Commander 2014 Release

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

With Commander 2014 being released this Friday 7th November and Magic: the Gathering fans converging on their local gaming stores (we'll be heading to OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario), we here at MTG Realm wanted to give another brief high level overview of this set.  Below are excerpts from the DCI Commander 2014 Edition Release Notes as well as details from MTG Salvation Wiki for your reference.

Commander 2014 features five mono-coloured 100-card decks with a total of 337 different cards and 61 new cards.  The set introduced five Planeswalkers that can be used as a commander and featured legendary creatures from Magic's past.  The five decks are as follows -

FORGED IN STONE
Nahiri, the Lithomancer knows that victory comes from having the right weapons. This Planeswalker commander is a master of arms who creates powerful equipment and enchantments to prepare massive armies for the fight.

PEER THROUGH TIME
Teferi, Temporal Archmage manipulates time itself. This Planeswalker commander uses an arsenal of tricks to keep his options open and his opponents guessing until he can send forth massive blue creatures to deliver the final blow.

SWORN TO DARKNESS
Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath is a ruthless tyrant who will stop at nothing to achieve his aims. This Planeswalker commander saps his opponents’ strength, summons powerful demons to the battlefield, and compels the dead to rise and fight.

BUILT FROM SCRATCH
Daretti, Scrap Savant brags that he can build anything out of anything. This Planeswalker commander is a master artificer. He sacrifices trinkets to bring back treasures and cobbles together an army of automatons to crush the opposition.

GUIDED BY NATURE
Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury protects the forest and the elves who dwell there, and they protect her in return. This Planeswalker commander summons loyal elves to her side and unleashes the full might of the natural world upon her enemies.

New Ability Word: Lieutenant
Lieutenant is an ability word that appears in italics on a cycle of creatures that become more powerful if you control your commander. (An ability word has no rules meaning.) 
* Lieutenant abilities apply only if your commander is on the battlefield and under your control.
* Lieutenant abilities refer only to whether you control your commander, not any other player’s commander.
* If you gain control of a creature with a lieutenant ability owned by another player, that ability will check to see if you control your commander and will apply if you do. It won’t check whether its owner controls his or her commander.
* If you lose control of your commander, lieutenant abilities of creatures you control will immediately stop applying. If this causes a creature’s toughness to become less than or equal to the amount of damage marked on it, the creature will be destroyed.
* If a triggered ability granted by a lieutenant ability triggers, and in response to that trigger you lose control of your commander (causing the lieutenant to lose that ability), that triggered ability will still resolve.

Cycle: Offerings
The Offerings are a cycle of cards that have two beneficial effects. For each, you and an opponent of your choice are rewarded.
* You may choose the same opponent for each of the effects, or you may choose different opponents. None of the affected players are targets of the spell.
* For each of the Offerings except Volcanic Offering (see its entry in the Card-Specific Notes section), you choose the opponents for each effect as the spell resolves.

Commander 2014 has ten cycles:

Planeswalker Commanders: five mythic rare monocolored planeswalkers that can be used as a commander. — Nahiri, the Lithomancer, Teferi, Temporal Archmage, Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath, Daretti, Scrap Savant, and Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury.

Historical Legendaries: five mythic rare legendary creatures from Magic's past who didn't have a card before. — Jazal Goldmane, Stitcher Geralf, Ghoulcaller Gisa, Feldon of the Third Path, and Titania, Protector of Argoth.

On-theme Legendaries: five rare legendary creatures that fit the deck's theme — Kemba, Kha Regent, Lorthos, the Tidemaker, Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief, Bosh, Iron Golem, Ezuri, Renegade Leader.

Lieutenants: five rare monocolored creatures that gain powerfull abilities as long as you control your commander. — Angelic Field Marshal, Stormsurge Kraken, Demon of Wailing Agonies, Tyrant's Familiar, and Thunderfoot Baloth

Offerings: five rare sorceries/instants with two abilities which are shared with one opponent each. — Benevolent Offering, Intellectual Offering, Infernal Offering, Volcanic Offering, and Sylvan Offering.

Medallions: five rare artifacts that cost two colourless mana and reduces cost of spells of one color by Mana1.gif. Reprinted from Tempest. — Pearl Medallion, Sapphire Medallion, Jet Medallion, Ruby Medallion, and Emerald Medallion.

Diamonds: five uncommon artifacts that cost two colourless mana, enter the battlefield tapped, and tap for one color of mana. Reprinted from Mirage. — Marble Diamond, Sky Diamond, Charcoal Diamond, Fire Diamond, and Moss Diamond.

Karoo lands: five uncommon lands that are sacrificed when it enters the battlefield unless you return an untapped basic land of a given type to your hand. Adds one colourless to your mana pool. Reprinted from Visions. — Karoo, Coral Atoll, Everglades, Dormant Volcano, and Jungle Basin.

Cycle Lands 1: five common lands that enter the battlefield tapped and may be tapped for C. Can be cycled for C. Reprinted from Onslaught — Secluded Steppe, Lonely Sandbar, Barren Moor, Forgotten Cave, and Tranquil Thicket.

Cycle Lands 2: five common lands that enter the battlefield tapped and may be tapped for C. Can be cycled for Mana2.gif. Reprinted from Urza's Saga. — Drifting Meadow, Remote Isle, Polluted Mire, Smoldering Crater, and Slippery Karst.

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