Every Magic player loves reprints, because it generally brings prices of cards down. The full-reprint sets have been a popular trend of recent years, with Dominaria Remastered and Double Masters 2022 released in the past 12 months. Naturally MTG players are jumping in eager anticipation for the upcoming Commander Masters, due to launch on 4 August!
Regardless of whether a card is new or reprinted, Tap & Sac is always honoured to reveal exclusive preview cards (kindly shared by Wizards of the Coast). Today we’ve got a Rare from Commander Masters – Sidisi, Brood Tyrant!
For 1 generic, blue, green and black Mana, you get a 3/3 Creature with 2 distinct triggered abilities:
“Whenever Sidisi, Brood Tyrant enters the battlefield or attacks, Mill three cards. Whenever one or more Creature cards are put in your Graveyard from your Library, create a 2/2 black Zombie Creature token.”
As you might already surmise, the 2nd ability plays off the 1st, since you’ll be dumping plenty of cards into your Graveyard. Stack your Commander deck with plenty of Creature cards, and you’ll be leading a rather large Zombie army very soon!
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant may not be worth much to a collector, but this Naga Shaman is pretty popular as a Commander, ranking #162 all-time on EDHREC, with an astounding 4200 deck lists! Let’s go through a few of the best cards in MTG that synergises the most with this Graveyard/Zombie centric general!
Palantir of Othanc – Draw, Mill or Opponents Lose Life
This new card from 2023’s Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth is a natural fit for Sidisi at the helm. Palantir of Othanc. On each of your turns, you either get to draw 1 card (this is always good), or you Mill and drain the opponent of life. Except with Sidisi, Brood Tyrant on the Battlefield, you’ll be creating 2/2 tokens more often than not.
The Palantir may not be a likely card to win the game, but it can generate so much value throughout that it makes complete sense to include it as a utility card in your deck.
Syr Konrad, the Grim – Perfect Partner in Crime
A mighty Commander in its own right, Syr Konrad, the Grim gives you an added benefit whenever a Creature card is put into the Graveyard from the Library (i.e. Milled). Not only are you getting a 2/2 Zombie, Syr Konrad will drain 1 life from each opponent.
This gives you a viable win condition for a Mill deck with Sidisi, Brood Tyrant at the helm, albeit a slow-moving one. What’s even better is that Syr Konrad even has his own Mill ability. It’s 2 Mana for a single card, but if you’re able to somehow generate lots of Mana, Syr Konrad could be Milling more cards than Sidisi could.
Zellix, Sanity Frayer – More Ways to Mill
If Sidisi, Brood Tyrant is Eve, then Zellix, Sanity Flayer has to be her Adam. Both have abilities to Mill cards, and also to create token Creatures, just that they’re done in different ways. But imagine this: Sidisi attacks, Mills 3 cards, and you create both 2/2 Zombies and 1/1 Horrors (with Zellix on the Battlefield).
Don’t just stop there. Zellix, Sanity Flayer has its own Mill ability. As it requires tapping, you won’t usually use Zellix’s ability more than once per turn cycle. However the synergy with Sidisi is so on point that having both under your control will double the size of your army quickly. Who knows, Zellix might also be reprinted in Commander Masters?
Jace, the Perfected Mind – Massive Zombie Army Coming
We said doubling the Zombie army, but we can go even bigger? With Jace, the Perfected Mind Planeswalker, getting 10x on your return is not a far-fetched dream. Jace can be cast for 4 Mana (try not to use the Phyrexian Mana cost as it will lower his starting Loyalty), and with him you can elect to use his -X ability.
By choosing X=5, you’ll be Milling 15 cards. If a modest 8 of those cards are Creatures, that’s 8 2/2 Zombie tokens created with a meagre 4 Mana. That’s a nice return even in the boundless potential in Commander. You will lose Jace to the Graveyard if you choose X=5, but think of it as a 4 Mana Sorcery spell that just gave you 8 2/2 Creatures. We’ll take it!
End Step
This will be the 2nd reprint of Sidisi, Brood Tyrant, with the 1st just a year ago in Double Masters, so don’t expect major value in the resale market. But there is still a ton of value (and unbridled fun) if you build a Commander deck with her at the helm. Typal decks like Zombies or Goblins will always be in season, and Sidisi even lets you play with reanimation subtheme as well, thanks to her Mill ability.
How impressed are you with the reprints in Commander Masters? It’s a pricy set, so naturally hopes and expectations will be high. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
