Titan" href="#" target="_blank">Daemogoth Titan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a four mana 11/10. When you move to combat, Jenova can give it a counter, turning the Titan into a Mutant. Then you either sacrifice it to one of the effects we’ve mentioned before, or just attack with it on your turn. It’s a lose-lose situation for your opponents, since its sacrifice ability allows you to target itself.</p>
<h3>The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride</h3>
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<p>Closing things out this week, we have a little bit of redundancy for your commander with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride" href="#" target="_blank">The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. When I first saw Jenova, my mind immediately went to <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/otj" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Thunder Junction’s</em></a> take on this Frog Horror, and they work perfectly together.</p>
<p>Here’s a little example: before combat, have that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Daemogoth Titan" href="#" target="_blank">Daemogoth Titan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> saddle The Gitrog. Then move to combat and place a counter on the Titan turning it into a Mutant. Then, when The Gitrog deals damage to someone, you’ll sacrifice the Titan, which will draw you 12 cards with Gitrog, and then you can put up to twelve lands into play. Jenova will also trigger, drawing you another 12 cards… At that point, you’ll be so far ahead that the best hope your foes will have to take you out is that you draw yourself to death.</p>
<h2>In Closing</h2>
<p>There you have it: 14 cards for under $14 to jump-start a new <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jenova, Ancient Calamity" href="#" target="_blank">Jenova, Ancient Calamity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck. This list was a lot of fun to put together and allows you to have a lot of big splashy moments during a game, while still getting a little tricky with it at some points. Let me know in the comments below what cards you would add to this list so we can help our fellow players find more great cards!</p>


Jenova, Ancient Calamity - Build a Team of Mutants on a Budget

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Screeching Scorchbeast" href="#" target="_blank">Screeching Scorchbeast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://isnino.artstation.com/">Nino Is</a>)</h6>
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<h3><a href="https://commandersherald.com/fallout-set-review-white/">White</a> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/fallout-set-review-blue/">Blue</a> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/fallout-set-review-black/">Black</a> | <a href="https://commandersherald.com/fallout-set-review-red/">Red</a> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/fallout-set-review-green/">Green</a> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/fallout-set-review-artifacts-lands/?utm_source=edhrec&amp;utm_medium=article_preview">Artifacts &amp; Lands</a> | <a href="https://commandersherald.com/fallout-set-review-allied-shards/">Allied &amp; Shards</a> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/fallout-set-review-enemy-colors-and-wedges/">Enemy &amp; Wedges</a> | <a href="https://commandersherald.com/fallout-set-review-cedh/">cEDH</a> | <a href="https://commandersherald.com/fallout-reprint-review/">Reprints</a> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-over-under-predicting-the-popularity-of-fallout-commanders/">Over/Under</a></h3>
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<h2>A Theoretical Degree in Physics</h2>
<p>Welcome back to set review season! I'm Brian, your usual host of <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/brian-cain/"><em>Brew For Your Buck</em></a> and fortunately I love writing set reviews, because it's seemingly <strong>ALWAYS</strong> set review season. I'm also a big fan of the <em>Fallout</em> franchise. While I started with <em>Fallout 3</em>, and <em>Fallout 4</em> really hits home for me as someone that frequents Boston, I still think <em>New Vegas</em> is my favorite installment. The Old West theme plus the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Battle of Hoover Dam" href="#" target="_blank">Battle of Hoover Dam</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as the dramatic conclusion really made it a fun game for me. While we're going through the cards, I'll try to comment on flavor as well as function, but I haven't played the first two games so forgive my lack of knowledge there. Anyways, let's get into everyone's favorite apocalyptic <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wasteland" href="#" target="_blank">Wasteland</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with everyone's (without any bias at all) favorite color in <em>Magic</em>: Black!</p>
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<h2>Mythics</h2>
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<p><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/maxresdefault.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-124116" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/maxresdefault.jpeg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/maxresdefault.jpeg 1280w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/maxresdefault-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/maxresdefault-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/maxresdefault-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" /></a></p>
<p>We have no mythics to look at this time around for black, but does rarity <em>really</em> matter for precons?</p>
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<h2>Rares</h2>
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<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Feral Ghoul" href="#" target="_blank">Feral Ghoul</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Feral Ghoul"></div></div>
<p>We jump right in with one of the more iconic enemies in the franchise. Some of the scariest times I've had playing these games are sneaking into buildings full of these guys. Even the art looks like what I see after I panic-jump into <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="V.A.T.S." href="#" target="_blank">V.A.T.S.</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to save my skin. This has an obvious home in <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/aristocrats">Aristocrats</a> and <a href="https://edhrec.com/typal/zombies">Zombie-typal</a> lists, where you're probably already sacrificing your creatures to grow this into a huge threat. Once you're ready, pop this to irradiate your opponents for a huge amount. For clarity, here's how rad counters work:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Radiation"></div></div>
<p>So yes, you can add this to the list of things that win the game in conjunction with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gravecrawler" href="#" target="_blank">Gravecrawler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Altar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or any other ways to generate <a href="https://commanderspellbook.com/search/?q=ci%3Ablack+result%3A%22Infinite+death+triggers%22">infinite death triggers</a>.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div id="3490-4050-4505" style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: visible; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><img decoding="async" id="csbLoad" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/images/gear.svg" alt="csb logo" width="300" /><br />
<script id="3490-4050-4505" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/embed.js?v=1&uses=%5B%22Feral%20Ghoul%22%2C%22Animation%20Module%22%2C%22Phyrexian%20Altar%22%5D&produces=%5B%22Infinite%20%2B1%2F%2B1%20counters%20on%20Feral%20Ghoul%22%2C%22Infinite%20death%20triggers%22%2C%22Infinite%20ETB%22%2C%22Infinite%20LTB%22%2C%22Infinite%20mill%22%2C%22Infinite%20rad%20counters%20for%20opponents%22%2C%22Infinite%20sacrifice%20triggers%22%2C%22Near-infinite%20lifeloss%22%5D&id=3490-4050-4505&color=B&extraRequirementCount=1"></script></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hancock, Ghoulish Mayor" href="#" target="_blank">Hancock, Ghoulish Mayor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hancock, Ghoulish Mayor"></div></div>
<p>As the mayor of Goodneighbor, Hancock is welcoming to all wasteland types so long as they abide by the rules. That's well represented by his ability to anthem up any other Zombies and Mutants you have lying around, though you do need to get some work to get there. Interestingly, we don't have an existing Zombie or Mutant commander that cares about counters, so if you're looking to overlap those two themes I think Hancock is your best bet. Otherwise, this seems like a great card for its precon that cares about exactly those things. He also is an X/1 with Undying<em>,</em> something that I'm sure makes <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yawgmoth, Thran Physician" href="#" target="_blank">Yawg</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> players look up from their loops. Also, Do we ever find out his first name? I bet it's Herbie.</p>
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<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nuclear Fallout" href="#" target="_blank">Nuclear Fallout</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nuclear Fallout"></div></div>
<p>Hey! That's the name of the game! While still outclassed by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toxic Deluge" href="#" target="_blank">Toxic Deluge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and maybe <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damnation" href="#" target="_blank">Damnation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, I think this card is actually really good compared to most other black board wipes. As far as wiping the board goes, it's a half-off <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Black Sun&#039;s Zenith" href="#" target="_blank">Black Sun&#039;s Zenith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bane of the Living" href="#" target="_blank">Bane of the Living</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. With all the indestructible going around these days, giving creatures -X/-X instead of destroying them is almost always upside. It also comes with the bonus of self-mill which helps your <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/reanimate">Reanimator</a> deck, opponent mill which helps your <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/mill">Mill</a> deck, and even some damage which helps your <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/group-slug">Group Slug</a> deck! Clearly there's a lot of good use cases, so check your board wipe slots to see if it makes the cut.</p>
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<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Screeching Scorchbeast" href="#" target="_blank">Screeching Scorchbeast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Screeching Scorchbeast"></div></div>
<p>This one I don't remember from the games and honestly I'm glad because it looks like a pain in the butt to fight. I'm assuming from the art and the card mechanics that it breathes radiation and brings <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Feral Ghoul" href="#" target="_blank">Feral Ghoul</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s back to life or something. In <em>Magic</em>, it doesn't seem that bad to face down. Giving each player rad counters is going to help, but limiting it to only one 2/2 per turn is a little sad, especially for a six mana play. Perhaps it was too oppressive otherwise, but compared to some other plays at this point on the curve, it's a little less impactful than I would hope. It still seems great for its precon and maybe you can prove me wrong in a mill deck like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sidisi, Brood Tyrant" href="#" target="_blank">Sidisi, Brood Tyrant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
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<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="V.A.T.S." href="#" target="_blank">V.A.T.S.</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="V.A.T.S."></div></div>
<p>For those of you unfamiliar with the games, the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System or V.A.T.S. is the defining combat feature of the <em>Fallout</em> franchise. It allows you to (more or less) stop time and choose enemy (or friendly) targets depending on your equipped weapon, including specific body parts. You can use it to hit extremely small targets like combat controllers on robots, or a readied grenade in the hand of a raider. You can also use it target multiple enemies and take them out in quick, uninterrupted succession. This <em>Magic</em> card is basically the perfect representation of V.A.T.S. in our game. <em>Split second</em> is the ideal mechanic to use, giving your opponents no chance to stop it. I'm not sure how well the "equal toughness" clause plays, but this probably nabs a large amount of the opposing creatures on the board. This card looks powerful and is just a 10/10 flavor-wise, nice job Wizards<em>.</em></p>
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<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vault 12: The Necropolis" href="#" target="_blank">Vault 12: The Necropolis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vault 12: The Necropolis"></div></div>
<p>Here's where I know my franchise knowledge fails me, since a quick perusal of <a href="https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Fallout_Wiki">Nukapedia</a> reveals that Vault 12 only appears in the first game. If you have an opinion on the flavor let me know in the comments, but this card really encapsulates how good <em>Magic, </em>and more specifically Sagas, can tell a story. I think we get the gist: a radiation spill (probably intentional knowing Vault-Tec), leading to residents becoming <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Feral Ghoul" href="#" target="_blank">Feral Ghoul</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s, which then get stronger with all the rads. This looks like one of the finishers for the Mutant Menace precon, because that second and third chapter can end the game in a hurry. It's a little slow, but also very on-theme for the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Endless Ranks of the Dead" href="#" target="_blank">endless</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> assault that is usually associated with Zombies, so look for it those decks too. In fact, if you're running a Zombie-typal list, that precon seems like a pretty good buy.</p>
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<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wasteland Raider" href="#" target="_blank">Wasteland Raider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wasteland Raider"></div></div>
<p>Lumping all the raiders together in one card is probably the best way to do it, since there are usually a lot of them, represented here by <em>Squad</em>. It might seem like the best <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fleshbag Marauder" href="#" target="_blank">Fleshbag Marauder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> we've seen, but it gets prohibitively expensive rather fast, so you really want to have other creatures of your own to trade up into 4/3s to make this truly effective for that price. A pretty generic card for a pretty generic enemy.</p>
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<h2>Uncommons &amp; Commons</h2>
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<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloatfly Swarm" href="#" target="_blank">Bloatfly Swarm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bloatfly Swarm"></div></div>
<p>A four mana 5/5 flyer is not a bad place to be, this thing can even do additional damage with the rad counters. It irradiates everyone when the counters are removed, so whoever trades with this in combat might even evoke the ire of your other opponents. Quick rules note: players only get rad counters based on the number of +1/+1 counters that are removed, so don't think you can <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blasphemous Act" href="#" target="_blank">Blasphemous Act</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> this to give everyone thirteen rads. Unless of course you're in some kind of counters matter deck with ways to add +1/+1 counters like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Winding Constrictor" href="#" target="_blank">Winding Constrictor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doubling Season" href="#" target="_blank">Doubling Season</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. If that's the case, go nuts!</p>
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<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Butch DeLoria, Tunnel Snake" href="#" target="_blank">Butch DeLoria, Tunnel Snake</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Butch DeLoria, Tunnel Snake"></div></div>
<p>The 1950's Americana culture represented in the games really shines with Butch here, and he's actually a really neat card. If you were looking for your Snake/Rogue typal commander, here you go. Otherwise I think he fits in to the 99 of either of those decks as a potentially large, hard-to-block threat. He can even give your other creatures an easier way to get through, which those type of decks generally want as well. Not super exciting, but he has some potential.</p>
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<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Infesting Radroach" href="#" target="_blank">Infesting Radroach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Infesting Radroach"></div></div>
<p>Oh look! More irradiated Insects. I like this one better than the Bloatflies, only because of it's last ability that works well with all of the "creature card leaves your graveyard" stuff we've been getting lately. Managing to pump this up turns it into a pretty big threat too, since the opponent that gets hit with this is milling and taking radiation damage too. I think radiation is another great flavor-win for the set, the milling + damage just feels like being irradiated (not that I ever had been, at least not more than normal).</p>
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<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ruthless Radrat" href="#" target="_blank">Ruthless Radrat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ruthless Radrat"></div></div>
<p>The final card on our list shows another use of Squad<em>, </em>and the fact that it's not a mana payment makes this an interesting one to watch out for. The usual token synergies can be used to amplify the effectiveness of this card, and I think this slams straight into <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Syr Konrad, the Grim" href="#" target="_blank">Syr Konrad, the Grim</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> decks for it's ability to drain your opponents on cast and then make a bunch of bodies to drain again</p>
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<p>Well, that was a quick one since we're only looking at precons, but I hope you still liked it anyway! If you have any thoughts or comments about the cards, drop them in the comments or hit me up on <a href="https://twitter.com/BrewForYourBuck">Twitter</a>. I'm off to fire up <em>Fallout 4</em> and do what I usually do during my playthroughs: never finish the main story since I'm doing all the side quests!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


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