Hot off of the previous year’s release of a new product called “Commander,” Wizards of the Coast released a special boxed set called Commander’s Arsenal in November of 2012.
Whereas Commander products tend to be fully playable preconstructed decks, Commander’s Arsenal was not. Rather, it was a collection of 28 hand-picked cards from Magic: The Gathering’s past for players to use in their decks. It was designed and developed by Mark Gottlieb with Jeremy Jarvis taking up art direction duties.
Commander’s Arsenal, really, was a stopgap release. After the runaway success of Commander in 2011 Wizards of the Coast’s Mark Rosewater wanted the company to come out with new Commander products every year. However, due to unexpected demand and timing issues, those at the company realized that they wouldn’t be able to put out new Commander decks in 2012. What they did put out, though, is something that Rosewater refers to as “a treasure trove of Commander goodies.”
WATCH: Commander's Arsenal: MTG's Treasure Trove of Goodies
A premium product with a rather limited print run, Commander’s Arsenal included 18 premium foil cards (some of which were making their foil debut), ten oversized premium foil cards, 120 Ultra Pro brand foil card sleeves, 20 double-sided “Battle Marks” that function as both +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters, and a double-wheel life counter that (technically) goes up to 100.
As for what individual cards are included in the box set, the roster of oversized cards (any of which can be used as a commander) are Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund, Mayael the Anima, Zur the Enchanter, Grimgrin, Corpse-Born, Brion Stoutarm, Glissa, the Traitor, Godo, Bandit Warlord, Azusa, Lost but Seeking, Karn, Silver Golem, and Sliver Queen.
Those last two cards are especially noteworthy as they’re both on the Magic: The Gathering Reserved List, meaning they’re not eligible for reprint. Wizards of the Coast got around this policy as these printings are oversized and, thus, cannot be used as official game pieces within one’s physical deck.
As for the 18 regular-sized cards, many of them have never appeared as a foil up to this point in Magic: The Gathering history. Furthermore, a few are even having their first-ever printing in the game’s modern card frame. A handful even boast new artwork.
The roster of regular-sized cards includes Chaos Warp, Command Tower, Decree of Pain, Desertion, Diaochan, Artful Beauty, Dragonlair Spider, Duplicant, Edric, Spymaster of Trest, Kaalia of the Vast, Loyal Retainers, Maelstrom Wanderer, Mind’s Eye, Mirari’s Wake, Rhystic Study, Scroll Rack, Sylvan Library, The Mimeoplasm, and Vela the Night-Clad.
Commander’s Arsenal came with a MSRP of $75, but due to its premium nature and short print run, it was reported that many stores were marking the price up to around $250 for the product. Today, it can still be found in new condition and lists for $290 or higher on websites such as eBay.
