I'm a UB player from way back. Drawing cards, manipulating libraries, throwing out some infuriating discard, reanimating things, and murdering creatures? Yeah, sign me up. Blue and Black together make an awesome combination that takes some of what I consider "annoying" about blue (bounce and counter) and gives it a little oomph.
So, when Ravnica came out and I read about Dimir, I was ready for some cool cards. And they delivered. Now, here we are years later and I'm looking forward to seeing what develops with Dimir.
The new mechanic, "Cipher" has potential. Whispering Madness could get things going. The nice thing is that these Cipher spells at least have a chance of happening once - when they are cast - and then becoming encoded. Unlike an enchantment that screams out to be two-for-oned, Cipher spells like Whispering Madness don't create the same opportunity for card disadvantage.
Okay, great. What I like about Dimir is sneaky, sneaky decking. It looks like I'm sneaking in, unblockable-like, and chipping away at your life total. But wait! Where did you library go? That's right, in the graveyard. You're all out of spells. That's where this guy comes in. Consuming Aberration was the first card spoiled that made me sit up and take notice.
No evasion, but the potential for a big body. Shows up at 5cc, so he fits right into the Commander curve. Plus, his ability has a great splashy effect that is disguising what the thing is really up to - perfectly Dimir.
Like a lot of creatures in this format, you are going to want to throw some evasion and protection at him. There are plenty of great pieces of equipment for just that thing, so no worries there. But here's the cool part of what's happening when he's out.
When you cast a spell, your opponents mill cards until they reveal a land. Great, it looks like the Aberration is making himself bigger... and he is. But that's not what's really going on. The land card that gets revealed stays on top of your opponents' libraries. Ha. Ha, ha! It changes what they draw to a land, potentially every turn if you can keep casting and they don't have a way to manipulate or shuffle the top card away. It's a sad day when you are trying to draw an out and you end up drawing land after land.
(***Update: Upon reading this card again, the land card is "revealed" along with the rest. So, the land card ends up in the graveyard with the other revealed cards. It doesn't leave the opponent with the land to draw, but it does mean that you can use this ability several times per turn if you can keep casting spells. Still cool, just not in the same way. ***)
As for Commanders in UB for Dimir, we've got a couple of choices including the new guy Lazav, Dimir Mastermind. You know what I really love about these guys? Walls of rules text. Good stuff. "It does what?" That's one of my favorite things to hear in a game of Magic. And the best part is that I collect foreign cards.
Szadek is a vampire, which is cool. I mean, check out the hairline and ponytail. He must be badass to rock that style. But Lazav has something going for him too, besides a leathery cape and cowl. At 4cc, he comes out sooner. He also has built in protection in the form of Hexproof. Couple that with being able to copy all the crazy creatures zooming around in a game of Commander and you've got a cool combination. And since he can copy the creature as it goes into an opponent's graveyard from anywhere, suddenly all that milling has a new purpose.
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