Source transparency: This Digest item is based primarily on reporting from MTG Rocks. TMF summarizes and interprets the news; original reporting remains credited and linked.
Reg Barclay, Fidgety Fantasist adds a new copying engine to Izzet Commander construction. The October 27 Federation Fleet reveal shows a four-mana creature whose seek out trigger can make a temporary copy of another creature whenever its controller draws a second card in a turn.
The copy is not legendary, is an Illusion artifact in addition to its other types, and gains haste. It is exiled at the beginning of the next end step. Those changes are central to the strategy: a legendary value creature can be copied without immediately colliding with the legend rule, an entry ability can be reused, and a suitable copy can act immediately. Reg cannot target himself because the trigger specifies another creature.
The phrase “each turn” shifts the deckbuilding question from simply drawing many cards to arranging a second draw on several different turns. Drawing three or four cards in one turn does not repeatedly trigger Reg. Having an instant-speed draw effect available after one earlier draw can, however, create a copy during an opponent’s turn. The deck therefore needs both draw timing and creatures worth copying; either half without the other produces less value.
The artifact status also matters. A copied creature can interact with artifact support even when the original did not, while its temporary nature favors immediate entry triggers or haste-enabled actions over slow accumulation. The Federation precon offers other seek out payoffs, but sharing that label does not make their effects interchangeable: Reg’s reward is a creature copy, not Data’s discover or Rom and Leeta’s Treasure.
There are important timing traps. The token lasts only until the next end step, which may be an opponent’s. Ending a turn before the exile trigger exists merely postpones when the next end step occurs. A plan to stop a delayed trigger needs the appropriate trigger actually on the stack; it is not enough to invoke an end-the-turn card at an arbitrary moment.
This preview supports a distinct construction around copying legendary creatures and scheduling draw events. It does not establish an automatic infinite loop, a permanent clone army or tournament adoption. Removal of Reg, graveyard-independent creature removal and disruption of the draw sequence can all interrupt the engine.
The copy is not legendary, is an Illusion artifact in addition to its other types, and gains haste. It is exiled at the beginning of the next end step. Those changes are central to the strategy: a legendary value creature can be copied without immediately colliding with the legend rule, an entry ability can be reused, and a suitable copy can act immediately. Reg cannot target himself because the trigger specifies another creature.
The phrase “each turn” shifts the deckbuilding question from simply drawing many cards to arranging a second draw on several different turns. Drawing three or four cards in one turn does not repeatedly trigger Reg. Having an instant-speed draw effect available after one earlier draw can, however, create a copy during an opponent’s turn. The deck therefore needs both draw timing and creatures worth copying; either half without the other produces less value.
The artifact status also matters. A copied creature can interact with artifact support even when the original did not, while its temporary nature favors immediate entry triggers or haste-enabled actions over slow accumulation. The Federation precon offers other seek out payoffs, but sharing that label does not make their effects interchangeable: Reg’s reward is a creature copy, not Data’s discover or Rom and Leeta’s Treasure.
There are important timing traps. The token lasts only until the next end step, which may be an opponent’s. Ending a turn before the exile trigger exists merely postpones when the next end step occurs. A plan to stop a delayed trigger needs the appropriate trigger actually on the stack; it is not enough to invoke an end-the-turn card at an arbitrary moment.
This preview supports a distinct construction around copying legendary creatures and scheduling draw events. It does not establish an automatic infinite loop, a permanent clone army or tournament adoption. Removal of Reg, graveyard-independent creature removal and disruption of the draw sequence can all interrupt the engine.
Original source: MTG Federation Fleet Decklist, Best Cards, Reprint Value, Review, and More ↗MTG Rocks