Every Background + Backgrounded Synergy

[DirkGently]

Just finished creating a spreadsheet for every combination of backgroundable commander and background, and rating their synergy 1-4 stars. Color order, then alphabetical. Sorry the names are a bit scrunched along the top.



tl;dr - here are some highlights.

Strongest Synergies:
Erinis, Gloom Stalker + Street Urchin - the machine gun of death
Baeloth Barrityl. Entertainer + Raised by Giants - Do nothing, win anyway?

Most synergistic legends:
Burakos, Party Leader has a lot of options between treasures, attacking, and tribal
Baeloth Barrityl. Entertainer goes nuts with power boosting or treasure value
Karlach, Fury of Avernus is the king of anything combat related

Least synergistic legends:
Gale, Waterdeep Prodigy is a strong card but doesn't combine with anything in particular
Volo, Itinerant Scholar actively shuns tribal and sucks in combat, so he doesn't pair with much of anything
Wyll, Blade of Frontiers just sucks
Faceless One obviously

Most synergistic backgrounds:
Flaming Fist is a solid all-purpose enhancement for anyone who wants or needs to get into combat
Inspiring Leader is great with anything that makes tokens
Noble Heritage and Master Chef are great with anything that uses counters or power/toughness
Clan Crafter is strong with anything that makes treasures or cards about power
Cloakwood Hermit and Veteran Soldier are great for anything that likes tokens

Least synergistic backgrounds:
Far Traveler isn't really supported well in backgroundables, only one has an etb, and the "eot, if something left, do X" abilities don't work with it
Candlekeep Sage provides some minor card draw, and that's about it for most legends
Shameless Charlatan is the coolest card ever, but for obvious reasons it's hard to synergize with
Passionate Archaeologist seems like a precon-specific option as main set legends don't seem to care much about casting from exile
Faceless One obviously

Other takeaways:
Backgrounds seem more balanced compared to legends - Karlach and Baeloth are so insane just as standalone cards, and then they get added value from backgrounds. Whereas the strongest-in-a-vacuum backgrounds generally aren't very synergistic (like Shameless Charlatan and Haunted One), and the most widely synergistic backgrounds aren't that flashy. Somewhat surprising as backgrounds go all the way down to common whereas legends stop at uncommon, but all the common backgrounds are pretty decent. The worst one is probably Scion of Halaster and it's still decent reliable value.

[Sinis]

I would rank Jaheira, Friend of the Forest + Guild Artisan a 4. It's as synergetic as they come. Making two tokens a turn that tap for G is nuts ramp. It comes out early, too.

[DirkGently]

I would rank Jaheira, Friend of the Forest + Guild Artisan a 4. It's as synergetic as they come. Making two tokens a turn that tap for G is nuts ramp. It comes out early, too.

It's a strong synergy, but she has to attack (a particular player, even) and she's not particularly built for that. It's also (usually) capped at 2 per turn, which is a lot but it does have a limit. I think 3 is fair. I don't think it's on the level of being able to force all enemy creatures to attack your opponents forever with no added work.

Edit: maybe I should add a 5 star rank for the current 4-stars and split the 3 stars into 3s and 4s.

[TheAmericanSpirit]

Can you make thw white cards any other color besides brain-splitting yellow? I can't read any of that section at all

[DirkGently]

Can you make thw white cards any other color besides brain-splitting yellow? I can't read any of that section at all

Better?

[TheAmericanSpirit]

Can you make thw white cards any other color besides brain-splitting yellow? I can't read any of that section at all

Better?

You da man, Dirk.

Edit: Noble Heritage Wilson has gotta be at least 3 stars. Imho, it is pound-for-pound faster and bigger than Karlach + anything. You can start rolling people with perilous alacrity with nothing more than your commanders and some dirt, and still present two angles of solid defense.

[TheGildedGoose]

Sharif Shadowheart don't like it

Obviously the synergy isn't as strong as, say, Baeloth, who is insane, but if Sarevok is at 2 stars then Shadowheart must have at least that. Drawing extra cards is stronger than causing loss of life, generally.

[Sinis]

I would rank Jaheira, Friend of the Forest + Guild Artisan a 4. It's as synergetic as they come. Making two tokens a turn that tap for G is nuts ramp. It comes out early, too.

It's a strong synergy, but she has to attack (a particular player, even) and she's not particularly built for that. It's also (usually) capped at 2 per turn, which is a lot but it does have a limit. I think 3 is fair. I don't think it's on the level of being able to force all enemy creatures to attack your opponents forever with no added work.

Edit: maybe I should add a 5 star rank for the current 4-stars and split the 3 stars into 3s and 4s.

I guess, how many attacks do you need for it to be overwhelming? 1? 2? I feel that even though it isn't 'sustainable', even a couple of triggers should put you so far ahead that it doesn't matter.

[Hawk]

Impressive work as always, Dirk.

I am also impressed at how good the common backgrounds are!

Flaming Fist: Double strike is fairly relevant to any commander that wants to rumble. This is a fine pairing for any offensively-inclined "Choose a Background" commander, and comparable to Duelist's Heritage/Battle Mastery for the '99 of W/x voltron-y decks.

Sword Coast Sailor: Is virtually "your commander can't be blocked". Again, solid for any offensively-inclined "CaB" commander, and also good in lots of saboteury U/x decks. I may actually slot it into Yuriko, for instance.

Scion of Halaster is, as you say, the most underwhelming, but "the first time you draw, instead Surveil 2 sorta" is still not bad.

Tavern Brawler keeps sneaking up on me. If your commander is sticking around, it's Outpost Siege in Khans mode for 1 less. It's basically a red Phyrexian Arena. At common! While it obviously is at its best if you have some exile synergy or a rumbly commander to use the +X/+0, I forsee it in the '99 of a lot of other decks and not just Prosper, Tome-Bound and Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald. I'd slam this in Daretti if not for that pesky "creature" text, for instance.

and finally, Master Chef gives your commander a permanent +1/+1 and turns them into a Renata, Called to the Hunt which is obviously great for a great many decks.

[DirkGently]

@TheAmericanSpirit I bumped it to 2 but I don't think it's a 3. At the end of the day, you're just making a fairly fat creature that's somewhat evasive and slightly harder than normal to kill. I think 3 requires that something a little spicier is going on.

@TheGildedGoose What is this (song?) you keep referencing?

To a certain extent, I try to rate based on how effective the synergy is, not just the raw strength per se. Sarevok is a pretty crap commander tbh, so the overall power of the combo isn't amazing, but in terms of what he does, he does it a lot better with noble heritage.

I bumped shadowheart up to 2 but I don't think it's a 3. Her ability is pretty strong already, so +2 cards doesn't seem like it's a massive upgrade, when you're trading in the counters to get it.

@Sinis if you're asking "is ramping 2 "lands" for 5 mana overwhelming?" then I'd say no. In most metas, nor is 2 or even 3 attacks. a 3-star rating is pretty high. I wasn't even sure I'd have any 4's until I saw the two insane ones. Unless I rejigger the rating system I don't think it's changing.

@Hawk I agree, except that Candlekeep Sage is the common blue background, not Sword Coast Sailor. I do really like Tavern Brawler, that card is pretty nuts for a common.

[TheGildedGoose]

@TheGildedGoose What is this (song?) you keep referencing?

what

To a certain extent, I try to rate based on how effective the synergy is, not just the raw strength per se. Sarevok is a pretty crap commander tbh, so the overall power of the combo isn't amazing, but in terms of what he does, he does it a lot better with noble heritage.

I bumped shadowheart up to 2 but I don't think it's a 3. Her ability is pretty strong already, so +2 cards doesn't seem like it's a massive upgrade.

Well, it's not just +2 cards, it's +2 cards per turn Heritage is active. The idea isn't to just windmill slam her ability every turn, it's to maintain a steadily growing threat until it must be dealt with, then I draw a ton of cards. I would agree it's not a major synergy, just moreso than dumb ol' Sarevok.

[TheAmericanSpirit]

@DirkGently Dude, you have Karlach at multiple points of 3 stars with nothing more than bigness as a background. Noble Wilson is bigger, arguably faster, and can score some defense via bribery (which is a whole other dimension you're failing to consider).

I'll die on this hill if I must.

[DirkGently]

@DirkGently Dude, you have Karlach at multiple points of 3 stars with nothing more than bigness as a background. Noble Wilson is bigger, arguably faster, and can score some defense via bribery (which is a whole other dimension you're failing to consider).

I'll die on this hill if I must.

Eh, maybe..I'll cut down Sword Coast Sailor to 2. I think Criminal Past is really strong with Karlach, though - it's not just that he's big, it's that he has first strike and gets multiple attacks. You basically have to sac 4 creatures to stop Karlach from giving you a huge smack. And for Hardy Outlander, he gets multiple attack triggers which persist through the combat steps, plus his relatively high p/t. I don't think Hardy Outlander is a very good background in a vacuum but I do think he's the best at using it by a wide margin.

Not sure what you mean about bribery. The default utility of Noble Heritage isn't considered a synergy, which is what I'm grading (also I wouldn't really call it bribery since you don't really have the option to retract the "offer" if they do things you don't like). I will point out that it gives your opponents the opportunity to grow their blockers at the same rate as Wilson, which almost makes me want to bump it down to 1 star again.

[TheGildedGoose]

I think Noble Heritage is diametrically opposed to any aggressive combat strategy, both mathematically and conceptually.

[Arebennian]

I'm considering running a Rogue Tribal deck for:

Alora, Merry Thief + Haunted One