"Darksteel Mutation: Shelling Generals"

"Darksteel Mutation: Shelling Generals"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

One of the determining factors for victory in an EDH game is the ability of your general to come back again and again so that you could take full advantage of the ability that he brings to the battlefield. Spot or Mass Removal usually just brings it back to the Command zone just waiting for enough mana so that you could recast it.

So the most painful of these removals involve putting a decks General inside a library like Hallowed Burial or Condemn. It negates any General advantage since it is out of a particular players reach. With the release of Commander 2013 a new kind of measure to control generals is introduced. 

Enter the Darksteel Mutation. A 2 to cast enchantment that gives people playing with white mana an alternate method of controlling generals. The great thing about this particular aura is that it changes a creature into a 0/1 Indestructible Insect creature that loses all of its abilities. 

This means that any General enchanted with it becomes a 0/1 indestructible blocker. A Darksteel shell that will not allow it to be anymore than this insect.Any creature could be a target for this (except those with Hexproof and shroud of course) aura. It really has to depend on which nasty creature you assess to be the biggest threat to your plans. Normally that comes in the form of an opposing General. Since you do not outright kill it or exile it , this general is safely shelled. Barring any sacrifice effects or -1/-1 removals this creature would simply be in the game and not affect the board state.This would mess up a lot of plans that your opponents have cooked up especially if those plans hinge on their General being around to do its thing. No card advantage from Damia? No Aggression from SkullBriar? No Recursion from Derevi? No lifegain from Oloro? The list is endless and I expect that this little 2 mana enchantment will be key in keeping all those massive creatures in check.

Here is to hoping that you are able to draw and fetch it in time to make a difference. In the mean time keep on brewing and keep on playing.