Commander 2021

Commander 2021, also referred to as  Strixhaven Commander, officially styled as  Commander (2021 Edition) and marketed as the Strixhaven: School of Mages Commander decks, is a product in the Commander series released by Wizards of the Coast. The set will be released on the same day as Strixhaven: School of Mages, and is marketed as an integral part of that set. It was released on April 23, 2021.

Set details
Commander 2021 consists of five preconstructed theme decks, similar to Ikoria Commander, and features 10 playable premium foil commanders. The five enemy colored 100-card decks contain 357 different cards in total, though 28 of those (including the five basic lands) are reprints from Strixhaven, leaving 329 unique cards that bear the set symbol from Commander 2021. There are 81 new cards (#1-81) legal in Vintage and Legacy. These are set on the same plane as Strixhaven, though the reprints (#82-327 and #408-409) can be from anywhere.

The 70 new rares and 10 new mythic rares from the Commander 2021 decks are available in an extended-art version (#328-407). These may be found in a dedicated single slot of the Strixhaven: School of Mages Collector Booster. These extended-art cards are only available in non-foil. Of note, the rares and mythic rares that are reprints in the Commander 2021 decks aren't found in Strixhaven Collector Boosters.

Two cards found in Quantum Quandrix, Tranquil Thicket and Yavimaya Coast, have collector numbers #408 and #409, following the extended art cards.

Each package contains 1 foil-etched display commander card (replacing the oversized cards from previous Commander sets), a 100 card deck (including 2 regular foils), 10 double-sided tokens, 1 deck box and 1 life wheel. In addition, there are 9 punch-out counters and a divider which are part of the paper packaging. Each deck features 17 new cards, with one of them (Study Hall) appearing in each deck.

Each deck contains multiple legendary cards, including two mono-colored legendary creatures, but only the face card and the secondary commander are foiled.

Packaging


As part of a larger push toward moving away from plastic packaging, this product features reduced plastic packaging. An additional "minimal packaging version" of the deck is introduced for sales online using even less material and space. This doesn't feature the design of the typical retail packaging, but uses a corrugated cardboard box to contain the product. The only difference between the minimal packaging and retail versions is that the insert tray holding the deck box does not offer punch-out counters and a divider—you'll still receive everything else (the deck and deck box, plus life wheel, display commander, and double-sided tokens).

Themes and mechanics
Each deck focuses on the colors and themes of its associated college.
 * Silverquill : Politics and aggro
 * Prismari : Instants and sorceries with high mana value
 * Witherbloom : Lifegain
 * Lorehold : Artifacts and graveyard recursion
 * Quandrix : Tokens and +1/+1 counters

Commander 2021 introduces the keyword demonstrate, which allows players to copy a spell when they cast it by allowing an opponent to have a copy as well.

Preconstructed decks
Commander 2021 consists of five college-themed decks.

Tokens
Each of the five Commander decks contains ten double-sided tokens. Of those, 22 are double-sided variations, with five having Strixhaven tokens on one side and Commander 2021 tokens on the other, and one featuring Strixhaven tokens on both sides. The 30 Commander 2021 tokens are:

• # 10/10 Eldrazi creature, for Desolation Twin and Idol of Oblivion.

• # 2/2 Drake creature with flying, for Talrand, Sky Summoner.

• # 3/3 Fish creature, for Reef Worm.

• # 9/9 Kraken creature, for Reef Worm and Spawning Kraken</c>.

• # 6/6 Whale creature, for Reef Worm</c>.

• # 4/4.

• # /* Demon creature with flying, for Tivash, Gloom Summoner</c>.

• # 4/4 Horror creature, for Hunted Lammasu</c>.

• # 2/2 Zombie creature, for Curse of Disturbance</c>.

• # 3/3 Beast creature, for Beast Within</c> and Garruk, Primal Hunter</c>.

• # 4/4 Beast creature, for Rampaging Baloths</c>.

• # 2/2 Boar creature, for Curse of the Swine</c>.

• # 3/3 Elephant creature, for Kazandu Tuskcaller</c> and Terastodon</c>.

• # 3/3 Frog Lizard creature, for Incubation // Incongruity</c> and Rapid Hybridization</c>.

• # 4/4 Fungus Beast creature with trample, for Trudge Garden</c>.

• # /* Hydra creature, for Hydra Broodmaster</c>.

• # 1/1 Insect creature with flying and deathtouch, for Hornet Nest</c> and <c>Hornet Queen</c>.

• # 1/1 Saproling creature, for <c>Druidic Satchel</c>.

• # 6/6 Wurm creature, for <c>Garruk, Primal Hunter</c>.

• # 5/5 Elemental creature with flying, for <c>Call the Skybreaker</c>.

• # 1/1 Spirit creature with flying, for <c>Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts</c>.

• # /* Construct artifact creature, for <c>Metallurgic Summonings</c>.

• # 0/0 Construct artifact creature with "This creature gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control," for <c>Digsite Engineer</c>.

• # Food artifact, for <c>Gingerbread Cabin</c>, <c>Gluttonous Troll</c>, <c>Gyome, Master Chef</c> and <c>Taste of Death</c>.

• # 3/3 Golem artifact creature with flying, for <c>Triplicate Titan</c>.

• # 3/3 Golem artifact creature with trample, for <c>Triplicate Titan</c>.

• # 3/3 Golem artifact creature with vigilance, for <c>Triplicate Titan</c>.

• # 1/1 Myr artifact creature, for <c>Myr Battlesphere</c>.

• # 1/1 Thopter artifact creature with flying, for <c>Pia Nalaar</c> and <c>Thopter Engineer</c>.

• #Copy, for <c>Esix, Fractal Bloom</c>, <c>Feldon of the Third Path</c>, <c>Osgir, the Reconstructor</c>, <c>Replication Technique</c>, <c>Rionya, Fire Dancer</c>, <c>Rite of Replication</c>, <c>Theoretical Duplication</c> and <c>Spitting Image</c>.

The following tokens are created by cards in the decks and are thus included with the decks. However, they are not part of the Commander 2021 expansion. Instead, they retain their Strixhaven expansion symbol and collector number:


 * 4/4 Elemental creature, for <c>Zaffai, Thunder Conductor</c>.
 * 0/0 Fractal creature, for <c>Deekah, Fractal Theorist</c>, <c>Fractal Harness</c>, <c>Geometric Nexus</c>, <c>Oversimplify</c>, <c>Paradox Zone</c> and <c>Sequence Engine</c>.
 * 2/1 Inkling creature with flying, for <c>Combat Calligrapher</c>, <c>Fain, the Broker</c>, <c>Felisa, Fang of Silverquill</c>, and <c>Inkshield</c>.
 * 1/1 Pest creature with "When this creature dies, you gain 1 life", for <c>Blight Mound</c> and <c>Pest Infestation</c>.
 * Treasure artifact, for <c>Brass’s Bounty</c>, <c>Excavation Technique</c>, <c>Fain, the Broker</c>, <c>Monologue Tax</c>, and <c>Tempting Contract</c>.

Cycles
Commander 2021 has at least six cycles of new cards:

Pairs
Commander 2021 has two mirrored pairs.