Apex Devastator – Commander Legends MTG Review

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

I pretty much laugh out loud every time I read this card. It’s like somebody said “Cascade is already incredibly powerful (and arguably overpowered), so let’s just turn into the skid on this guy.” Obviously you get four spells whenever you cast this guy, even if he gets countered, and that’s a game-changing proposition in any format. What may be less obvious is that his role goes well beyond the cascade themes of Commander Legends, as any deck that can cast him will find that his game text is basically nothing but card advantage, regardless of what he hits. Those of you who were playing Standard in the days of Bloodbraid Elf will know what I’m referring to; those of you who were not might like to try the Devastator out and see what I’m referring to!

Constructed: 1/5
Casual: 5/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
Commander: 4/5

Five spells for the price of one is promising enough on the surface, and Apex Devastator is just that. Cascade is a deceptively lethal mechanic because of how you get value even if the initial spell is countered, and there are few ways to wipe the slate clean of an entire raft of spells. And Apex Devastator is acceptably devastating on its own as a 10/10, in the color most suited towards ramping into bigger and badder things. The caveat is that cascading into spells 9 or less means you’re likely going to hit whatever nonlands you exile, but even with that, you’re getting a lot of potential value off of one investment. This is the rare creature you do not want to cheat out, since cascade is a cast trigger, and a 10/10 with no combat abilities is a lot weaker than it could be.

Constructed: 1.75 (it’s not suited for Legacy outside of fringe things like Omniscience combos, and Omni-Tell probably has other things it wants to do with the titular enchantment)
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.75
Multiplayer: 4
Commander: 4