It’s been a while since I’ve updated the Battle Boxes on this site. In the meantime, many new sets have come out and many cards were screaming to be included.
So I decided it was time for an update article. I update my Battle Boxes more or less continuously but I find it not very helpful to publish every little change on the site. Instead, I let the changes pile up a little and then publish them in one big batch. Below are the changes to the regular Battle Box, the Commander Battle Box and the Nostalgia Battle Box (in that order). I have included a short explanation of the changes, although the focus is on which cards were changed. Of course, you can find all the updated project lists in the different project pages.
Battle Box
Unlike the previous Battle Box update, when I overhauled the entire Battle Box experience, there was no large overarching issue this time. The Box plays well in general, so the updates are mostly to include fun cards from new Magic sets (as well as old cards that were printed with a modern border for the first time). The cards I took out are the cards I felt to be the most underwhelming, although sometimes they were too strong or dominating as well. And sometimes cards just ended up on the chopping board because something needed to be cut. I took out most of the manifest cards because I found them to be disappointing too often. The changes:
The land sets were also updated. I took out the Coldsnap snow lands for a set of Battle for Zendikar tap lands (just because I like the cleanest solution best). I also added a set of Wastes to allow for the addition of some colorless mana cards. This also means the total mana curve is extended to 11, but in practice this does not impact the game that much in the standard Battle Box (where mana curves are relatively low).
Battle Box: Commander
The Commander Battle Box has always been built to provide what I felt was the spirit of the Commander format: Battle-Cruiser Magic with huge creatures and powerful effects. The cheat I inserted to start each player with five lands in play was supposed to counterbalance the abundance of high casting costs. And while it does that up to a point, I felt the Box lacked cheaper and slightly more focused spells. A game that is just an exchange of one-spell-per-turn plays and board sweepers doesn’t offer enough variety. So, the changes I made were partly to include new cards and partly to streamline the Commander Box. I swapped some expensive cards for cheaper combat interaction and I swapped a portion of the board sweepers for pinpoint removal. The changes:
The land sets were also updated. I found the Transguild Promenades to be a little complicated, and the Command Towers too unfair, so I decided to simplify the land sets and just include a Mana Confluence in each set instead. This way players still have access to three colored mana if they need it, and the cost of paying one life is easy to process and not too steep in a format where players start off with 40 life. Of course, it also means there is only 11 mana in the land sets, so the maximum cost to cast a Commander is reduced to 11.
Nostalgia Battle Box
Obviously no new nostalgic cards were published. Still, I made some small changes to the Nostalgia Battle Box. I found the World Deck was fun, but only if the cards were not too oppressive. Cards like The Abyss only led to frustration. I also decided to expand the World Deck a little to prevent repetition. The cards I took out to make room are mostly expensive Legacy cards that didn’t pull their weight. I have no principal issue with having a $200 card in my Battle Box, but when that card is Eureka, a card that sounds cool on paper but doesn’t really lead to fun play patterns, I feel the Box is better off without it. The changes:
Those were all the changes. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with the Conspiracy 2 review. Based on what has been spoiled so far, it promises to be interesting. Until then, happy Battle Boxing!