"Opal Palace: Strength from the Command Zone"

"Opal Palace: Strength from the Command Zone"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

The Sky opened and out came the being that he was wishing for. His hope and the nightmare of those who opposed him. It felt stronger than ever before and the mana radiating from it gave off an immense wave of fear to all those who saw it.  

(Insert Maniacal Laughter here)

Wow , time does move so fast and we are now getting a second batch of Commander products! Looking at all the spoilers you could just feel how everything has been fine tuned for the next set. This one particular land which is Opal Palace tends to be an early favorite for Commanders. And what is not to love?

- It fixes your mana...Check!

- It makes your general stronger...Check! 

Well basically those are the only 2 reasons to be happy about this new land card but it should be enough. Generals in EDH have a very short life expectancy especially if they are very aggressive like Skull Briar or provide horrible imbalance in the battlefield like Gaddock Teeg. They just get taken out really fast.

"Kill me and I come back stronger!"

In the case of Skull Briar I see that this particular land would make his general damage even stronger. He thrives on the +1/+1 counters and retains them despite being in the command zone. Basically this land makes your generals death an advantage because it comes in much stronger than before. 2 to cast commanders like Tymaret is a great target for the Opal Palace because they do not cost all that much to summon back.

Maybe it would not be as in demand or as useful as the Command Tower as a mana fixer. The commanders who would use this are those with aggressive streaks. General Damage. This includes me. I wonder how much would it cost when it comes out? This is really on my wish list this Halloween season.