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What's a good Magic: The Gathering set without strong theming? Whether designers construct a set around a certain MTG plane or a particular media trope, a coherent theme goes a long to making it feel cohesive as well as fresh and distinct from previous releases. Magic's historic ability to hit this goal is part of why it's one of the best card games. And MTG Aetherdrift is the zoomy racing set, right? That's definitely the case when it comes to the main set but Aetherdrift’s Commander decks are a little less racing car and a little more cruise ship.
Instead of centering their mechanics and theming around the kind of multiplanar Wacky Races business you might expect, both of the Aetherdrift Commander precons are firmly planted in their respective planes of Amonkhet and Avishkar. With very few vehicle cards to speak of, they're probably not going anywhere either. True to the vision of MTG's head designer, Mark Rosewater, Aetherdrift's Commanders are really giving the "travelogue" experience.
While the backdrop of the Ghirapur Grand Prix certainly plays its part, this multiplanar death race is largely just a vehicle that allows the Aetherdrift set to inhabit multiple planes at once – and allows the designers to create two decks that simultaneously embody the mechanical identity and aesthetic of each one. This world-building, combined with the strength of decklists themselves (I'll get into that soon, just you wait), means that I really can't be too vexed by the relative lack of vehicles.
Eternal Might probably isn't going to knock Wilhelt, The Rotcleaver out of its position as fan-favorite Zombie precon anytime soon. However, it's still an impressive precon that houses some seriously formidable new and returning cards alike.
Both monetarily and gameplay-wise, you're getting pretty good value with reprints. For example, you have Rot Hulk, a beastly $26 card that's particularly well-suited to the multiplayer format of Commander. Pay seven mana for Rot Hulk (or you know, cheat him out, that's always preferable) and you'll have 5/5 Zombie with menace whose enter the battlefield effect rewards you with a reanimated zombie for each opponent you have. With a healthy host of discard triggers in cards like Cryptbreaker and Temmet, Naktamun's Will, you're likely to have a graveyard chock-full of goodies for Rot Hulk to return too.
Whether you intend to tweak Eternal Might with upgrades or transform it entirely, there are plenty of mechanically strong and thematically rich cards that make it a deck worth picking up – doubly so if you have a soft spot for Esper (white-blue-black) color identity or the plane of Amonkhet.
Then there's Living Energy. With this being the third Energy-centric Commander deck released in the last year, you might feel sort of glutted on the mechanic. You may even be one of those Magic: The Gathering players who don't vibe with Energy at all. For those who are on board with the concept, Living Energy promises to be a solid offering.
Again, you're offered some fancy reprints like the gorgeously 'busted-in-Blue-decks' land, Academy Ruins (currently $16.40) and Elder Gargaroth ($13.79), a super powerful, stompy Green creature that provides a range of benefits to your game state every time it attacks or defends. Not only does Living Energy have a less distinct and unique deck identity, it also seems like it will need more TLC in the way of upgrading than Eternal Might. That said, if you're in the market for a project (or you happen to be specifically yearning for an energy-touting Temur Artificer deck), this could be the one worth popping in your basket.
Wondering what to play next? Don't miss the best board games. If you need to know more about the new set, check out these exclusive MTG Aetherdrift cards.
