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Magic The Gathering – From The Vault: Legends Review

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The From the Vault series is a collection of cards that are thematic reprints of some of the most iconic cards in annals of Magic. From the Vault: Legends will be the fourth such collection, this time featuring legendary creatures. Basically, this is the best (and most expensive) booster pack that you will ever open. All the cards are foils, made with a unique foil process for the From the Vault series. For some of these cards, it will be the first time that they are black bordered too.

It comes as no surprise that this collection of legendary creatures comes soon after Commander was officially included in the Magic: The Gathering stable. All but one of these cards will make for brilliant commanders for custom decks (Ulamog is colourless, so no luck there!).

These 15 legendary creatures are some of the most sought after and iconic heroes of them all. With a card like Captain Sisay at the helm of your deck, you will be able to cram your deck full of evil legendary cards. This Rare from Invasion will either make your opponents groan, or green with envy.

Two cards from Portal of the 3 Kingdoms make their way into the pack. Cao Cao, Lord of Wei causes untold grief, and Sun Quan, Lord of Wu, is absolutely broken as a commander. Horsemanship is a thematic version of Flying and is only found in this block. Despite their similarities though, Reach and Defender rules do not interact with the Horsemanship rule, giving you an entirely Unblockable deck, unless your opponent is also using Horsemanship cards to try take advantage of the same rule.

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker makes a welcome return with new artwork. This token generating blighter gives you access to a horde of expendables to wreak havoc.

Progenitus is the ultimate 5 colour commander. This Mythic Rare unstoppable force from Conflux will cause untold damage.

Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir will cripple the speed of your opponent’s game, and will literally undo the efforts of a counterspell based strategy. Between this wizard and Sun Quan, you have access to the most aggressive blue creature strategies. Or use him in a multicolour deck and pull your Deathtouch creatures out with Flash.

Three Shards of Alara favourites, Rafiq of the Many, Sharuum, the Hegemon and Kresh the Bloodbraided return with new artwork, ready to cause untold grief. Rafiq gives you the colours of Bant, and Exalted is a brilliant mechanic that makes attacking with a singular creature a highly rewarding process. Fans of Tezzeret’s deck in Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 will recognise Sharuum’s colours and the nefarious Esper artifact related strategies. Kresh is a monstrous Jund warrior who very quickly becomes a bloated berserker.

Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre is a personal favourite. This Eldrazi will have your opponents weeping as they watch all their hard work unravel.

Mikaeus, the Lunarch is white’s solution to the bane of the Carnifex Demon, and will reward any white weeny deck with stronger creatures. Variable cost cards are always handy, as you can choose when to play this card, and for how much. Also, this cleric is useful both in early and late game, as he can be a strong swinger in his own right.

Omnath, Locus of Mana allows a mono green ramp deck to make full use of all the untapped mana that is generally left lying around while waiting for a large creature card. This Worldwake elemental will have your foes quaking, either due to its size, or the stockpile of mana that you amass.

Oona, Queen of the Fae is absolutely brutal against mono colour decks, as she allows you to mill your opponent while amassing hordes of 1/1 Flying midgets.

Visara the Dreadful makes her return from Onslaught with a much more flattering (read: better cleavage) artwork. This mean 5/5 Flyer is crippling with her ability to destroy creature-based threats outright, without worrying about pitiful abilities like regeneration.

The From the Vault series has always been the mark of the discerning collector. With this latest installment, Wizards certainly do not fail to deliver. These beautiful humanoids and behemoths are a welcome addition to any collector’s portfolio. From the Vault is a very limited print run, and its unique foil process stands out.

While these cards can be used in formats other than Commander, and could be collected just for the sake of being the pride of your collection, 15 Legendary Creatures will be hard to let pass by if you are a fan of the format. Even if you only play Standard, getting Mikaeus, the Lunarch just before Innistrad launches might sway you into buying this super booster. What to do with the other cards then? Trade them for something powerful for your deck. Even casual decks will enjoy having such powerful cards in them.

These cards are truly lustworthy, as is probably apparent by me writing this review during my honeymoon. Also, they are all shiny! From the Vault: Legends also includes a spindown life counter and a collector’s guide and is in stores now. There are apparently only 130 of these available in the country, so get them while you still can. You can keep up to date with the goings-on in the local MTG scene over at MagicSA.

Here is a list of the cards:

Cao Cao, Lord of Wei        Captain Sisay                   Doran, the Siege Tower

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker*  Kresh the Bloodbraided*  Mikaeus, the Lunarch¬

Omnath, Locus of Mana      Oona, Queen of the Fae       Progenitus*

Rafiq of the Many*             Sharuum, the Hegemon*    Sun Quan, Lord of Wu

Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir*      Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre   Visara the Dreadful*

* New artwork. ¬ Preview card from Innistrad.

 

Last Updated: January 3, 2017

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