Angel Evolution

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

Our local card shop, OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario runs a Commander night on Thursday evenings and although we've not been out to one of these for a while, we're told that it is becoming more popular than ever and you can see all the recently released Commander 2013 decks at the tables.  We'll likely pick up a few extra singles from MTG Mint Card and upgrade one of our existing builds before committing to going though.

Anywhoos - there was one Commander 2013 card which caught our attention (yes, we admit that many more did) but this had more to do with the art than the actual game card abilities.  Specifically, we're talking about Angel of Finality with the lovely art from Howard Lyon.  We've seen this angel very recently in the Innistrad set - Angel of Flight Alabaster.

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The new Commander 2013 version is most assuredly a reference to the previous Innistrad one but beyond the art and creature type, everything is quite different.

 











Where the Innistrad Angel of Flight Alabaster allowed graveyard recursion of a spirit creature card from your graveyard to your hand, Commander's Angel of Finality nuked cards in a target player's graveyard.  Both these cards can still be good friends in the same deck however and we know there is a number of MTG Realm readers out there who have told us they have a thingy for angel themed decks, so we say 'go for it' - there are more than a dozen legendary angel creatures in a variety of colors you can call upon to be your commander / general.
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Now - for some flavor -
Innistrad Angels were organized into Flights of Angels - Flight Goldnight, Flight of Herons, and Flight Alabaster.  As our angel in today's article is from Alabaster, here's some background from the MTG creative team -  

The Flight of Alabaster
These angels personify the Blessed Sleep and are associated with the Hunter's Moon season. They provide magic that wards against the desecration of dead humans. In the absence of Avacyn they remained the most active and continued on to reinforce wards that protected the human populations.

This flight of angels is centered in Thraben, and is instrumental in maintaining Avacynian wards. These angels reside mainly in the Lofts and are a familiar sight to the inhabitants of the city. They generally travel in small groups as they visit the centers of healing in the city. Alabaster angels also aid priests and cathars in maintaining the protective wards on the city walls and holy sites throughout Innistrad. According to the other flights, Alabaster angels tend to be overly sentimental, but they think of themselves as practical yet sympathetic. They often do not travel with weapons, preferring to use their magic, and engage in battle only when the conflict can't be resolved another way. During the archangel's absence, the Alabaster angels were first to recognize the Avacynian wards were failing. Many remained active—more than those of other flights—doubling their efforts to reinforce the wards. These efforts likely saved Thraben from the fate that befell many other towns and settlements. 
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