MTG Commander Masters deck hit by harsh backlash over disappointing mana base

MTG players are complaining about the land base in a Commander Masters pre-con deck, with many disappointed it doesn’t have better utility. 

Land in Magic: The Gathering is ever important. As it’s what allows you to cast spells, having the right mana base will make or break a deck. 

There’ve been various lands printed throughout MTG’s history, each with its own level of power. Some are objectively better than others. For example, a Grasslands has to enter tapped, and you have to wait a turn to find a Forest or Plains. Meanwhile, a Savannah comes into play untapped and has access to Forest or Plains mana from the off. 

Of course, a tournament-legal Savannah could set you back $599. Meanwhile, a Grasslands only costs $0.35, but that’s the difference between a slow and a fast land. 

The topic of lands rose again as Wizards revealed the decklist of its pre-con Commander Masters deck, Sliver Swarm. The deck runs all five colors, meaning it has a diverse base to hit all the colors you need reliably. 

However, players are not happy with the lands included in the premium-priced deck. Many are criticizing its slow mana base as a real pain point.

Players were hoping for better lands in Commander Masters precons

In a Reddit thread with 860 upvotes at the time of writing, players are calling the mana base offered in the Sliver Swarm pre-constructed deck “criminal”. The deck is priced more expensive than normal commander decks as Commander Masters is being treated as a premium set.

With the exception of a Command Tower, no land in the deck is worth more than $1 (according to MTG Goldfish). That’s because most of the multicolor lands are slower lands that come in tapped. 

One Redditor commented on how cumbersome the deck will be, saying, “This is gonna be a slog to play out of the box with most of your lands entering tapped.”

Another added, “It’d be fine in a 40-dollar pre-con, but for an 80-dollar one you’d expect at least some lands worth more than a dollar.”

It’s important to note that the deck isn’t devoid of value. It has a lot of great pieces and, understandably, a ton of useful Slivers. In fact, based on singles value, the $80 deck is worth around $380, so there are great cards included. However, with such a slow base, there’s every chance you’ll be left behind by the three players around the table.