I don’t play much Commander, but I have a [[Zur, Eternal Schemer]] deck for Standard Brawl. Here’s a look at the new cards in WOE that might fit in it.

My Zur deck

Commander
1 Zur, Eternal Schemer

Deck
3 Plains
3 Swamp
3 Island
1 [[Otawara, Soaring City]]
1 [[Takenuma, Abandoned Mire]]
1 [[Raffine’s Tower]]
1 [[Underground River]]
1 [[Shattered Sanctum]]
1 [[Scoured Barrens]]
1 [[Shipwreck Marsh]]
1 [[Deserted Beach]]
1 [[Adarkar Wastes]]
1 [[Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire]]
1 [[Plaza of Heroes]]
1 [[Obscura Storefront]]
1 [[Evolving Wilds]]
1 [[Terramorphic Expanse]]
1 [[Tranquil Cove]]
1 [[Circle of Confinement]]
1 [[Era of Enlightenment]]
1 [[Invasion of Gobakhan]]
1 [[Michiko’s Reign of Truth]]
1 [[Spirited Companion]]
1 [[Borrowed Time]]
1 [[Citizen’s Arrest]]
1 [[In the Trenches]]
1 [[Invasion of Theros]]
1 [[Seal from Existence]]
1 [[The Fall of Lord Konda]]
1 [[The Restoration of Eiganjo]]
1 [[Touch the Spirit Realm]]
1 [[Wedding Announcement]]
1 [[Go-Shintai of Shared Purpose]]
1 [[Hallowed Haunting]]
1 [[Heliod, the Radiant Dawn]]
1 [[Prayer of Binding]]
1 [[Sigarda’s Splendor]]
1 [[Static Net]]
1 [[Sky-Blessed Samurai]]
1 [[Moon-Circuit Hacker]]
1 [[The Modern Age]]
1 [[Inventive Iteration]]
1 [[Behold the Unspeakable]]
1 [[Tolarian Contempt]]
1 [[Dockside Chef]]
1 [[Okiba Reckoner Raid]]
1 [[Life of Toshiro Umezawa]]
1 [[Phyrexian Arena]]
1 [[Go-Shintai of Hidden Cruelty]]
1 [[The Long Reach of Night]]
1 [[Painful Quandary]]
1 [[Spirit-Sister’s Call]]
1 [[March of Swirling Mist]]

This deck works okay but it badly needs some ramp. Too often I’m dying with a full hand. Unfortunately, adding ramp means diluting the enchantment density…

Cuts are hard, because there’s nothing in the deck that I’m sad to draw. The March of Swirling Mist, which I envisioned as a way to dodge sweepers, has never really been the ace I hoped it would, so that can probably go. The two Shrines are up for discussion. It’s nice that they’re enchantment creatures from the start, but their triggers are only sometimes relevant, and unless your hand is empty, that mana is probably better spent on something else.

The candidates

We’re considering non-Aura enchantments in WOE in Zur’s colors.

Unplayable

  • [[Gadwick’s First Duel]]
  • [[The Witch’s Vanity]]
  • [[The Princess Takes Flight]]
  • [[Three Blind Mice]]

All of the sagas I’m running now are ones that turn into enchantment creatures at the end, which makes them a great fit for Zur. Occasionally you’ll want to turn them into creatures ahead of schedule, but I wouldn’t run them at all if I thought the longest I’d ever get to keep those creatures was three turns. Unless you have some very good enchantment recursion going on, I don’t think any of WOE’s sagas are impactful enough to make up for their expiration dates.

Probably won’t make the cut

  • [[Hopeless Nightmare]]
  • [[A Tale for the Ages]]
  • [[Hopeful Vigil]]
  • [[Lord Skitter’s Blessing]]
  • [[Solitary Sanctuary]]

All of these are Fine™ in a Zur deck, at least in the sense that they sit on the battlefield and can be turned into creatures, but you could be doing more powerful things for the same mana costs. I don’t see anything in my list above that I’d take out for any of these. Sadly, the two rares here say “enchanted creatures” and not “enchantment creatures”.

Very playable

  • [[Extraordinary Journey]]
  • [[Food Coma]]
  • [[Virtue of Knowledge // Vantress Visions]]

Food Coma is exactly the kind of thing a Zur deck wants to be doing; the only reason I didn’t put it in the top tier is because there are plenty of high-quality alternatives. I wouldn’t take out Citizen’s Arrest or Static Net for Food Coma. Then again, those other cards don’t have bumblesheep on them. You’ve got to decide where your priorities lie.

Virtue of Knowledge’s ability to double the value of cards like the ones I just mentioned is potentially a big deal. But I think you have to ask how many cards in your deck this actually applies to. Does my build have enough ETB effects to justify VoK? I’m not sure it does.

Extraordinary Journey is very interesting. It can theoretically buy you some time to get to the late game. But it’s fairly expensive: four mana to (functionally) bounce one creature, or six mana to bounce two, etc. It will generate card advantage eventually, or maybe it won’t, if your opponent has enough cards that they don’t need the ones you bounced. On the other hand, if your opponent gets their creatures back from your Citizen’s Arrest while you have a Journey out, you’ll draw a card as a consolation prize. Could it sometimes be worth casting Journey with X=0 just for that?

The other thing to consider about Extraordinary Journey is that as a permanent, it has a low mana value. Zur only turns it into a 2/2, although deathtouch does help compensate for its smaller size. But the card in my existing deck that’s most similar in function to Journey is Tolarian Contempt. Am I really going to switch out a potential 5/5 for a potential 2/2 that’s not actually easier on my mana curve?

I probably won’t pay a wildcard to craft Extraordinary Journey, but if I happen to open one I might give it a whirl.

Make room for these

  • [[Virtue of Loyalty // Ardenvale Fealty]]
  • [[Virtue of Persistence // Locthwain Scorn]]

Virtue of Persistence is the standout in the set. It’s cheap removal that can become a relevant enchantment later, and ultimately a 7/7 with Zur’s ability. Your own enchantment creatures are great reanimation targets, but grabbing monsters out of your opponents’ graveyards is always fun whether they’re enchantments or not.

Virtue of Loyalty functions similarly: it’ll help you stall early, and later turn into a generously-sized creature with Zur’s help. Bestowing counters is arguably better than an anthem in a deck that wants the game to go long.

Enchanting Tales

They’re not new (and won’t be legal in Standard Brawl), but check out all the on-color enchantments getting fancy reprints in WOE packs. Smothering Tithe? Hatching Plans? A lot to be excited about for Zur players who like pretty artwork.

Are role tokens of interest to us?

Maybe? Zur doesn’t interact with auras at all, but if your build has a lot of cards like Hallowed Haunting, roles start to look a little more interesting. The Witch’s Vanity might rise to the level of being playable.