Assassin’s Creed cards release on July 5, and there’s already some serious interest in certain cards. Kristen shares her top picks of what to keep an eye on as we move from pre-orders to set release. 

UNIVERSES BEYOND: ASSASSIN’S CREED

Universes Beyond continues to go from strength to strength, with previous entries in the series like Warhammer 40,000, Doctor Who and Lord of the Rings continuing to gain traction and get new players involved in the game. 

Assassin’s Creed offers Assassins, Equipment, and reprints a-plenty, and there are some cards already proving to be popular options. Between cards new and old, what’s on our radar?

EZIO AUDITORE DA FIRENZE

Ezio is arguably the most popular Assassin, the most recognizable, and is also not only a five-color build-around that’ll let you play all of the Assassins, but a Mythic rare too. 

Jokes aside about how cards like this tend to be the chase cards in a set, I think we should keep an eye on Ezio because he’s a highly collectable card and likely to be the top Commander brewed from the set, with Kassandra and Leonardo da Vinci making up the Top 3. Keep an eye on Ezio as there’ll be a good time to pick him up before he settles as one of the higher priced cards in the set. He’s no The One Ring, but what else is?

If you’re looking to brew with him, I recommend cheap ways to buff your Assassin damage, through cards like Shared Animosity, Warleader’s Call, Arno Dorian, Ramses, Assassin Lord, and the background Haunted One. That way you can get closer to that life-gate to trigger and eliminate a player from the game. 

BROTHERHOOD REGALIA

Brotherhood Regalia is a real sleeper, and long term, it’s going to be the uncommon that’ll steadily creep up. We’ve already seen the popularity of the (at time of writing) $2.49 Lavaspur Boots, and that one only grants Ward of {1}. The difference here is that Lavaspur Boots is probably the third effect you go for, after Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves; Brotherhood Regalia, meanwhile, is arguably the best unblockable equipment in the format now with the cheap costings and additional Ward {2} stacked on top. 

Between it and Bilbo’s Ring, it’s hard to want to run Trailblazer’s Boots anymore, especially in a Voltron build or one where your Commander wants to attack and survive (like Isshin). Haste matters a lot, but you can relegate it to your mana base, and onto other permanents, like Rising of the Day, or an Anger in the yard. 

SWORD OF FEAST AND FAMINE

Sword of Feast and Famine is one of the best Swords of that cycle, and is always in need of a reprint. This reprint sees the first meaningful reprint since Double Masters in 2020, and so now is a great time to pick up a Sword of Feast and Famine at a good price.

Untapping your lands is incredible, and building with this sword in mind can give you even more value. Holding priority on the trigger to untap and using your mana to cast a spell is one thing, but having utility lands that draw cards or do other cool effects like Gavony Township is where things start to get really spicy. 

Forced discard is also incredible, especially with the rise in Double Strike as more readily available and even part of some strategies in general. Don’t forget that a lot of chump tokens, token armies, and powerful creatures in the format are green or black, because this sword can be unblockable with ease. 

If you don’t have one, keep an eye on the price. It’s a stellar upgrade.

JACKDAW

Jackdaw, I believe, remains highly underrated. I feel like all it needs to explode in popularity is one showing on a gameplay show like Game Knights or Shuffle Up and Play, and it’ll be revealed just how busted this card actually is. Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, you end up playing two mana rocks, an artifact creature, and make 1-2 treasure tokens before attacking with this. That’s a total of six artifacts, and you’re already nearly up to the rate of a Wheel, for free, for the rest of the game. 

It needs to be seen to be believed. And I believe. 

SMOKE BOMB

Smoke Bomb is one to watch for, and it’s because we’re all watching that damned bird. Is it good enough as a sideboard play in Modern? Well, we’ll have to see, but something needs to stop that bird. 

Whether Nadu survives in Modern or not, it’s currently showing no signs of exiting Commander. If you play any amount of cEDH, you’re potentially not too worried if your win conditions and interaction are robust enough to deal with it, but that doesn’t mean that Smoke Bomb isn’t an option for higher power Commander games as an answer to a meta with a lot of Nadu decks.

Outside of smoke-bombing-the-bird, I think people were a little down on this card at first, largely owing to Shroud not playing well with Equipment. However, if your creature is already suited up? Shroud becomes one of the best protection spells out there, as it’ll give a cheeky unblockable for a turn once it departs, setting you up for the kill.

EXCALIBUR, SWORD OF EDEN

I’m not sure if any card in this set will reach the lofty heights of The One Ring, but I think Excalibur is probably the one with the most room to grow and the most format relevance (for Commander) of any rare in the set. 

In a lot of decks, it’s never costing anywhere close to twelve. In my testing with Kassandra – who brings a 3 mana value Spear into play, for a total of six off the bat – this basically never cost more than three, and was often free. It’s much closer to being a Colossus Hammer that doesn’t remove flying, grants vigilance, and can be equipped for just two mana. 

Not being able to equip to non-legendaries holds it back a little, but between free equips from Puresteel Paladin and cards like Codsworth, you’re going to be able to get this thing equipped to anything you want – including Inkmoth Nexus. 

This kind of buff turns a lot of Commanders into a one-hit knockout, including the likes of Ghalta, who makes it free all by herself. Others can be turned into a two-hit kill with ease, or just one with double strike. 

END STEP

You might have noticed that that was six cards, and not five. Well to that I say: Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. 

Despite being more niche than the average release, I think this set has some movers and shakers to keep an eye on. What’re you looking for?