We've come to the end of our quick hitter series for Core 21 and I would like to think we've saved the best for last. And if you're a 90's kid, you have a special bond with this card, especially if you were a crazy fan of the Nickelodeon show Catdog (Season 1, Episode 11: Catdog the Collector is my all-time favorite episode, maybe of any show ever). This card is the Buy-A-Box promo and is going to be a fan favorite for a very long time:
Rin and Seri, Inseperable is an awesome tribal Commander in the Naya colors (red, green, white) that rewards you for playing cat or dog spells. But why can't we play catdog spells? Here's the good news, WE CAN! There are creature cards (and even non-creature cards) that have the keyword "changeling" which means they're all creature types. You know what that means? YUP! We can cast CATDOG spells! This quick hitter is straight and to the point: Cast a whole lot of changeling creatures that will trigger both parts of Rin and Seri's ability, creating both a Cat token and a Dog token and use different Lord effects to pump our team before closing out the game with Rin and Seri's activated ability. Let's get to it!
Each of these changelings, we span from 1 mana to 5 mana, will come in as both a cat and dog creature and create a cat token and a dog token when cast. You can immediately see the value of playing changelings in this deck rather than focusing on just cat or dog tribal. These 5 cards come in at a whopping total of $1.94! But let's take a look at a few more impressive changelings.
Birthing Boughs ($0.17) while not creating any tokens when cast, will help us continually pump out catdog tokens for just 4 mana. It's going to be a great mana sink all game long and help keep our board filled to the brim with catdogs. Next is Valiant Changeling ($0.08). If we have just one other changeling out, Valiant Changeling costs just 2 white mana. So for 2 mana, we're getting a 3/3, a 1/1, and a 1/1 creature. 5 power spread across 3 bodies for just 2 mana is just too much value to pass up! Then there is Irregular Cohort ($0.10). For 4 mana, we're getting 2 2/2 catdogs plus a 1/1 cat and a 1/1 dog. 6 power spread across 4 bodies for 4 mana! VALUETOWN USA here we come! Last is Taurean Mauler ($0.81). This card really challenged for the spot of MVP but was just edged out. For 3 mana we're getting a 2/2 catdog plus the 1/1 cat and the 1/1 dog we've grown accustomed too. But it doesn't stop there. For EACH spell our opponents play, Taurean Mauler gets a +1 +1 counter. We cast Taurean Mauler and the very next turn we untap with it, it could easily be a 5/5 or 6/6 creature that just continues to grow. Our opponents have to answer this simple 3 mana spell and that means our Rin and Seri lives to keep pumping out tokens for us! Let's see how we will pump our team of catdog cat dogs.
All of these cards do something unique and helpful for our tribe of catdogs. From simple Lord effects like King of the Pride ($0.32) to Lord plus vigilance like Radiant Destiny ($1.21) to Lord plus extra tokens like Regal Caracal ($0.42). My two favorite Lord effects are Icon of Ancestry ($1.69) and Brass Herald ($0.70) that are going to pump our catdogs and help us find even more catdogs. With so many awesome cards, what could possibly be our MVP? Well, let me introduce you to, what I would like to call, Catdog Path to Exile:
So because the wording on Rin and Seri specifically says "cast a Dog / Cat spell" and not "creature spell," it doesn't matter that this isn't a creature spell. This instant is a catdog removal spell and I love all of it. Crib Swap ($0.23) is going to exile one of our opponents best creatures while also creating a 1/1 cat and 1/1 dog token for us. This is just way too wacky of an interaction for Crib Swap to not be named the MVP.
So there you have it folks: a great start to catdog tribal with all 15 cards checking in at $7.67. I know so many people are going to make cat + dog tribal decks with Rin and Seri which is so last year. 2020 is all about catdog decks!
That does it for the Core 21 edition of Quick Hitters. I hope you enjoyed the quick looks at how to build Commander decks around some of the coolest legendaries in Core 21. We will be back in a few weeks to continue this series with some of the most fun and creative legendaries of Jumpstart.
Core 21 prereleases tomorrow, we've still got booster boxes and prerelease kits to order to be picked up tomorrow. Don't miss out on our Core 21 Arena prerelease on Sunday night as well! Come stop by the shop this weekend and say hi and pick up all the awesomness that is Core 21!
Stay Super,
Tim