Assassin's Creed Set Review - Reprints

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Hello again to the Ubisoft Reprint Corner, in which we step into the time travel thingamabob to explore all the Magic: The Gathering cards that are rejoining us after some time away; for some of those reprints, it's been a considerable amount of time since last we crossed paths, so strap into the Animus and initialize the Assassin's Creed Reprint Review doohickey.

In total, there are 29 reprints, not counting basic lands; however, unlike many Reprint Reviews, those basic lands deserve special mention for being absolutely stunning. Take a look:

All five artists were unequivocally on their A-game with these basics, and regardless of how you feel about Universes Beyond products in general or Assassin's Creed in particular, there's zero reason why these basics couldn't appear in any deck. 

But anyway, we're not here to gush over basic land art. I'm a guy that uses Tempest lands for everything, after all. We're here to talk about the Assassin's Creed (ACR) reprints, and there's plenty to discuss. As always, all deck stats quoted herein are courtesy of our friends at EDHREC, and all monetary figures mentioned are in USD. I should also mention that I have never played an Assassin's Creed game, and most of what I know of the lore is from that movie they made in 2016 with Michael Fassbender, which is why I'm writing the review on cards that already exist and not one that's more relevant to AC as a franchise. 

But I won't let that get in the way. Let's go!

Mythics

Sword of Feast and Famine

Did we need it?

With ACR, we're welcoming back into the fold two of the world-famous Sword cycle, which is ever-expanding and currently features 12 different Swords of X and Y (if you count Sword of Dungeons & Dragons

All of them are varying degrees of expensive, despite the several reprints. That Kaladesh Invention version is the most pricey, running around $240, with the full-art 2XM version and the old-border judge promo each demanding around $100. 

Assassin's Creed brings us three (!) more styles from which to choose: the "normal" artifact border, a fancier foil-etched border, and the fanciest, no border at all. Will Sword of Feast and Famine ever be truly affordable? Probably not, even with these reprints. I would expect the absolute cheapest version to still go for around $20 even with these reprints, but that's still cheaper than the cheapest current version, so that's the silver lining.

Did we want it?

Of all the Swords of X and Y, Feast/Famine has a strong case to be considered the best among them. As a result of its power level, we see it in more than 93,000 decks, good for 2% of all decks logged on EDHREC. It's almost a guarantee that if you're playing an Equipment strategy and you can afford to buy one, you're playing SoFaF. It's in nearly half of all Nahiri, the Lithomancer

So yes, I think we wanted to see SoFaF again, and thankfully for those out there who are anti-UB, the borderless version

Sword of Light and Shadow

Did we need it?

Now we go from arguably the best Sword to my favorite Sword. Sword of Light and Shadow gets a bum rap for being less universally good as its brethren, but I'll always have a soft spot for it since I play a lot of Karlov of the Ghost Council

Like our previous entry, there are several versions of Light/Shadow, and many of them are the same versions we just discussed with Feast/Famine. Light/Shadow has been around for much longer, though, first appearing in Darksteel and has an added reprint in Modern Masters in addition to the usual promos, 2XMs, Inventions, and what-have-you. It's also not as expensive as Feast/Famine, with the priciest version being the Invention at around $85, and the cheapest being the original Darksteel printing at a shade under $20. 

Thanks to its appearance in ACR, we'll see the cheapest version get slightly cheaper, and it remains to be seen whether the Darksteel one or the basic ACR version here will win the race to the bottom of the list. Either way, we also win.

Did we want it?

While nearly 100,000 decks play Feast/Famine, only 30,000 play Light/Shadow. We see among the usual suspects the same names, like Nahiri and Ardenn/Rograkh, as well as a popularity among Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale

Perhaps if the card gets a bit cheaper thanks to another reprint, we'll see it played a bit more. Or maybe that's just my bias talking. At least we Light/Shadow truthers get a pretty cool borderless version

Temporal Trespass

Did we need it?

It seems that in recent years, Universes Beyond products have become the preferred vehicle for surprise reprints. We saw it in Fallout with stuff like Fervent Charge

Temporal Trespass is one such card. Only printed once before, in its original Fate Reforged, Temporal Trespass is a $20 card. That's not going to change much for the Fate Reforged printing, and it's likely that the ACR version here will come in around the same price, so reprinting a nearly ten-year-old card in a UB set doesn't really do a ton to make it more accessible. It's one thing for a card like Sword of Feast and Famine to see a UB reskin since there are plenty of in-universe options to satisfy everyone, but a card's sole reprint coming in a set like Assassin's Creed is a bummer. 

Did we want it?

More than 20,000 decks play Temporal Trespass, good for roughly 1% of all decks playing blue. It's a tricky card to use and certainly can't be shoved into any deck that wants an extra turn, a la Time Warp, but the commanders that want it really want it. I'm looking at you, Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

Rares

Black Market Connections

Did we need it?

We've been selling contraband, buying information and hiring mercenaries for a relatively short time, but in that time, Black Market Connections has certainly made its presence felt in Commander. This'll be its third appearance following the card's debut in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate and the first reprint in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander. We've gotten new art each time, though admittedly it took me a second to notice that the ACR art is different than the original printing's art. 

From a monetary standpoint, this is a prime candidate to be reprinted in every set from here to Duskmourn, as it's tough to find a copy for less than $18. That's a dumb number for a card that has only existed for a little longer than two years. 

Did we want it?

Like I said, it's only been two years, but in that short time, the card has wormed its way into the 99 of nearly 200,000 decks. That's almost 10% of every deck playing black, or in other words the 19th most popular black card in the format and third-most popular black enchantment behind only Phyrexian Arena

It's most ubiquitous in Admiral Brass, Unsinkable

Conspiracy

Did we need it?

The original "even my non-Slivers are Slivers now guys" card, Conspiracy is another card with a considerable gap between printings. It's not the biggest gap, as we'll get to in a minute, but we've seen the card only twice since its debut in Mercadian Masques, once as a Timeshifted card from Time Spiral and once on The List. 

Once upon a time, the Masques version was around $12 for a copy, but that's no longer the case as most versions can be had for around $7 now. Even the original foil is around $27, which is pretty good for an old-bordered rare. The ACR version, however, will likely settle around $3, which is a lower number than $7. You can trust me on that one, I went to college.

Did we want it?

If your deck cares about creature types and less about only playing creatures of that type as written on the cards themselves, Conspiracy's for you. However, Conspiracy's been outclassed by Arcane Adaptation

But Commander's a singleton format, so functional reprints and quasi-reprints are roughly translated into the nebulous term of "redundancy." 71% of all decks playing Conspiracy are also playing Arcane Adaptation, and 60% are playing the Nexus.

Cover of Darkness

Did we need it?

Just go back and reread what I said about Temporal Trespass, but this time imagine that it was written in all caps. 

Cover of Darkness has never been reprinted until now, outside of Salvat 2005, a white-border, reprint-only set released into Spanish/French/Italian markets. That's a 22-year gap between the original Onslaught printing and now, its first black-border reprint. The Onslaught version is a $40 card, with a foil that carries a $135 price tag. To be fair, the ACR version isn't too blatantly video-gamey, but after 22 years I think we deserved to see Cover of Darkness in a more Magic-centric set. 

The ACR version will be much cheaper than the Onslaught version, so if you've always wanted one but didn't want to shell out $40, I hope you like parkouring hooded assassins.

Did we want it?

Despite its price, we see Cover of Darkness in roughly 1% of all decks playing black, or 18,316 lists. Nearly 25% of those lists are the 99 of Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

If you're playing black and a lot of the same creature type, there's no downside to Cover of Darkness outside the price, so it's that price holding it back from seeing more usage. That might change with ACR, but we won't be seeing the Onslaught version any more often than we do now. 

Royal Assassin

Did we need it?

First appearing at the same time that Magic itself appeared, in 1993's Alpha, Royal Assassin is iconic. It's also been printed 14 times since then, and sometimes multiple times in the same release. Because of its many appearances and somewhat subdued power level in today's terms, Royal Assassin can be had for as cheap as 75 cents. Seeing a 15th reprint in ACR will do nothing to the price of any version. 

And speaking of versions, ACR features a regular border, a regular border foil, a foil etch, an extended art, an extended art foil, a bundle promo, and a bundle promo foil. I guess that it's appropriate for a set about a video game about assassins has assassins coming out of its assassins. 

Did we want it?

Around 25,000 decks play Royal Assassin, and it certainly has nostalgia going for it. It's also got that "Assassin" creature type, which commanders like Mari, the Killing Quill

Uncommons & Commons

Coastal Piracy

Did we need it?

Like Conspiracy, this is another card that first appeared in Mercadian Masques. This one's seen a few other reprints, though, first in Eighth Edition (where it was briefly upshifted to rare) before appearing in Jumpstart. 

It's been reprinted in other ways, much like Conspiracy, as well, as we see the same ability (plus another one) for the same cost on Bident of Thassa

That number will be lower for ACR versions, undoubtedly. 

Did we want it?

Roughly 2% of all decks playing blue are playing Coastal Piracy, or around 31,000 decks. Alela, Artful Provocateur

Propaganda

Did we need it?

Reconnaissance

Did we need it?

Outside of a Secret Lair release, this is the first time we've seen Reconnaissance since its first printing in Exodus. That's 26 years. 

Blah blah shouldn't be here, etc. We don't need to go into that again. Instead, I'll just say I love this card and have been playing it since Exodus to great effect, and at the very least we can thank ACR for introducing the card to a wider audience. Because of its scarcity and its sneaky power, it's a $15 uncommon. The one we're getting in ACR won't be that expensive. 

Did we want it?

It can be hard to find, but that hasn't stopped people from putting it into 26,686 lists on EDHREC. If you've got a creature you want to attack with (for, say, attack trigger reasons

It's most commonly seen in Isshin, Two Heavens as One

Reprint Lightning Round

Assassin's Trophy

Fiery Islet

Rest in Peace

Cathartic Reunion

Fatal Push

Go for the Throat

Mortify

Murder

Path to Exile

Reconstruct History

Terminate

Submerged Boneyard

Requiescat in pace

If I never have to type the word "assassin" ever again, it'll be too soon. 

Thanks for coming with me on this reprint journey, it's been one full of stabbing and swandives into strategically placed haycarts. I'm sure we'll speak again soon, perhaps about our favorite former planeswalkers turned into woodland creatures.

Byeeeee.