MTG Assassin’s Creed’s new Pirate Commander raises the Black Flag

Edward Kenway’s appearance in MTG’s Universes Beyond: Assassin’s Creed set is incredible news for fans of the series’ pirate-themed entry, Black Flag. MTG players have plenty to celebrate too, getting a brand-new Commander for Pirate decks.

Magic: The Gathering’s crossover with Assassin’s Creed has completely revitalized the Assassin Creature type, which had already received a boost thanks to Thunder Junction’s Outlaws. With new Assassins like Ezio Auditore Da Firenze that combo well with existing cards in the archetype, MTG players can expect to see a huge amount of new Assassin-led decks cropping up in the coming months.

Thankfully, Universes Beyond: Assassin’s Creed has something to offer for players who want to build outside of the Assassin Creature type too. Edward Kenway may be an Assassin, but this great Grixis Commander has more to offer MTG’s Pirate Creatures.

Edward Kenway is a 5/5 Legendary Human Assassin Pirate Creature. This card accurately brings Black Flag’s gameplay to Magic: The Gathering, powering up theft and rewarding raiding with other Pirates.

Ubisoft/WotC

Edward’s first ability may seem passive at first, but it rewards active, aggressive gameplay. During the end step, Edward Kenway generates a Treasure token for each tapped Pirate, Assassin, or Vehicle you control. By crewing your vehicles and swinging out with a wide board, Edward will help you amass resources.

As well as building up a stockpile of Treasure, Edward Kenway brings a classic Outlaw ability into play, stealing cards from opponents’ decks and casting them yourself. Edward makes great use of MTG’s wide range of ships and other vehicles, exiling the top card of an opponent’s library each time you deal that opponent damage with a vehicle.

You can later cast those cards at any time, as long as they remain exiled. While Edward lacks the usual “you can pay mana as if it were mana of any color to cast this spell” clause, the card’s Treasure generation gives you access to a huge amount of mana of any color regardless.

Many MTG players and Assassin’s Creed fans seem satisfied with Edward’s representation in the set. As said by one fan: “Extremely good card for Edward. Very happy with the result.”

Another player was particularly pleased that Edward would work well with cards outside of the Universes Beyond set, saying, “I appreciate that some of the cards will slot into existing decks – Grixis Pirates is already a pretty popular archetype!”

Universes Beyond: Assassin’s Creed will launch on July 5. While some players have been put off by the pricing and content of the set’s new Beyond Boosters, the wealth of powerful new Assassins makes the set worth a look for franchise fans.